Betty Burger's papers are primarily concerned with the case of Simas Kudirka, a Lithuanian sailor who attempted to defect to the United States in 1970 and was sent to a Siberian labor camp, gaining his release after four years due to the efforts of Burger, Illinois Senator Robert Hanrahan, and Lithuanian-American groups. The papers include notes of phone conversations concerning the case, as well as a 1973 book about the case by Algis Ruksenas.