Estonia in World War II

Estonia in World War II
Part of World War II
Clockwise from top left: Tallinn after Soviet bomb raids; Platoon of Estonian Forest Brothers; Estonian most famous commanders Rebane, Nugiseks and Riipalu; Estonian armored regiment on march in 1940; Estonian MG team in the Battle of Blue Hills; volunteers of the Estonian Legion.
Date 1940–1945 Location Estonia Result Soviet occupation
Belligerents
Soviet Union	Germany	Estonia
Commanders and leaders
Aleksandr Loktionov Leonid Govorov Ivan Fedyuninsky Ivan Maslennikov Lembit Pärn	Walter Model Felix Steiner Graf Hyazinth Strachwitz	Friedrich Kurg Karl Talpak Johan Pitka

The ground for the fate of Estonia in World War II was laid by the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, particularly its Secret Additional Protocol of August 1939.

The Republic of Estonia declared neutrality in the war but fell under the Soviet sphere of influence due to the Nazi-Soviet pact and was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Mass political arrests, deportations, and executions followed. In the Summer War during the German Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the pro-independence Forest Brothers captured South Estonia from the NKVD and the 8th Army before the arrival of the German 18th Army. At the same time, the Soviet paramilitary destruction battalions carried out punitive operations, including looting and killing, based on the tactics of scorched earth proclaimed by Joseph Stalin. Estonia was occupied by Germany and incorporated into Reichskommissariat Ostland.

In 1941, Estonians were conscripted to the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps and in 1941–1944 to the Nazi German forces. Men who avoided these mobilisations, fled to Finland to be formed as the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200. About 40% of Estonian pre war fleet were brought into requisition by the British authorities and were used in the Atlantic convoys. Approximately 1000 Estonian sailors served at the British Merchant Navy, 200 of them as officers. A small number of Estonians served in the Royal Air Force, in the British Army and in the U.S. Army.

In the campaigns of Narva and South Estonia in February to August 1944, the German Army Group Narwa and XXVIII Army Corps held back the offensives of Leningrad and 3rd Baltic Fronts. After breaching the defence of II Army Corps across the Emajõgi river and clashing with the pro-independence Estonian troops, the Leningrad Front reoccupied mainland Estonia in September 1944. After the war, Estonia remained incorporated into the Soviet Union as Estonian SSR until 1991.

World War II losses in Estonia, estimated at around 25%, were among the highest in Europe. War and occupation deaths listed in the current reports total at 81,000. These include the Soviet deportations in 1941, Soviet genocides, German deportations, and Holocaust victims.

Preface

Before World War II, the Republic of Estonia and USSR had both signed and ratified following treaties:

Kellogg-Briand Pact

August 27 1928, Kellogg-Briand Pact renouncing war as an instrument of national policy Ratified by Estonia and USSR on July 24, 1929

Non-aggression treaty

With USSR on May 4 1932.

The Convention for the Definition of Aggression

On July 3 1933, for the first time in the history of international relations, aggression was defined in a binding treaty signed at the Soviet Embassy in London by USSR and among others, The Republic of Estonia.

Article II defines forms of aggression. There shall be recognized as an aggressor that State which shall be the first to have committed one of the following actions:

Relevant chapters:

• Second — invasion by armed forces of the territory of another State even without a declaration of war.
• Fourth — a naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State.

Declaration of Neutrality

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania jointly declared their neutrality on November 18 1938, in Riga, at the Conference of Baltic Foreign Ministers with their respective parliaments passing neutrality laws later that year. Estonia passed a law ratifying its neutrality on December 1st, 1938, which was modelled on Sweden's declaration of neutrality of May 29, 1938. Also importantly, Estonia had asserted its neutrality in its very first constitution, as well as the Treaty of Tartu concluded in 1920 between Republic of Estonia and the Russian SFSR.

The Beginning of World War II

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Soviet and German officers meeting after the invasion of Poland.

World War II began with the invasion and subsequent partition of an important regional ally of Estonia — Poland, by Germany and Soviet Union.

• September 1 1939, Germany invaded Poland.
• September 3, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand declare war on Germany.
• September 14, the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł reached Tallinn, Estonia.
• September 17, Soviet Union invaded Poland.
• September 18, Orzeł incident, the Polish submarine escaped from internment in Tallinn and eventually made her way to the United Kingdom, Estonia's neutrality questioned by the Soviet Union and Germany.

ORP Orzeł monument in Tallinn

On September 24 1939, with the fall of Poland to Nazi Germany and USSR imminent and in light of the Orzeł incident, the Moscow press and radio started violently attacking Estonia as "hostile" to the Soviet Union. Warships of the Red Navy appeared off Estonian ports, Soviet bombers began a threatening patrol over Tallinn and the nearby countryside. Moscow demanded that Estonia allow the USSR to establish military bases and station 25,000 troops on Estonian soil for the duration of the European war. The government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum signing the corresponding agreement on September 28. 1939.

The Pact was made for ten years:

• 1) Estonia granted the USSR the right to maintain naval bases and airfields protected by Red Army troops on the strategic islands dominating Tallinn, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga;
• 2) Soviet Union agreed to increase her annual trade turnover with Estonia and to give Estonia facilities in case the Baltic is closed to her goods for trading with the outside world via Soviet ports on the Black Sea and White Sea;
• 3) USSR and Estonia undertook to defend each other from "aggression arising on the part of any great European power"
• 4) It was declared: the Pact "should not affect" the "economic systems and state organizations" of USSR and Estonia.

There is no consensus in Estonian society about the decisions that the leadership of the Republic of Estonia made at that time.

When the Soviet troops marched into Estonia the guns of both nations gave mutual salutes, bands played both the Estonian anthem and the Internationale, the anthem of USSR at the time.

Similar demands were forwarded to Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. Finland resisted, and was attacked by the Soviet Union on November 30. Because the attack was judged as illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations on December 14. Finland held out in the Winter War until March 1940, when the Moscow Peace Treaty was signed.

The first population loss for Estonia was the repatriation of about 12,000-18,000 Baltic Germans to Germany.

Soviet occupation

See also: Occupation of Baltic states

Schematics of the Soviet military blockade and invasion of Estonia in 1940. (Russian State Naval Archives)

In summer 1940 the occupation of Estonia was carried through as a regular military operation. 160,000 men, supported by 600 tanks were concentrated for the invasion into Estonia. 5 divisions of the Soviet Air Force with 1150 aircraft blockaded the whole Baltic air space against Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The Soviet Baltic Fleet blockaded the operation from the sea. The Soviet NKVD was ordered to be ready for the reception of 58,000 prisoners of war.

On June 3 1940, all Soviet military forces based in Baltic states were concentrated under the command of Aleksandr Loktionov.

On June 9, the directive 02622ss/ov was given to the Red Army's Leningrad Military District by Semyon Timoshenko to be ready by the June 12 to a) Capture the vessels of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Navy in their bases and/or at sea; b) Capture the Estonian and Latvian commercial fleet and all other vessels; c) Prepare for an invasion and landing in Tallinn and Paldiski; d) Close the Gulf of Riga and blockade the coasts of Estonia and Latvia in Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea; e) Prevent an evacuation of the Estonian and Latvian governments, military forces and assets; f) Provide naval support for an invasion towards Rakvere; g) Prevent the Estonian and Latvian airplanes flying either to Finland or Sweden.

On June 12 1940, the order for a total military blockade on Estonia to the Soviet Baltic Fleet was given: according to the director of the Russian State Archive of the Naval Department Pavel Petrov (C.Phil.) referring to the records in the archive

On June 13 at 10.40 AM the Soviet forces started to move to their positions and were ready by June 14 at 10 PM. a) 4 submarines and a number of light navy units were positioned in the Baltic Sea, to the gulfs of Riga and Finland to isolate the Baltic states by the sea. b) A navy squadron including 3 destroyer divisions were positioned to the west of Naissaar in order to support the invasion. c) The 1st marine brigade's 4 battalions on transportation ships "Sibir", "2nd Pjatiletka" and "Elton" were positioned for landing and invasion of Naissaare and Aegna; d) Transportation ship "Dnester" and destroyers Storozevoi and Silnoi were positioned with troops for the invasion of the capital Tallinn; e) the 50th battalion was positioned on ships for an invasion near Kunda. In the naval blockade participated in total 120 Soviet vessels including 1 cruiser, 7 destroyers, and 17 submarines; 219 airplanes including the 8th air-brigade with 84 bombers: DB-3 and Tupolev SB and 10th brigade with 62 airplanes.

On June 14 while the world’s attention was focused on the fall of Paris to Nazi Germany a day earlier, the Soviet military blockade on Estonia went into effect. Two Soviet bombers downed Finnish passenger airplane "Kaleva" flying from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying three diplomatic pouches from the U.S. legations in Tallinn, Riga and Helsinki and over 120 kilograms of diplomatic mail by two French embassy couriers. The US Foreign Service employee Henry W. Antheil, Jr., the French couriers and other passengers were killed in the crash.

On June 16 1940, the Soviet Union invaded Estonia. The Red Army exited from their military bases in Estonia, some 90,000 additional Soviet troops entered the country. Vyacheslav Molotov had accused the Baltic states of conspiracy against the Soviet Union and delivered an ultimatum to Estonia for the establishment of a government the Soviets approve of. The Estonian government decided according to the Kellogg-Briand Pact not to use war as an instrument of national policy. Given the overwhelming Soviet force both on the borders and inside the country, not to resist, to avoid bloodshed and open war.

Kaleva airplane and its crew prior the the incident.

On June 17, the day France surrendered to Germany, Estonia accepted the ultimatum and the statehood of Estonia de facto ceased to exist. The military occupation of the Republic of Estonia was complete by the June 21 1940 and rendered "official" by a communist coup d'état supported by the Soviet troops.

Most of the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Defence League surrendered according to the orders of the Estonian Government believing that resistance was useless and were disarmed by the Red Army. Only the Estonian Independent Signal Battalion stationed in Tallinn at Raua Street showed resistance to Red Army and Communist Militia called "People's Self-Defence" (Estonian: Rahva Omakaitse) on 21 June 1940. As the Red Army brought in additional reinforcements supported by six armoured fighting vehicles, the battle lasted several hours until sundown. Finally the military resistance was ended with negotiations and the Independent Signal Battalion surrendered and was disarmed. There was 2 dead Estonian servicemen, Aleksei Männikus and Johannes Mandre, and several wounded on the Estonian side and about 10 killed and more wounded on the Soviet side. On the same day, June 21, 1940 the Flag of Estonia was replaced with a Red flag on Pikk Hermann tower, the symbol of the government in force in Estonia.

14-15 July rigged and likely fabricated elections were held in which only Soviet-supported candidates were permitted to run. Those who failed to have their passports stamped for voting for a communist candidate risked getting shot in the back of the head. Tribunals were set up to punish "traitors to the people." those who had fallen short of the "political duty" of voting Estonia into the USSR. The "parliament" so elected proclaimed Estonia a Socialist Republic on July 21, 1940 and unanimously requested Estonia to be "accepted" into the Soviet Union. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) The Soviet Union annexed Estonia on August 6 and renamed the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. The 1940 occupation and annexation of Estonia into the Soviet Union was considered illegal and never officially recognized by Great Britain, the United States and other Western democracies. The annexation abrogated numerous prior treaties entered into by the Soviet Union and its predecessor, Bolshevist Russia.

Soviet regime of terror

See also: Soviet deportations from Estonia

File:Konstantin Pats1939.jpg

Konstantin Päts

The Soviet authorities, having gained control over Estonia, moved rapidly to stamp out any potential opposition to their rule. During the first year of Soviet occupation (1940-1941) over 8,000 people, including most of the country's leading politicians and military officers, were arrested. About 2,200 of the arrested were executed in Estonia, while most others were moved to prison camps in Russia, from where very few were later able to return alive. On July 19 1940, the Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army Johan Laidoner was captured by the NKVD and deported together with his spouse to the Town of Penza. Laidoner died in the Vladimir Prison Camp, Russia on March 13, 1953. President of Estonia, Konstantin Päts was arrested and deported by the Soviets to Ufa in Russia on July 30, he died in a psychiatric hospital in Kalinin (currently Tver) in Russia in 1956. 800 Estonian officers i.e. about a half of the total were executed, arrested or starved to death in prison camps.

Mass deportation was another key weapon of Soviet control. In January 1941 Order № 001223 "On the Procedure for carrying out the Deportation of Anti-Soviet Elements from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia" was issued, providing for the deportation of those deemed to be 'anti-Soviet'. This order was operationalised on June 14 1941, when mass deportations took place simultaneously in all three Baltic countries; almost 10,000 Estonians were deported in just coupler of days . Forcible conscription into the Red Army began after the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, but the Estonian conscripts were soon deemed unreliable and assigned to "labour battalions". Of the 33,000 Estonian conscripts, more than 10,000 died in these inhuman conditions due to disease, hunger and cold.

When Estonia was proclaimed the Soviet Republic, the crews of 42 Estonian ships in foreign waters refused to return to homeland (about 40% of Estonian pre-war fleet) These ships were brought into requisition by the British powers and were used in the Atlantic convoys. During the time of the war, approximately 1000 Estonian seamen served at the British militarised merchant marine, 200 of them as officers. A small number of Estonians served in the Royal Air Force, in the British Army and in the US Army, altogether no more than two hundred.

Soviet repression of ethnic Russians

Ethnic Russians in Estonia: Sergei Zarkevich, an activist of Russian organizations in Estonia, The owner of a book store "Russian Book": arrest order issued by NKVD on June 23, 1940, executed on March 25, 1941. Oleg Vasilovski, a former General in the Russian Imperial Army. Arrest order issued by NKVD on July 1, 1940. Further fate unknown. Sergei Klenski, one of the former leaders of the Russian Peasants Labor Party. Arrested on July 22. On November 19 1940, sentenced to 8 years in a prison camp. Further fate unknown. Mikhail Aleksandrov, Arseni Zhitkov. Other ethnic Russians in Estonia arrested and executed by different Soviet War Tribunals in 1940-1941. Ivan Salnikov, Pavel Mironov, Mihhail Arhipov, Vassili Belugin, Vladimir Strekoytov, Vasili Zhilin, Vladimir Utekhin, Sergei Samennikov, Ivan Meitsev, Ivan Yeremeyev, Konstatin Bushuyev, Yegor Andreyev, Nikolai Sausailov, Aleksandr Serpukhov, Konstatin Nosov, Aleksandr Nekrasov, Nikolai Vasilev-Muroman, Aleksei Sinelshikov, Pyotr Molonenkov, Grigory Varlamov, Stepan Pylnikov, Ivan Lishayev, Pavel Belousev, Nikolai Gusev, Leonid Sakharov, Aleksander Chuganov, Fyodor Dobrovidov, Lev Dobek, Andrei Leontev, Ivan Sokolov, Ivan Svetlov, Vladimir Semenov, Valentin Semenov-Vasilev, Vasili Kamelkov, Georgi Lokhov, Aleksei Forlov, Ivan Ivanov, Vasili Karamsin, Aleksandr Krasilnikov, Aleksandr Zhukov, etc. Full list at:

Historical Soviet sources

Up to the reassessment of Soviet history in USSR that began during Perestroika, before the USSR had condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries including Estonia.

The events in 1939 according to the pre-Perestroika Soviet sources were following: in a prior province of the Russian Empire: The Governorate of Estonia (Russian: Эстляндская губерния) Soviet power was established in the end of October 1917. The Estonian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Narva on November 29 1918 but fell to counter-revolutionaries and the White movement in 1919. In June 1940 Soviet power was restored in Estonia as workers had overthrown the fascist dictatorship in the country.

The Government of the Soviet Union suggested that the Government of the Republic of Estonia conclude a mutual assistance treaty between the two countries. The pressure from Estonian working people forced the Estonian government to accept this suggestion. On September 28 1939, the Pact of Mutual Assistance was signed which allowed the USSR to station a limited number of Red Army units in Estonia. Economic difficulties, dissatisfaction with the Estonian government policies 'that had sabotaged fulfillment of the Pact and the Estonian government' and political orientation towards Nazi Germany lead to a revolutionary situation on June 16 1940. A note from the Soviet government to the Estonian Government suggested that they stick strictly to the Pact of Mutual Assistance. To guarantee fulfillment of the Pact additional military units entered Estonia, welcomed by the Estonian workers who demanded the resignation of the Estonian government. On June 21 under the leadership of the Estonian Communist Party political demonstrations by workers were held in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva and other cities. On the same day the fascist government was overthrown, and the People's government led by Johannes Vares was formed. On July 14-15 1940 elections for the Riigikogu the Estonian Parliament were held. The "Working People’s Union", created by an initiative of the Estonian Communist Party received with 84.1% electorate participation 92.8% of the votes.. On July 21 1940 the State Assembly adopted the declaration of the restoration of Soviet power in Estonia and proclaimed the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. On July 22 the declaration of Estonia's wish to join the USSR was adopted and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was addressed accordingly. The request was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 6 1940. On July 23 the State Assembly proclaimed all land to be People's Property while banks and heavy industry were nationalized. On August 25 the State Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Estonian SSR, renamed itself the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR and approved the Council of People's Commissars of the Estonian SSR.

Summer War

After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Finland sided with Germany in the Continuation War. On July 3, Stalin made his public statement over the radio calling for a scorched earth policy in the areas to be abandoned. In North Estonia, the Soviet destruction battalions had the greatest impact, being the last Baltic territory captured from the Soviets. Pro-independence Forest Brothers, numbering about 50,000, attacked the forces of the NKVD and the 8th Army (Major General Ljubovtsev), killing 4,800 and capturing 14,000. The battle of Tartu lasted for two weeks, and destroyed a large part of the city. Under the leadership of Friedrich Kurg, the Forest Brothers drove out the Soviets from Tartu, driving the Soviet troops behind the Pärnu River – the Emajõgi line and securing South Estonia under Estonian control by July 10. The NKVD murdered 193 people in Tartu Prison on their retreat on July 8.

The German 18th Army crossed the Estonian southern border on July 7–9. The Germans resumed their advance in Estonia by working in cooperation with the Forest Brothers. The joint Estonian-German forces took Narva on August 17 and the Estonian capital Tallinn on August 28. On that day, the red flag shot down earlier on Pikk Hermann was replaced with the flag of Estonia by Fred Ise. After the Soviets were driven out from Estonia, German troops disarmed all the Forest Brother groups. The Estonian flag was replaced shortly with the flag of Germany.

German occupation

Further information: Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany

Most Estonians greeted the Germans with relatively open arms and hoped for restoration of independence. In Southern Estonia pro independence administrations were set up, led by Jüri Uluots a co-ordinating council was set up in Tartu as soon as the Soviet regime retreated and before German troops arrived. The Forest Brothers who drove the Red Army from Tartu made this possible. This was all for nothing since the Germans disbanded the provisional government and Estonia became a part of the German-occupied Reichskommissariat Ostland. A Sicherheitspolizei was established for internal security under the leadership of Ain-Ervin Mere.

In April 1941, on the eve on the German invasion, Alfred Rosenberg, Reich minister for the Occupied Eastern territories, a Baltic German, born and raised in Tallinn, Estonia, laid out his plans for the East. According to Rosenberg a future policy was created:

1. Germanization (Eindeutschung) of the "racially suitable" elements.
2. Colonization by Germanic peoples.
3. Exile, deportations of undesirable elements.

Rosenberg felt that the "Estonians were the most Germanic out of the people living in the Baltic area, having already reached 50 percent of Germanization through Danish, Swedish and German influence". Non-suitable Estonians were to be moved to a region that Rosenberg called "Peipusland" to make room for German colonists. The initial enthusiasm that accompanied the liberation from Soviet occupation quickly waned as a result and the Germans had limited success in recruiting volunteers. The draft was introduced in 1942, resulting in some 3400 men fleeing to Finland to fight in the Finnish Army rather than join the Germans. Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 (Estonian: soomepoisid) was formed out of Estonian volunteers who had fled the 1943-1944 forced mobilization into the German forces in Estonia. The unit fought the Red Army on the Karelian Front In June 1942, political leaders of Estonia who had survived Soviet repressions held a meeting hidden from the occupying powers in Estonia where the formation of an underground Estonian government and the options for preserving continuity of the republic were discussed. On January 6 1943, a meeting was held at the Estonian foreign delegation in Stockholm. In order to preserve the legal continuation of the Republic of Estonia, it was decided that the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, had to continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister. In June 1944, – the elector’s assembly of the Republic of Estonia gathered in secrecy from the occupying powers in Tallinn and appointed Jüri Uluots as the prime minister with responsibilities of the President. On June 21 – Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief as deputy prime minister. With the Allied victory over Germany becoming certain in 1944, the only option to save Estonia's independence was to stave off a new Soviet invasion of Estonia until Germany's capitulation. By supporting the German conscription call Uluots hoped to restore the Estonian Army and the countries independence.

The Holocaust

Main article: History of the Jews in Estonia

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Corpses of inmates from Klooga concentration camp stacked for burning.

The first records of a some Jews in Estonia date back to the 14th century. The permanent Jewish settlement in Estonia began in the nineteenth century, when in 1865 the Russian Tsar Alexander II granted Jews with university degrees and merchants of the third guild the right to enter the region.

Holocaust memorial at the site of the former Klooga concentration camp, opened on 24th July 2005

The creation of the Republic of Estonia in 1918 marked the beginning of a new era for the Jews. Approximately 200 Jews fought in combat for the creation of the Republic of Estonia and 70 of these men were volunteers. On 12 February 1925 the Estonian government passed a law unique in inter-war Europe pertaining to the cultural autonomy of ethnic minorities. The Jewish community quickly prepared its application for cultural autonomy. Statistics on Jewish citizens were compiled. They totaled 3045, fulfilling the minimum requirement of 3000. In June 1926 the Jewish Cultural Council was elected and Jewish cultural autonomy was declared. Jewish cultural autonomy was of great interest to the global Jewish community. The Jewish National Endowment presented the Government of the Republic of Estonia with a certificate of gratitude for this achievement.

There were, at the time of the Soviet occupation in 1940, approximately 2000 Estonian Jews. Many of Jewish people were deported to Siberia along with other Estonians by the Soviets. It is estimated that 500 Jews suffered this fate. With the invasion of the Baltics, it was the intention of the Nazi government to use the Baltic countries as their main area of mass genocide. Consequently, Jews from countries outside the Baltics were shipped there to be exterminated. Out of the approximately 4,300 Jews in Estonia prior to the war, between 1,500 and 2,000 were entrapped by the Nazis. and an estimated 10,000 Jews were killed in Estonia after having been deported to camps there from elsewhere in Eastern Europe. There have been knowingly 7 ethnic Estonians: Ralf Gerrets, Ain-Ervin Mere, Jaan Viik, Juhan Jüriste, Karl Linnas,Aleksander Laak and Ervin Viks who have faced trials for crimes against humanity. Since the reestablishment of the Estonian independence Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity has been established. Markers were put in place for the 60th anniversary of the mass executions that were carried out at the Lagedi, Vaivara and Klooga (Kalevi-Liiva) camps in September 1944.

In May 2005, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip gave a speech while visiting Klooga: "Although these murderers must answer for their crimes as individuals, the Estonian Government continues to do everything possible to expose these crimes. I apologise for the fact that Estonian citizens could be found among those who participated in the murdering of people or assisted in the perpetration of these crimes."

Estonia (together with Austria, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Syria and Ukraine) has been given the grade Category F: "Total Failure" ("countries, which refuse in principle to investigate, let alone prosecute, suspected Nazi war criminals") by the Simon Wiesenthal Center Status Report on Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals for 2006. Estonian prosecutors have closed the case of WWII crime suspect Harry Männil now resident in Venezuela, on basis of no proof found linking Männil to crimes against humanity. Estonia's security police had opened a criminal case in March 2001 on the basis of Efraim Zuroff's petition to investigate whether Männil was connected with the persecution and killing of civilians in 1941-42 when he worked as an assistant with the wartime political police in Tallinn.

Estonian military units in 1941-1943

Jüri Uluots

Divisional insignia of 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian).

Estonian units in German forces

In 1941, it was announced in Germany that additional Combat Support Forces, the Waffen-SS units would be raised from non-German foreign nationals. The goal was to acquire additional manpower from occupied nations. Some of these formed foreign legions included volunteers from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and the Netherlands. {[fact}} Up to March 1942, drafted Estonians mostly served in the rear of the Army Group North security. On August 28 1942, the German powers announced the legal compilation of the Estonian Legion within the Combat Support Forces, the Waffen SS Verfügungstruppe units. Oberführer Franz Augsberger was nominated the commander of the legion. As of October 13 1942, 500 volunteers had appeared. In the Spring 1943, additional men were drafted from the police and the number rose to 1.280. 90% of the volunteers had lost a relative in the Red Terror. Batallion Narwa was formed from the first 800 men of the Legion to have finished their training at Dębica (Heidelager in 1943), being sent in April 1943, to join the Division Wiking in Ukraine. They replaced the Finnish Volunteer Battalion, recalled to Finland for political reasons.

Battalion Narwa participated in the battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. Retreating through the escape route called The Hell's Gate, the battalion came under heavy Soviet fire with little cover. The battalion lost almost all of its equipment during the carnage while most of the troops escaped encirclement.

In March 1943, the German occupying powers turned to mobilization by conscripting men born in Estonia between 1919 and 1924. Until August 1943, 5300 men were drafted for the Estonian Legion and 6800 for support service (Hilfswillige) to the German Wermacht. A moblization in October 1943, calling up men born in 1925-1926. On May 5 1943, the 3 Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade was formed and sent to front near Nevel. A consequence of the 1943 mobilizations was the wave of an estimated 5.000 Estonian men fleeing to Finland in order to avoid the German draft. Over half of these men volunteered for service in the Finnish armed forces. About 2.300 joined the army and 400 the navy.

Estonian Rifle Corps in the Red Army

In June 1940, while the Estonian army was integrated into the Soviet military structure, where in June 1940 there were 16,800 men, was changed into "22nd Territorial Rifle Corps" 5,500 Estonian soldiers served in the corps during the first battle. 4,500 of them went over to the German side. In September 1941, when the corps was liquidated, there were still 500 previous Estonian soldiers.

Having mobilized some 33,000 Estonians as the Soviets were evacuating in the summer of 1941, no more than half of those men were used for military service, the rest perished in Gulag concentration camps and labour battalions, mainly in the early months of the war.

Estonian military Units within the Red Army began to be formed in January 1942, from among ethnic Estonians living in the USSR, A Soviet source suggests that in May 1942 there were nearly 20,000 Estonians in the national units. The 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, as these units came to be called after September 1942, reached the front in Velikie Luki in December 1942 and suffered heavy losses in battle as well as the defection of about 1,000 men to the German side. After Velikie Luki the Rifle Corps was replaced with other nationalities from USSR. The corps' major activity in the latter part of the war was participation in the battles for Estonia.

Battles in 1944

Further information: Battle for Narva Bridgehead

In January 1944, the Soviet Leningrad Front (Soviet army group in Leningrad region) forced Army Group Sponheimer back to the former Estonian border. On January 31, the Self-Administration (puppet government of Estonia) announced a general conscription-mobilisation. Jüri Uluots, the last constitutional prime minister of the republic of Estonia, the leader of the Estonian underground government delivered a radio address on February 7 that implored the able-bodied men born in 1904–1923 to report for military service. Before this, Uluots had opposed Estonian mobilisation as illegal under the Hague Conventions. Uluots hoped that by engaging in such a war Estonia would be able to attract Western support for the cause of independence from the USSR. The mobilisation drew wide support among Estonians and 38.000 men were drafted. After the mobilisation there were some 50.000–60.000 Estonians under arms in Estonia. The initial formation of the volunteer Estonian Legion created in 1942 was eventually expanded to become a division of the Waffen SS in 1944, the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian) as other Estonian units that had fought on various fronts on the German side were rushed to Estonia. In addition, six border defence battalions were formed. In autumn 1944, it is estimated that there was the same number of Estonians under arms as at the time of the Estonian War of Independence, in total about 100,000 men. Volunteers from Norway, Denmark, Holland and Belgium served within Army Group Sponheimer.

Formation of bridgeheads in Narva

Situation on Narva front on 1 March 1944

The Soviet Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive reached the Narva river on February 2. Forward Soviet units of the 2nd Shock Army and the 8th Army crossed the Narva river and established several bridgeheads on its west bank, to the north and south of the town of Narva. Field Marshal Walter Model was nominated the Commander of the German Army Group Narwa. On February 7, the 8th Army expanded the bridgehead in the Krivasoo swamp south of Narva, cutting the railway behind the Army Group Sponheimer. The headquarters of the Leningrad Front were unable to take advantage of the opportunity of encircling the smaller German army group. Sponheimer held its ground in the complicated situation. At the same time, the Soviet 42nd Army landed their units across Lake Peipus and established a bridgehead in Meerapalu village. By a coincidence, the Estonian Division, headed for the Narva front, reached the area at the time. In the battle on February 14–16, the Estonian I Battalion of the 45th Regiment (I/45) destroyed the Soviet divisions in Southeast Estonia. A simultaneous Soviet amphibious assault was conducted, as the 517 men strong Soviet 260th Independent Naval Infantry Brigade landed at the Mereküla coastal borough behind German lines. However, the unit was almost completely annihilated.

Narva Offensives, February and March

The Soviet forces launched the Narva Offensive, February 15–28 simultaneously from the bridgeheads north and south of the town of Narva, aimed at encircling the III SS (Germanic) Panzer Corps. After ferocious battles, the Soviet armies halted their exhausted operation on February 20. Since the beginning of January, the Leningrad Front had lost 227,440 men as wounded, killed or missing in action, which constituted more than half of the troops who participated in the Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive.

File:Rebane-in-color.jpg

Alfons Rebane

The pause between the Soviet offensives was used for bringing in additional forces by both sides. On February 24 (Estonian Independence Day), fulfilling their first task at the Narva front, the fresh Estonian Division counterattacked to break the Soviet bridgeheads. The assault by the Estonian 46th Regiment led by Hauptsturmführer Rudolf Bruus destroyed the Soviet Riigiküla bridgehead. The attack by the Estonian 45th and 46th Regiments commanded by Standartenführer Paul Vent liquidated the Siivertsi–Vepsküla bridgehead by March 6.

The leadership of the Red Army drew 9 corps against the 7 German divisions and a brigade defending Narva. The Soviet Narva Offensive, March 1–4 began to the south of Narva to outflank and surround the citadel. The assault was stopped by the Estonian 658th and 659th Eastern Battalions led by Sturmbannführer Alfons Rebane and Sturmbannführer Georg Sooden and the German 214th Infantry Division.

The Soviet air raid leveling the historical town of Narva, marked the beginning of the Soviet Narva Offensive, March 6–24. The attack of the Soviet infantry followed at the Ivangorod bridgehead on the east bank of the river on March 8. Simultaneously, pitched battles took place in the north of the town, where the Soviet 14th Rifle Corps supported by the artillery of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps attempted to break through the German defence held by the Estonian Division. The attacks were repulsed in great losses for the Soviets.

Soviet air assaults against civilians in Estonian towns were a part of the offensive aiming to force the Estonians away from supporting the German side against the Soviet offensive. The Soviet Air Force assaulted Tallinn on the night before March 9. Approximately 40% of the housing space was destroyed in the city as 25,000 people were left without a shelter and 500 civilians killed. The result of the air raid was the opposite to the Soviet aim as the Estonians felt disgusted by Soviet atrocities and more men answered the German conscription call.

The six divisions, armoured vehicles, artillery of the Soviet 109th Rifle Corps, and the newly brought 6th Rifle Corps continued the offensive on March 17 towards Auvere railway station. The weakened German 61st Infantry Division held their defensive positions. Four German divisions supported by tanks annihilated the Soviet 8th Army shock troop wedge on March 26 at the western end of the Krivasoo bridgehead. The eastern tip of the bridgehead was destroyed on April 6. The German forces inspired by their success tried to eliminate the bridgehead as a whole but were unable to proceed due to the spring thaw that had rendered the swamp impassable for their armoured units. By the end of April, the parties at Narva had mutually exhausted their strengths. Relative calm settled on the front until late July, 1944.

Sinimäed Hills

Further information: Battle of Tannenberg Line

Battle of Tannenberg Line, 26–29 July 1944

The Soviet 8th Army launched the initial attack of the Narva Offensive, July 24–30 at Auvere railway station. The Estonian 45th Regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel Harald Riipalu and the East Prussian 44th Infantry Regiment repulsed it inflicting heavy losses. The German forces were evacuated from Narva and the front was settled on the Tannenberg Line in the Sinimäed Hills on July 26.

The Soviet advance guard attacked the Tannenberg Line conquering a part of the easternmost of the three hills, the Pargimägi. The Soviet attempts to conquer the rest of the hills failed on the following day. The German counterattack on July 28 subsequently collapsed under the counter attack of the Soviet tank regiments. The German forces dug themselves into new positions at the central of the three hills, the Grenaderimägi.

The climax of the Battle of Tannenberg Line was the Soviet attack on July 29. The Soviet shock units suppressed the German resistance at the Pargimägi, while the Soviet main forces suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent assault at the Grenaderimägi Hill. The Soviet tanks encircled the Grenaderimägi and the westernmost Tornimägi Hills. At the same time, Infantry General Felix Steiner sent out the remaining 7 German tanks, which hit the surprized Soviet armoured forces back. This enabled the multi-national combat unit to re-conquer the Grenaderimägi to the German hands. Of the 136,830 Soviets initiating the Narva Operation, July 24–30, a few thousand had survived and the Soviet tank regiments were demolished.

With the aid of swift reinforcements, the Red Army continued their attacks. The Soviet headquarters demanded that Army Group Narwa be destroyed and Rakvere town 110 km from Narva conquered by no later than August 7. The 2nd Shock Army was back to 20,000 troopers by August 2, while their numerous attempts pursuing unchanged tactics failed to break the German defence. Govorov terminated the Soviet offensive at the Sinimäed Hills on August 10.

South Estonia

Further information: Combat in South Estonia, 1944

When the break-through in the Sinimäed Hills failed, the main combat was carried to the south of the Lake Peipus. The main thrust of the Soviet Tartu Offensive Operation was aimed at Petseri County. On 10 August, the Soviet 67th Army broke through the defence of the northern units of the 18th Army. The 43rd Rifle Division captured Võru town on 13 August, forcing the troops of the 18th Army to the banks of the Gauja and the Väike Emajõgi rivers in the west. The German units supported by the Omakaitse civil defence battalions fortified their positions along the Väike Emajõgi and repelled the numerous Soviet attempts until 14 September.

Army Group North subjected the defence of Tartu to the the Battle Group led by Jürgen Wagner, who had no sufficient troops to man the line. On 23 August, the 3rd Baltic Front launched an artillery barrage at the positions of the Estonian II/45 Battalion in Nõo village southeast of Tartu. The Soviet 282nd Rifle Division, the 16th Single Tank Brigade, and two self-propelled artillery regiments passed the defence and captured the Tallinn–Tartu highway bridge across the Emajõgi river west of Tartu. On August 25, the Soviet 86th, 128th, and 146th Rifle Divisions, with the support of armoured and artillery units conquered the town and established a bridgehehead on the north bank of the Emajõgi.

Aleksander Warma the Estonia's Ambassador to Finland, had announced that the National Committee of the Estonian Republic had sent a telegram, which stated "Estonians return home!" on 1 August. It was then announced that the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 would be disbanded and that the volunteers were free to return home. An agreement had been reached with the Germans, and the Estonians were promised amnesty if they were to return. As the largest operation by the 1st Battalion of the "Finnish Boys", accompanied by Estonian Police Battalions Nr. 37 and 38, destroyed the bridgehead of two Soviet divisions west of the town by 30 August. On 4 September, the operation by the 87th Infantry Division, the Battle Group led by Alfons Rebane, and Meinrad von Lauchert's tank unit attempted to re-capture Tartu. The attack was repulsed by units of the 3rd Baltic Front.

Baltic Offensive

Further information: Tallinn Offensive

As Finland left the war on September 4, 1944 according to the peace agreement with Soviets the defence of the mainland became impossible and the command of Army Group Narwa started preparing an evacuation from Estonia. The three Soviet Baltic Fronts launched their Riga Offensive Operation on 14 September along the entire length of the German 18th Army front stretching from Madona town in Latvia to the mouth of the Väike Emajõgi river. In the Estonian segment from Valga railway junction to Lake Võrtsjärv, the 3rd Baltic Front attacked. In fierce battles, the German XXVIII Army Corps and the Omakaitse battalions held their positions against the overwhelming Soviet armies.

The Soviet Tallinn Offensive of the 2nd Shock Army commenced in the early morning of 17 September. After the artillery barrage of 132,500 shells and grenades fired at the German II Army Corps, the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, the 30th Guard Rifle Corps, and the 108th Rifle Corps crossed the Emajõgi in the 25 km wide front segment eastwards from Tartu and went on offensive with armoured and air support. The defence of the II Army Corps was breached. Only "Rebane" Battle Group placed near Tartu held their front segment. Alfons Rebane operated his troops out of the siege with heavy losses. Army Group Narwa and the XXVIII Army Corps, the northernmost elements of Army Group North were at risk of being encircled and destroyed. Schörner ordered Army Group Narwa to abandon the defences of the Emajõgi line and the Narva front to be evacuated from mainland Estonia.

The fighters of the Estonian Rifle Corps murdered their compatriate soldiers fallen prisoner in Battle of Porkuni, and the wounded soldiers sheltering in the Avinurme Parish church.

The three German divisions in Moonsund archipelago resisted until 23 November, 1944.

According to the Soviet data, the conquering of the territory of Estonia cost them 126,000 casualties, all causes. The battles at the Narva front probably added 480,000 to the figure. On the German side, their own data shows 30,000 dead which is most likely underrated, the more realistic figure would be 45,000.

Otto Tief

Attempt to restore independence

Main article: National Committee of the Republic of Estonia

The September 18, 1944 proclamation of Government of Estonia in Riigi Teataja

As the Germans retreated, on September 18 Jüri Uluots formed a government led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Otto Tief. The Nazi German flag on Pikk Hermann was replaced with the flag of Estonia‎ two days later. On September 21 the Estonian national government was proclaimed. Estonian forces seized the government buildings in Toompea and ordered the German forces to leave. The Red Army took Tallinn on September 22 and the Estonian flag on Pikk Hermann was replaced with the Red flag. After the evacuation of the German forces, the Estonian military units under the command of Rear Admiral Johan Pitka continued to resist the Red Army. The Estonian troops were defeated by the Soviet advance units in the battles held on September 23 west of Tallinn near Keila and Risti.

The Estonian underground government, not officially recognized by either Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, fled to Stockholm, Sweden and operated in exile until 1992, when Heinrich Mark, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia in duties of the President in exile, presented his credentials to the newly elected President of Estonia Lennart Meri. On February 23. 1989 The flag of the Estonian SSR had been lowered on Pikk Hermann, having been replaced with the flag of Estonia on February 24 1989.

Soviet return

Soviet forces reconquered Estonia in the autumn of 1944 after fierce battles in the northeast of the country on the Narva river and on the Tannenberg Line (Sinimäed). In 1944, in the face of the country being re-occupied by the Red Army, 80000 people fled from Estonia by sea to Finland and Sweden, becoming war refugees and later, expatriates. 25,000 Estonians reached Sweden and a further 42,000 Germany. During the war about 8 000 Estonian Swedes and their family members had emigrated to Sweden. After the retreat of Germans, about 30,000 Forest Brothers remained in hiding in the Estonian forests, further on leading a massive guerrilla war. Commander of 46. SS Grenadier Regiment, Friedrich Kurg, stood with most of his men in Estonian forests.

In 1949 27,650 Soviet troops still led a war against the Forest Brothers. Only the 1949 mass deportation when about 21,000 people were taken away broke the basis of the insurgent movement. 6600 Forest Brothers gave themselves up in November 1949. Later on the failure of the Hungarian uprising broke the resistance moral of the 700 men still remaining under cover. According to the Soviet data, up to 1953, 20,351 insurgents were disarmed. Of these, 1510 perished in the battles. During that period, 1 728 members of the Red Army, NKVD and the militia were killed by the "forest brothers". August Sabbe, one of the last surviving Forest Brothers in Estonia, was discovered by KGB agents and drowned himself in 1978. After him there were only little number of insurgents alive in the Estonian forests. Many of them died because of because of their age in the next 15 years.

Border changes of Estonia after World War II

During the first post-war decade of Soviet regime, Estonia was governed by Moscow via Russian-born Estonian governors. Born into the families of native Estonians in Russia, the latter had obtained their Red education in the Soviet Union during the Stalinist repressions at the end of the 1930s. Many of them had fought in the Red Army (in the Estonian Rifle Corps), few of them had mastered the Estonian language.

Although the United States and the United Kingdom, the allies of the USSR against Germany during World War II, recognized the occupation of the Republic of Estonia by USSR at Yalta Conference in 1945 de facto, the governments of the rest of the western democracies did not recognize the seizure of Estonia by the USSR in 1940 and in 1944 de jure according to the Sumner Welles' declaration of July 23, 1940 Such countries recognized Estonian diplomats and consuls who still functioned in many countries in the name of their former governments. These aging diplomats persisted in this anomalous situation until the ultimate restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991.

In August 1994 the last Soviet troops withdrew from the Republic of Estonia.

Controversies

Views diverge on history of Estonia during World War II:

The position of the European Court of Human Rights

Further information: European Court of Human Rights cases on Occupation of Baltic States

The Court notes, first, that Estonia lost its independence as a result of the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact"), concluded on 23 August 1939, and the secret additional protocols to it. Following an ultimatum to set up Soviet military bases in Estonia in 1939, a large-scale entry of the Soviet army into Estonia took place in June 1940. The lawful government of the country was overthrown and Soviet rule was imposed by force. The totalitarian communist regime of the Soviet Union conducted large-scale and systematic actions against the Estonian population, including, for example, the deportation of about 10,000 persons on 14 June 1941 and of more than 20,000 on 25 March 1949. After the Second World War, tens of thousands of persons went into hiding in the forests to avoid repression by the Soviet authorities; part of those in hiding actively resisted the occupation regime. According to the data of the security organs, about 1,500 persons were killed and almost 10,000 arrested in the course of the resistance movement of 1944-1953. Interrupted by the German occupation in 1941-1944, Estonia remained occupied by the Soviet Union until its restoration of independence in 1991.

Position of the Estonian government

Plaque on the building of Government of Estonia, Toompea, commemorating government members killed by communist terror

The occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany ended with five decades of Soviet occupation of the Baltic nations. The European parliament has issued a resolution on the issue supporting the positions of The Estonian Government: as an independent Member State of the EU and NATO, it has the sovereign right to assess its recent tragic past, starting with the loss of independence as a result of the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939 and including three years under Hitler’s occupation and terror, as well as 48 years under Soviet occupation and terror whereas the Soviet occupation and annexation of the Baltic States was never recognized as legal by the Western democracies.

Governments of the Western democracies

According to USA, EU: 48 years of Soviet occupation and annexation of the Republic of Estonia was never recognized as legal by the Western democracies.

Position of the Russian government

Russian government and officials continue to maintain that the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states was legitimate and that the Soviet Union liberated the countries from the Nazis. They state that the Soviet troops had entered the Baltic countries in 1940 following the agreements and with the consent of the governments of the Baltic republics. They maintain that the USSR was not in a state of war and was not waging any combat activities on the territory of the three Baltic states, therefore, the argument goes, the word 'occupation' can not be used. "The assertions about [the] 'occupation' by the Soviet Union and the related claims ignore all legal, historical and political realities, and are therefore utterly groundless." (Russian Foreign Ministry)

Positions of the soldiers from both sides

File:Tallinn Bronze Soldier - May 2006 - 029.jpg

The Bronze Soldier

• Views of World War II veteran, an Estonian Ilmar Haaviste fought on the German side: “Both regimes were equally evil - there was no difference between the two except that Stalin was more cunning”.
• Views of World War II veteran, an Estonian Arnold Meri fought on the Soviet side: "Estonia's participation in World War II was inevitable. Every Estonian had only one decision to make: whose side to take in that bloody fight - the Nazis' or the anti-Hitler coalition's."
• Views of World War II veteran, a Russian fought on the Soviet side in Estonia answering a question: How do you feel being called an "occupier"? " Viktor Andreyev: "Half believe one thing, half believe another. That's in the run of things."

In 2004 controversy regarding the events of World War II in Estonia surrounded the Monument of Lihula.

In April 2007 the diverging views of World War II history were a factor in the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn controversy.

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

• Smith, David J (2002). The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Routledge. ISBN 0415285801.

• Feldbrugge, Ferdinand (1985). Encyclopedia of Soviet Law. BRILL. ISBN 9024730759.

• Smith, David James (2001). Estonia. Routledge. ISBN 0415267285. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

• Raun, Toivo (2001). Estonia and the Estonians. Hoover Press. ISBN 0817928529. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

• Subrenat, Jean J; Cousins, David; Harding, Alexander (2004). Estonia: Identity and Independence. Waterhouse. ISBN 9042008903.

• Estonian State Commission on Examination of Policies of Repression (2005). The White Book: Losses inflicted on the Estonian nation by occupation regimes. 1940 – 1991 (PDF). Estonian Encyclopedia Publishers.

• Jurado, Carlos Caballero (2002). Germany's Eastern Front allies (2): Baltic forces. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841761931. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Miljan, Toivo (2004). Historical Dictionary of Estonia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810849046.

• O'Connor, Kevin (2003). The history of the Baltic States. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313323550. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

• Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, many nations. ISBN 0313309841. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

• Petrov, Pavel (2008). Punalipuline Balti Laevastik ja Eesti 1939-1941 (in Estonian and translated from Russian). Tänapäev. ISBN 978-9985-62-631-3. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

• Lamde, Dave. Resistance! Occupied Europe and Its Defiance of Hitler. ISBN 0760307458.

• Ertl, Alan (2008). Toward an Understanding of Europe. Universal-Publishers. ISBN 1599429837.

• United States Congress. Baltic States: A Study of Their Origin and National Development, Their Seizure and Incorporation Into the U.S.S.R. W. S. Hein.