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What was POV about the original "rehabilitation of Rebane's reputation"? The present version is now factually wrong.
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|awards=Estonian Defence League White Cross 3rd Class<br/>[[Latvia]]n Aizsargi Cross of Merit<br/>[[Iron cross|Iron Cross 2nd & 1st class]]<br/>[[Infantry Assault Badge]]<br/>[[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]]<br/>[[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross|Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves]]<br/>[[Close Combat Clasp]]<br/>[[Eastern Front Medal]]}}
|awards=Estonian Defence League White Cross 3rd Class<br/>[[Latvia]]n Aizsargi Cross of Merit<br/>[[Iron cross|Iron Cross 2nd & 1st class]]<br/>[[Infantry Assault Badge]]<br/>[[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]]<br/>[[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross|Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves]]<br/>[[Close Combat Clasp]]<br/>[[Eastern Front Medal]]}}


'''Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane''', commonly known as '''Alfons Rebane''' ([[June 24]], [[1908]] &ndash; [[March 8]], [[1976]]) was an [[Estonia]]n military commander. He was the most highly decorated [[Estonians|Estonian]] military officer in the course of the [[Second World War]], participating in various [[Nazi Germany|German]] military units against the armed forces of the Soviet Union.<ref name=thomas>Thomas 2002, p.8.</ref> The reburial of Rebane in Estonia in 1999 was protested by the [[American Jewish Congress]]<ref name = "Cas Mudde - Extremism">{{cite news |first= Mudde |last= Cas |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe |url= http://www.routledge.com/books/Racist-Extremism-in-Central--Eastern-Europe-isbn9780415355933 |work= Routledge Studies in Extremism and Democracy |publisher= [[Routledge]] | isbn = 978-0415355940 |date= December 23, 2004 |page= 71 |accessdate=June 22, 2009}}</ref> and the [[Russian Jewish Congress]].<ref name="Osborn">{{cite web |last=Osborn |first=Andrew |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/estonia-accused-of-antisemitism-after-memorial-is-erected-to-ss-executioner-564715.html |title=Estonia accused of anti-Semitism after memorial is erected to 'SS executioner' |publisher= [[The Independent]] |date=26 May 2004 |accessdate=22 June 2009}}</ref>, and triggered protest against historical revisionism from the [[Russian Federation]].<ref name = "RF UN mission">[http://www.un.int/russia/other/eest1941.htm "Involvement of the Estonian SS Legion in War Crimes in 1941-1945 and the Attempts to Revise the Verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal in Estonia".] Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. Retrieved 22 June 2009.</ref>
'''Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane''', commonly known as '''Alfons Rebane''' ([[June 24]], [[1908]] &ndash; [[March 8]], [[1976]]) was an [[Estonia]]n military commander. He was the most highly decorated [[Estonians|Estonian]] military officer in the course of the [[Second World War]], participating in various [[Nazi Germany|German]] military units against the armed forces of the Soviet Union.<ref name=thomas>Thomas 2002, p.8.</ref> The 1999 reburial of Rebane at a national cemetery in Estonia and subsequent public commemmoration of Rebane's war service have been protested by the [[American Jewish Congress]]<ref name = "Cas Mudde - Extremism">{{cite news |first= Mudde |last= Cas |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe |url= http://www.routledge.com/books/Racist-Extremism-in-Central--Eastern-Europe-isbn9780415355933 |work= Routledge Studies in Extremism and Democracy |publisher= [[Routledge]] | isbn = 978-0415355940 |date= December 23, 2004 |page= 71 |accessdate=June 22, 2009}}</ref> and the [[Russian Jewish Congress]].<ref name="Osborn">{{cite web |last=Osborn |first=Andrew |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/estonia-accused-of-antisemitism-after-memorial-is-erected-to-ss-executioner-564715.html |title=Estonia accused of anti-Semitism after memorial is erected to 'SS executioner' |publisher= [[The Independent]] |date=26 May 2004 |accessdate=22 June 2009}}</ref>, and triggered protest against historical revisionism from the [[Russian Federation]].<ref name = "RF UN mission">[http://www.un.int/russia/other/eest1941.htm "Involvement of the Estonian SS Legion in War Crimes in 1941-1945 and the Attempts to Revise the Verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal in Estonia".] Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. Retrieved 22 June 2009.</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 02:38, 23 June 2009

Alfons Rebane
File:Alfons Rebane in Estonian Army.jpg
Alfons Rebane in the Estonian Army
AllegianceEstonia, Germany, UK
Years of service1929–1950's
RankWaffen-Standartenführer, Colonel
Unit1929, 1st Armored Train Regiment
1935, Viljandi County Territorial Regiment
1939, Lääne County Territorial Regiment
1940, Commandant of Lihula
1941, 184th Security Battalion, Wehrmacht
1943, 658th (Estonian) Ost Battalion, Wehrmacht
1944, 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian)
1947 MI6
Battles/warsWorld War II
Eastern Front
AwardsEstonian Defence League White Cross 3rd Class
Latvian Aizsargi Cross of Merit
Iron Cross 2nd & 1st class
Infantry Assault Badge
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves
Close Combat Clasp
Eastern Front Medal

Alfons Vilhelm Robert Rebane, commonly known as Alfons Rebane (June 24, 1908 – March 8, 1976) was an Estonian military commander. He was the most highly decorated Estonian military officer in the course of the Second World War, participating in various German military units against the armed forces of the Soviet Union.[1] The 1999 reburial of Rebane at a national cemetery in Estonia and subsequent public commemmoration of Rebane's war service have been protested by the American Jewish Congress[2] and the Russian Jewish Congress.[3], and triggered protest against historical revisionism from the Russian Federation.[4]

Early life

Rebane was born in Valga in southern Estonia, then part of the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. In 1920 Rebane, son of a railway official, attended the Russian secondary school in Narva. From 1926 to 1929 he attended Tartu University and graduated from the Estonian War College with first class honours. He served as an infantry officer on the armoured train "Captain Irv" of the 1st Armored Train Regiment as a second lieutenant in 1929. Married in 1931 to Agnia Soomets, they had one daughter Tiiu who died soon afterwards. On Estonian Independence Day on February 24 1933, Rebane was promoted to first lieutenant. From 1935 to 1939 served as junior instructor in the Defence League Viljandi County Territorial Regiment, between 1939-1940 in the Lääne County Territorial Regiment. From January to June 1940 Rebane was the Commandant of Lihula.

World War II

See also: Soviet occupation of Estonia and Soviet deportations from Estonia

Rebane served as an officer in the Estonian Army until the Soviet troops occupied the country in 1940. The Soviets disbanded the Estonian Army and arrested and executed the entire Estonian high command. More junior officers, such as Rebane, were dismissed due to their lack of "political reliability" and were liable to be deported. For a while, Rebane worked on constructions, then fled into the forests when the Soviets began mass deportations in 1941. He established and led an anti-Soviet Forest Brothers unit in Virumaa (Northern Estonia) in May 1941.[5]

After Germany had taken control of Estonia, he joined the German Wehrmacht and went on to fight against the Soviets in Northwestern Russia, subsequently becoming the captain of the 184th Security Battalion, then Major of the 658th (Estonian) Ost Battalion. In February 1944 Major Rebane's unit was transferred to the Narva front and attached to the Wehrmacht's 26th Army Corp on March 2. On April 27, 1944, the unit was released from the Wehrmacht and Rebane was reluctantly drafted into the newly-formed 20th (Estonian) Division of the Waffen-SS, eventually becoming colonel of the 47th Waffen-Grenadier Regiment[1]. The Estonian division played a significant role in the Battle of Narva, holding back the Soviet re-occupation of Estonia until the Soviet Tallinn Offensive, September 1944 while suffering heavy casualties. Rebane's unit was then evacuated to Germany for refitting and saw more action on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945. Despite being encircled several times, Rebane was amongst a small group of Estonian soldiers who in the final days of the war evaded capture by the Soviets and managed to reach the western allies to surrender. Soldiers who fought in units under his command were often colloquially referred to as the "Fox cubs" (Rebane translates to "fox" in Estonian).

Decorations

Rebane became one of Estonia's most decorated soldiers. During his days in the Estonian Army, he was awarded the Defence League White Cross 3rd Class and the Latvian Aizsargi Cross of Merit. In the German army he was awarded the Iron Cross first and second class, the War Merit Cross with swords second class, the Eastern Front Medal, the silver Infantry Assault Badge and the silver Ostvolk Medal for bravery. Rebane was also decorated with the silver Close Combat Clasp, awarded for hand-to-hand fighting by unsupported infantry for a total of 30 days[6]. In February 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and in April 1945 he was promoted to Waffen-Standartenführer and awarded the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves[Notes 1] for extreme bravery in the battlefield. Rebane was one of the only two non-Germans awarded the oak leaves. Rebane did not receive the award or confirmation of the promotion until 1975. At the end of the war there were some rumours that Rebane had been awarded the Oak Leaves but no official notification reached Rebane at the time. The archives were moved to Great Britain and returned to Germany in 1975. At that time Rebane asked if the rumours held any truth and he was then formally notified that he had been in fact given the award and promoted by the then-Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz at the war's end.

Post War

In 1947 Rebane moved to England and joined the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). There he played a key role in assisting the armed resistance to Soviet rule in Estonia and other Baltic countries. He led the Estonian portion of MI6's Operation Jungle well into the 1950s.

In 1961 Rebane moved to Germany and stayed there until his death in Augsburg in 1976.

Legacy

According to Carlos Caballero Jurado, Nigel Thomas, and Darko Pavlović: Alfons Rebane was "the most decorated and probably the most talented and charismatic Baltic soldier during WWII".[8]

Controversies

While investigations in the West during the Nuremberg trials and during his subsequent work for the MI6 and his life in West Germany resulted in no charges ever being laid, Patrice Chairoff and Beate Klarsfeld.[9] allege Rebane was a war criminal.

Despite controversy, including protests against the Estonian government from the American Jewish Congress[2], Rebane's ashes were returned to Estonia and formally reburied with military honours at a national cemetery in 1999.[10] A tombstone to Rebane, unofficially erected in 2004 but unveiled before Pärnumaa District Parliamentarian and former Foreign Minister Trivimi Velliste, was protested by Russia's Chief Rabbi, Berl Lazar as well as the Russian Jewish Congress. [3] The Russian Federation's Permanent Mission to the United Nations described Rebane's World War II conduct as evidence for charges of historical revisionism in Estonia.[11]

According to the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves "We are witnesses to the information war against Estonia which already reminds of an ideological aggression".[12] According to the editor of Virumaa Teataja newspaper Rian Sikk: "Alfons Rebane was a good soldier according to our historians. He was never convicted of war crimes and [the allegations] are just a political game to try to show that Estonia has lots of fascists."[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Alfons Rebane's nomination was submitted to the Heeres Personalamt (Army Staff Office) on 12 April 1945. The German national archives only hold a copy of the nomination. There is no indication or remark that the nomination was processed. The nomination list for the higher grade of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves dates the nomination on 2 April 1945. This list also gives no indication that the nomination had been processed. The Order Commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed this case in 1974 and decided: 875th Oak Leaves on 8 May 1945. The sequential number "875" was assigned by the AKCR, the date was later changed by Fellgiebel to 9 May 1945. Rebane was member of the AKCR.[7]

References

Citations
  1. ^ a b Thomas 2002, p.8.
  2. ^ a b Cas, Mudde (December 23, 2004). "Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe". Routledge Studies in Extremism and Democracy. Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 978-0415355940. Retrieved June 22, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Cas Mudde - Extremism" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Osborn, Andrew (26 May 2004). "Estonia accused of anti-Semitism after memorial is erected to 'SS executioner'". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2009. Cite error: The named reference "Osborn" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Involvement of the Estonian SS Legion in War Crimes in 1941-1945 and the Attempts to Revise the Verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal in Estonia". Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  5. ^ Berezin, Karl & Aksel Saar. "Эстонский корсак" ("Estonian Fox"). Press Obozreniye. 31 January 2001. Retrieved 22 June 2009. Template:Ru icon
  6. ^ Windrow 1992, p. 38.
  7. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 165.
  8. ^ Jurado, Carlos Caballero (2002). Germany's Eastern Front allies (2): Baltic forces. Osprey Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 1841761931. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Chairoff, Patrice & Beate Klarsfeld. Dossier néonazisme. Paris: Ramsay, 1977. ISBN 2-85956-030-0. Template:Fr icon
  10. ^ Eschenazi, Gabriel. "Estonian Nazi Collaborator Buried with Honors in National Cemetery". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 27 June 1999. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Involvement of the Estonian SS Legion in War Crimes in 1941-1945 and the Attempts to Revise the Verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal in Estonia". Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  12. ^ Statement made by the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, 30.04.2007 Sinisalu, Arnold. "Propaganda, Information War and the Estonian-Russian Treaty Relations: Some Aspects of International Law". Juridica International. Retrieved 2009-04-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Bibliography
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939 - 1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Dr. Nigel (2002). Germany's Eastern Front Allies (2): Baltic Forces. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841761931.
  • Windrow, Martin (1992). The Waffen SS. Ospey Publishing. ISBN 0850454255.
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