Soviet and German occupations in Estonia

· The Soviet Union annexed Estonia in June 1940. In summer 1941, the Soviet regime carried out mass repressions in Estonia. In June 1941, over 10 000 people, mainly the elderly, women and children, were deported to Siberia. Democratic countries never recognised the Soviet occupation.

· Following the outbreak of war between the Soviet Union and Germany, the Soviet authorities gathered together up to 50 000 conscription-age Estonian men. While some managed to escape, approximately 32 000 were sent to labour camps in Russia where they were kept against their will until the end of 1942. Thousands died in the camps of hunger, hard labour and epidemics. In 1942, the Red Army 8^th Rifle Corps was formed consisting of men who had either been sent to the Soviet Union or already lived there.

· The Soviet occupation was followed by Estonia’s occupation by Germany in July 1941. German occupation lasted until 1944. It is estimated that during this period approximately 8 000 Estonian citizens or residents were killed. More than 20 000 Soviet prisoners of war and citizens of other European countries brought to Estonia were either killed or died in prison camps on Estonian soil.

· As early as June 1941, thousands of Estonians escaped to the Estonian forests to avoid deportation and later forced mobilisation. Thousands of men also fled to Finland where they joined the Finnish army. As during the Soviet occupation, however, some decided to co-operate with the German occupying forces.

· In August 1942 Hitler sanctioned the formation of an Estonian SS Legion. In violation of the international law of war, conscription for Estonians was introduced.

· In January 1944, the Red Army launched its Baltic offensive and began moving westward towards Estonia from Leningrad. At the end of January, the active mobilisation of Estonian men into the German Army began. On 7 February 1944, Estonia’s last Prime Minister Jüri Uluots called upon Estonians to comply with the mobilisation. Along with other Estonian politicians, Uluots saw fighting against the Red Army as a means of preventing the return of Soviet occupation and restoring Estonia’s independence once the war was over.

· By spring 1944, approximately 32 000 men were mobilised into the German army. Seven so-called Border Defence Regiments were formed as well as the 20th Estonian SS Division consisting of 15,000 men who were recruited for military action on the front lines. In August 1944, youths born in 1926 were conscripted and mostly placed in the Estonian SS division. 3 000 youths born in 1927 (16-17 year olds) were conscripted into the Air Force auxiliary service. In total, it is estimated that approximately 38 000 men were mobilised into the German army in 1944.

Battles on the Eastern Front

· On 2 February 1944, the Red Army crossed the Narva River and set up several bridgeheads in preparation for further attacks. On 11 February 1944, the Red Army began a major attack on Narva, which the German army succeeded in stopping. The Red Army’s new push on Narva began at the end of July. The Soviets captured Narva on 26 July 1944.

· Following the fall of Narva, the German army retreated to the so-called Tannenberg line, situated about 20 kilometres west of Narva in the small village of Sinimäe in North East Estonia. For almost three weeks, fierce battles were fought in the surrounding hills (‘Sinimäed’). Both sides suffered heavy losses. Many Estonians, who fought on both sides of the front, lost their lives. The Red Army was unsuccessful in breaking through German lines.

· In mid-August, the Red Army launched a new offensive in South East Estonia and captured the towns of Võru and Tartu. The Red Army was temporarily held back by German forces on the River Emajõgi. In September, however, the Soviet leadership sent fresh forces to the front, including the 8th Estonian Rifle Division. Hitler ordered the evacuation of Estonia on 16 September 1944. On the next day, 17 September 1944, the Red Army began a fresh offensive. From 17 until 22 September 1944 Estonian units serving in the two different armies came face to face in a number of clashes. Hundreds of men died.

Attempt to restore Estonia’s independence

· On 23 March 1944, an Estonia-wide coordinative body - the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia - was formed. Numerous political groups lent their support to the National Committee including both government-minded representatives as well as members of the opposition who had been active in Estonian politics in the second half of the 1930s and had escaped Soviet and German repression. The Committee’s aim was the restoration of Estonia’s independence on the basis of legal continuity and the Atlantic Charter that provided restoration of independence of those states that lost it during the Second World War.

· On 1 August 1944, the National Committee pronounced itself Estonia’s highest authority. On 18 September 1944, acting President Jüri Uluots (who was equally Estonia’s last Prime Minister prior to the Soviet annexation) appointed a new government led by Otto Tief. The aim was to make use of a brief window of opportunity, which presented itself amidst a situation of general disorder as the German’s were departing from Estonia and the Red Army arriving.

· The government published out the first “Riigi Teataja” (State Gazette) and declared, in English, its neutrality in the war over the radio. As German forces were evacuating from Tallinn, the national flag was raised in Pikk Hermann Tower.

· The government left Tallinn prior to the Red Army’s arrival. Most cabinet members were later arrested by the Soviet authorities and sent to labour camps in Siberia. Jüri Uluots managed to escape to Sweden where he died shortly after.

Restoration of the Soviet occupation

· On 22 September 1944, units of the Red Army captured Tallinn. The Soviet flag was raised in Pikk Hermann Tower as a symbol of the new occupation. Fatal battles raged on the islands off the west coast of Estonia until the end of November. The southern tip of the island of Saaremaa fell on 24 November 1944 completing the Soviet Union’s occupation of Estonia.

· The Soviet administrative authority arrived in Tallinn on 25 September 1944. Its main aim was abolishing Estonian statehood, including its national elites. In 1944-1953, tens of thousands of Estonians were either sent to labour camps or deported.

· Approximately 70 000 Estonians were forced to flee their homeland. Tens of thousands went to Sweden while the rest fled to Germany together with the retreating German forces, where they were placed in refugee camps. Thousands of people perished during the sea voyage. Few returned to Estonia in the 1990’s

· Despite the Soviet occupation of Estonia, democratic countries continued to recognise the Republic of Estonia and its foreign representations in the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1991, Estonia’s independence was restored and many countries including the United States, Canada and European Union member states re-established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Estonia. 1991 marked the end of the Second World War for Estonia. The last occupation troops were withdrawn from Estonia on 31 August 1994.

Soviet and German occupations in Estonia

· The Soviet Union annexed Estonia in June 1940. In summer 1941, the Soviet regime carried out mass repressions in Estonia. In June 1941, over 10 000 people, mainly the elderly, women and children, were deported to Siberia. Democratic countries never recognised the Soviet occupation.

Battles on the Eastern Front

Attempt to restore Estonia’s independence

Restoration of the Soviet occupation

Estonian losses in the Second World War

Max Jakobson: The past, a burden on our shoulders http://www.vm.ee/estonia/kat_399/pea_172/4510.html