The year 1944 was fateful for the Estonians and the Republic of Estonia. Occupied first by the Russians four years earlier, then occupied by the Germans in 1941, in the chaos of World War II a desperate and heroic effort was made in 1944 to save what could be saved of Estonia’s independence. The following article by Priit Aruvald follows the events of that crucial year in Estonia’s history.
RESISTANCE
No organized resistance movement in Estonia had existed until the second half of 1943 when it became increasingly apparent that the Germans were sooner or later going to abandon Estonia and it was felt necessary to form an underground government. No initiative for regaining independence originated from the Self Government which either knew from experience that there was no chance of success or was more docile and more pro-German than their counterparts in Latvia and Lithuania or was simply submissive even though in March of 1943 Director for Internal Affairs in the Self Government Oskar Angelus had recommended a declaration of independence to facilitate mobilization and in February 1944 even Dr. Mäe had started to ask for sovereignty.
In the fall of 1943, seeing that the fall mobilization was not going well, the Reich’s foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop ordered Commissar General Litzmann to propose to Prof. Uluots the formation of an Estonian Committee which would make an appeal in favour of the mobilization in return for certain increased powers in the local administration. Prof. Uluots replied that he could not make such a decision on his own but would have to consult with various leading Estonian personalities. The meeting took place from October 21 to 23, 1943 and decided to reply negatively as concerned the formation of a national committee and supporting the mobilization. But at the same time the meeting declared that in the interests of fighting communism as far as it concerned the Estonians it was necessary for the Estonians to organise themselves on a constitutional basis, in effect, re-establish Estonian independence. The reply, together with a lengthy explanation why the Estonian national leaders had come to such a decision was presented to the Commissar General personally by Professor Uluots and E. Kant. The Commissar angrily threw the document into the wastepaper basket saying he would not forward such a reply to Berlin.
Seeing that there was no point in attempting to re establish Estonian independence with German cooperation, after a number of meetings the resistance movement, which consisted of the leading Estonian personalities who had survived the Russian occupation four years earlier, had organized itself by the end of March 1944 under the name of the Estonian National Committee, using as its basis the Estonian constitution of 1938 and inviting representatives of all political parties that had existed prior to 1934, when president Konstantin Päts, having declared a state of emergency, had banned all political parties. Besides representatives from the Agrarian Party, the Smallholders Party, the National Centre Party and the Social Democrats, there were two representatives each from the resistance groups from Tallinn and Tartu with Professor Karl Liidak as chair of the twelve man body. The Committee as a first order of business established relations with the last prime minister of Estonia Professor Jüri Uluots and with Estonian diplomatic representatives abroad.
The activities of the Committee naturally aroused the suspicions of both the invading Russians and the occupying Germans. Neither, as occupiers or occupiers-to-be, had any interest in seeing the Estonians forming any kind of national representation, especially one that was seeking contact with the West. As a result, the German security police carried out mass arrests primarily targeting the intelligentsia in Tallinn and Tartu beginning April 20, 1944, coinciding curiously with Hitler’s birthday, halting the activities of the Committee for a few months.
There were also, however, charges of espionage. A briefcase was found in Tallinn on Pärnu Road containing documents of military value to the Soviets including composition and placement of army units, movement of supply trains, lists of names of officers and so forth. It was never determined who may have been responsible for this but it gave the Germans the opportunity to remark to the Estonians: “Look, here is your nationalism! Your nationalists are spying for the benefit of communism.” This was cause for a great deal of bitterness on the front as soldiers heard of friends and acquaintances being arrested. But as most of those arrested were soon released, calm returned. H. Riipalu, however, writes: “A wedge had been driven into our already weak mutual understanding (with the Germans) and this was of benefit to no one except the Soviet Union. That our border guard regiments were so poorly armed and equipped can be largely blamed on this incident.” And Oskar Angelus writes:
“It appeared that he (Litzmann) agreed with me: if the Russians had obtained everything they needed and had hoped for, then their espionage ring had become redundant and they themselves gave it away to the Germans, thus the ‘forgetting’ of a briefcase on the Pärnu Road. This promised to give them an additional trump: creating mistrust and hatred between the Estonians and the Germans.”
Angelus also states that resistance to the occupying authorities at that time would have brought benefit only to the Bolsheviks. English radio broadcasts, Angelus notes, continually called up people to resist the Germans but this was only in the interests of the English not the Estonians. The latter were not a priority of the West. This was, according to Angelus, demonstrated by the fact that Western politicians had not managed to secure the release of a single Estonian from the forced labour camps in Siberia or elsewhere where they had been sent by their Soviet allies. For this reason alone, to avoid the same fate, Estonians fought against the Bolsheviks and did so at the time by the only means available - together with the Germans. “The Western Allies demanded, when examined more closely, nothing more or less, than that the Estonians help the Bolsheviks back into power. This would have given the latter the opportunity to shoot, hang and deport Estonians all the more quickly.” By the end of July the Committee had reorganized itself under the primary leadership of Otto Tief who replaced Liidak. Also in April of 1944 Prof. Uluots, as the last prime minister of the Republic of Estonia, called together the Electoral College on the basis of paragraph 46 of the Estonian Constitution and on April 20 by unanimous decision Uluots was designated as the acting president of the Republic of Estonia, in which capacity he had the authority to install a new government, a card the National Committee hoped they might have a chance to play in the interval between the German retreat and the arrival of the Soviets. Hesitant about officially declaring itself as the legitimate government of Estonia, the Committee nevertheless managed to issue a manifesto in July which declared the political aims and policies of the Committee and which gained wide attention abroad and two public directives in August, which were distributed as pamphlets and posters. Directive number 1 read as follows:
“The Estonian National Committee, as bearer of the supreme power of the state until such time as constitutional organs once more function in the REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA, hereby makes known that it has proceeded to direct and organize the Estonian people’s fight for its existence- the fight for the independence of our country and the protection of our citizens’ right and freedoms.
For the success of this fight the National Committee gives the following directives:
1. The Communist horde has forced its way into our homeland, seriously endangering not only our people as a whole, but each one of our people individually. A sovereign nation defends itself no matter how difficult the battle. The fate of Estonia will be conclusively decided at a peace conference, but we will not be taken sufficiently into account if we ourselves, with weapons in our hands, have not fought on behalf of our fate. The Estonian soldier on the front is on the right road. We follow his fight with pride, he is a worthy descendant of those who have fought for Estonia through all time. But we cannot leave the soldier fighting on the front by himself. His fight must be continued. On this basis we issue a categorical order: everyone who is called to arms, step up without hesitation to fulfill your duty along with every fighter because now has begun the fight for Estonia’s existence and independence. There is no place for deserters. Forest Brothers as well, who have so far stayed away from the fight as the political aim of the fight was unclear, they too must join the fight as soon as the occupation authorities assure us that there will be no recriminations for staying away from the fight so far.
2. The enemy is advancing with the intention of destroying us. They may use pretty words in their propaganda, shamelessly presenting the bolsheviks as nationalists, talking of our sacred flag, singing national songs, even our anthem. This propaganda finds no response amongst the Estonian people, too fresh are the memories to us all of the acts of the murderers. Let there be no one gullible enough amongst us, to let themselves be provoked into unthinking acts or violent acts etc. as long as the occupation forces are fighting together with us against a common enemy.
3. The present war has sharply brought to the fore various world views being imposed on us by use of force and intrusive propaganda. We Estonians are strangers to communism as well as to national socialism. The National Committee is directed in its actions solely by the interests of Estonia and its people. Let this be the guiding principle of every Estonian in his actions and in his fight.
4. Estonians working in the service of the occupying forces, officials in the directorates and other institutions, remember that you are citizens of the REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA. Your duty is to act in every way in the interests of the REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA. Do not assist the occupying authorities in persecuting nationalists, National Committee workers and the families of those who have emigrated. Know that these are the best sons and daughters of our people, who are fighting for the greatest hope of the Estonian people - for ESTONIAN INDEPENDENCE, against the bloody terror of the bolsheviks and the violence of Nazism.
5. A foreign occupying force presently rules our land. The ESTONIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE is forced to operate underground. For this reason, fellow citizens, distribute the National Committee’s proclamations and directives so that they be made known to the general populace. August 1, 1944. Estonian National Committee
In the second directive, amongst other things, advice was given what to do before, during and after the arrival of the Red Army. It included the following: “Those who are unable to evacuate, hide yourself from the bolsheviks. Organize forest brother troops behind the bolsheviks’ backs and establish contact with the Estonian Self Defence groups and armed forces.” (To be continued)
ESTONIA 1944 (3)
Archived Articles | 27 Aug 2002 | EWR
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