Soviets used the word in cursing those who fought in German uniform during WWII. Russian officials and media today use it for those who disagree with their version of history – i.e. “fascist revisionism”. The refugees who escaped Estonia in advance of the Red Army in the fall of 1944 were designated as "emigrating fascists" by Moscow. It was used often to label young Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians fulfilling mandatory service requirements in the Soviet forces during the years of occupation.
“Fascist” is meant as a profanity covering more than collaboration with the Nazis. But in this context it is probably not in reference to a political party formed in Estonia during the 1930’s, which some historians depict as having fascist tendencies.
"Fascist-communists" for Estonians were the oppressive Soviets occupying the Baltic states. Although seemingly a contradiction in terms, Estonians see its legitimacy in depicting a totalitarian mind-set.
Moscow to this day uses it for those who disagree with the their interpretation of history, i.e. those Estonians for whom the Red Army were invaders, not liberators, at the end of the German occupation in 1944. The world accepts that victors place themselves on a moral higher plane than the vanquished. Therefore the monotonously repetitive use of “fascist” becomes justified in spite of being incongruous. For Moscow, fascists are those that remind us of bare-faced distortions of history, Russian style. It's necessary to put the expletive "fascist" in historical perspective, Estonian style.
If “fascist” is meant as a profanity referring to collaboration with the Nazis, then the Soviet Union’s cozy relationship with Hitler serves as a prime example. In 1940 hundreds of thousands of Red Army troops crossed the frontiers and took over the Baltic States. It was done in collusion with the USSR's fascist partner Hitler, through the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (often called the Hitler-Stalin Pact) signed between Communist Russia and Nazi Germany in 1939. Russia has yet to officially repudiate the secret protocols of the Pact. It hasn’t accepted culpability for unprovoked invasions of the Baltic states, Finland and Poland, with the direct blessing of Nazi Germany.
Through the highly congenial alliance Stalin provided Hitler with millions of Russian commodities, vital for the Nazi war effort. Thousands of tons of grain went to the Soviets’ collaborators while Russians were starving. Collaboration extended extended to military co-operation. The German navy was allowed facilities at Murmansk which proved valuable as a base for U-boats operating in the North Sea. Historians have noted that Stalin had respect for the Nazis because they were revolutionary, totalitarian and Hitler was ruthless.
This reprehensible accord continued to have significant impact on a divided Europe for over 50 years. The communists’ deal with fascists, guaranteed Hitler a safe eastern front. The lingering effect of the pact was the Soviet Union’s seizure of vast areas during WWII, the continued occupation of the Baltic states up to the 1990’s and Moscow’s harsh domination of Eastern Europe. Yet this fateful and far-reaching conspiracy is treated by the West as a regrettable historical footnote.
Already in October of 1939, when Moscow and Berlin were allies, the NKVD issued order no. 001223 (strictly secret), entitled: Regarding the procedure for carrying out the deportation of anti-Soviet Elements from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It details the forced entry of designated homes and the assembling of families in single rooms. Locked doors were to be smashed in and protesting neighbours dispersed. Transported in carts or trucks to the nearest railway station, the prisoners' departure was to be rigorously guarded by NKVD troops. At the station the head of each family was to be skillfully separated from his wife and children, and loaded into a separate truck.
This order was prepared in advance. When confronted with these facts, Soviets deflect it as strategic necessity. Estonia had not yet been invaded and annexed by the USSR. Therefore at the very outset the NKVD order set the stage for the brutality with which the Soviets treated occupied Estonia in 1940-1940. The country was in devastation.
As a German occupation displaced the Soviets in Estonia during the summer of 1941, Estonia attempted to regain sovereignty by trying to forge its own civilian and military structures. The Germans did not allow this.
Occupied Estonia was ruled via a German administration called Ostland, headquartered in Riga and headed by a German. An underling to this was the local Generalkommisaar , a German and the "Omavalitsus", run by a Baltic-German resettler, who had returned to Estonia in the wake of the Wehrmacht. Functionaries of this "Omavalitsus" were appointed directly by the Wehrmacht's Army Group "Nord" rear-area command.
Although some of the civilian functions of a community, like schools, were handled by Estonians, all societal controls, work norms, requisitions supporting the war effort were set by Germans to whom all Estonians were subordinate. The new occupiers also disbanded Estonian partisan units and "Omakaitse" which had fought against the Red Army. German was the official language of occupation.
In routine matters Estonian courts tried Estonians. Political cases, came under German courts, if there was a trial. To call the "Omavalitsus" a puppet regime would be giving it excessive credit, implying too much authority in retrospect. German occupied Estonia was certainly not run by Estonians.
(to be continued.)
Estonians ask: who's a fascist? (22)
Archived Articles | 12 Nov 2004 | EWR
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Kommentaarid on kirjutatud EWR lugejate poolt. Nende sisu ei pruugi ühtida EWR toimetuse seisukohtadega.
"...it was an epithet for conscripts from the Baltics" would be better still because some teenaged readers might be unaware that "fascist" has a pejorative connotation among most.
Paistab umbes samma kui minu kirjad suguastele saaremaale ja ka mandrile. Esiteks utlesin mendele et kirjatage pikkalikult sest mina loen eesti keelt pikkalikult.:)
Kurat võtaks! Anne mulle juba sõna vabadust!
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