Estonian anti-German resistance movement 1941-1944
Encyclopedia
Estonian resistance movement (Estonian
Eesti vastupanuliikumine) was an underground
movement
to resist
the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany
, 1941–1944 during World War II
. Due to the unusually benign measures implemented in Estonia
by the German occupation
authorities, especially in contrast to the preceding harsh Soviet occupation of Estonia
(1940–1941), the movement was slower to develop effective tactics on a wide scale than in other occupied countries.
While there was a general mood of gratitude towards Germany as the liberator of Estonia from Soviet occupation, this reservoir of goodwill dissipated within the first months of the war and was transformed into a mood ranging from resigned indifference to active hostility. Professor Uluots request to the German occupation authorities for the establishment of an independent Estonian Government was rejected and Hitler subsequently appointed Alfred Rosenberg
as Reichkommissar. After it became clear Germans were against the restoration of independence of the Estonian state, this negative relationship between the new occupiers and the occupied was sealed. Public resentment began to grow against Germany from 1942 with the imposition of conscription for men into the police battalions, the introduction of the labour draft and the reduction of food rations, while the Estonian Self-Administration
was held in contempt for attempting to enforce this conscription. Hjalmar Mäe
, the head of the Self-Administration, became quickly unpopular for his criticism of President Konstantin Päts
. He had been prisoned by Päts regime in 1935 for taking part of an alleged coup. Germans offered his position several times to Jüri Uluots
, who refused.
The Estonian people regarded German occupation with greater bitterness than the previous 1917–1918 German occupation and were repelled by the implementation of the German race laws and the insouciant exploitation of the country's natural resouces. One Dutch Nazi visiting Estonia in June 1942 commented upon the "chauvinist national consciousness" of the Estonian people and no genuine Germanophile could be found.
Initially a number of underground organisations existed such as the Free Estonia Front (Vaba Eesti Võitlusrinne, VEVR) which was established in August, 1942 and headed by Juhan Reigo and Endel Inglist. The VEVR published an anti-Nazi newspaper Vaba Eesti (Free Estonia), issuing 14 editions. Another underground newspaper titled Võitlev Eestlane (Fighting Estonian) was published by a group within the editorial staff of the newspaper Postimees
. In the autumn of 1941, the pre-cursor to the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia was founded by Heinrich Mark
, Ants Oras
and Jaan Ots. The organisation was headed by Ernst Kull in 1943 and it was through his efforts that the various groups were merged into a unified opposition to Nazi rule.
In June 1942 political leaders of Estonia who had survived Soviet repressions held a hidden meeting 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. It was decided that, in order to preserve the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia, the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, must continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister.
The movement subsequently formed the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia
in March 1944. The original initiative to form the committee came from the Estonian pre-war opposition parties but it was quickly joined by Jüri Uluots
, the last constitutional pre-war Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia and his supporters. The Committee aimed to establish a provisional government during expected German withdrawal as the Red Army had reached the border of Estonia on 2 February 1944. By April 1944 a large number of the committee members were arrested by the German security agencies. While some 200 people were arrested, the leaders of the resistance movement escaped arrest however their activities were severely curtailed until mid June. 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 the responsibilities of the President. On 21 June 1944 Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief
as deputy prime minister. On 18 September 1944 Uluots, suffering from cancer, named Otto Tief the Acting Prime Minister and appointed a Government which consisted of 11 members. Tief assumed office in accordance with the constitution and took the opportunity with the departure of the Germans to declare the legitimate Estonian government restored. The Estonian national government was proclaimed in Estonia, the Estonian military units seized the government buildings in Toompea
and ordered the German forces to leave. The flag of Germany was replaced with the Estonian tricolour
in the Pikk Hermann
, the flag tower of the seat of the Government. Tief’s government failed to keep control, attempting to organise the defence of the capital city against the advancing Red Army making use of the men who had fought in the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200
and a military unit organised by Johan Pitka
, the Germans overran the headquarters of Admiral Pitka in Tallinn and he was subsequently killed in the ensuing battle. Most of the members and officials were caught, jailed, deported, or executed by the advancing Soviets.
ranging from producing illegal publications, to espionage
, to violent sabotage
. They included Rein Alasoo, Evald Laasi, Georgi Loik, Aleksander Looring, as well as others.
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
Eesti vastupanuliikumine) was an underground
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
movement
Political movement
A political movement is a social movement in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group...
to resist
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany
Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany
After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Army Group North reached Estonia in July.Initially the Germans were perceived by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its repressions, having arrived only a week after the first mass deportations from the Baltics...
, 1941–1944 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Due to the unusually benign measures implemented in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
by the German occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
authorities, especially in contrast to the preceding harsh Soviet occupation of Estonia
Occupation of Baltic Republics
The occupation of the Baltic states refers to the military occupation of the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union under the auspices of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 14 June 1940 followed by their incorporation into the USSR as constituent republics, unrecognised...
(1940–1941), the movement was slower to develop effective tactics on a wide scale than in other occupied countries.
Background
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
as Reichkommissar. After it became clear Germans were against the restoration of independence of the Estonian state, this negative relationship between the new occupiers and the occupied was sealed. Public resentment began to grow against Germany from 1942 with the imposition of conscription for men into the police battalions, the introduction of the labour draft and the reduction of food rations, while the Estonian Self-Administration
Estonian Self-Administration
Estonian Self-Administration , also known as the Directorate, was the puppet government set up in Estonia during occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany...
was held in contempt for attempting to enforce this conscription. Hjalmar Mäe
Hjalmar Mäe
Hjalmar-Johannes Mäe was an Estonian politician....
, the head of the Self-Administration, became quickly unpopular for his criticism of President Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts
Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1 was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics...
. He had been prisoned by Päts regime in 1935 for taking part of an alleged coup. Germans offered his position several times to Jüri Uluots
Jüri Uluots
Jüri Uluots was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu....
, who refused.
The Estonian people regarded German occupation with greater bitterness than the previous 1917–1918 German occupation and were repelled by the implementation of the German race laws and the insouciant exploitation of the country's natural resouces. One Dutch Nazi visiting Estonia in June 1942 commented upon the "chauvinist national consciousness" of the Estonian people and no genuine Germanophile could be found.
Pro-independence resistance
An underground resistance movement, whose members looked to the western Allies for support, developed that reflected the political divisions that existed before 1940, ranging from Päts loyalists to the opposition groups such as the National Centre and Socialist Workers parties. The resistance, which was expressed through a campaign of non-compliance co-ordinated by the underground movement and a clandestine press, was favoured by the geographical proximity to Sweden and Finland where the organised political resistance in Tartu and Tallinn were able to maintain contact with London and Stockholm via the Estonian Envoy to Finland and a fortnightly fast motorboat connection between Tallinn and Stockholm.Initially a number of underground organisations existed such as the Free Estonia Front (Vaba Eesti Võitlusrinne, VEVR) which was established in August, 1942 and headed by Juhan Reigo and Endel Inglist. The VEVR published an anti-Nazi newspaper Vaba Eesti (Free Estonia), issuing 14 editions. Another underground newspaper titled Võitlev Eestlane (Fighting Estonian) was published by a group within the editorial staff of the newspaper Postimees
Postimees
Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper. It was established in 1 January 1857 by Johann Voldemar Jannsen and became Estonia's first daily newspaper in 1891....
. In the autumn of 1941, the pre-cursor to the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia was founded by Heinrich Mark
Heinrich Mark
Heinrich Mark was born on October 1, 1911, in Krootuse, Kõlleste Parish, now in Põlva County, Estonia. He died on August 2, 2004, in Stockholm, Sweden....
, Ants Oras
Ants Oras
Ants Oras was an Estonian translator and writer.Oras studied at Tartu University, graduating with a Master of Philosophy degree in 1923. He also obtained a Bachelor of Literature degree from Oxford University.From 1928 through 1934, he was a lecturer at both Tartu and Helsinki University...
and Jaan Ots. The organisation was headed by Ernst Kull in 1943 and it was through his efforts that the various groups were merged into a unified opposition to Nazi rule.
In June 1942 political leaders of Estonia who had survived Soviet repressions held a hidden meeting 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. It was decided that, in order to preserve the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia, the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, must continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister.
The movement subsequently formed the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia
National Committee of the Republic of Estonia
The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia was formed by the underground resistance movements in German-occupied Estonia in March 1944. By April 1944 a large number of the committee members were arrested by the German security agencies....
in March 1944. The original initiative to form the committee came from the Estonian pre-war opposition parties but it was quickly joined by Jüri Uluots
Jüri Uluots
Jüri Uluots was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu....
, the last constitutional pre-war Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia and his supporters. The Committee aimed to establish a provisional government during expected German withdrawal as the Red Army had reached the border of Estonia on 2 February 1944. By April 1944 a large number of the committee members were arrested by the German security agencies. While some 200 people were arrested, the leaders of the resistance movement escaped arrest however their activities were severely curtailed until mid June. 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 the responsibilities of the President. On 21 June 1944 Jüri Uluots appointed Otto Tief
Otto Tief
Otto Tief was a lawyer, an Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence and a politician. He was Acting Prime Minister of the last government of Estonia before Soviet troops occupied Estonia in 1944...
as deputy prime minister. On 18 September 1944 Uluots, suffering from cancer, named Otto Tief the Acting Prime Minister and appointed a Government which consisted of 11 members. Tief assumed office in accordance with the constitution and took the opportunity with the departure of the Germans to declare the legitimate Estonian government restored. The Estonian national government was proclaimed in Estonia, the Estonian military units seized the government buildings in Toompea
Toompea
Toompea is a limestone hill in the central part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The hill is an oblong tableland, which measures about 400 by 250 metres, has an area of and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas...
and ordered the German forces to leave. The flag of Germany was replaced with the Estonian tricolour
Flag of Estonia
The national flag of Estonia is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue , black, and white. The normal size is 105 × 165 cm...
in the Pikk Hermann
Pikk Hermann
Pikk Hermann is a tower of the Toompea Castle, on Toompea hill in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The first part was built 1360-70. It was rebuilt in the 16th century...
, the flag tower of the seat of the Government. Tief’s government failed to keep control, attempting to organise the defence of the capital city against the advancing Red Army making use of the men who had fought in the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200
Finnish Infantry Regiment 200
Infantry Regiment 200 or Soomepoisid was a unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight against the Soviet Union in the ranks of the Finnish army instead of the armed forces of Germany....
and a military unit organised by Johan Pitka
Johan Pitka
Johan Pitka, VR I/1, KCMG was a famous Estonian military commander from the Estonian War of Independence until World War II.-Early life:...
, the Germans overran the headquarters of Admiral Pitka in Tallinn and he was subsequently killed in the ensuing battle. Most of the members and officials were caught, jailed, deported, or executed by the advancing Soviets.
Pro-Soviet resistance
A small number of Estonians were involved in underground resistance during World War IIResistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
ranging from producing illegal publications, to espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, to violent sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
. They included Rein Alasoo, Evald Laasi, Georgi Loik, Aleksander Looring, as well as others.
See also
- Anti-fascismAnti-fascismAnti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
- :Category:Military history of Estonia during World War II
- Occupation of Estonia by Nazi GermanyOccupation of Estonia by Nazi GermanyAfter Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Army Group North reached Estonia in July.Initially the Germans were perceived by most Estonians as liberators from the USSR and its repressions, having arrived only a week after the first mass deportations from the Baltics...
- Resistance during World War IIResistance during World War IIResistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...