Monument of Lihula
Encyclopedia
Monument of Lihula is the colloquial name of a monument commemorating the Estonians
who fought for Estonia
against the Soviet Union
in World War II
, located in Lagedi
near Tallinn
, the capital of Estonia.
The monument has moved twice before ending up in the current location. It was originally unveiled in Pärnu
on 2002, but taken down only nine days after prime minister Siim Kallas
had condemned the statue. The statue was then located in Lihula
in 2004, finally being unveiled in Lagedi on October 15, 2005.
The monument depicts a soldier in a military uniform, with World War II
German helmet, Estonian flag on the wrist and the Cross of Liberty on the collar. There are no Nazi symbols on the monument. It consists of a bronze bas-relief and a dedication tablet mounted on a vertical granite
slab. The tablet reads: To Estonian men who fought in 1940-1945 against Bolshevism and for the restoration of Estonian independence.
, the Wehrmacht
and particularly the Waffen SS, a number of organisations condemned it; most notably the Simon Wiesenthal Center
issued an official protest claiming that the monument glorifies "those who were willing to sacrifice their lives to help achieve the victory of Nazi Germany". Most supporters of the monument, however, have clearly distanced themselves from the Nazi ideology. Ilmar Haaviste, head of the Association of Estonian Veterans, who fought on the German side, says he does not regret taking the German uniform, because there was a "naive" hope that somehow an independent Estonia could be salvaged. He thinks wearing a German uniform does not make you a fascist and that both regimes, Nazi and Soviet were equally evil - there was no difference between the two except that Stalin was more cunning. Tiit Madisson, the governor of the Lihula parish, said at the opening ceremony that Estonians' serving in German army chose the lesser evil. The monument caused concern among some Jewish officials and organisations, including the Chief Rabbi of Estonia and Russia’s Jewish Communities Federation.
, in declaring the SS a criminal organisation, explicitly excluded conscripts in the following terms:
On April 13, 1950, a message from the U.S. High Commission in Germany (HICOG), signed by John J. McCloy
to the Secretary of State, clarified the US position on the "Baltic Legions": they were not to be seen as "movements", "volunteer", or "SS". In short, they were not given the training, indoctrination, and induction normally given to SS members. Subsequently the US Displaced Persons Commission in September 1950 declared that:
, who labeled the Lihula Monument a "provocation".
A number of rumours were circulated about the soldier depicted on the monument wearing Nazi
symbolism, and thus constituting an attempt to glorify Nazism. As no such symbolism is on the bas-relief, sometimes the rumours have taken the form that these symbols were removed between the first and current installment. A semiotic analysis by professor Peeter Torop
of University of Tartu
, ordered by Lihula police department after the first installment concluded that no Nazi or SS symbolics whatsoever appear in the bas-relief. He pointed out the monument's slightly impolite composition but found no basis for the hypothesis that the installment of the monument would constitute an incitement of social hatred. (Under Estonian law, such incitement is a crime
punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.) In any case, short of recasting, it would be very hard to modify a bronze-cast statue.
The crane
which arrived to remove the monument from Lihula could not enter the cemetery because of a crowd of protesting people. The Riot Police were called in, but as they arrived, locals started to throw stones at them and at the driver of the crane. After a fight between the crowd and the police, the people were driven back using teargas, and some policemen were treated for minor wounds in a hospital.
After the removal of the monument it was subsequently placed on October 15, 2005 on grounds of the privately owned Museum of Fight for Estonia's Freedom
in Lagedi
near Tallinn
. The monument has not been moved again.
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
who fought for 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...
against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 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...
, located in Lagedi
Lagedi
Lagedi is a small borough in Rae Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. It has a population of 847 .-External links:*...
near Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, the capital of Estonia.
The monument has moved twice before ending up in the current location. It was originally unveiled in Pärnu
Pärnu
Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
on 2002, but taken down only nine days after prime minister Siim Kallas
Siim Kallas
Siim Kallas is an Estonian politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Transport. He is also one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member Barroso Commission...
had condemned the statue. The statue was then located in Lihula
Lihula
Lihula is a town in Estonia with population of 1,614 . It is a centre of a rural municipality in Lääne County.The castle of Leal was first mentioned in 1211. It was the centre of Diocese Saare-Lääne...
in 2004, finally being unveiled in Lagedi on October 15, 2005.
The monument depicts a soldier in a military uniform, with 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...
German helmet, Estonian flag on the wrist and the Cross of Liberty on the collar. There are no Nazi symbols on the monument. It consists of a bronze bas-relief and a dedication tablet mounted on a vertical granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
slab. The tablet reads: To Estonian men who fought in 1940-1945 against Bolshevism and for the restoration of Estonian independence.
Controversy
As the dedication included those who served in the Finnish ArmyFinnish 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....
, the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and particularly the Waffen SS, a number of organisations condemned it; most notably the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
issued an official protest claiming that the monument glorifies "those who were willing to sacrifice their lives to help achieve the victory of Nazi Germany". Most supporters of the monument, however, have clearly distanced themselves from the Nazi ideology. Ilmar Haaviste, head of the Association of Estonian Veterans, who fought on the German side, says he does not regret taking the German uniform, because there was a "naive" hope that somehow an independent Estonia could be salvaged. He thinks wearing a German uniform does not make you a fascist and that both regimes, Nazi and Soviet were equally evil - there was no difference between the two except that Stalin was more cunning. Tiit Madisson, the governor of the Lihula parish, said at the opening ceremony that Estonians' serving in German army chose the lesser evil. The monument caused concern among some Jewish officials and organisations, including the Chief Rabbi of Estonia and Russia’s Jewish Communities Federation.
Status of the Baltic Legions
Some Estonians joined these formations voluntarily, the majority were conscripted by Germans. The Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
, in declaring the SS a criminal organisation, explicitly excluded conscripts in the following terms:
- Tribunal declares to be criminal within the meaning of the Charter the group composed of those persons who had been officially accepted as members of the SS as enumerated in the preceding paragraph who became or remained members of the organisation with knowledge that it was being used for the commission of acts declared criminal by Article 6 of the Charter or who were personally implicated as members of the organisation in the commission of such crimes, excluding, however, those who were drafted into membership by the State in such a way as to give them no choice in the matter, and who had committed no such crimes.
On April 13, 1950, a message from the U.S. High Commission in Germany (HICOG), signed by John J. McCloy
John J. McCloy
John Jay McCloy was a lawyer and banker who served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, president of the World Bank and U.S. High Commissioner for Germany...
to the Secretary of State, clarified the US position on the "Baltic Legions": they were not to be seen as "movements", "volunteer", or "SS". In short, they were not given the training, indoctrination, and induction normally given to SS members. Subsequently the US Displaced Persons Commission in September 1950 declared that:
- The Baltic Waffen SS Units (Baltic Legions) are to be considered as separate and distinct in purpose, ideology, activities, and qualifications for membership from the German SS, and therefore the Commission holds them not to be a movement hostile to the Government of the United States.
Concerns about Nazi glorification
The monument has been regarded as controversial, including by former Prime Minister Juhan PartsJuhan Parts
Juhan Parts is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2003 to 2005. He was chairman of the Res Publica Party for a time. Since 5 April 2007 he is the Minister of Economy and Communication in Andrus Ansip's second government...
, who labeled the Lihula Monument a "provocation".
A number of rumours were circulated about the soldier depicted on the monument wearing Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
symbolism, and thus constituting an attempt to glorify Nazism. As no such symbolism is on the bas-relief, sometimes the rumours have taken the form that these symbols were removed between the first and current installment. A semiotic analysis by professor Peeter Torop
Peeter Torop
Peeter Torop is an Estonian semiotician. Following Roman Jakobson, he expanded the scope of the semiotic study of translation to include intratextual, intertextual, and extratextual translation and stressing the productivity of the notion of translation in general semiotics...
of University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
, ordered by Lihula police department after the first installment concluded that no Nazi or SS symbolics whatsoever appear in the bas-relief. He pointed out the monument's slightly impolite composition but found no basis for the hypothesis that the installment of the monument would constitute an incitement of social hatred. (Under Estonian law, such incitement is a crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.) In any case, short of recasting, it would be very hard to modify a bronze-cast statue.
Moving the monument
In 2004, shortly after it was opened, Estonian Government, possibly due to pressure from the EU and the USA as well as other international organisations, opposed the unveiling of the monument, and ultimately ordered it to be removed.The crane
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
which arrived to remove the monument from Lihula could not enter the cemetery because of a crowd of protesting people. The Riot Police were called in, but as they arrived, locals started to throw stones at them and at the driver of the crane. After a fight between the crowd and the police, the people were driven back using teargas, and some policemen were treated for minor wounds in a hospital.
After the removal of the monument it was subsequently placed on October 15, 2005 on grounds of the privately owned Museum of Fight for Estonia's Freedom
Museum of Fight for Estonia's Freedom
The Museum of Fight for Estonia's Freedom is a privately owned museum in Lagedi, near Tallinn. It specialises on exhibits of World War II battles on Estonian soil, or involving Estonian soldiers.- External links :*...
in Lagedi
Lagedi
Lagedi is a small borough in Rae Parish, Harju County, northern Estonia. It has a population of 847 .-External links:*...
near Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
. The monument has not been moved again.
See also
- Bronze Soldier of TallinnBronze Soldier of TallinnThe Bronze Soldier is the informal name of a controversial Soviet World War II war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, built at the site of several war graves, which were relocated to the nearby Tallinn Military Cemetery in 2007...
, another controversial monument in Estonia.
Further reading
- Tiit Madisson, "Lihula õppetund" ("The Lesson of Lihula"), 2005