National Committee of the Republic of Estonia
Encyclopedia
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...
in March 1944. By April 1944 a large number of the committee members were arrested by the German security agencies.
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 of a provisional government during expected German withdrawal as the Red Army had reached the border of Estonia on February 2, 1944.
The Committee succeeded in establishing a communication network with the Estonian diplomats in Finland and Sweden.
On 20 April 1944, the National Committee selected the Electoral Committee of the Republic of Estonia (Vabariigi Presidendi Asetäitja Valimiskogu, the institution specified in the Constitution for electing the Acting President of the Republic) held a clandestine meeting in Tallinn. The participants included:
- Jüri UluotsJüri UluotsJüri 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 Prime Minister of Estonia before the Soviet occupation, - Johan Holberg, the substitute for Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ,
- Otto Pukk, the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies,
- Alfred Maurer, the Second deputy Vice-Chairman of the National Council,
- Mihkel KlaassenMihkel KlaassenMihkel Klaassen was a justice of the Supreme Court of Estonia since 1924.Klaassen was a member of the Electoral Committee that decided the Soviet-era appointment of Johannes Vares as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and stated, that Jüri Uluots is Prime Minister acting as...
, Justice of the Supreme Court of EstoniaSupreme Court of EstoniaThe Supreme Court of Estonia is the court of last resort in Estonia. It is both a court of cassation and a constitutional court. The courthouse is in Tartu.Chief justices=* Kaarel Parts * Rait Maruste...
.
The Committee determined that the Soviet-era appointment of Johannes Vares
Johannes Vares
Johannes Vares , commonly known as Johannes Vares Barbarus, was an Estonian poet, doctor, and politician.Vares was born in Heimtali, now in Pärsti Parish, Viljandi County, and educated at Pärnu Gymnasium...
as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and that Uluots had assumed the President's duties from June 21, 1940 onwards. 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
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...
the Acting Prime Minister and appointed a Government which consisted of 11 members. On 20 September 1944, Uluots departed for Sweden. 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. Most of members of this government left from Tallinn on 21 September and Tief on 22 September. As reported by the Royal Institute of International Affairs at the time: the Estonian national government was proclaimed in Estonia, the Estonian military units seized the national 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...
Castle and ordered the German forces to leave. The flag of Germany was replaced with the flag of Estonia
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...
tower of Toompea. Tief’s government however failed to keep control as Estonian military units led 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:...
clashed with both Germans and Soviets. On 22 September, the Soviet Leningrad Front
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
took control of Tallinn. Most of the members and officials including Tief were caught, jailed, deported, or executed by the advancing Soviets. Tief managed to survive a decade in Siberia and after return from deportation died back in Estonia in 1976. Only Kaarel Liidak, Minister of Agriculture, died in hiding on 16 January 1945.
After Uluots died on January 9, 1945 in Sweden, August Rei
August Rei
August Rei VR III/1 was an Estonian Social Democratic politician. He was born in Pilistvere, Kõo Parish, Viljandi County.- Education :...
, as the most senior surviving member of the government, assumed the role of acting head of state. Rei was supported by the surviving members of the Tief's government in Sweden. Rei was the last Estonian envoy in Moscow before the Soviet annexation and had managed to escape from Moscow through Riga to Stockholm in June 1940.
On 12 January 1953, the Estonian Government in Exile
Estonian Government in Exile
The Estonian Government in Exile refers to the formally declared governmental authority of the Republic of Estonia in exile, existing from 1953 until the reestablishment of Estonian sovereignty over Estonian territory in 1992...
was established in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.