Estonian Anti-German Resistance Movement 1941–1944
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Estonian resistance movement (
Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...
''Eesti vastupanuliikumine'') was an underground movement to
resist A resist, used in many areas of manufacturing and art, is something that is added to parts of an object to create a pattern by protecting these parts from being affected by a subsequent stage in the process. Often the resist is then removed. For ...
the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany, 1941–1944 during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Due to the unusually benign measures implemented in
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
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.


Background

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. Former Prime Minister
Jüri Uluots Jüri Uluots (13 January 1890 – 9 January 1945) was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu. Early life Uluots was born in Kirbla Pari ...
' request to the German occupation authorities for the establishment of an independent Estonian Government was rejected and
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
subsequently appointed
Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...
as Reichkommissar. After it became clear that the 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 Hjalmar-Johannes Mäe ( in Tuhala, Kreis Harrien, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire – 10 April 1978 in Graz, Austria) was an Estonian politician. Mäe was twice a candidate to the Riigikogu, in the 1929 Estonian parliamentary election as a ...
, the head of the Self-Administration, became quickly unpopular for his criticism of President
Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts ( – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president from 1938 to 1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades p ...
. He had been imprisoned by Päts' regime in 1935 for taking part of an alleged coup. Germans offered his position several times to
Jüri Uluots Jüri Uluots (13 January 1890 – 9 January 1945) was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu. Early life Uluots was born in Kirbla Pari ...
, 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 indifferent exploitation of the country's natural resources. 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 is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...
. In the autumn of 1941, the precursor 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.Chronology
at the EIHC
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 Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, the last constitutional prime minister, Jüri Uluots, must continue to fulfill his responsibilities as prime minister.Mälksoo, Lauri (2000)
Professor Uluots, the Estonian Government in Exile and the Continuity of the Republic of Estonia in International Law
'' Nordic Journal of International Law'' 69.3, 289–316.
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 Jüri Uluots (13 January 1890 – 9 January 1945) was an Estonian prime minister, journalist, prominent attorney and distinguished Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tartu. Early life Uluots was born in Kirbla Pari ...
, 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 Toompea (from , "Cathedral Hill") is a hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The hill has an area of and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas. Toompea is part of the medieval Tallinn Old Town, a ...
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 it is presumed 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 II During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...
ranging from producing illegal publications, to
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
, to violent
sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
. They included Rein Alasoo, Evald Laasi, Georgi Loik, Aleksander Looring, as well as others.


See also

* Soviet partisans in Estonia *
Anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
* :Military history of Estonia during World War II * Occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany *
Resistance during World War II During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estonian anti-German resistance movement 1941-1944 Military history of Estonia during World War II World War II resistance movements Eastern European World War II resistance movements Generalbezirk Estland Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic