Estonia marks the anniversaries of Soviet forced removals
On a Fateful Summer's Night in 1941...
...the Soviet Union gruesomely tore apart the lives of thousands of Estonians, forcibly deporting them to the frosty, unforgiving landscape of Siberia. This heart-wrenching episode in history, remembered as a day of mourning, unfolded on June 14, 1941.
In the midst of the summer of 1940, the Soviet Union descended upon Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as a result of the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23, 1939, this terrible treaty laid the groundwork for Estonia's devastating losses and the subsequent hardships its people would endure.
The Soviet occupation twisted Estonia in the grip of terror, with mass deportations serving as its most horrific legacy. Two of the most devastating deportation raids, on June 14, 1941, and March 25, 1949, remain solemn commemorative days in the nation's calendar.
The Crescendo of Darkness Begins
August 23, 1939 saw the inking of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a once-secret ambition to carve Central and Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. With Germany unleashing its wrath on Poland on September 1, the Soviet Union followed suit, invading Poland from the east, establishing a stranglehold near the borders of the Baltic states and Finland.
Although Estonia declared its neutrality at the onset of World War II, Soviet military pressure and threats compelled the nation to sign a so-called mutual military assistance pact on September 28, 1939, paving the way for Soviet military bases on Estonian soil. Similar treaties were imposed upon Estonia's southern neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania. The Soviet Union's ruthless aggression earned it expulsion from the League of Nations, an action that ultimately proved fruitless.
The Soviet Union occupied and forcibly annexed Estonia, alongside Latvia and Lithuania, in the summer of 1940, exploiting the chaos on the international stage in the wake of devastating events in France. Sham elections, manipulated with falsified outcomes, were held in the occupied Baltic states. These elections, unrecognized by democratic Western countries, marked the start of a reign of terror that targeted Estonia's ethnic minorities, including Jews and Russians.
Preparations for Repressions
The Soviet Union's preparations for the extermination of prominent Estonians and the expulsion of large groups began well before the occupation. The aim was toestablish a climate of fear that would suppress any organized resistance, thereby crippling the nation's spirit. Those targeted for repression included government members, senior officials, military personnel, politicians, heads of voluntary national defense organizations, student leaders, anti-Soviet activists, Russian emigrants, security police members, police officers, representatives of foreign companies, entrepreneurs, bankers, and clergy members, among others. Around 23% of the population fell within these categories.
The Soviet security organs began their repressive activities in Estonia even before its formal annexation. Arrests based on political grounds began in June 1940, with the number of arrests increasing thereafter. The last commander-in-chief of the Estonian Defense Forces, Johan Laidoner, and his wife were exiled to Penza on July 17, 1940, while the President of the Republic of Estonia, Konstantin Paets, and his family were sent to Ufa on July 30, 1940. Both General Laidoner and President Paets perished in Soviet captivity.
The Deportation Unleashed
Concrete preparations for the mass deportations began in the winter of 1940-1941, with a top-secret directive issued by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union on May 14, 1941. The order targeted the socially alien element from the occupied Baltic states, western Ukraine, western Belarus, and Moldavia for repression.
The first raid began in the early hours of June 14, 1941, when families were rudely awakened with knocks on their doors and read a decree declaring their arrest or deportation. Their possessions were confiscated, and they were given a single hour to pack. Over 10,000 people were deported from Estonia over the course of three days. Around 7,000 women, children, and elderly people were among the deportees.
The bold cruelty of those carrying out the deportations was evident, with even pregnant women and seriously ill elderly people crammed into overcrowded cattle cars. By the spring of 1942, less than half of those deported in 1941 had ever managed to return home.
The atrocious treatment of the deportees was vividly described by the Diary of ten-year-old Rein Vare, written between 1941 and 1944. Heartbreaking accounts of the hardships faced by the displaced, harsh living conditions, and the loss of beloved family members serve as chilling reminders of these dark days.
The second wave of deportations was cut short by the German invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, which slowed the Soviet authorities' plans to continue the repression. However, a subsequent deportation was carried out on the island of Saaremaa. The devastating impact of the deportations resonated far beyond the immediate loss of life, creating deep wounds in Estonian society that would take decades to heal.
Read also: Photos: Deported Estonians in Siberia.
Relive a Ten-Year-Old's Diary: Rein Vare Diary*
This article was first published on June 14, 2014. Edited on June 14, 2024.
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...the Estonian government has since acknowledged these tragic events as a significant chapter in the nation's history, with commemorative markers in Tallinn, Estonia's capital, serving as poignant reminders of the Day of Sorrow, as it is referred to.
Politics, particularly general-news and crime-and-justice, continue to grapple with addressing these historical wrongs, as many question the role of the Soviet Union and its directive 490 in instigating these devastating acts. The re-emergence of these discussions in the public sphere has led to a growing call for accountability and justice for the victims of these repressions.
Elections have become a battleground for Estonians seeking transitional justice, with the economy and security playing crucial roles in determining political ideologies. The Estonian government's response to these demands, both in terms of recognizing the past and taking actions to prevent such atrocities from recurring, will undoubtedly shape the nation's future narrative and its impact on diplomatic relations with its neighbors, past and present.
In the face of these challenges, the Estonian people remain resilient, their language and culture serving as beacons of hope amidst the darkness of the past. Their unwavering spirit has proven instrumental in Estonia's journey towards independence, a journey that started with a fateful summer's night in 1941.
