Chapter 9.3: The Soviet Occupation (1940-1941)
On the 25th of August a new constitution was adopted. It renamed the Riigivolikogu the Ülemnõukogu (Supreme Soviet) and the government the Rahvakomissaride Nõukogu (Soviet of People´s Comissars). All the state institutions, local governments and councils, the court system, police and army were disbanded and replaced by Soviet institutions. Most of the civil service was fired and replaced by june communists.
All types of political activity was banned. Despite Estonia in theory having a local communist leadership, it had to adhere to direct orders from Moscow and had no autonomy. Newspapers were shut down, cultural organisations and societies like the Estonian Singers Union, scouts organisations, The Society of Estonian University Students and so on were forced to disband.
Diplomats to foreign countries were recalled, however many chose to not comply. Titles “härra, proua, preili” (mister, missus, miss) were replaced by “kodanik” (citizen). Any sort of monuments or memorial tablets dedicated to the war of independence, soldiers or politicians of the independence era were destroyed. Lists of banned literature were drawn up and the books were removed from libraries and stores and destroyed. A lot of institutions and positions were renamed and reformed, Tallinn University of Technology became Tallinn Polytechnic Institute for example.
With the arrival of socialism there was of course also economic reform. All private enterprises were nationalised: banks (including all savings), factories, stores, cafes, cinemas, even larger residential buildings. With the occupation there was a sudden influx of Russians, who needed residential places. If a family had lived in a 3 room apartment before, 2 of the three rooms would be taken from them and assigned to Russian army officer families, Russian bureaucrats or to whoever else needed a place to stay in the freshly acquired territory. The kitchens and bathrooms were turned into communal ones.
Absolutely all land was nationalised as well, farmers could only use it, not own it. Thus the work for which many forefathers of Estonian farmers had worked for, buying out their farm, was bulldozed overnight. Limits were placed on farm sizes as well, farms could not exceed 30 hectares. Eesti kroon was replaced by the rouble and there were severe price jumps, standards of living fell drastically.
Immediately after annexation repressions against the former political elite began. 9 out of the 11 heads of state Estonia had had in the 20 years of independence were arrested and either executed or died in imprisonment. Otto Strandman conducted suicide before being arrested and August Rei had been in Sweden when the occupation began and chosen to stay there. All major army officers were executed as well. The same fate fell upon the majority of policemen and notable businessmen. The rest of the army was incorporated into the Red Army.
Soon enough the arrests started to spread to all stratas of society however, nobody could feel safe. Intellectuals, former civil servants, notable members of the local community, church pastors, small business owners, even workers and farmers disappeared overnight and were sent either to prison or labour camps. This was supposed to create an atmosphere of fear, and in turn loyalty to the new regime. About 1000 people were arrested for political reasons from July to December in 1940, and more than 6000 people from January to July 1941. Thousands of them were executed and put into mass graves. Others died in the harsh labour camps.
The Pagari street 1 building, the HQ of the NKVD (secret police of the Soviet Union at the time) in Estonia. Many arrestees were taken there, where they were interrogated whilst being beaten or tortured, after which they would be either executed or sent to a labour camp. It became referred to as the “House of Horrors” and nowadays houses the museum showcasing the cells.
Opera singers Gerda Murre and Harri Kaasik in 1937. Gerda Murre was married to a journalist Ülo Maramaa, who in June 1940 had founded an underground patriotic organisation called Päästekomitee, after the 1918 one. On the 30th of December 1940 he was arrested and later executed. On New Years Eve an operetta by Strauss, The Fittermouse, was supposed to premiere at the Estonia Opera. However, that was cancelled, as the head singer, Gerda Murre, did not show up. She had been arrested as well, and at the time of the premier was in the Pagari 1 building. She was interrogated for 1.5 days straight and beaten heavily, despite being pregnant. According to her cellmate, who was a school teacher, her face was bloody, nose and teeth broken and cheeks swollen. The fact that she had been pregnant meant that she was not executed, instead she was sent to 25 years of hard labour. The child was born stillborn on the train there.
The repressions reached their height on the 14th of June. In the early morning hours of that day, many families across not just Estonia, but also Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Moldova, heard loud knocks on their door around 1-2 am. They were given about an hour to pack their things and told that they are designated to be deported out of their homeland. They were then taken on trucks and transported to the nearest railway stations, where they were put on wagons meant for cattle. Men and women/children were separated at the stations. The men were sent to prison camps, where they were used for slave labour, women, children and elderly were sent to Siberia.
The wagons were packed and only a small slit let through light. There was no water or food, only a small hole through the floor to be used as a toilet. The standards of living in Siberia were inhumane. There was no proper shelter, no medicine, even a shortage of food, clothes and shoes. The climate in Siberia is extremely harsh, with summer temperatures easily reaching above 30 degrees celsius and winter temperatures going into -20 or below.
Most of the male deportees, as well as some women, had been notable people in the former republic, successful farmers, entrepreneurs, civil servants, Defence League members etc. For them arrest warrants were issued. However, for their family members, wives, children and parents, there was no court order, nevertheless they received the same fate.
Overall more than 10 thousand people were deported from Estonia on that day, out of which more than 6 thousand were women and children. About 37% of deportees were underage, more than a hundred children were younger than 1 year and many others were bedridden old people. Amongst the deportees were also 400 Jews. About 6000 of the deportees perished in exile.
The people left behind did not for the most part know what had happened. The deportees just disappeared overnight. There were murmurs and rumours about them being put on trains, but nevertheless many new cases of “missing person” popped up in the following days.
A picture of a wagon full of deportees, which you can see in the slit. This picture was taken in secret.
The trailer for the movie “In the Crosswind”, which is about the June deportation.
This was not the only deportation however, there were several smaller ones as well. For example, on the 1st-4th of July about 1200 people were deported from the islands of Western Estonia.
When the occupation began and throughout it, many Estonians fled to the forests to escape Red Terror. They took up arms and started a guerilla campaign, destroying railway lines, attacking Soviet institutions and Red Army units. They became known as the Metsavennad, Forest Brothers.
The Forest Brothers. By their height in the summer of 1941 their numbers reached above 10 thousand.
The Song of the Forest Brothers, an Estonian partisan song.
All types of political activity was banned. Despite Estonia in theory having a local communist leadership, it had to adhere to direct orders from Moscow and had no autonomy. Newspapers were shut down, cultural organisations and societies like the Estonian Singers Union, scouts organisations, The Society of Estonian University Students and so on were forced to disband.
Diplomats to foreign countries were recalled, however many chose to not comply. Titles “härra, proua, preili” (mister, missus, miss) were replaced by “kodanik” (citizen). Any sort of monuments or memorial tablets dedicated to the war of independence, soldiers or politicians of the independence era were destroyed. Lists of banned literature were drawn up and the books were removed from libraries and stores and destroyed. A lot of institutions and positions were renamed and reformed, Tallinn University of Technology became Tallinn Polytechnic Institute for example.
With the arrival of socialism there was of course also economic reform. All private enterprises were nationalised: banks (including all savings), factories, stores, cafes, cinemas, even larger residential buildings. With the occupation there was a sudden influx of Russians, who needed residential places. If a family had lived in a 3 room apartment before, 2 of the three rooms would be taken from them and assigned to Russian army officer families, Russian bureaucrats or to whoever else needed a place to stay in the freshly acquired territory. The kitchens and bathrooms were turned into communal ones.
Absolutely all land was nationalised as well, farmers could only use it, not own it. Thus the work for which many forefathers of Estonian farmers had worked for, buying out their farm, was bulldozed overnight. Limits were placed on farm sizes as well, farms could not exceed 30 hectares. Eesti kroon was replaced by the rouble and there were severe price jumps, standards of living fell drastically.
Immediately after annexation repressions against the former political elite began. 9 out of the 11 heads of state Estonia had had in the 20 years of independence were arrested and either executed or died in imprisonment. Otto Strandman conducted suicide before being arrested and August Rei had been in Sweden when the occupation began and chosen to stay there. All major army officers were executed as well. The same fate fell upon the majority of policemen and notable businessmen. The rest of the army was incorporated into the Red Army.
Soon enough the arrests started to spread to all stratas of society however, nobody could feel safe. Intellectuals, former civil servants, notable members of the local community, church pastors, small business owners, even workers and farmers disappeared overnight and were sent either to prison or labour camps. This was supposed to create an atmosphere of fear, and in turn loyalty to the new regime. About 1000 people were arrested for political reasons from July to December in 1940, and more than 6000 people from January to July 1941. Thousands of them were executed and put into mass graves. Others died in the harsh labour camps.
The Pagari street 1 building, the HQ of the NKVD (secret police of the Soviet Union at the time) in Estonia. Many arrestees were taken there, where they were interrogated whilst being beaten or tortured, after which they would be either executed or sent to a labour camp. It became referred to as the “House of Horrors” and nowadays houses the museum showcasing the cells.
Opera singers Gerda Murre and Harri Kaasik in 1937. Gerda Murre was married to a journalist Ülo Maramaa, who in June 1940 had founded an underground patriotic organisation called Päästekomitee, after the 1918 one. On the 30th of December 1940 he was arrested and later executed. On New Years Eve an operetta by Strauss, The Fittermouse, was supposed to premiere at the Estonia Opera. However, that was cancelled, as the head singer, Gerda Murre, did not show up. She had been arrested as well, and at the time of the premier was in the Pagari 1 building. She was interrogated for 1.5 days straight and beaten heavily, despite being pregnant. According to her cellmate, who was a school teacher, her face was bloody, nose and teeth broken and cheeks swollen. The fact that she had been pregnant meant that she was not executed, instead she was sent to 25 years of hard labour. The child was born stillborn on the train there.
The repressions reached their height on the 14th of June. In the early morning hours of that day, many families across not just Estonia, but also Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Moldova, heard loud knocks on their door around 1-2 am. They were given about an hour to pack their things and told that they are designated to be deported out of their homeland. They were then taken on trucks and transported to the nearest railway stations, where they were put on wagons meant for cattle. Men and women/children were separated at the stations. The men were sent to prison camps, where they were used for slave labour, women, children and elderly were sent to Siberia.
The wagons were packed and only a small slit let through light. There was no water or food, only a small hole through the floor to be used as a toilet. The standards of living in Siberia were inhumane. There was no proper shelter, no medicine, even a shortage of food, clothes and shoes. The climate in Siberia is extremely harsh, with summer temperatures easily reaching above 30 degrees celsius and winter temperatures going into -20 or below.
Most of the male deportees, as well as some women, had been notable people in the former republic, successful farmers, entrepreneurs, civil servants, Defence League members etc. For them arrest warrants were issued. However, for their family members, wives, children and parents, there was no court order, nevertheless they received the same fate.
Overall more than 10 thousand people were deported from Estonia on that day, out of which more than 6 thousand were women and children. About 37% of deportees were underage, more than a hundred children were younger than 1 year and many others were bedridden old people. Amongst the deportees were also 400 Jews. About 6000 of the deportees perished in exile.
The people left behind did not for the most part know what had happened. The deportees just disappeared overnight. There were murmurs and rumours about them being put on trains, but nevertheless many new cases of “missing person” popped up in the following days.
A picture of a wagon full of deportees, which you can see in the slit. This picture was taken in secret.
The trailer for the movie “In the Crosswind”, which is about the June deportation.
This was not the only deportation however, there were several smaller ones as well. For example, on the 1st-4th of July about 1200 people were deported from the islands of Western Estonia.
When the occupation began and throughout it, many Estonians fled to the forests to escape Red Terror. They took up arms and started a guerilla campaign, destroying railway lines, attacking Soviet institutions and Red Army units. They became known as the Metsavennad, Forest Brothers.
The Forest Brothers. By their height in the summer of 1941 their numbers reached above 10 thousand.The Song of the Forest Brothers, an Estonian partisan song.
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