National Committee of the Republic of Estonia

Last updated
National Committee of the Republic of Estonia
Eesti Vabariigi Rahvuskomitee
AbbreviationEVRK
Successor Estonian Government in Exile
FormationMarch 1944
Dissolved1 December 1953;70 years ago (1953-12-01)
TypeLiberation committee / Provisional government
Purpose
President
 Otto Tief

The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia (Estonian : Eesti Vabariigi Rahvuskomitee, EVRK) was a deliberative and legislative body, formed by Estonian politicians and members of the last government of Republic of Estonia before the Soviet occupation, to control the Anti-Soviet resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Estonia in March 1944. [1] By April 1944 a large number of the committee members were arrested by the German security agencies. [2] On September 20, 1944, the committee proclaimed the Republic of Estonia restored, but two days later, the Soviet Army took control of Tallinn.

Contents

History

The original initiative to form the committee came from the Estonian former pre-plebiscite of 1933 opposition parties and it denied the constitutional authority of Jüri Uluots, the last pre-war Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia. On July 29, 1941, Uluots met with the Nazi military government of Tartu, thanked them for freeing Estonia and asked them to allow him to form the government of independent Estonia with its owned armed forces; however, his request was turned down. [3]

The Committee aimed to establish a provisional government, during the German withdrawal expected as the Red Army had reached the border of Estonia on February 2, 1944. On 1 August 1944 the "committee" declared itself even the bearer of the supreme power of State (instead of people).

The Committee succeeded in establishing a communication network with the Estonian diplomats in Finland and Sweden. [4]

In February 1944, the Nazi authorities proclaimed conscription of Estonians; Uluots supported it by saying on the radio broadcast on February 7 that "going along with mobilization is unavoidable at the moment and only by doing so can we expect a better future for Estonia", and approximately 45000 men joined the Nazi formations in result. [5] [6]

On 20 April 1944, Jüri Uluots convened 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), [7] which held a clandestine meeting in Tallinn. The participants included:

The Committee determined that the Soviet-era appointment of Johannes Vares as Prime Minister by Konstantin Päts had been illegal and that Uluots had assumed the President's duties from June 21, 1940, onwards. [8] On 21 April 1944, Jüri Uluots appointed Alfred Maurer and Otto Tief as deputy prime ministers. [9] On 18 September 1944, Uluots, suffering from cancer, named Otto Tief the Acting Prime Minister and appointed a Government which consisted of 11 members; Jaan Maide was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Military. Thus some members of the "national committee" became now members of the constitutional government. 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 and Estonian military units seized the national government buildings in Toompea Castle and ordered the German forces to leave; [10] according to a later publication, the German forces left voluntarily. [11] The Nazi German flag on Pikk Hermann tower of Toompea was replaced with the flag of Estonia two days later; on the next day, September 21, the flag of Estonia was raised alongside the Nazi Navy flag in the presence of the Nazi guard of honor; the Nazi flag was bigger than the one of Estonia. [11] Tief’s government, however, failed to stay in power as Estonian military units led by Johan Pitka clashed with both Germans and Soviets. On 22 September, the Soviet Leningrad Front took control of Tallinn. The members of the government who failed to flee the territory controlled by the Soviet Union were captured by NKVD. Maide was executed, while Tief, Arnold Susi, Hugo Pärtelpoeg, Juhan Kaarlimäe, and some others were imprisoned or sent to GULAG camps.

After Uluots died on January 9, 1945, in Sweden, August Rei, 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. [12]

On 12 January 1953, the Estonian Government in Exile was appointed in Oslo, Norway.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Estonia</span>

The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe. Humans settled in the region of Estonia near the end of the last glacial era, beginning from around 9000 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harju County</span> County of Estonia

Harju County, is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in Northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla County to the south, and Lääne County to the southwest. The capital and largest city of Estonia, Tallinn, is situated in Harju County. Harju County is the largest county in Estonia in terms of population, as almost half (45%) of the Estonia's population lives in Harju County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Estonia</span> Head of government of the Republic of Estonia

The prime minister of Estonia is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by the parliament (Riigikogu). In case of disagreement, the parliament can reject the president's nomination and choose their own candidate. In practice, since the prime minister must maintain the confidence of parliament in order to remain in office, they are usually the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The current prime minister is Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party. She took the office on 26 January 2021 following the resignation of Jüri Ratas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantin Päts</span> Estonian statesman and president (1874–1956)

Konstantin Päts was an Estonian statesman and the country's president in 1938–1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades prior to World War II he also served five times as the country's prime minister. After the 16–17 June 1940 Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia, President Päts remained formally in office for over a month, until he was forced to resign, imprisoned by the new Stalinist regime, and deported to the USSR, where he died in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Estonia</span> Head of state of Estonia

The president of the Republic of Estonia is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaan Tõnisson</span> Estonian statesman, prime minister (1919–20), head of state (1927–28, 1933)

Jaan Tõnisson was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from 1931 to 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Narva (1944)</span> Battle of World War II in Estonia

The Battle of Narva was a World War II military campaign, lasting from 2 February to 10 August 1944, in which the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jüri Uluots</span> Estonian politician (1890–1945)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Vares</span> Estonian writer and politician (1890–1946)

Johannes Vares was an Estonian and Soviet poet, medical doctor, and politician.

The Estonian resistance movement was an underground movement to resist the occupation of Estonia by Nazi Germany, 1941–1944 during World War II. Due to the unusually benign measures implemented in Estonia 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German occupation of Estonia during World War II</span> Period of Estonian history from 1941 to 1944

In the course of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia in July–December 1941, and occupied the country until 1944. Estonia had gained independence in 1918 from the then-warring German and Russian Empires. However, in the wake of the August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact, the Soviet Union had invaded and occupied Estonia in June 1940, and the country was formally annexed into the USSR in August 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Tief</span> Estonian politician and lawyer

Otto Tief was an Estonian politician, military commander, and a lawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian government-in-exile</span> Formally declared governmental authority of Estonia between 1944–1992

The Estonian government-in-exile was the formally declared governmental authority of the Republic of Estonia in exile, existing from 1944 until the reestablishment of Estonian sovereignty over Estonian territory in 1991. It traced its legitimacy through constitutional succession to the last Estonian government in power prior to the June 1940 Soviet invasion and occupation of the country. During its existence, it was the internationally recognized government of Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonia in World War II</span> Period of Estonian history from 1939 to 1945

Estonia declared neutrality at the outbreak of World War II (1939–1945), but the country was repeatedly contested, invaded and occupied, first by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and ultimately reinvaded and reoccupied in 1944 by the Soviet Union.

Mihkel Klaassen was a justice of the Supreme Court of Estonia since 1924.

The Tallinn offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army's 2nd Shock and 8th armies and the Baltic Fleet against the German Army Detachment Narwa and Estonian units in mainland Estonia on the Eastern Front of World War II on 17–26 September 1944. Its German counterpart was the abandonment of the Estonian territory in a retreat codenamed Operation Aster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Estonia-related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Republic of Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soviet re-occupation of the Baltic states (1944)</span> Overview of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1944

The Soviet Union (USSR) occupied most of the territory of the Baltic states in its 1944 Baltic Offensive during World War II. The Red Army regained control over the three Baltic capitals and encircled retreating Wehrmacht and Latvian forces in the Courland Pocket where they held out until the final German surrender at the end of the war.

This article lists events that occurred during 1944 in Estonia.

References

  1. ↑ Smith, David James (2001). Estonia: Independence and European Integration. Routledge. p. 36. ISBN   978-0-415-26728-1.
  2. ↑ Miljan, Toivo (2004). Historical Dictionary of Estonia. Scarecrow Press. p. 21. ISBN   978-0-8108-4904-4.
  3. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Estonia/Qb_1DwAAQBAJ&gbpv=1&dq=uluots+collaboration&pg=PA99&printsec=frontcover
  4. ↑ Laar, Mart; Tiina Ets; Tonu Parming (1992). War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944-1956. Howells House. ISBN   978-0-929590-08-0.
  5. ↑ The Estonian Soldiers in the Second World War. Estonian National Council. 1948.
  6. ↑ M. Laar. Estonia in World War II. p. 30
  7. ↑ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Estonian_Republic_(1938) Art. 46.
  8. ↑ L. Mälksoo, Professor Uluots, the Estonian Government in Exile and the Continuity of the Republic of Estonia in International Law, Nordic Journal of International Law, Volume 69, Number 3 / March, 2000
  9. ↑ Chronology Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine at the EIHC
  10. ↑ By Royal Institute of International Affairs. Information Dept. Published 1945
  11. 1 2 Berit-Helena Lamp (2009-01-23). "Lahkus Eesti lipu heiskaja Evald Aruvald". Postimees . Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  12. ↑ Diplomats Without a Country By James T. McHugh, James S. Pacy; p. 183 ISBN   0-313-31878-6
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.