Estonia in World War II

August 27, 1928, Kellogg-Briand Pact "renouncing war as an instrument of national policy". Ratified by Estonia and the USSR on July 24, 1929.[7]

With USSR on May 4, 1932.[8]

On July 3, 1933, for the first time in the history of international relations, aggression was defined in a binding treaty signed at the Soviet Embassy in London by the USSR and among others, the Republic of Estonia.[9][10]

Article II defines forms of aggression. "There shall be recognized as an aggressor that State which shall be the first to have committed one of the following actions":

Relevant chapters:

• "Second – invasion by armed forces of the territory of another State even without a declaration of war."
• "Fourth – a naval blockade of coasts or ports of another State."

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania jointly declared their neutrality on November 18, 1938, in Riga, at the Conference of Baltic Foreign Ministers with their respective parliaments passing neutrality laws later that year. Estonia passed a law ratifying its neutrality on December 1st, 1938, which was modelled on Sweden's declaration of neutrality of May 29, 1938.[11] Also importantly, Estonia had asserted its neutrality in its very first constitution, as well as the Treaty of Tartu concluded in 1920 between Republic of Estonia and the Russian SFSR.

Planned and actual divisions of Europe, according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, with later adjustments

Early on the morning of August 24, 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a 10-year non-aggression pact, called the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact. Most notably, the pact contained a secret protocol, revealed only after Germany's defeat in 1945, according to which the states of Northern and Eastern Europe were divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence".[12] In the north, Finland, Estonia and Latvia were assigned to the Soviet sphere.[12] Poland was to be partitioned in the event of its "political rearrangement"—the areas east of the Narev, Vistula and San Rivers going to the Soviet Union while Germany would occupy the west.[12] Lithuania, adjacent to East Prussia, would be in the German sphere of influence, although a second secret protocol agreed in September 1939 assigned the majority of Lithuania to the USSR.[13]

Claimed that these people were massacred by USSR during period from June to September 1941 in Kuressaare, Estonia. The source states: "No culprits found".

Having seized control over Estonia, the Soviet authorities rapidly moved to stamp out any potential opposition to their rule. During the first year of the occupation (1940–1941) over 8,000 people, including most of the country's leading politicians and military officers, were arrested. About 2,200 of them were executed in Estonia, while the rest were removed to prison camps in Russia, from whence very few returned alive [no source]. On July 19, 1940, the Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army Johan Laidoner was captured by the NKVD and deported together with his spouse to the town of Penza. Laidoner died in the Vladimir Prison Camp, Russia on March 13, 1953.[47] President of Estonia, Konstantin Päts was arrested and deported by the Soviets to Ufa in Russia on July 30; he died in a psychiatric hospital at Kalinin (currently Tver), Russia in 1956. In all about 800 Estonian officers were arrested, about half of whom were executed, arrested or starved to death in prison camps [no source].

When Estonia was proclaimed a Soviet Republic (SSR), the crews of 42 Estonian ships in foreign waters refused to return to their homeland (about 40% of the pre-war Estonian fleet). These ships were requisitioned by the British powers and were used in Atlantic convoys. During the war, approximately 1000 Estonian seamen served in the British merchant marine, 200 of them as officers. A small number of Estonians served in the Royal Air Force, in the British Army and in the US Army, altogether no more than two hundred.[5]

Immediately after the Soviet takeover, local Russian institutions (societies, newspapers etc.) were closed down. The cultural life that had developed during Estonia's independence was destroyed. Almost all of the leading Russian emigres were arrested and later executed.[48]

Some of the Russian White emigres had already been arrested before 21 June 1940 by the Estonian political police, probably in order to avoid "provocations" during the Red Army's invasion, and those arrested were consequently handed over to the NKVD torture chambers after the Communist takeover.[49]

Up to the reassessment of Soviet history in the USSR that began during Perestroika, before the USSR had condemned the 1939 secret protocol between Nazi Germany and itself that had led to the invasion and occupation of the three Baltic countries including Estonia,[50] the events in 1939 according to the pre-Perestroika Soviet sources were as following: in a prior province of the Russian Empire, the Governorate of Estonia (Russian: Эстляндская губерния), Soviet power was established in the end of October 1917. The Estonian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Narva on November 29, 1918, but fell to counter-revolutionaries and the White movement in 1919. In June 1940 Soviet power was restored in Estonia as workers had overthrown the fascist dictatorship in the country.[51][52][53]

The Government of the Soviet Union suggested that the Government of the Republic of Estonia conclude a mutual assistance treaty between the two countries. The pressure from Estonian working people forced the Estonian government to accept this suggestion. On September 28, 1939, the Pact of Mutual Assistance was signed[54] which allowed the USSR to station a limited number of Red Army units in Estonia. Economic difficulties, dissatisfaction with the Estonian government policies "that had sabotaged fulfillment of the Pact and the Estonian government" and political orientation towards Nazi Germany led to a revolutionary situation on June 16, 1940. A note from the Soviet government to the Estonian Government suggested that they stick strictly to the Pact of Mutual Assistance. To guarantee fulfillment of the Pact additional military units entered Estonia, welcomed by the Estonian workers who demanded the resignation of the Estonian government. On June 21 under the leadership of the Estonian Communist Party political demonstrations by workers were held in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva and other cities. On the same day the fascist government was overthrown, and the People's government led by Johannes Vares was formed. On July 14–15, 1940 elections for the Riigikogu the Estonian Parliament were held. The "Working People's Union", created by an initiative of the Estonian Communist Party received with 84.1% electorate participation 92.8% of the votes.[55][53] On July 21, 1940, the State Assembly adopted the declaration of the restoration of Soviet power in Estonia and proclaimed the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. On July 22 the declaration of Estonia's wish to join the USSR was adopted and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was addressed accordingly. The request was approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 6, 1940. On July 23 the State Assembly proclaimed all land to be People's Property while banks and heavy industry were nationalized. On August 25 the State Assembly adopted the Constitution of the Estonian SSR, renamed itself the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR and approved the Council of People's Commissars of the Estonian SSR.[53]

Victims of NKVD in Tartu, Estonia, July 1941.

2,199 people were killed by the Soviet state security agencies, the destruction battalions, the Red Army and the Baltic Fleet, among them 264 women and 82 minors.[56] Grave damage was caused to the Estonian Co-operative Wholesale Society, the Estonian Meat Export Company and the Central Association of Co-operative Dairies.[56] 3,237 farms were destroyed. Altogether, 13,500 buildings were destroyed.[56] The data of the 1939 livestock and fowl differed from the 1942 by the following numbers: there were 30,600 (14%) fewer horses, 239,800 (34%) fewer dairy cattle, 223,600 (50%) fewer pigs, 320,000 (46%) fewer sheep, and 470,000 (27.5%) fewer fowl.[56] The following equipment was evacuated to the Soviet Union: those of the Tallinn Engineering Works "Red Krull", radio factory "Radio Pioneer", and the Northern Pulp and Paper Mills. The dismantling of the oil shale industry also began. Additionally raw materials, semi-manufactured products and finished production were evacuated. Altogether, 36,849 Rbls worth of industrial equipment, 362,721 Rbls worth of means of transport, 82,913 Rbls worth of finished products and 94,315 Rbls worth of materials were carried out. Added to the inventory, semi-manufactured products and foodstuff, a total of 606,632 Rbls worth of assets were evacuated.[56]

In the fires of 12 and 13 July, the headquarters of the Estonian Defence League, the campus of the Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture of the University of Tartu and more university buildings were burnt down. Several libraries of the university and 135 major private libraries were destroyed, totalling 465,000 books, many archive materials and 2,500 pieces of art lost. Among them were the libraries of Aino and Gustav Suits and Aurora and Johannes Semper.[67]

The first records of Jews in Estonia date back to the 14th century.[77] The permanent Jewish settlement in Estonia began in the nineteenth century, when in 1865 the Russian Tsar Alexander II granted Jews with university degrees and merchants of the third guild the right to enter the region.[nb 5]

Holocaust memorial at the site of the former Klooga concentration camp, opened on 24th July 2005

The creation of the Republic of Estonia in 1918 marked the beginning of a new era for the Jews. Approximately 200 Jews fought in combat for the creation of the Republic of Estonia and 70 of these men were volunteers.[79] On 12 February 1925 the Estonian government passed a law unique in inter-war Europe pertaining to the cultural autonomy of ethnic minorities. [nb 6] The Jewish community quickly prepared its application for cultural autonomy. Statistics on Jewish citizens were compiled. They totaled 3045, fulfilling the minimum requirement of 3000. In June 1926 the Jewish Cultural Council was elected and Jewish cultural autonomy was declared.[81] Jewish cultural autonomy was of great interest to the global Jewish community. The Jewish National Endowment presented the Government of the Republic of Estonia with a certificate of gratitude for this achievement.[82]

There were, at the time of the Soviet occupation in 1940, approximately 4000 Estonian Jews. Many Jewish people were deported to Siberia along with other Estonians by the Soviets. It is estimated that 500 Jews suffered this fate.

The Jewish community was amongst the first to be rounded up in accordance with the Generalplan Ost which required the removal of 50% of Estonian citizens. With the invasion of the Baltics, it was the intention of the Nazi government to use the Baltic countries as their main area of mass genocide.

Consequently, Jews from countries outside the Baltics were shipped there to be exterminated. Out of the approximately 4,300 Jews in Estonia before the war, between 950 and 1,000 were entrapped by the Nazis.[83] An estimated 10,000 Jews were killed in Estonia after having been deported to camps there from elsewhere in Eastern Europe.[84] There have been 7 known ethnic Estonians—Ralf Gerrets, Ain-Ervin Mere, Jaan Viik, Juhan Jüriste, Karl Linnas, Aleksander Laak, and Ervin Viks—who have faced trials for crimes against humanity. Since the reestablishment of Estonian independence, the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity has been established.[85] Markers were put in place for the 60th anniversary of the mass executions that were carried out at the Lagedi, Vaivara[86] and Klooga (Kalevi-Liiva) camps in September 1944.[87]

In May 2005, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip gave a speech while visiting Klooga:

"Although these murderers must answer for their crimes as individuals, the Estonian Government continues to do everything possible to expose these crimes. I apologise for the fact that Estonian citizens could be found among those who participated in the murdering of people or assisted in the perpetration of these crimes."[88]

Estonia (together with Austria, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Syria and Ukraine) has been given the grade Category F: "Total Failure" ("countries, which refuse in principle to investigate, let alone prosecute, suspected Nazi war criminals") by the Simon Wiesenthal Center Status Report on Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals for 2006.[89][90]

In 1941, it was announced in Germany that additional Combat Support Forces, the Waffen-SS units would be raised from non-German foreign nationals. The goal was to acquire additional manpower from occupied nations. Some of these formed foreign legions included volunteers from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and the Netherlands. Up to March 1942, drafted Estonians mostly served in the rear of Army Group North security. On August 28, 1942, the German powers announced the legal compilation of the Estonian Legion within the Combat Support Forces, the Waffen SS Verfügungstruppe units. Oberführer Franz Augsberger was nominated the commander of the legion. As of October 13, 1942, 500 volunteers had appeared. In the spring of 1943, additional men were drafted from the police and the number rose to 1,280.[91] 90% of the volunteers had lost a relative in the Red Terror.[92] The battalion "Narwa" was formed from the first 800 men of the Legion to have finished their training at Dębica (Heidelager in 1943), being sent in April 1943 to join the Division Wiking in Ukraine. They replaced the Finnish Volunteer Battalion, recalled to Finland for political reasons.[93]

The battalion "Narwa" participated in the battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. Retreating through the escape route called The Hell's Gate, the battalion came under heavy Soviet fire with little cover. The battalion lost almost all of its equipment during the carnage while most of the troops escaped encirclement.[94]

Registration point for the volunteers of the Estonian Legion, September 1942

In March 1943, the German occupying powers turned to mobilization by conscripting men born in Estonia between 1919 and 1924. Until August 1943, 5300 men were drafted for the Estonian Legion and 6800 for support service (Hilfswillige) to the German Wehrmacht. A mobilization in October 1943 called up men born in 1925–1926. On May 5, 1943, the 3 Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade was formed and sent to the front near Nevel. A consequence of the 1943 mobilizations was the wave of an estimated 5,000 Estonian men fleeing to Finland in order to avoid the German draft. Over half of these men volunteered for service in the Finnish armed forces. About 2,300 joined the army and 400 the navy.

In June 1940, while the Estonian army was integrated into the Soviet military structure, where in June 1940 there were 16,800 men, it was changed into the "22nd Territorial Rifle Corps". 5,500 Estonian soldiers served in the corps during the first battle. 4,500 of them went over to the German side. In September 1941, when the corps was liquidated, there were still 500 previous Estonian soldiers. [nb 7]

Having mobilized some 33,000 Estonians as the Soviets were evacuating in the summer of 1941, no more than half of those men were used for military service; the rest perished in Gulag concentration camps and labour battalions, mainly in the early months of the war.[nb 8]

Estonian military units within the Red Army began to be formed in January 1942, from among ethnic Estonians living in the USSR. A Soviet source suggests that in May 1942 there were nearly 20,000 Estonians in the national units. The 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, as these units came to be called after September 1942, reached the front in Velikie Luki in December 1942 and suffered heavy losses in battle as well as the defection of about 1,000 men to the German side. After Velikie Luki the Rifle Corps was replaced with other nationalities from the USSR. The corps' major activity in the latter part of the war was participation in the battles for Estonia.[96]

Soviet map of the beginning of Estonian Operation, February – April 1944

The Soviet Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive reached the Narva River on February 2. Forward Soviet units of the 2nd Shock Army and the 8th Army established several bridgeheads on the west bank to the north and south of the city of Narva. On February 7, the 8th Army expanded the bridgehead in the Krivasoo Swamp south of Narva cutting the Narva–Tallinn Railway behind the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps. The headquarters of the Leningrad Front were unable to take advantage of the opportunity of encircling the smaller German army group. The Sponheimer Group held its ground in the complicated situation. At the same time, the Soviet 108th Rifle Corps landed its units across Lake Peipus and established a bridgehead around the village of Meerapalu. By a coincidence, the Estonian Division headed for the Narva Front reached the area at the time. In the battle on February 14–16, the I. Battalion, SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiment 45 Estland (1st Estonian) and a battalion of the 44th Infantry Regiment (consisting in personnel from East Prussia) destroyed the landed Soviet troops. The Mereküla Landing was conducted simultaneously, as the 517-strong Soviet 260th Independent Naval Infantry Brigade landed at the coastal borough Mereküla behind the Sponheimer Group lines. However, the amphibious unit was almost completely annihilated.[103]

The old town of Tallinn after bombing by the Soviet Air Force in March 1944.

The 2nd Shock Army launched the new Narva Offensive on February 15[104] simultaneously from the bridgeheads north and south of the city of Narva aimed at encircling the III SS (Germanic) Panzer Corps. After ferocious battles, the exhausted Soviet army halted its operation on February 20. Since the beginning of January, the Leningrad Front had lost 227,440 men as wounded, killed or missing in action, which constituted more than half of the troops who participated in the Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive.

The pause between the offensives was used for bringing in additional forces by both sides. On February 24 (Estonian Independence Day), fulfilling their first task at the Narva Front, the fresh SS Volunteer Grenadier Regiments 45 and 46 (1st and 2nd Estonian) counterattacked to break the Soviet bridgeheads. The assault by the 2nd Estonian Regiment destroyed the Soviet Riigiküla bridgehead. The attack of the 1st and 2nd Estonian Regiments commanded by Standartenführer Paul Vent liquidated the Siivertsi Bridgehead by March 6.

By early March, the leadership of the Leningrad Front had drawn nine corps against seven German divisions and one brigade defending Narva. The Soviet Narva Offensive (1–4 March 1944) began to the southwest of Narva aiming to outflank and surround the citadel. The rifle corps of the 59th Army encircled the 214th Infantry Division and the Estonian 658th and 659th Eastern Battalions which kept resisting. This gave the army detachment "Narwa" command enough time to move in all available units and repulse the offensive.[103][105]

A Soviet air raid leveled the historical town of Narva on March 6, 1944. The attack of the 2nd Shock Army infantry followed at the Ivangorod Bridgehead on the east bank of the river on March 8. Simultaneously, pitched battles took place in the north of the town, where the Soviet 14th Rifle Corps supported by the artillery of the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps attempted to break through the German defence held by the Estonian regiments. The attacks were repulsed with great losses for the Soviets.[105]

Soviet air assaults against civilians in Estonian towns aimed to force the Estonians away from supporting the German side against the Soviet offensive. The Soviet Long Range Aviation assaulted Tallinn on the night before March 9. Approximately 40% of the housing space was destroyed in the city as 25,000 people were left without a shelter and 500 civilians killed. The result of the air raid was the opposite to the Soviet aim as the Estonians felt disgusted by Soviet atrocities and more men answered the German conscription call.[103][105]

The six divisions, armoured vehicles and artillery of the Soviet 109th Rifle Corps and the newly brought 6th Rifle Corps initiated the Narva Offensive (18–24 March 1944) aimed towards Auvere railway station. The weakened German 61st Infantry Division held their defensive positions. The Kampfgruppe Strachwitz annihilated the Soviet 8th Army shock troop wedge on March 26 at the western end of the Krivasoo Bridgehead. The kampfgruppe destroyed the eastern tip of the bridgehead on April 6. The Kampfgruppe Strachwitz inspired by their success tried to eliminate the bridgehead as a whole but was unable to proceed due to the spring thaw that had rendered the swamp impassable for its tank squadron. By the end of April, the parties at Narva had mutually exhausted their strengths. Relative calm settled on the front until late July 1944.[103][105]

Battle of Tannenberg Line, 26–29 July 1944

The Soviet 8th Army launched the initial attack of the Narva Offensive at Auvere Railway Station. The 44th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Estonian Regiment repulsed it inflicting heavy losses to the Soviets. The III SS Panzer Corps were evacuated from Narva and the front was settled on the Tannenberg Line at the Sinimäed Hills on July 26.[103][105]

The Soviet advance guard attacked the Tannenberg Line conquering a part of the Lastekodumägi, the easternmost of the three hills. The Soviet attempts to conquer the rest of the hills failed on the following day. The German counterattack on July 28 subsequently collapsed under the defence of the Soviet tank regiments. The forces of the III Army Corps dug themselves into their new positions at the Grenaderimägi, the central of the three hills.[103][105]

The climax of the Battle of Tannenberg Line was the Soviet attack on July 29. The Soviet shock units suppressed the German resistance at the Lastekodumägi, while the Soviet main forces suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent assault at the Grenaderimägi. The Soviet tanks encircled the Grenaderimägi and the westernmost Tornimägi. At the same time, SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner sent out the remaining seven German tanks which hit the surprised Soviet armoured forces back. This enabled the multi-national combat unit to re-conquer the Grenaderimägi into German hands. Of the 136,830 Soviets initiating the Narva Operation, July 1944, a few thousand had survived and the Soviet tank regiments were demolished.[103][105]

With the aid of swift reinforcements, the Red Army continued their attacks. The Stavka demanded the army detachment "Narwa" destroyed and the town of Rakvere conquered by no later than August 7. The 2nd Shock Army was back to 20,000 troopers by August 2 while their numerous attempts pursuing unchanged tactics failed to break the "Narwa"'s defence. Govorov terminated the Soviet offensive on August 10.[103][105]

When the Estonian Operation failed in the Sinimäed, the combat was carried to the south of Lake Peipus. The main thrust of the Soviet Tartu Offensive Operation was aimed at the town of Petseri. On 10 August, the Soviet 67th Army broke through the defence of the XXVIII Army Corps. The 43rd Rifle Division captured the town of Võru on August 13,[105] forcing the troops of the 18th Army to the banks of the Gauja and the Väike Emajõgi Rivers. The German units supported by the local Omakaitse civil defence battalions fortified their positions along the Väike Emajõgi and repelled the numerous Soviet attempts until 14 September.[103][105]

The Army Group North subjected the defence of the city of Tartu to the Kampfgruppe Wagner, which lacked sufficient troops to man the line. On August 23, the 3rd Baltic Front launched an artillery barrage at the positions of the II. Battalion, 2nd Estonian Regiment in the village of Nõo southeast of Tartu. The Soviet 282nd Rifle Division, the 16th Single Tank Brigade, and two self-propelled artillery regiments passed the defence and captured the strategically important Kärevere Bridge across the Emajõgi River to the west of Tartu. On August 25, three Soviet rifle divisions with the support of armoured and artillery units conquered the town and established a bridgehead on the north bank of the Emajõgi River.[103][105]

Aleksander Warma, Estonia's Ambassador to Finland, had announced that the National Committee of the Estonian Republic had sent a telegram on 1 August which stated: "Estonians return home!". It was then announced that the Finnish Infantry Regiment 200 would be disbanded and that the volunteers were free to return home. An agreement had been reached with the Germans, and the Estonians were promised amnesty if they were to return. The I. Battalion of the Finnish Boys, Estonian Police Battalions No. 37 and 38 and a tank squadron destroyed the bridgehead of two Soviet divisions west of the town by August 30 and captured Kärevere Bridge. On September 4, an operation commanded by Rebane, Vent and Oberstleutnant Meinrad von Lauchert attempted to re-capture Tartu. The attack was repulsed by units of the 3rd Baltic Front.[103][105]

Soviet offensive on Saaremaa in October–November 1944.

As Finland left the war on September 4, 1944, according to the peace agreement with the Soviets the defence of the mainland became impossible and the command of Army Group Narwa started preparing an evacuation from Estonia. The three Soviet Baltic Fronts launched their Riga Offensive Operation on 14 September along the entire length of the German 18th Army front stretching from Madona town in Latvia to the mouth of the Väike Emajõgi river. In the Estonian segment from Valga railway junction to Lake Võrtsjärv, the 3rd Baltic Front attacked. In fierce battles, the German XXVIII Army Corps and the Omakaitse battalions held their positions against the overwhelming Soviet armies.[103][105]

The Soviet Tallinn Offensive of the 2nd Shock Army commenced in the early morning of 17 September.[105] After the artillery barrage of 132,500 shells and grenades fired at the German II Army Corps,[106] the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps, the 30th Guard Rifle Corps, and the 108th Rifle Corps crossed the Emajõgi in the 25 km wide front segment eastwards from Tartu and went on the offensive with armoured and air support.[105] The defence of the II Army Corps was breached. Only "Rebane" Battle Group placed near Tartu successfully held their front segment. Alfons Rebane extricated his troops with heavy losses.[105] Army Group Narwa and the XXVIII Army Corps, the northernmost elements of Army Group North were at risk of being encircled and destroyed.[107] Schörner ordered Army Group Narwa to abandon the defences of the Emajõgi line and the Narva front to be evacuated from mainland Estonia.[103][105]

The fighters of the Estonian Rifle Corps murdered their compatriot soldiers fallen prisoner in the Battle of Porkuni, and the wounded soldiers sheltering in the Avinurme Parish church.[103][105]

The three German divisions in the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago) resisted until 23 November 1944.[103][105]

According to Soviet data, conquering the territory of Estonia cost them 126,000 casualties, from all causes. The battles at the Narva front probably added 480,000 to the figure.[108] On the German side, their own data shows 30,000 dead which is most likely underrated; a more realistic figure would be 45,000.[5]

The Court notes, first, that Estonia lost its independence as a result of the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact"), concluded on 23 August 1939, and the secret additional protocols to it. Following an ultimatum to set up Soviet military bases in Estonia in 1939, a large-scale entry of the Soviet army into Estonia took place in June 1940. The lawful government of the country was overthrown and Soviet rule was imposed by force. The totalitarian communist regime of the Soviet Union conducted large-scale and systematic actions against the Estonian population, including, for example, the deportation of about 10,000 persons on 14 June 1941 and of more than 20,000 on 25 March 1949. After the Second World War, tens of thousands of persons went into hiding in the forests to avoid repression by the Soviet authorities; part of those in hiding actively resisted the occupation regime. According to the data of the security organs, about 1,500 persons were killed and almost 10,000 arrested in the course of the resistance movement of 1944–1953. Interrupted by the German occupation in 1941–1944, Estonia remained occupied by the Soviet Union until its restoration of independence in 1991.

Plaque on the building of the Government of Estonia, Toompea, commemorating government members killed by communist terror

According to the Estonian point of view, the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union lasted five decades, only interrupted by the Nazi invasion of 1941–1944.[120] Following the events of the Bronze night in 2007, the national conservative UEN group of the European Parliament made a motion for a resolution acknowledging the 48 years of occupation as a fact.[121] The final version of the resolution of European parliament, however, only acknowledged Estonia's loss of independence lasting from 1940 to 1991 and that annexation of Estonia by Soviet Union was considered illegal by Western democracies.[122] A motion by the left-wing GUE/NGL Group for a resolution condemning the relocation by the Estonian Government of the World War II memorial fell.[123]

The Russian government and officials continue to maintain that the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states was legitimate[124] and that the Soviet Union liberated the countries from the Nazis.[125] They state that the Soviet troops had entered the Baltic countries in 1940 following the agreements and with the consent of the governments of the Baltic republics. They maintain that the USSR was not in a state of war and was not waging any combat activities on the territory of the three Baltic states, therefore, the argument goes, the word occupation can not be used.[126][127] "The assertions about [the] 'occupation' by the Soviet Union and the related claims ignore all legal, historical and political realities, and are therefore utterly groundless." (Russian Foreign Ministry)

Estonian national Ilmar Haaviste, head of an association of Estonian veterans who fought on the German side: “Both regimes were equally evil – there was no difference between the two except that Stalin was more cunning”. Estonian national Arnold Meri who fought on the Soviet side and was later charged with genocide for his role in the deportations: "Estonia's participation in World War II was inevitable. Every Estonian had only one decision to make: whose side to take in that bloody fight – the Nazis' or the anti-Hitler coalition's." Russian national Viktor Andreyev who fought on the Soviet side in Estonia answering the question: "How do you feel being called an 'occupier'?" — "Half believe one thing, half believe another. That's in the run of things."[128]

In 2004 the controversy regarding the events of World War II surrounded the Monument of Lihula. In April 2007 the diverging views on the history caused the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn protests.

Historian Martti Turtola argues in two of his books that Konstantin Päts and Johan Laidoner consciously led Estonia to non-resistance and thinking Estonia was an ally of the Soviet Union, via treaties such as Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty. With both Laidoner and Päts readily agreeing to such agreements and not making any defensive preparations for a possible invasion or occupation by the Soviet Union or suspecting the Soviets might break their treaties with Estonia. Laidoner even clamped down on potential officers in the Estonian Army that might want to resist the Soviets. Estonia even purchased military equipment, such as Il-16 (that did never arrive) from the Soviet Union. This ultimately backfired when both Päts and Laidoner ended up in prison and Estonia occupied. Päts and Laidoner had hoped for some positions within Soviet Estonia. These views and Turtola's research are controversial, considering Turtola paint Päts and Laidoner as traitors or collaborators, without actually going so far as to say it out loud. Turtola also often compares Estonias 1939-1940 experience with Finland's experience during the same period, where Finland resisted the Soviets and survived as an independent nation, while Estonia didn't. Turtola states in his book about Päts that Estonia could have mobilized 120,000 troops for a defense, in theory Estonia could have resisted at least for a while. With Finland lasting for three months in the Winter War, even when losing the war, didn't lose their independence. He later argues in the book about Laidoner that the potential resistance would still have been hard, since the above mentioned steps taken by Laidoner to remove officers that would be willing to fight and replaced them with officers more open to cooperation with the soviets. The book about Konstantin Päts sold widely in Estonia when it was released.[129][130]