National Committee of the Republic of Estonia

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National Committee of the Republic of Estonia
Eesti Vabariigi Rahvuskomitee
FormationMarch 1944
Dissolved1 December 1953; 70 years ago (1953-12-01)
TypeLiberation committee / Provisional government
Purpose
  • Withdrawal of the Nazi and Soviet occupation regimes
  • Restore the
    Republic of Estonia
President
Otto Tief

The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia (

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.

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:

  • Jüri Uluots, the last Prime Minister of Estonia before the Soviet occupation, appointed 12 October 1939,
  • Johan Holberg, the acting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, appointed 1 December 1943,
  • Otto Pukk, the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, elected 17 October 1939,
  • Alfred Maurer, the Second deputy Vice-Chairman of the National Council, elected 21 April 1938,
  • State Court of Estonia
    , appointed 26 September 1938.

The Committee determined that the Soviet-era appointment of

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

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-415-26728-1
    .
  2. 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. 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. ^ a b Berit-Helena Lamp (2009-01-23). "Lahkus Eesti lipu heiskaja Evald Aruvald". Postimees. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  12. ISBN 0-313-31878-6
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