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EESTI ELU reedel, 26. märtsil 2021 — Friday, March 26, 2021
Victims of Soviet deportations remembered in Estonia Estonian World, March 2020 (As partially published) On 25 March 1949, twenty thousand men, women and children from Estonia were deported by the Soviets to Siberia. Nearly 3% of the Estonian population were seized in a few days and dis patched to remote areas of Siberia. In the summer of 1940 the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a result of the infamous MolotovRibbentrop Pact signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on 23 August 1939. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Estonia lost ap proximately 17.5% of its popu lation. The Soviet occupation brought about an event that until then had only been read about in history books and which became the most horrible memory of the past centuries – mass deportations which affect ed people of all nationalities living in Estonia. The two de portations that affected Estonia the most, on 14 June 1941 and 25 March 1949, are annually observed as days of mourning. The March 1949 deportation was the largest of these, when over 20,000 people, mostly women and children, were deported from Estonia. The Soviet authorities imme diately implemented a reign of terror, which also victimised Estonia’s ethnic minorities, like Jews and Russians. Special em phasis was placed upon the elimination of the nation’s cul tural, business, political and military elite. During the war, Nazi Germany invaded part of the Soviet Union and occupied
Estonia from July 1941 until September 1944, after which the Soviet Union re-established its occupation. The Soviet Union had started preparations for the launch of terror in Estonian civil society already before the occupation. The purpose of the communist terror was to suppress any pos sible resistance from the very beginning and to inculcate great fear among people in order to rule out any kind of organised general resistance movement in the future as well. In Estonia, the planned exter mination of the prominent and active persons, as well as the displacement of large groups of people were intended to destroy the Estonian society and econo my. The lists of people to be re pressed were prepared well in advance. From the files of the Soviet security organs, it seems that already in the early 1930ies the Soviet security organs had collected data on persons to be subjected to repressions. The first deportation took place on 14 June 1941, when over 10,000 people were de ported from Estonia. After the Second World War, when the Soviet Union had re occupied Estonia (after a brief period under the Nazi German occupation), discussion started among the Soviet authorities on carrying out a new mass depor tation. Clandestine preparations lasted over two years and by March 1949, the occupation power was ready to carry out a new deportation. In the course of the operation that began on 25 March 1949, over 20,000 people – nearly 3% of the 1945 Estonian population – were seized in a few days and dis patched to remote areas of Siberia. The deportation was
demanded by the Communist Party in order to complete “col lectivisation” and “eliminate the kulaks as a class”. Nearly a third of those declared to be “kulaks” managed to evade their captors. In the words of the local Communist Party Secretary, Nikolai Karotamm, other families were “grabbed” in order to “fill the quota”. The majority of the 1949 deportees were women (49.4%) and children (29.8%) The youngest deportee was less than one year old; the oldest was 95 years old. At least two babies were born on the train. A file still exists on four children sent to Siberia from Rakvere without their parents, after having been held hostage for two days in an attempt to trap their parents. Particularly inhumane was the second deportation of children who had first been deported in 1941 and then al lowed to rejoin their relatives in Estonia at the end of the war. 5,000 Estonians were dis patched to Omsk oblast, into the region directly affected by the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. From 1949 to 1956, about 260 nuclear and fusion bomb explosions were carried out there. The victims of radiation sickness were left without medical treatment for decades. Sick people, as well as the parents of babies born with abnormalities, were told that they had contracted brucellosis infection from animals. It was not until the late 1950ies that deportees who had survived their ordeal had a chance to return to their home land, but despite a partial reha bilitation they still remained second-rate citizens in the Soviet Union. A great number of them continued to be under the surveillance of the security authorities; their confiscated property was not returned to them and no formal pardon was ever issued.
PARADISE… FOUND!!! Seedrioru Camp in the Summer We continue to be in the grip of on going Covid vari ants, but there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tun nel with the increasing num ber of people receiving their vaccinations. We can only be hopeful for laager at this time… but we must push ahead and plan for the sum mer. We have been researching what screening and cleaning protocols need to be in place necessary to run a safe laager and working closely with our local public health unit, Wellington Centre and our in spector. We will be providing staff training coming in May, which will also be communicat ed to parents. So far we have staff, all Seedrioru Alumni who have a basic knowledge or better of the Estonian language. We EVEN have an Estonian
Lifeguard!! REGISTRATION FOR CAMP: MARCH 27 – APRIL 10 WE ARE ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS FOR DAY CAMP EARLY THIS YEAR SO THAT WE CAN PROPER LY PREPARE FOR LAAGERv, all dependent on Public Health allowances. We are offering 3 weeks of laager this year: July 5-9 – All about Eesti nädal + mudilased (4-6 y) July 12-16 – Arts and Science week + mudilased (4-6 y) July 19-23 – Survivor week Camp fees: 125 per child, 3rd child free! If your child attends for 2 weeks – 3rd week free Registration forms available at Seedrioru.com with payment instructions MONEY TALKS OR CAMP WALKS!!!! NEW TO YOU!! SEED RIORU SWAG!! 65 cheers for
65 years of Seedrioru Summer Camp! We have everything to keep you stylish in Seedrioru fashionable gear! Everything from pens, tote bags, t-shirts, sweat shirts… TERMINAATOR band long sleeve tees (limited edition of shirts from Estonian band), bracelets. Limited sizes available! Check out our website for prices and how to order! Free local delivery (Hamilton – and surrounding areas and Seedrioru) MUDIMAJA REFRESH! Every spring brings the promise of renewal – and we have an energetic group of Seedrioru emad (Moms)who are up for the challenge to refresh the Mudimaja (Little Red House where our youngest campers are housed). This year they are purging, cleaning, painting, re-purposing
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Photo: piusa.ee
Estonian Destinations: Piusa Caves Vincent Teetsov The way we encounter ani mals is often very arranged. Encounters with animals in the wild are scarce. But in the case of Piusa Caves Nature Reserve, in Põlva County, southern Estonia, humans came by and made use of the land, animals came in, and both have stayed somewhat close to each other since. The caves in Piusa are the product of mining for quartz sand, by hand, to use in the making of glass. Miners started work in 1922 and cut out sec tions decisively, with pillars and passageways that would have allowed them to get what they needed carefully and expediently. 36 years after, bats made themselves at home within the dark hallways of sand. 12 years subsequent to that, in 1970, mining no longer took place there and the cave became the full-time residence of those bats. Though, when the light shines in between the colourful pillars, you’ll be drawn to stay a while yourself. Piusa Caves Nature Reserve is the largest destination for bats in the Baltic region, if not all of Eastern Europe. In the caves, you can see seven species of bat: the northern bat (põhja-nahkhiir), brown longeared bat (suurkõrv), Natterer’s bat, whiskered bat (habelend lane), Brandt’s bat, Daubenton’s bat (veelendlane), and pond bat (tiigilendlane). Northern bats are very round with a short nose. Brown longeared bats almost look like they have the horns of a ram. Natterer’s bats have wide, for ward-protruding, almost doglike ears. If you had a chance to look closely at the whiskered bat (don’t count on it, though, as they’re nocturnal) you can see just how fine their whiskers are. Daubenton’s bats have thicker looking fur. These bats all have different proportions,
to give the next generation a beautiful place to build their lasting childhood dreams! TALGUD: BE A PART OF THE CHANGE!! Talgud will be happening, socially distanced and accord ing to Wellington Centre Public Health guidelines, like every thing else we do.
ear and wing shapes, and other characteristics that you can ask about when you’re there. Up to 3,000 bats have been counted, having come from far and wide, as much as 100 km away, to the sanctuary of the caves. To see the cave when you visit, you’ll have to pay for a tour, which will not only be a refresher on the background behind the cave, but also grant you access to the marked paths inside. At the visitor centre, there are exhibitions from Tartu’s AHHAA Science Centre and films screened about the history, flora, and fauna of the caves and their surrounding area. The visitor centre also offers the activity of making “sand bottles and sand cards” for guests who arrange this in advance. Outside of the cave and visi tor centre, you can go for a walk on a 1.4 kilometre marked trail. You can also see Piusa river, which the caves back out onto and which eventually flows into Lake Peipus. Paths in the area make for a possible cycling route. The nature reserve itself doesn’t allow for camping or campfires if you’re thinking of staying close by. Though near by, there is the Piusa Lõkkekoht (campfire site) where you can set up a tent. Mushroom pick ing and foraging are permitted within the reserve, making for another relaxing activity while you’re there. It takes roughly one hour and 20 minutes to reach the nature reserve from Tartu by car, and you can also get there by taking the R46 train (a one hour and 18 minute trip – Elron.ee has the latest train times) from Tartu to Koidula; then taking the 83C bus from Koidula for a short hop over to Piusa. Piusa Caves are an interest ing intersection between the natural and human worlds, with an interesting connection to Estonian glass-making.
We are planning for the follow ing dates: May 15, June 5, and June 12. Come to Paradise! Together we can continue to make Seedrioru beautiful and carry on the legacy of 65 years… and counting!! KAREN MUST on behalf of the Seedrioru Board of Directors Elagu Seedrioru!
