ESTONIA, HISTORY AND MOVIES: HOW TO GET EASY ACCESS TO THE DRAMATIC HISTORY OF ESTONIA?

If you want to get an easy access to the most dramatic stories about the history of Estonia that took place from about 1918 to 1945, I will recommend viewing of some interesting movies. Any movie dealing with historical events must add some fictional scenes mixed with facts of the events. The positive results of the viewing are that you have a good time at the same time as you get some facts about what went on during some dramatic years. Let me comment on three movies that I bought in Tallinn last week: “ 1944”, “NIMED MARMORTAHVLILL ( Eng.Title: Names In Marble)” and “ TUULEPEALNE MAA (Eng.Title:WINDWARD LAND)”.

1944

The movie is a dramatic war film where you not find any heroes only soldiers who were fighting a war without any positive hope. When the German army liberated Estonia from the military and political occupation of Estonia during the Second World War, many hoped that the Germans would support the setting up of an independent Estonia state. Therefore many young boys and girls joined the German army to fight the Russians. Even some believed that the Russians supported an independent Estonia state too or they accepted the political change making Estonia a state with the Soviet Union. All of the participants in the fighting for Estonia were betrayed. Between the German army and the army of the Soviet Union, a three fighting force had been established: The Forest Brothers. Those forest fighters managed to liberate parts of Estonia for a short period. But no support was given to the forest fighters because Soviet Union was supporting the Allies fight against Germany. The Estonians found themselves trapped in a difficult political and military situation. No victory for those who believed in a new Estonian state. The content of the movie deals with the feelings and hopes of the soldiers fighting in three different groups. A splendid movie directed by Elmo Nuganen. The film was released in 2015.

NAMES IN MARBLE

We have to return to 1918. The Estonia War of Independence is a reality. The movie deals with some students who had decided to fight on the nationalist side. The students are all boys. They are not well trained for military duties but they all fight hard. Some of the students got killed too. The movie reveals the conflicts between two ideologies: Estonian nationalism and Communism. The war lasted to 1920. The enemy was the army of Soviet Russia. The film was released in 2002. The story is based on a novel by Albert Kivikas. The director of the film is Elmo Nuganen.

WINDWARD LAND

I have viewed all the episodes of the Estonian television miniseries yesterday. Time consuming business viewing all the episodes  on one day! The movie deals with some of the most dramatic years of the history of Estonia. The movie was aired in 2008 and 2013. The series takes place from World War One, encompassing the war of Independence of Estonia , the story of an independent Estonia nation, the democratic struggles to make a democratic state of Estonia, the occupation of Estonia by the army of Soviet Union. The series was directed by Ain Prosa. The series make use of archival footage showing how the German army was welcomed by people in Tallinn believing that the Germans would support the fight for an independent Estonia state. We get to know the Forest Brothers too and the Fascist Vaps Movement of 1933.The members of the Forest Brothers fought the invading Soviets even when the WWII was ended in Europe. World War II decreased the Estonian population by 200,000 people. About 30,000 of the population were killed in battles, half of them wearing German or Finnish uniforms. About 800,000 people fled abroad. The guerilla warfare in Estonian forests continued for more than a decade.

All the movies can be bought at the Estonian Film Museum/ Estonian History Museum situated at Maarjamae Palace, Pirita tee 56, 10123 Tallinn, Estonia.Post@ajaloomuseum.ee.

Good luck with your historical education made by viewing historical movies.