Mart Laar has written a book about the forgotten and secret war in Estonia during the Second World War. I got the book which is written in German, at the one of the seminars set up by The Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council (BAAC). It is a well-written book about a tragic history of Estonia. The country was occupied by both the
Russians and the Germans and then again by the Russians. Few of us know that Estonians also join the Finnish Army to fight the Russians. The soldiers were called the " Finnish Boys ". The choice was not easy for those who wanted to fight for an independent Estonia. The German Army recruited many soldiers. The alternative was to join the Finnish Army. During the Winter War (1939-40)some Estonians had joined the Finnish Army to fight the Russians. In 1943 men from Estonia went to Finland. About 1.973 Estonians enlisted in the new Infantry Regiment 200. The regiment was known as " Finnish boys " or " soomepoisid ". The resistance movement against the last Russian occupation was set up in the forests of Estonia. When the war was close to an end, many hoped that it was was possible to make the country free again. But the fight for independence was not finished in 1945. The forest brothers went on fighting hoping that the Western countries would make it possible to
rebuild an independent Estonia. No. The fight went on for years and many of the Estonian leaders were killed in actions. A photo is published by August Sabbe who went on living in the forest to 1978. Russian soldiers and secret agents went on fighting the " Forest brothers " called " criminals " and many had no choice anymore
than to fight to the bitter end and got killed by the Russian soldiers. A tragic war
and a war forgotten by the countries who won the WWII.
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