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Source of the material for the bookSource of the material for the book
• My father compiled three huge volumes of material– Detailed description of
course material, facilities, and life at the Estonian Technical Military Academy
– Detailed memoirs from many of the cadets
– Photo album of life at the academy and beyond (over 300 photos)
• All the material is now in the Estonian War Museumthe Estonian War Museum in Viimsi, Estonia
B k i t fBook consists of five significant memoirs. They are those of:
• Victor Orav
• Hugo Kubja
• Edgar ReiksaarEdgar Reiksaar
• Johannes Jaagus
• August VohmaAugust Vohma
Book’s introductory pages are by Mart Laar,E t i ’ Mi i t f D fEstonia’s Minister of Defense
E t i t t d• Estonian statesman and historian
• Prime minister of• Prime minister of Estonia 1992 – 1994; 1999 ‐ 2002
• Studied history at the University of TartuH i b k• Has written many books on Estonian and Soviet historyhistory
Direct from the end of Mart Laar’sd h b kintroduction to the book… He wrote:
Some of the following stories are simply fantastic. If one did g p ynot know that it is impossible to dream up such wild tales one would think them being simply unbelievable... Most of these men fo ght in both So iet and German armed forces Theirmen fought in both Soviet and German armed forces... Their aim was to keep the Red Army out of Estonia but it could not be achieved. What they did achieve was to instill a tradition of resistance which bore fruit 50 years later when Estonia again won its freedom from the occupying foreign power.
Th t E t i ldiThey were true Estonian soldiers.
Mart Laar Sept 4 2011 TallinnMart Laar Sept 4, 2011 Tallinn
The 1st chapter describes life at the Estonian Military T h i l A d d h S i k i 1940Technical Academy and the Soviet takeover in 1940
• The academy was Estonia’s equivalent to W t P i tWest Point
• Four year program of college level coursescollege level courses
• Graduates were commissioned 2ndcommissioned 2nd
lieutenants
1940 Graduating Class1940 Graduating Class
The life of the cadets was disrupted by h l f h dthe arrival of the Red Army
To avoid bloodshed, the Estonian government handed the country over to thegovernment handed the country over to the
Soviet Union in 1940S i t ilit• Soviet military presence exceeded 125,000 soldiers
• Estonian military consisted of about 15,000 men
• Soviet staged protest were intended to showwere intended to show the world the peoples will
Lt. Victor OravLt. Victor Orav
• Estonian officer• Life in the Red Army• Deserted from Red Army• POW camp 6 months• In the German Army
H il d d• Heavily wounded• Escape to Germany• Soviet POWSoviet POW• Escape & flight to the
west
Lt. Victor Orav’s war path:
Each of the fiveEach of the five officers covered a lot of ground.lot of ground. The tracks of each of their exploits are illustrated in the b kbook.
Lt. Hugo KubjaLt. Hugo Kubja
• Deserted from the Red ese ed o e edArmy
• Shot his way out of a situation to avoid capture
• Survived in the forest
• Led a company in the battle at Tartu
• Served on the Leningrad• Served on the Leningrad front
• Escaped to the westEscaped to the west
Ensign Kubja (leaning against tree) d f d dduring more carefree days as cadet
Lt. Edgar ReiksaarLt. Edgar Reiksaar
• Deserted from Red Armyy• Captured and decreed to
be a German paratrooper by a Soviet courtby a Soviet court
• Sentenced to death• EscapedEscaped• Re‐captured• Executed• Survived• Recovered and re‐entered
ilit imilitary service
Lt. Reiksaar left Estonia as part of the Red Army’s retreat. It ended up being a four day and night march without food. At that
i t h j d i t th b h d t t d b k t E t i Hpoint he jumped into the brush and started back to Estonia. He did not enjoy his freedom long.
Lt. Johannes JaagusLt. Johannes Jaagus
• Served in Red Armyy• Lived thru communist intrigues and “death
l” fangel” fears• Saw action in RussiaS i d b bi id• Survived bombing raids
• Deserted• Long term German• Long term German POW
• Flight westFlight west
Lt. Jaagus lived thru the political pressures of the communist party. The daily routine for all Red Army soldiers was to get educated in the communist doctrine and the words of their
“great and wise leader” Joseph Stalin
Major August VõhmaMajor August Võhma• A true professional soldier
d f d• Promoted from 2ndlieutenant to major in 4 short yearsA ti i R d A• Action in Red Army
• Action in German Army• Action in the Estonian
Legion• Ranking Estonian artillery
officer in Germany at war’s dend
• Escape to the west• His story is also a love story
Captain Võhma and his artillery was relocated to the front at Narva in 1944 as part of the Estonian Legion. He later had to withdraw to the p g
“Sinimäed” and defend the area south of it.
Major Võhma’s love story.Major Võhma s love story.
• Met Regina during the i E t iwar in Estonia
• Arranged for her flight to Germanyy
• Got married (with Himmler’s permission)
h ’• Lost touch at war’s end• Intensive search for her
with amazing twists ofwith amazing twists of fate
• Hollywood ending
SummarySummary
• I felt I had an obligation and responsibility toI felt I had an obligation and responsibility to my father and all Estonians to bring these stories to lightstories to light
• Translating and editing the material has given me a deeper understanding of my heritageme a deeper understanding of my heritage
Future Options I have started to pursue:Future Options I have started to pursue:
• Many of these stories read like a HollywoodMany of these stories read like a Hollywood script. Major August Vohma’s story would make a great motion picturemake a great motion picture.
• I will approach ETV (Estonian public television) to see if these stories can be the follow up toto see if these stories can be the follow‐up to the popular Estonian TV series “Tuulepealnemaa”maa .
The book is available on line:The book is available on line:
Publisher: Lakeshore Press (an EstonianPublisher: Lakeshore Press (an Estonian enterprise)
P 260Pages: 260
Price: $25 + shipping
http://lakeshorepressbooks.com
Also available from Amazon.com
Estonian hard cover 380 page version now in Estonia’s bookstores and available on line at:http://www.apollo.ee/product.php/3020907
$Cost, including shipping to USA: $40