Baltic Refugee Politicians, Organizations and Crimes Committed Against Humanity in the Context of the Cold War. The Example of Estonian Émigré Communities
Table of contents
Share
QR
Metrics
Baltic Refugee Politicians, Organizations and Crimes Committed Against Humanity in the Context of the Cold War. The Example of Estonian Émigré Communities
Annotation
PII
S207987840006555-9-1
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Magnus Ilmjarv 
Affiliation: Tallinn University
Address: Estonia, Tallinn
Abstract

The article examines the attitude of Baltic politicians in exile and émigré communities in the Western countries and in the USA to the question of the participation of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians in war crimes, crimes against humanity and the Holocaust during the German occupation of the Baltic in the period of the Second World War. The author focuses on Estonian communities and considers several major cases of the 1960s — 1980s involving the accusation of Estonians of collaboration with the Nazi German during the War. Attention is paid to the following aspects: what was the attitude of the Baltic refugee organizations that were founded in the West, and the attitude of the exiled Baltic politicians and former diplomatic representatives towards the crimes against humanity committed during the German occupation? What was the reaction of the Baltic refugee circles on such occasions, when Western countries intended to surrender or surrendered to the Soviet Union people of Baltic background who were accused of war crimes? What was the reaction of Baltic refugee circles on the conviction and punishment of war criminals of Baltic background in the Soviet Union? The author comes to the conclusion that in the conditions of the cold war and the confrontation of the two blocs, the investigation of war crimes was significantly hampered by mutual distrust and opposite ideological attitudes. The trials of war criminals which took place in the USSR and in the West had a serious impact on the émigré communities, their relations with the governments of the states that provided them with asylum and citizenship. They were often in a difficult position since the war crime trials in the Soviet Baltic Republics were related to the crimes that were committed, but beside the Soviet-type of distribution of justice they pursued certain political aims: to discredit the Baltic exile politicians who had found shelter in the Western countries, and the Baltic refuge organizations. So Baltic refugee organizations and exiled Baltic diplomats and politicians endeavored to negate the role of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian refugees in the crimes against humanity and to prevent extraditing them to the Soviet Union. Simultaneously Baltic refugee organizations and Baltic refugee politicians became a tool in the fight against Communism for U.S.A. and the Western countries during the Cold War. There were cases when people with a Baltic background, who were suspected of crimes against humanity by the Soviet Union, were involved in the organizations of national security and intelligence of the western countries.

 

Keywords
Holocaust, war crimes, crimes against humanity, collaborationism, Baltic refugee politicians, Baltic Émigré communities in the West after World War II
Received
23.07.2019
Publication date
16.09.2019
Number of characters
151544
Number of purchasers
95
Views
2675
Readers community rating
0.0 (0 votes)
Cite Download pdf 200 RUB / 1.0 SU

To download PDF you should pay the subscribtion

Full text is available to subscribers only
Subscribe right now
Only article and additional services
Whole issue and additional services
All issues and additional services for 2019

References

1. Arendt Kh. Banal'nost' zla. Ehjkhman v Ierusalime / per. s angl. S. Kastal'skogo i N. Rudnitskoj. M., 2008.

2. Margolin Maksim. Kholokost v Latvii. «Ubit' vsekh evreev!». M., 2011.

3. Saar A. Maski sorvany! Tallinn, 1961.

4. Kholokost na territorii SSSR ehntsiklopediya / red. I. A. Al'tman. M., 2011.

5. Arendt Hannah. Eichman in Jerusalem. A Report on the Banality of Evil. N. Y., 2006.

6. Blum Howard. Wanted! The search for Nazis in America. N. Y., 1977.

7. Boas Gideon. War Crimes Prosecutions in Australia and Other Common Law Countries: Some Observations. Criminal Law Forum 21. 2010.

8. Dieckmann Christoph, Suziedelis Saulius. Lietuvos zydu persekiojimas ir masines zudynes 1941 m. vasarair rudeni: saltiniai ir analize? The persecution and mass murder of Lithuanian Jews during summer and fall of 1941: Sources and analysis. Vilnius, 2006.

9. Eesti Riigiarhiiv (ERA), 1608-2-17964; 1608-2-1794; 1608-2-1795; 1608-2-1796; 1608-2-1797; 1608-2-1798; 495-7-2828.

10. Eesti Riigiarhiivi filiaal (ERAF), 1-218-5; 129SM-1-28195.

11. Eidintas Alfonsas. Jews, Lithuanians and the Holocaust. Vilnius, 2003.

12. Estonia 1940—1945. Reports of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. Tallinn, 2006.

13. Ezergailis Andrew. Holocaust in Latvia 1941—1944. Riga, 1999.

14. Gurin Loov Eugenia. Suur having: eesti juutide katastroof 1941. Tallinn, 1994.

15. Hetherington Thomas, Chalmers William. War Crimes Inquiry Report (Command Paper) presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Office by command of Her Majesty. L., 1989.

16. Hoover Institution Archives (HIA), Pusta, 8

17. Jerome S. Legge Jr. The Karl Linnas Deportation Case, the Office of Special Investigations, and American Ethnic Politics // Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Vol. 24. Nr. 1. Spring 2010. P. 26—55.

18. Kucenas Silvia. Current Events: OSI Collaborates with KGB // Lituanus. Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences, 1984. Vol. 30. Nr. 30.

19. Lietuvos centrinis valstybės archyvas (LCVA), f. 648; 1019

20. Lippman Matthew. The Pursuit of Nazi War Criminals in the United States and in Other Anglo-American Legal Systems // California Western International Law Journal. Vol. 29. № 1. Fall 1988. P. 1—101.

21. Longerich Peter. Wannseekonferenz. Der Weg zur “Endlosung”. Munchen, 2016.

22. Maripuu Meelis. Execution of Estonian Jews in Local Detention Institutions in 1941—1942 // Estonia 1940—1945. Reports of the Estonian International Commission fort the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. Tallinn, 2006.

23. Maripuu Meelis. Kulma soja aegsed naidiskohtuprotsessid Eesti NSVs. Oigus ja propaganda kaalukausil // Noukogude Eesti kulma soja aastatel. Koostanud Tonu Tannberg — Eesti Ajalooarhiivi Toimetised, Acta et Commentationes Archivi Historici Estoniae. 2015. 23(30).

24. Maripuu Meelis. Soviet Prisoners of War in Estonia in 1941—1944 // Estonia 1940—1945. Reports of the Estonian International Commission fort the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. Tallinn, 2006. P. 766.

25. Matas David, Charendorff Susan. Justice Delayed: Nazi War Criminals in Canada. 1987.

26. Mazurkiewicz Anna. The Little U. N. at 769 First Avenue, New York (1956—1963) // East Central Europe in Exile. Transatlantic Identities / ed. Anna Mazurkiewicz. Newcastle upon Tyne, 2013. P. 227—245.

27. Neumann Klaus. Across the Seas: Australia’s Response to Refugees: A History. Collingwood, 2015.

28. Paavle Indrek. Estonian Citizens and Residents Executed or Deceased in Imprisonment in 1941—1944 // Estonia 1940—1945. Reports of the Estonian International Commission fort the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity. Tallinn, 2006.

29. Pendas Devin O. The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial, 1963—1965 // Genocide, History, and the Limits of the Law. Cambridge, 2005.

30. Penter Tanja. Collaboration on Trial: New Source Material on Soviet Postwar Trials Against Collaborators // Slavic Review. Winter 2005. Vol. 64. Nr. 4. P. 782—790.

31. Petersen Hans-Christian, Salzborn Samuel. Anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe: History and Present in Comparison. Frankfurt am Main, 2010.

32. Richard Rashke. Useful Enemies: John Demjanjuk and America’s Open-Door Policy for Nazi War Criminals. Harrison, N. Y., 2013.

33. Saar Ants. Morvarid maskita. Tallinn, 1961.

34. Schiessl Christoph. Alleged Nazi Collaborators in the United States after World War II. N. Y., L., 2016.

35. Simpson Christopher. Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy // Forbidden Bookshelf / ed. Mark Crispin Miller. N. Y., 2014.

36. Suziedelis Saulius. The Final Solution in Lithuania: a Comparative Historical Approach in the European Context // The Holocaust in the Eastern and Western European States Occupied by the Nazis: Studies and Memory / eds. Chairman Prof. Dr. Vygantas Vareikis, Prof. dr. Saulius Suziedelis, Prof. dr. Joachim Tauber. Klaipedos, 2017.

37. Suziedelis Saulius. The Perception of the Holocaust: Public Challenges and Experience in Lithuania, Meeting Report. September 26, 2007 [Ehlektronnyj resurs]. URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/MR341Suziedelis.doc (data obrascheniya: 19.02.2017).

38. The National Archives (United Kingdom) (UK TNA), FO 371/47052; 371/55979; 371/159203; 371/15920; 334/854.

39. Valge Jaak. Teadusketserid tuleriidale // Maaleht. 12.12.2002.

40. Weiss-Wendt Anton. Murders Without Hatred: Estonians and the Holocaust. Syracuse, 2009.

41. Zumbakis Paul S. Soviet Evidence in North American Courts: An analysis of problems and concerns with reliance on communist source evidence in alleged war criminals. Wood Haven, N. Y., 1986.

Comments

No posts found

Write a review
Translate