Estonia
After the Nazi occupation of Estonia, a puppet regime headed by Hjalmar Mäe. The direct control of the Estonia (Generalbezirk Estland) as part of Ostland was done by SS Obergruppenführer Karl-Siegmund Litzmann. Both were directly responsible for organizing the persecution of Jews and other civilians.
Overall, 21 Concentration and Transit Camps were created in occupied Estonia in order to destroy foreign Jews and using the forced labour of prisoners in order to support the industrial potential of Nazi Germany at war.
Overall number of victims:
Estonia – around 1 000 people
Approximately 10 000 people died in the Vaivara labour camps, mostly foreign Jews.
Memorial:
There is a memorial obelisk dedicated to the victims of the massacres where the former Klooga Concentration Camp was. There are memorial signs in most of the places that were part of the "Vaivara system."
Overall, 21 Concentration and Transit Camps were created in occupied Estonia in order to destroy foreign Jews and using the forced labour of prisoners in order to support the industrial potential of Nazi Germany at war.
Overall number of victims:
Estonia – around 1 000 people
Approximately 10 000 people died in the Vaivara labour camps, mostly foreign Jews.
Memorial:
There is a memorial obelisk dedicated to the victims of the massacres where the former Klooga Concentration Camp was. There are memorial signs in most of the places that were part of the "Vaivara system."
Chronology (press to read)
July 1941 – Around 3 000 Jews managed to successfully escape to other regions of the USSR thanks to the fierce resistance of the retreating Red Army. During the actual Nazi occupation of Estonia, there were 921 Jews in Estonia (according to Einsatzgruppen A report, the amount of Jews was 963).
10 July 1941 – The first Einsatzgruppen A arrive in occupied Estonia.
11 September 1941 – The Nazi administration issued the first rules for the Jewish population, limiting their rights: everyone was ordered to wear the yellow star patches, banning them from walking on the sidewalk, controlling the time they could visit stores. Property belonging to Jews was to be confiscated.
Aside from the Germans, Eesti Omakaitse (Estonian Home Guard) armed Estonian police took active participation in the attacks on the Jewish population. Moreover, Einsatzgruppen A commander Walter Stahlecker and commander of Sonderkommando 1a Martin Sandberger specifically tasked Omakaitse with destroying the civilian, mostly Jewish, population. They appointed Johannes Soodla head of the Estonian police, whose main task were punitive functions.
September-October 1941 – Estonian policemen, overlooked by German command, undertook regular arrests and shootings of Jewish men. These killings mostly happened in the Central Prison, while the women would be killed in the Harku Concentration Camp. It is still hard to determine where the majority of the arrested Jews were shot.
Most often, the names of the condemned Jews were included into special lists to give the process the appearance of "legality"; the warden from Central prison would transfer the condemned to the death row cell. The next morning, the condemned would be visited by the special firing squad from the political police (led by Johannes Soodla). The arrested would be stripped, have their hands tied behind their back and tied to each other with ten to fifteen people. Then they would be loaded on trucks and led out of town, where they would be shot.
By 15 October 1941 – according to an Einsatzgruppen A report, all of the Jews older than 16 were destroyed "by the Estonia self-defense units under the leadership of Sonderkommando 1a." They only spared the doctors of the Judenrat alive.
From January 1942 (after the Wannsee Conference) the territory of the General Commissariat "Estland" was to be adapted for killing part of the Jews who were to be transported from other European countries occupied by the Third Reich. The key place to imprison and kill foreign Jews was the Klooga Concentration Camp, set up specifically for this goal. This was curated by a special department of the Estonian Police, led by collaborationist Julius Ennok.
10 July 1941 – The first Einsatzgruppen A arrive in occupied Estonia.
11 September 1941 – The Nazi administration issued the first rules for the Jewish population, limiting their rights: everyone was ordered to wear the yellow star patches, banning them from walking on the sidewalk, controlling the time they could visit stores. Property belonging to Jews was to be confiscated.
Aside from the Germans, Eesti Omakaitse (Estonian Home Guard) armed Estonian police took active participation in the attacks on the Jewish population. Moreover, Einsatzgruppen A commander Walter Stahlecker and commander of Sonderkommando 1a Martin Sandberger specifically tasked Omakaitse with destroying the civilian, mostly Jewish, population. They appointed Johannes Soodla head of the Estonian police, whose main task were punitive functions.
September-October 1941 – Estonian policemen, overlooked by German command, undertook regular arrests and shootings of Jewish men. These killings mostly happened in the Central Prison, while the women would be killed in the Harku Concentration Camp. It is still hard to determine where the majority of the arrested Jews were shot.
Most often, the names of the condemned Jews were included into special lists to give the process the appearance of "legality"; the warden from Central prison would transfer the condemned to the death row cell. The next morning, the condemned would be visited by the special firing squad from the political police (led by Johannes Soodla). The arrested would be stripped, have their hands tied behind their back and tied to each other with ten to fifteen people. Then they would be loaded on trucks and led out of town, where they would be shot.
By 15 October 1941 – according to an Einsatzgruppen A report, all of the Jews older than 16 were destroyed "by the Estonia self-defense units under the leadership of Sonderkommando 1a." They only spared the doctors of the Judenrat alive.
From January 1942 (after the Wannsee Conference) the territory of the General Commissariat "Estland" was to be adapted for killing part of the Jews who were to be transported from other European countries occupied by the Third Reich. The key place to imprison and kill foreign Jews was the Klooga Concentration Camp, set up specifically for this goal. This was curated by a special department of the Estonian Police, led by collaborationist Julius Ennok.
In the Nazi classification and later history, the Estonian transit concentration camps are called the "Vaivara Camp System." They were clustered mainly in the North and North-East parts of occupied Estonia. The overall amount of prisoners in these camps at once was 10 000 people. Here is a list of these camps:
Ida-Viru County was where the majority of the Vaivara system camps were situated.
1. Vaivara - 190 km from Tallinn by the railway station and by a factory of mineral oils in the Vaivara region which is currently part of Ida-Viru County. It was active from August 1943 until February 1944.
2. Narva-Ost. By the Narva linen factory.
3. Gungerburg. In the resort town of Narva-Jõesuu in the Ida-Viru County (North-West Estonia)
2. Narva-Ost. By the Narva linen factory.
3. Gungerburg. In the resort town of Narva-Jõesuu in the Ida-Viru County (North-West Estonia)
View of old Gungerburg
4. Ereda. A separate "labour team" was in Kohtla. It was in Alutaguse village region in Ida-Viru (North-East Estonia)
5. Auvere. In the village district of the same name around Narva-Jõesuu.
6. Aseri. This camp was next to the Aseri parish in Vira-Nigula, which is part of Lääne-Viru County. It was classified as a labour camp.
7. Viivikonna. In the village of the same name in the Ida-Viru County (North-East). It was 8 km away from the Vaivara railway station. The village was founded 1935-1936 by the shale mines. Prisoners were also sent to the mines.
8. Sonda. In a small town next to the railroad station of the same name in the Western part of Ida-Viru in Lüganuse Parish).
5. Auvere. In the village district of the same name around Narva-Jõesuu.
6. Aseri. This camp was next to the Aseri parish in Vira-Nigula, which is part of Lääne-Viru County. It was classified as a labour camp.
7. Viivikonna. In the village of the same name in the Ida-Viru County (North-East). It was 8 km away from the Vaivara railway station. The village was founded 1935-1936 by the shale mines. Prisoners were also sent to the mines.
8. Sonda. In a small town next to the railroad station of the same name in the Western part of Ida-Viru in Lüganuse Parish).
Sonda, modern view.
9. Jõhvi. In the city of Jõhvi in North-East Estonia, the capital of Ida-Viru. It is a big center for shale mining. The prisoners of this camp were forced to gather and refine shale in harsh conditions.
10. Kunda. A city on the river of Kunda in Lääne-Viru County (North Estonia).
11. Kiviõli. Also in Ida-Viru in a town of the same name. It was also founded in 1922 as an industrial center, which is why they used forced labour in it.
12. Klooga. One of the most infamous concentration camps in Estonia. It was on the Harju County next to the Klooga village (38 km West of Tallinn). The Jews who survived in the Vilnius and Kaunas ghettos were sent there.
10. Kunda. A city on the river of Kunda in Lääne-Viru County (North Estonia).
11. Kiviõli. Also in Ida-Viru in a town of the same name. It was also founded in 1922 as an industrial center, which is why they used forced labour in it.
12. Klooga. One of the most infamous concentration camps in Estonia. It was on the Harju County next to the Klooga village (38 km West of Tallinn). The Jews who survived in the Vilnius and Kaunas ghettos were sent there.
Entrance to the Klooga concentration camp
19 September 1944 – When the Red Army was approaching Klooga, the Nazi leaders of the camps and Estonian National SS squads executed 2 000 prisoners of the camp (according to the other sources, 1 634 and 150 Soviet POWs)
13. Ilinurme. In the Illuka district, part of the Ida-Viru County in North-East Estonia.
14. Lagedi. It was next to a small borough in Rae Parish, Harju County. It was considered a "transport" camp.
15. Soska. Next to the small village of the same name on the bank of Lake Agusalu, Ida-Viru County.
16. Putki. Also near the Narva-Jõesuu settlement in Ida-Viru, next to Mustanina village (North-East Estonia).
17. Kuremäe. Near the Kuremäe village in North-East Estonia, in Illuka district, next to Ilinurme.
18. Kukruse. Near the village of the same name, in the Toila Parish, part of Ida-Viru (on the road from Tallinn to Narva). It was between the cities of Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi
19. Saka. Near the village of the same name in Toila Parish (Ida-Viru County)
20. Petseri. Part of the Pechory city, which was part of the Estonian Republic as part of the Tartu Peace Treaty under the name of Petseri.
21. Kūdupe. Was in Northern Latvia, currently in the Pededze region, however it was part of the Estonian camp system during WW2.
13. Ilinurme. In the Illuka district, part of the Ida-Viru County in North-East Estonia.
14. Lagedi. It was next to a small borough in Rae Parish, Harju County. It was considered a "transport" camp.
15. Soska. Next to the small village of the same name on the bank of Lake Agusalu, Ida-Viru County.
16. Putki. Also near the Narva-Jõesuu settlement in Ida-Viru, next to Mustanina village (North-East Estonia).
17. Kuremäe. Near the Kuremäe village in North-East Estonia, in Illuka district, next to Ilinurme.
18. Kukruse. Near the village of the same name, in the Toila Parish, part of Ida-Viru (on the road from Tallinn to Narva). It was between the cities of Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi
19. Saka. Near the village of the same name in Toila Parish (Ida-Viru County)
20. Petseri. Part of the Pechory city, which was part of the Estonian Republic as part of the Tartu Peace Treaty under the name of Petseri.
21. Kūdupe. Was in Northern Latvia, currently in the Pededze region, however it was part of the Estonian camp system during WW2.
Gallery of Executioners:
