The government of Estonia to unveil monument to Nazi soldiers on Victory Day

Estonian officials determined to dishonor Soviet soldiers, who liberated Estonia of fascism

The Estonian government has finally determined its attitude to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Victory over Nazism. Estonia, a former republic of the Soviet Union, decided to mark the significant date in its own style. The monument to the warriors, who fell for freedom of Estonia will be unveiled in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, on May 8th. In other words, the Estonian authorities intend to erect the monument to Wermaht soldiers and the 20th SS division. To crown it all, the monument is to be unveiled near the Memorial Complex to Soviet soldiers.

There is no point in exposing the blatant intention of the Estonian government: it is extremely hard to comprehend the fact of unveiling the monument to Nazi soldiers during the celebration of Victory in WWII. It is not clear, however, why the government of Estonia made such an odious decision. They probably wanted to emphasize the national freedom and independence of Estonia, although it looked like the country has lost its mind and reason. It is worth mentioning that the monument was to be unveiled last summer, although the authorities decided to wait for another year.

The monument represents a map of Estonia, on which the sites of major battles are marked. There are also 16 little boards, which carry the names of Hitler's Wermaht units. The Estonian Prime Minister, Andrus Ansi will participate in the opening ceremony. Furthermore, spokespeople for the Estonian government are not going to honor monuments to “foreign troops” nearby.

The President of Estonia, Arnold Ruutel, refused to take part in the opening ceremony. In addition, the president decided not to go to Moscow for festive celebrations either. However, Mr. Ruutel will not be left without a holiday: the Estonian president will take part in Mother's Day undertakings.

It would be unfair not to say that members of the Estonian government are going to lay wreaths to the monument of Holocaust victims the same day as well. The situation looks absurd indeed: the prime minister of the country opens a monument to Nazis, while members of his government lay wreaths and flowers to the monument of victims of Nazism.

Rene van der Linden, the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recently stated that the Council of Europe was ready to take active measures to confront revanchism in Baltic states. The official said that the Council of Europe would have to take appropriate actions in the event former SS soldiers become more active in the Baltic region. “The Council of Europe is not going to tolerate manifestations of totalitarianism of any form,” the official stated.