Abstract
This edited volume is a collective effort of a group of Baltic scholars, mostly Estonians and Finns, sponsored by the Estonian National Defence College and Tartu University. The authors claim to be motivated to write it because ‘in most Western histories of WWII the Baltic states are a virtual terra incognito’ (p. 9). Their intention to fill in the lacuna is timely and well served. They take a regional approach: the majority of chapters are devoted to the Baltic region, even those that deal with diplomatic developments that took place outside it.
The authors’ second ambition was to make this volume multidisciplinary. They deliver also on this intention since the whole book is divided into three sections devoted to different types of history. In this respect the volume goes beyond the traditional thematic boundaries of military history because it looks at various intersections with society and regional and international politics. Another notable feature of the volume is that it largely presents the local perspective of Baltic historians rather than international specialists.
The first part of the volume focuses on international diplomacy and particularly on the rise of the Baltic question in the West. Surprisingly, it deals not only with how this issue came to be perceived among the Western Allies, but also with the position of the Baltic societies in Nazi-occupied Europe. The second part includes several chapters on traditional warfare history in the Baltic region. Despite its narrow focus, this part does a good job in filling a major gap in the history of military operations in the region. Until now there was almost a complete absence of such studies on the area. The third section of the volume turns to the study of the relationship between the military and society. The chapters by Nurmis and Alenius focus on German war propaganda and its reception in occupied Estonia. Meanwhile, the final chapter by Piirimae was, for unknown reasons, left to stand alone, since it brings the reader back to the discussion of the Baltic question in international politics.
Despite this minor structural oddity, overall the thematic and multidisciplinary coverage of the volume is truly impressive. What is less admirable – and this is a common feature of many volumes that claim to be written on the entire Baltic region – is the fact that largely only one of the Baltic states is covered. Of 14 chapters, Estonia is discussed in 6. Only a single chapter deals with Latvia (Kuzmins), while there is not a single one devoted to Lithuania. This is not to suggest that there is a shortage of the discussion of the whole Baltic region. The lack of geographical coverage should not devalue the general high quality of chapters, the contributors’ professionalism, their use of little-known sources, and especially their ability to analyse rather than describe their research issues. The volume is well edited and easily accessible to non-specialists.
In his chapter on French foreign policy in the Baltics, Clerc shows differing French public and diplomatic perceptions towards the Baltic states and Finland. If the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states was quickly ascribed to the old ‘vocabulary of the Baltic provinces of Russia’ (p. 37), Finland conquered the hearts of the French for its military resistance to the Soviets. However, even at the peak of the Soviet–Finnish war (the French were shocked that Stalin attacked Finland), the French political elite hoped that the Finns would soon sue for peace with the Soviet Union, their Eastern ally. Clerc is persuasive in showing the duplicity of French foreign policy and its inability to orient itself in the quickly changing course of events.
Grosbois’s chapter shows how Belgian policy towards the Baltics went from support for neutrality in the mid-1930s to the disgust felt about this policy in the face of Soviet occupation in 1940. Finally, after June 1941, when Belgium became an official ally of the USSR, its policy arrived at the maintenance of ‘silence’ on the Baltic region. Grosbois shows that that case of the Baltics during the war was significantly weakened by their inability to form governments in exile and the military collaboration of Baltic volunteers with the Germans on the Eastern Front.
Heikkila examines long-forgotten ideas drawn by the Finnish minister in Berlin between 1941 and 1944, Taivo Kivimaki, for a new post-war Europe dominated by the Nazis. One is struck by the naivety of Kivimaki, especially by the notion that Nazi Germany might have been interested in any kind of confederation of European states after the war. No wonder his ideas were easily dismissed by the Nazis. Kivimaki’s visions speak more about the sensibilities of small European states, such as Finland, rather than any realistic political solutions that would have brought peace to Europe.
Tamman’s chapter tells the story of the Estonian ship SS Vapper, which was stranded in Britain in 1940, and how its court case forced Britain to grant de facto recognition to the incorporation of the Baltics into the Soviet Union. Overall, it is a thoughtful piece that shows how British policy towards the Baltic issue shifted from hesitation during the war years to submission to Soviet pressure after the war.
Raudvassar’s contribution provides a sobering evaluation of the capabilities of the interwar Estonian military. He argues that interwar Estonia was a typical small European state with modest but capable ground forces, but ‘displayed a striking lack of air defence’ (p. 116). Therefore, it had only theoretical chances of holding out against a much more powerful and better equipped Soviet army.
In his chapter Glantz creatively addresses the imbalance between military histories of the Eastern Front written by Soviet and Western writers. Most valuable is his attempt to list all the ‘forgotten battles’, including those that took place in the Baltic region. For example, he mentions, among others, the Soviet counter-attacks of June 1941 in Kelmė, Raseiniai, Grodno, and Dubno. Glantz also provides us with a set of hitherto poorly researched questions of military history, such as the involvement of Baltic soldiers in the Nazi and Soviet armies.
Corum, Kuzmins, Siilaberg, and Wolke deal with histories of specific military groups that operated within the Baltic region. They are all concerned with the question of how effective those groups were militarily. They all tend to show that their effectiveness was greatly limited by certain deficiencies such as lack of training, preparation, or military resources. They are all (except Kuzmins) weaker when discussing the issue of motivation in these military groups and how it affected their capabilities.
In his study of Nazi propaganda in Estonia in 1941, Nurmis shows not only its administrative structures, but also internal tensions between the administration of Ostland (the German civilian occupation regime in the Baltics and western Belarus) and its Estonian branch, led by Karl Litzmann. He suggests that Nazi propaganda in Estonia was more successful than in other areas of Ostland because Litzmann was able to hire a large number of Estonian interwar figures. He shows how heavily the Nazis relied on their Estonian collaborators, especially after the German military effort stalled in late 1941. This is one of the strongest chapters in the entire volume.
Alenius also focuses on Nazi propaganda, but his time frame is longer (1941–4) and he is more focused on its reception rather than transmission into Estonian society. He significantly modifies Nurmis’s argument that Nazi propaganda was successful in Estonia. He shows that from autumn 1942 Estonians lost their belief in Germany’s victory and subsequently in Nazi propaganda.
Hiio provides a relatively compact but well-informed overview of the German military and civilian authorities in Estonia. He argues that the first had a decisive role in running the country, despite the popularity of General Commissioner Litzmann among the Estonian public.
In the final chapter Piirimae focuses on the efforts of the Estonian diplomats in exile to influence British public opinion regarding the Baltic issue during the war. He is very critical towards the British government, which discouraged the Baltic diplomats from taking an openly anti-Soviet stance. In fact, the government spared little effort trying to limit their publicity and persuading them to keep silent. As a result, in 1944, when the Soviets retook the Baltics, the British public remained largely indifferent to their fate.
Given its analytical depth, its multidisciplinary character, and the range of topics covered, this volume should be welcomed as a solid addition to the growing body of regional Second World War studies. It may be successfully used as a textbook to teach the history of the war in the north-east of Europe and also as an important contribution to studying and teaching the history of Baltic societies during the period.