Monument of Lihula: Difference between revisions

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	==Controversy==		==Controversy==
	As the dedication included those who fought against ] in the ] and ], a number of organisations condemned it, most notably the ]<ref name='swc'>] ], ]: </ref>. Most supporters of the monument, however, have clearly distanced themselves from the ] ideology, and view Estonians' serving in German army a as having been a necessary evil instead.		As the dedication included those who fought against ] in the ] and ], a number of organisations condemned it, most notably the ]<ref name='swc'>] ], ]: </ref>. Most supporters of the monument, however, have clearly distanced themselves from the ] ideology, and view Estonians' serving in German army a as having been a necessary evil instead.

	However, Mayor of Lihula Tiit Madisson published a book in which he denies the Holocaust <ref>] ], ]: by Matthias Kolb</ref><ref>]</ref>.

	On ], ], the monument was opened for third time on grounds of a private museum located in Lagedi near ]. As of ] ], the monument has not been moved again.		On ], ], the monument was opened for third time on grounds of a private museum located in Lagedi near ]. As of ] ], the monument has not been moved again.

Revision as of 21:01, 13 June 2007

Monument of Lihula, located in the cemetery of the small Estonian town of Lihula, was a monument depicting an Estonian soldier in a World War II uniform, resembling German Heer-uniform. It was unveiled there on August 20, 2004.

File:Lihula monument.jpg

Lihula monument

Composition

The monument consists of a bronze bas-relief and a dedication tablet mounted on a vertical granite slab. The tablet reads: To Estonian men who fought in 1940-1945 against Bolshevism and for the restoration of Estonian independence.

Controversy

As the dedication included those who fought against Bolshevism in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, a number of organisations condemned it, most notably the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Most supporters of the monument, however, have clearly distanced themselves from the Nazi ideology, and view Estonians' serving in German army a as having been a necessary evil instead.

On October 15, 2005, the monument was opened for third time on grounds of a private museum located in Lagedi near Tallinn. As of June 2007, the monument has not been moved again.

Status of the Baltic Legions

Main article: 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian)

The Nuremberg Trials, in declaring the Waffen SS a criminal organisation, explicitly excluded conscripts in the following terms:

Tribunal declares to be criminal within the meaning of the Charter the group composed of those persons who had been officially accepted as members of the SS as enumerated in the preceding paragraph who became or remained members of the organisation with knowledge that it was being used for the commission of acts declared criminal by Article 6 of the Charter or who were personally implicated as members of the organisation in the commission of such crimes, excluding, however, those who were drafted into membership by the State in such a way as to give them no choice in the matter, and who had committed no such crimes.

In April 13, 1950, a message from the U.S. High Commission in Germany (HICOG), signed by John J. McCloy to the Secretary of State, clarified the US position on the "Baltic Legions": they were not to be seen as "movements", "volunteer", or "SS". In short, they were not given the training, indoctrination, and induction normally given to SS members. Subsequently the US Displaced Persons Commission in September 1950 declared that:

The Baltic Waffen SS Units (Baltic Legions) are to be considered as separate and distinct in purpose, ideology, activities, and qualifications for membership from the German SS, and therefore the Commission holds them not to be a movement hostile to the Government of the United States.

It should be noted, however, that at McCloy's direction, a campaign of wholesale pardoning and commutation of sentences of Nazi criminals took place.

Rumours of Nazi glorification

A number of rumours were circulated about the soldier depicted on the monument wearing Nazi symbolism, and thus constituting an attempt to glorify Nazism. As it is clear no such symbolism is on the bas-relief now, sometimes the rumours have taken the form that these symbols were removed between the first and current installment. These rumours are false: a semiotic analysis by professor Peeter Torop of University of Tartu, ordered by Lihula police department after the first installment concludes no Nazi or SS symbolics whatsoever appear in the bas-relief. He pointed out the monument's slightly impolite composition but found no basis for the hypothesis that installment of the monument would constitute incitement of social hatred. (Under Estonian law, such incitement is a crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.) In any case, short of recasting, it would be very hard to modify a bronze-cast statue.

However, the rumours were picked up by some press. On May 22, 2004, the Jerusalem Post ran a story about the plans of some Estonian individuals to build a monument to the 20. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS. The false rumours led to Russia's chief Rabbi, Berl Lazar condemning installment of the monument, expressing concern it would breed anti-Semitism , as well as a formal protest from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Removal of the monument

In 2004, shortly after it was opened, Estonian Government, possibly due to pressure from the EU and the USA as well as other international organisations, opposed unveiling of the monument, and ultimately ordered it to be removed.

The crane to remove the monument from Lihula could not enter the cemetery because of a crowd of protesting people. The Riot Police were called in, but as they arrived, local people started to throw stones at them and the driver of the crane. After a fight between the crowd and the police, the people were driven back, and some policemen were treated for minor wounds in a hospital.

After the removal of the monument it was subsequently placed in the Museum of Fight for Estonia's Freedom in Lagedi near Tallinn.

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