tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post2235396643445754384..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: the stalin showGiustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-55056237125737191662007-12-16T15:42:00.000+02:002007-12-16T15:42:00.000+02:00The whole air of foreboding and doubledealing, swa...The whole air of foreboding and doubledealing, swathed in a flurry of frantic diplomatic activity around the time of the Mol-Rib Pact is captured in <A HREF="http://www.unmanagement.com/news&views/news&views.htm" REL="nofollow"> this old snippet from Time Magazine of Oct 9, 1939. </A><BR/><BR/>Actually pretty insightful reporting and analysis, given that the writers were at the time in the dark regarding the Secret Protocols to the Pact. Whatever one might say of 'Time' of latter years (I'm always reminded of the late cartoonist Al Capp's frequent references to 'LIME' Magazine: 'If you can't read it, eat it!'), back in Henry Luce's heyday Time had both solid content and taut style. ;-)<BR/><BR/>William Tomingas' 'The Soviet Colonization of Estonia' (Kultuur; New York, 1973) gives a chilling closeup view of events during <I>baaside aeg,</I> with lengthy snippets of what happened behind closed doors in Moscow as well as eyewitness accounts of meetings with officials. Tomingas was at that time head of Estonian Radio until removed by the Vares <BR/>'government' in 1940.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-82219264245511174652007-12-16T15:10:00.000+02:002007-12-16T15:10:00.000+02:00Autor on selle kommentaari eemaldanud.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-75175216643208188502007-12-16T13:12:00.000+02:002007-12-16T13:12:00.000+02:00What about the pressure from the German side? I am...<I>What about the pressure from the German side? I am sure it somehow affected the negotiations of the Estonian delegates.</I><BR/><BR/>The Germans were in Moscow at the same time as the Estonian delegation. Selter & co. passed Ribbentrop in the hallway following their meeting with Stalin.<BR/><BR/>If you open the transcript you will read that the Estonians asked the Germans if they would allow military supplies to pass through the Baltic (presumably from Britain) to Estonia in case of conflict, to which they replied that they would not because they had a non-aggression pact with the USSR.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-4432421557913147742007-12-16T05:44:00.000+02:002007-12-16T05:44:00.000+02:00What about the pressure from the German side? I am...What about the pressure from the German side? I am sure it somehow affected the negotiations of the Estonian delegates. (See the Orzel incident).Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-72983190889499740662007-12-15T22:44:00.000+02:002007-12-15T22:44:00.000+02:00From my fave Stalin flick:http://www.youtube.com/w...From my fave Stalin flick:<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YSJioCMXdo&NR=1 <BR/><BR/>'You can say that again, Lavrenti...'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-77203319935075637492007-12-15T22:39:00.000+02:002007-12-15T22:39:00.000+02:00Check out Stalin playing jazz athttp://www.youtube...Check out Stalin playing jazz at<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB9nNTjlEr0Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-67462756271702037142007-12-15T22:35:00.000+02:002007-12-15T22:35:00.000+02:00Sorry, Jens-Olaf, I must have been thinking of ano...Sorry, Jens-Olaf, I must have been thinking of another boat when I said the Orzel had an 'illustrious' history. I see now that while it did sink the German troop transport Rio de Janeiro en route to Norway, the Orzel itself (herself?) was sunk with all hands in the North Sea in June 40. Thanks for the posting about the elaborate hunt for it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-58952941671523950552007-12-15T22:33:00.000+02:002007-12-15T22:33:00.000+02:00plasma-jack said... "Singing Revolution" is rubbis...<I> plasma-jack said... <BR/>"Singing Revolution" is rubbish (I mean, as a movie), at least according to Estonian critics. Obviously works on the Americans </I><BR/><BR/>'Rubbish?' Estonian 'critics' must cleave to an extraordinary standard. I got my hands on a DVD last June and have 'screened' it for a variety of friends of backgrounds too varied to enumerate. Reactions almost entirely positive, with only slight technical quibbles. Sure it's a propaganda doc, but it works well at various levels. I wouldn't sniff at 'Americans' as an uncritical film audience either: after all, they were making movies before the Estonian critics forebears had ever seen one. And there is ready accessibility to foreign cinema (European & Asian) in most major North American centers, unlike in Estonia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-77565261660248736622007-12-15T21:58:00.000+02:002007-12-15T21:58:00.000+02:00Here's another great Mel Brooks' clip:Springtime f...Here's another great Mel Brooks' clip:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGp0hCxSg98&NR=1" REL="nofollow">Springtime for Hitler</A>.<BR/><BR/>Man, I love Mel Brooks.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-18296964247975565102007-12-15T20:48:00.000+02:002007-12-15T20:48:00.000+02:00"Singing Revolution" is rubbish (I mean, as a movi..."Singing Revolution" is rubbish (I mean, as a movie), at least according to Estonian critics. Obviously works on the Americans (:<BR/><BR/>Have you guys seen "Katyn", yet? A masterpiece which makes Lavrovs and Rogozins very happy, I'm sure.plasma-jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485039580759398780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-56615783008836841132007-12-15T18:55:00.000+02:002007-12-15T18:55:00.000+02:00I feel that Stalin could be well used in a comedy ...I feel that Stalin could be well used in a comedy in the future. Something like Mel Brooks' <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgM3_bVb79k" REL="nofollow">Hitler on ice</A> skit.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-5766220488225318912007-12-15T18:23:00.000+02:002007-12-15T18:23:00.000+02:00I would LOVE to get the "Singing Revolution" to ap...I would LOVE to get the "Singing Revolution" to appear in my state in the US. So far, I haven't heard from the organizers in months. Hopefully we can connect in the future.Wv Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13161394944061192630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-78143895594054587472007-12-15T17:07:00.000+02:002007-12-15T17:07:00.000+02:00And since I know not all will read the link here i...And since I know not all will read the link here is the most important qoute:<BR/><BR/>In the meantime, the escape was to have other and more serious consequences for Estonia and her population. The Soviet leaders now felt they had an excuse for invading Estonia, claiming the country had failed to protect her neutrality. The Soviets later concluded a military pact with Estonia allowing them to build air and naval bases on Estonian territory. Already during the night of 19 September, Soviet warships arrived at Tallinn.<BR/>The same day the Polish section of the BBC stated that the Germans accused Orzel of murdering the two Estonian guards. On hearing this, Grudzinski wanted to do something about it. Orzel's dramatic escape was reported all over the world, and now more than ever, she was a prestige target for the Kriegsmarine and the Soviet Navy. During 19 to 20 September, three Soviet destroyers and other smaller vessels joined the Estonian vessels searching for Orzel between the Gulf of Finland and Gotland. The crew of Orzel would never have imagined that Soviet ships would have joined the hunt.<BR/>Orzel's courageous escape must have caused considerable alarm to the Kriegsmarine, who realised they had a dangerous enemy to deal with. Friederich Ruge, commander of the minehunter flotilla, ordered all his minehunter commanders to "destroy enemy submarines wherever they will be found". Five flotillas (Nos.11,13,15,17 and 19) each of 8 minehunters, would be thrown into the Baltic Sea after 21 September, to locate and sink Orzel. Aircraft, escort vessels, sub-chasers and minesweepers would participate in the search. Marinegruppenkommando Ost sent sub-chasers to the Sund Narrows to prevent Orzel from making any attempt to head for Great Britain. More than 50 German vessels would participate in that hunt!<BR/>The Polish campaign was over at sea, but the Germans were concerned that Orzel, loose in the Baltic, would paralyse the movements of heavy ships going from the Baltic to the North Sea for other operations. She was something like an irritating insect to the Germans and Soviets, and that insect had to be eliminated. Orzel gave courage to all the Polish people who were fighting for their freedom, and to the Germans, sinking Orzel was now a question of honour.Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-31199816106612001692007-12-15T17:00:00.000+02:002007-12-15T17:00:00.000+02:00extended version here:Orzelextended version here:<BR/><A HREF="http://www.orzel.one.pl/viewpage.php?page_id=25" REL="nofollow">Orzel</A>Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-79074467695424999552007-12-15T16:55:00.000+02:002007-12-15T16:55:00.000+02:00Yeah, and the estonians were, guess where, put ash...Yeah, and the estonians were, guess where, put ashore in Sweden.Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-59823768532799381152007-12-15T16:50:00.000+02:002007-12-15T16:50:00.000+02:00Yes, the Orzel [Eagle], name-of-class boat, a bit ...Yes, the Orzel [Eagle], name-of-class boat, a bit too large for the shallow Baltic, but one which went on to an illustrious war history. <BR/><BR/>Check out the story of the Orzel's 'escape' from Tallinn. I get a chuckle out of the Poles' giving the two Esto guards 'lunch money'...<BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orze%C5%82_incidentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-10948749766229681912007-12-15T16:37:00.000+02:002007-12-15T16:37:00.000+02:00And after that the Soviets and Germans were huntin...And after that the Soviets and Germans were hunting the Polish submarine vessel which escaped from Tallinn.Jens-Olafhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18304784095687896639noreply@blogger.com