Since the publication of my book two issues have emerged, the quality of old photographs and
their captioning in Estonian. Most of the images are of such poor quality that
the audience generally disregard them, although the image itself may contain
information of critical historical significance. My father’s story is enhanced
by the inclusion of 93 photographs in my book, which are captioned with who is
in the image, where it was taken and the date it was taken. This enhancement
adds value to the story and gives provenance to its historical significance.
Some of the old photographs had darkening of the
entire image, so that it was impossible to see the detail underneath that gave
the photo its relevance. A correspondent barrier of presentation to a worldwide
audience is the description, which accompanies the photograph, in that is
invariably in Estonian, a unique language, unique in the sense of having a
grammar that defeats computer translation. Almost any other language has a
grammar that enables a computer to convert the material into a meaningful
translation.
My intent is to deliver my father’s story, the history
of Estonia and the people mentioned in the book to a worldwide audience: to
deliver it in English, the universal language of the 21st century,
and to enhance the quality of the images which place the story in a historical
context to enable the audience to see the people in the book as they were at
the time. The bravery of the young men was extraordinary in 1919.
As Estonians we should honour the sacrifices they made in the War of Independence. The meaning of ultimate sacrifice that these heroes for the Estonian people is that it is the beginning of a time when we could make our own choices: the first time in 700 years, liberation from the yoke of slavery.
As Estonians we should honour the sacrifices they made in the War of Independence. The meaning of ultimate sacrifice that these heroes for the Estonian people is that it is the beginning of a time when we could make our own choices: the first time in 700 years, liberation from the yoke of slavery.
Some people cynically question the worth of their
sacrifice, because victory in the War of Independence resulted in only a brief
period of freedom, twenty years of independence. But there is no doubt it sowed
the seeds of our national identity, for the tiny nation, the Republic
of Estonia,
which endures and flourishes to this day.
The participants of the War of Independence however sowed
the seeds of their own destruction too, as twenty years later Stalin issued
commands for their apprehension and annihilation. My father talks about the
bravery of these men in his story. The images in this photo gallery are meant
to enhance the reader’s appreciation of what kind of people forged a nation in
battle after being held in captivity for 700 years. He talks about what it
meant to him as a young man at the time.
Estonians are fortunate in that the brief period of
independence was enough to sustain our national identity over the sixty years
of Soviet occupation. We were the first people to leave the Soviet Union. The
seeds of national survival had been sown for the reemergence of the Estonian
nation in 1991 and to inspire the incredible existence of only 1,300,000 people
in the 21st century.
My book is held by the libraries listed in the LINKS
page. You are welcome to go to one of the libraries to have a look at it. The
images which follow relate to the heroes and events of the War of Independence.
If your library does not have a copy of the book, please refer to the BUY page
to learn how you can obtain a copy of the book for yourself.
See page 260-262 of the Book
The photographs appear in the same order as the Notes in the book.
NOTES
Chapter Two:
Independence 1917-1919
47
 |
| The War of Independence begins -assault |
48
 |
| The arrival of the Finnish volunteers in Tallinn |
49
 |
| The Finnish volunteers march through Tallinn |
52
54
55
 |
Mates, from the left Juri Ratassepp,
Julius Sabolotnoi and Robert Tillemann. All three died in the next couple of
months of the war
|
 |
Armoured Train [Est: Soomusrongid] Nr. 19 January 1919
|
 |
Soomusrongid Nr. 1 January 1919
|
 |
| Senior Lieutenant Kuperjanov died of wounds on 2/2/1919 lying in state |
 |
| Lieutenant Reinhold Sabolotnoi died on the 18/2/1919 in the battle – his wreaths |
56
 |
| Captain Anton Irv died on the 27/04/1919 – State Funeral |
64
 | |
Coffin of Juri Ratassepp killed on
23/01/1919 who was buried in Kalamaja Cemetry, which was razed to the ground by
the Soviet Union after 1945 and turned into a park, which led to public outrage
and was treated by Estonian people as hallowed ground.
|
 | |
| Juri Ratassepp's grave. |
 |
| 1st from the left, Riders, Captain Juri Rattassep |
Sources: Sada & Üks Album Vabadus Sõda Album on Facebook
