Selected text
On Sunday 22ndJune 1941, one week after the deportation, we heard that Hitler’s armies had attacked the Soviet Union without declaring war [see Great Patriotic War] [18]. Molotov [19] announced on the radio that the war with Germany had begun, and that the Soviet Union would win. There were battles somewhere not too far away, and the following day we could already hear the artillery cannonade.
Evacuation was prompt in Estonia. My parents didn’t consider evacuating. My father kept saying that we did no harm to anyone and that the Germans weren’t going to do anything evil. Most people thought Hitler wasn’t as bad as the Soviet propaganda had described him. Also, the deportation played a major role in people’s unwillingness to evacuate. They feared the Soviets more than the fascists and even more so, they waited for the Germans as their rescuers.
Evacuation was prompt in Estonia. My parents didn’t consider evacuating. My father kept saying that we did no harm to anyone and that the Germans weren’t going to do anything evil. Most people thought Hitler wasn’t as bad as the Soviet propaganda had described him. Also, the deportation played a major role in people’s unwillingness to evacuate. They feared the Soviets more than the fascists and even more so, they waited for the Germans as their rescuers.
Period
Year
1941
Location
Tartu
Estonia
Interview
Dora Feiman