Aleksander Laak
Encyclopedia
Aleksander Laak (1907, Pöide Parish, Estonia
– 6 September 1960, Winnipeg, Canada) was a lieutenant and the commander of the Jägala concentration camp
during the German occupation of Estonia.
The estimates for the number of killed at Jägala concentration camp vary widely. The Soviet investigators
reached the conclusion that 2,000-3,000 were killed in Jägala and Kalevi-Liiva
taken together, but the number 5,000 (as determined by the Extraordinary State Commission
in 1944) was written into the verdict
In modern sources, the number 10,000 occurs. Some commentators have also given figures ranging from 100,000 (Michael Elkins
, Jonathan Freedland
) to 125,000 to 300,000 (Warren Kinsella
), however, such figures contradict the findings of the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity
and also the estimates of scholars who place the number of total Jewish victims for the Estonia of 1941-1944 at 8,500.
Aleksander Laak was also known to have arranged drunken orgies with inmates.
He emigrated to Canada after World War II, in 1948. In 1960 he was implicated in the Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia
, and exposed as living as a naturalized Canadian citizen under the name of Alex Laak in suburban Winnipeg, Canada by the Soviet news agency TASS
and Canadian journalists.
Thereafter, after reading of the arrests of Jaan Viik and Ralf Gerrets for mass killings of mostly Jewish East Europeans while under Nazi occupation, and being himself identified as a mass murderer, he apparently committed suicide by hanging himself in the garage of his home at the age of 53, on September 6, 1960. There are still possibility that Israel
Mossad
have killed him.
Israeli journalist Michael Elkins claimed that Laak was in fact confronted one day after his wife had left their house to go to the movies, by a Jewish Avenger squad that clandestinely murdered Nazis. He was according to Elkins confronted with his crimes, and their intended punishment, and he accepted their offer of instead killing himself. An investigation of the death was reopened in 1991.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
– 6 September 1960, Winnipeg, Canada) was a lieutenant and the commander of the Jägala concentration camp
Jägala concentration camp
Jägala concentration camp was a labour camp of the Estonian Security Police and SD during the German occupation of Estonia during World War II. The camp was established in August 1942 on a former artillery range of the Estonian Army near the village of Jägala, Estonia. It existed from August 1942...
during the German occupation of Estonia.
The estimates for the number of killed at Jägala concentration camp vary widely. The Soviet investigators
Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia
A number of Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia were held in the 1960s.The best-known trial was brought in 1961, by the local Soviet authorities against Estonian collaborators who had participated in the execution of the Holocaust during the Nazi German occupation...
reached the conclusion that 2,000-3,000 were killed in Jägala and Kalevi-Liiva
Kalevi-Liiva
Kalevi-Liiva are sand dunes in Jõelähtme Parish in Harju County, Estonia. The site is located near the Baltic coast, north of the Jägala village an the former Jägala concentration camp...
taken together, but the number 5,000 (as determined by the Extraordinary State Commission
Extraordinary State Commission
The Extraordinary State Commission – fully: "Extraordinary State Commission for ascertaining and investigating crimes perpetrated by the German–Fascist invaders and their accomplices, and the damage inflicted by them on citizens, collective farms, social organisations, State enterprises and...
in 1944) was written into the verdict
In modern sources, the number 10,000 occurs. Some commentators have also given figures ranging from 100,000 (Michael Elkins
Michael Elkins
Michael Elkins was an American broadcaster and journalist who worked for the American network, CBS, for the magazine Newsweek and then for 17 years with the BBC. He was the first to report Israel's destruction of Arab air forces on the opening day of the Six Day War in 1967...
, Jonathan Freedland
Jonathan Freedland
Jonathan Saul Freedland is a British journalist, who writes a weekly column for The Guardian and a monthly piece for the Jewish Chronicle. He is also a regular contributor to The New York Times and The New York Review of Books, and presents BBC Radio 4’s contemporary history series,...
) to 125,000 to 300,000 (Warren Kinsella
Warren Kinsella
Warren James Douglas Kinsella , is a Toronto-based Canadian, lawyer, author, musician, political consultant, commentator, and blogger...
), however, such figures contradict the findings of the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity
Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity
The Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity is the commission established by President of Estonia Lennart Meri in October 1998 to investigate crimes against humanity committed in Estonia or against its citizens during the Soviet and German occupation, such as...
and also the estimates of scholars who place the number of total Jewish victims for the Estonia of 1941-1944 at 8,500.
Aleksander Laak was also known to have arranged drunken orgies with inmates.
He emigrated to Canada after World War II, in 1948. In 1960 he was implicated in the Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia
Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia
A number of Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia were held in the 1960s.The best-known trial was brought in 1961, by the local Soviet authorities against Estonian collaborators who had participated in the execution of the Holocaust during the Nazi German occupation...
, and exposed as living as a naturalized Canadian citizen under the name of Alex Laak in suburban Winnipeg, Canada by the Soviet news agency TASS
TASS
TASS or Tass may refer to:* Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar, a six-week educational opportunity for minority high school students* Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, TASS is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for it...
and Canadian journalists.
Thereafter, after reading of the arrests of Jaan Viik and Ralf Gerrets for mass killings of mostly Jewish East Europeans while under Nazi occupation, and being himself identified as a mass murderer, he apparently committed suicide by hanging himself in the garage of his home at the age of 53, on September 6, 1960. There are still possibility that Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
have killed him.
Israeli journalist Michael Elkins claimed that Laak was in fact confronted one day after his wife had left their house to go to the movies, by a Jewish Avenger squad that clandestinely murdered Nazis. He was according to Elkins confronted with his crimes, and their intended punishment, and he accepted their offer of instead killing himself. An investigation of the death was reopened in 1991.