We Lived for Estonia
Encyclopedia
We Lived for Estonia is a documentary film about the Forest brothers
during World War II
.
was conscripted into the German military. By September 1944 the Red Army
had again occupied Estonia. Alfred was forced to make a decision: whether to stay in Estonia or retreat with the Germans. He chose the former, However he risked arrest and deportation by the Soviets. In order to survive, he, like many other Estonian men, took refuge in the forests. They were known as the Forest brothers
. Alfred Käärmann discusses his experience with the Forest brothers.
Forest Brothers
The Forest Brothers were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the three Baltic states during, and after, World War II...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Synopsis
During June 1941, Nazi forces occupied Estonia. By 1944, when the Soviet-Nazi frontline was drawing towards the Estonian border from the East, Alfred KäärmannAlfred Käärmann
Alfred Käärmann was born on September 14, 1922 in Hargla, a village in southern Estonia, and died on February 4, 2010 aged 87. He was an Estonian resistance fighter, or Forest brother, as the Estonians call their guerrillas, and author. In 2007 he was decorated with a military honour in...
was conscripted into the German military. By September 1944 the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
had again occupied Estonia. Alfred was forced to make a decision: whether to stay in Estonia or retreat with the Germans. He chose the former, However he risked arrest and deportation by the Soviets. In order to survive, he, like many other Estonian men, took refuge in the forests. They were known as the Forest brothers
Forest Brothers
The Forest Brothers were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the three Baltic states during, and after, World War II...
. Alfred Käärmann discusses his experience with the Forest brothers.