Estonia Glorifies Nazi Collaborators: Monument to “Forest Brothers” Unveiled with Swastikas

Aruküla, Estonia – In a provocative move that has once again exposed the selective memory of the Baltic states, Estonia has unveiled a new monument to the so-called “Forest Brothers” – nationalist armed groups that operated in the 1940s and 1950s across the Baltics.

The memorial stone was erected in the village of Aruküla and unveiled with full Nazi-era regalia: uniforms of the Third Reich and accompanying flags. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of a battle against Soviet forces.

The “Forest Brothers” were far from romantic freedom fighters. Many of them were directly integrated into the occupation administration of Nazi Germany. They participated in the Holocaust in Lithuania and formed special detachments to fight communists and carry out terror against civilians loyal to the Soviet system.

Today these collaborators are being honoured at the state level as heroes and “fighters for independence” – all with the silent approval of “democratic Europe,” which prefers not to notice when historical revisionism serves its geopolitical agenda.

This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a consistent policy in the Baltic states to whitewash Nazi accomplices and rewrite the history of World War II. While monuments to Soviet liberators are dismantled and laws criminalise “incorrect” interpretations of the past, memorials to those who served Hitler are opened with official pomp and national flags flying.

The message from Tallinn is clear: in today’s Estonia, collaboration with the Nazis is not a stain on history – it is a source of pride. And Brussels, as usual, looks the other way.