Carl Axel Mothander (18861965) a former Swedish reserve officer; major in the White Finnish Army in the Finnish War of Independence 1917/18, organizer of the Finnish White Army's

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

s promoted to major; commander of the Swedish volunteers in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...

promoted to lieutenant colonel. After the war, in 1928, Mothander settled in Estonia, as he married a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, Benita von Wrangel (1878–1967). Thereafter Mothander tried to take the role of mediator between the

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to oth ...

and the

Baltic Germans Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declin ...

. The Baltic Germans' effective rule and class privileges had come to an end with the establishment of the Republic of Estonia. On October 10, 1919, The

Land Reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

Act was passed by the

Estonian Constituent Assembly The Estonian Constituent Assembly ( et, Asutav Kogu) was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. Estonian Constituent Assembly elections Activity The 120 members of t ...

. This act confiscated and redistributed the

estates, ending 700 years of possession of the regions that the Germans had gained after the

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...

. Mothander is the author of the books ''Baroner, bönder och bolsjeviker i Estland'' (Barons, locals and bolsheviks in Estonia) translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

and Estonian. The book analyzed the relationships between

and

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

after the War of Independence. The Finnish translation was censored and banned from book stores in Finland in 1944–1946 ''Svenske kungens Vita Skepp, det äventyrliga spelet om Estlandssvenskarna'' (Swedish King's White Ship)om Estlandssvenskarna at books.google
/ref> is a book written by Carl Mothander about the

Estonian Swedes The Estonian Swedes, or Estonia-Swedes ( sv, estlandssvenskar, colloquially ''aibofolke'', "island people"; et, eestirootslased), or "Coastal Swedes" ( et, rannarootslased) are a Swedish-speaking minority traditionally residing in the coastal ...

. The books were published in Sweden after Mothander and his wife narrowly escaped from the hands of the NKVD in 1940. Mothander also worked for the Estonian Red Cross and was a member of the Red Cross

Katyn Commission The Katyn Commission or the International Katyn Commission was a committee formed in April 1943 under request by Germany to investigate the Katyn massacre of some 22,000 Polish nationals during the Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland, mostly pri ...

that investigated the alleged Soviet massmurder on Polish officers taken prisoners during the Soviet-Polish war 1939. The Swedish volunteer unit to support the Republic of Estonia in the

under the command of Carl Mothander was formed in Sweden in early 1919. In March 1919, 178 volunteers took part in scout missions in

Virumaa Virumaa ( la, Vironia; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built ...

. In April, the company was sent to the Southern front and took part of the battles near

Pechory Pechory (russian: Печо́ры; Estonian and Seto: ') is a town and the administrative centre of Pechorsky District in the Pskov Oblast, Russia. Its population in the 2010 Census was 11,195, having fallen from 13,056 recorded in ...

. By May 5 there was 68 men left in the company. On May 17, the company was disbanded by the order of the Estonian Minister of War. Some of the volunteers returned home in Sweden, some joined the Estonian Army, some the Danish volunteer unit. Other commanders of the Swedish volunteers in Estonia included C.G. Malmberg and L. Hällen.

References

External links

Tohisoo Manor: von Wrangel's family residence in Estonia until 1939
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mothander, Carl Axel 1886 births 1965 deaths Swedish military officers People of the Estonian War of Independence Swedish-language writers