Otto Tief ( – 5 March 1976) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

n politician, military commander (during 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 ...

), and a lawyer. Tief was the

acting prime minister An acting prime minister is a cabinet member (often in Westminster system countries) who is serving in the role of prime minister, whilst the individual who normally holds the position is unable to do so. The role is often performed by the deput ...

of the last government of EstoniaThe Otto Tief government and the fall of Tallinn
22 September 1944: From one occupation to another
before Soviet troops occupied

in the Second World War in September 1944. Due to his commitment to his country, Tief is regarded by many of his fellow countrymen as a symbol of national resistance.

Education and career

Tief studied law in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

between 1910 and 1916. During the

, Tief was a commander in the Kalevlaste Maleva battalion formed in 1918 by members of the Kalev sports society. Following the war, he graduated in law from the University of Tartu in 1921. He served as legal counsel to the Estonian Land Bank and also worked in private practice as a lawyer. Tief was elected to the third Riigikogu in 1926 and served as the Minister of Social Affairs from 1926 to 1927. In 1928 he was the Minister of Justice. In 1932 he was elected to the fifth Riigikogu.

Tief government of 1944

During the turbulent days in September 1944, between the retreat of the

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 ...

occupation forces in

and the onslaught of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

, the acting

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Republic of Estonia A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

Jüri Uluots appointed Tief as a

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and asked him to form a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

on 18 September 1944. Tief then published a proclamation, re-establishing the independence of the

on the basis of legal continuity, and attempted to organise the defence of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

against the invading

, which pushed into the capital on 22 September 1944. Members of the Tief's government: * Otto Tief – Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Interior *

Arnold Susi Arnold Susi (; 4 January 1896 – 29 May 1968) was a lawyer and the Minister of Education in the Estonian government of Otto Tief established on 18 September 1944 during WWII. In 1945, Susi befriended Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in a Soviet prison. I ...

– Minister of Public Education *

Johannes Klesment Johannes Klesment (also Johannes Kleesment; 30 May 1896 Keila Parish (now Keila), Kreis Harrien – 23 December 1967 Washington, D.C.) was an Estonian politician. He was a member of the third and fourth legislatures of the Estonian Parliament, rep ...

(escaped to Sweden, assumed office 13 January 1945) – Minister of Justice * Kaarel Liidak (died 16 January 1945) – Minister of Agriculture *

Hugo Pärtelpoeg Hugo Osvald Pärtelpoeg (7 February 1899 in , Tartu County – 29 April 1951 in Irkutsk Oblast) was an Estonian lawyer and politician. From 18 September 1944 to 22 September 1944, he was Minister of Finance in Otto Tief's cabinet. On 3 July 194 ...

(died 29 April 1951) – Minister of Finance *

Voldemar Sumberg Voldemar is largely an Estonian masculine given name. People with the name Voldemar include: * Voldemar Aussem (1879–1936), Soviet nobleman, communist official and diplomat * Voldemar Hammer (1894–1982), Estonian politician * Voldemar Jaanus ( ...

– Minister of Social Affairs *

Juhan Pikkov Juhan () is a common Estonian male given name. Given name *Juhan Aare (born 1948), Estonian journalist and politician * Juhan Aavik (1884–1982), Estonian composer * Juhan Mihkel Ainson (1873–1962), Estonian politician *Juhan af Grann (born 1 ...

(died 3 September 1947) – Minister of Communications *

August Rei August Rei VR III/1 ( – 29 March 1963) was an Estonian politician, the Head of State (''Riigivanem'') of Estonia in 1928–1929, and the Prime Minister in duties of the President of Estonia in the government in exile in 1945–1963. Early ...

(in Sweden, assumed office 31 December 1944, until 9 January 1945) – Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Juhan Kaarlimäe Juhan Kaarlimäe (also Johann Karlsberg; 21 November 1901 Vana-Vändra Parish (now Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish), Kreis Pernau – 5 February 1977 Raikküla Selsoviet, Rapla District) was an Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, i ...

– Minister * Johannes Sikkar (in Sweden, from 20 April 1952) – Minister *

Artur Terras Artur Terras (18 February 1901 – 23 November 1963) was an Estonian lawyer and politician who was the mayor of Tallinn from 24 August 1941 to September 1944. His older brother was former Estonian State Secretary Karl Terras. After being deport ...

(in Sweden, from 20 April 1952) – Minister

Aftermath

Otto Tief was arrested by the Soviet authorities on 10 October 1944. In 1945 he was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in the Siberian

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

. Returning to Estonia in 1956, he was forced to leave for

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

until 1965, when he was permitted to return to the

Baltic region The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. ...

to live just beyond the

n border in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. When Tief died on 5 March 1976, the Soviet security services would not allow his burial in the national cemetery in

. When

regained independence in 1991, he was reinterred there in 1993, in the presence of a large number of people who came to honour him.

Tief's symbolic significance

Tief held power for only a brief period of time (18-22 September 1944), and his efforts were rapidly undone by the invading

. However, Tief's actions have immense symbolic and legal significance, as his proclaiming of the restoration of the

, as well as the accompanying raising of the

Estonian flag The flag of Estonia ( et, Eesti lipp) is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black (middle), and white (bottom). In Estonian it is colloquially called the (). The tricolour was already in wide use as the symbol o ...

atop the tower of Pikk Hermann high above

at the seat of power in the Toompea quarter negates Soviet historiography's claims, according to which the invasion of

by the

in September 1944 constituted "the liberation of Estonia". Although the attempt to restore

n independence in September 1944 did not succeed, the Tief government proved to be an integral and indispensable part of the ''de jure'' continuity of the

, upon which the current state rests.

Commemoration

In February 2007, the Riigikogu decided to commemorate the actions of Tief's government by proclaiming 22 September to be the annual "Day of Resistance". 22 September 1944 was the day, several days after the departure of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's occupying forces, that the invading

took over the administrative centre of

, tore down the Estonian national flag, and replaced it with the Red Banner, the symbol of Soviet occupation. Postimees/ ETV24 22 September 2007
Eesti tähistab esmakordselt vastupanuvõitlemise päeva

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Otto Tief, "Mälestusi aastaist 1944–1954" – Akadeemia 1990, nr. 2, lk. 231–250 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tief, Otto 1889 births 1976 deaths People from Rapla Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Settlers' Party politicians Prime Ministers of Estonia Government ministers of Estonia Members of the Riigikogu, 1926–1929 Members of the Riigikogu, 1932–1934 Estonian anti-communists Estonian independence activists Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Estonian people of World War II Estonian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union Burials at Metsakalmistu