In 1939, Soviet Union and Germany sign a Treaty of NonAggression.
A week later, World War II begins.
In 1940, Soviet Union annexes Estonia.
55 000 Estonians are mobilized to the Red Army.
In 1941, Germany occupies Estonia.
72 000 Estonians are mobilized to German armed forces.
Since German Army, Wehrmacht, accepts only German citizens,
Estonians have to fight in WaffenSS and other military units.
Now, in 1944, the Red Army is back on Estonian border.
The gate wide open.
A truck parked in the yard.
Mother, father and Kadri are loaded on the truck.
They are taken away.
July 27 Tannenberg Line, Grenadier Hill
What happened to them? They are in Siberia.
What could you have done? Third platoon! It's Saareste.
20th Estonian WaffenSSDivision, 47th Regiment,
3rd Battalion, 9th Company, 3rd Platoon
Orphanage Hill was seized.
Third platoon! The line is fucked up!
Tammik, come back! Karl!
Third platoon!
Yes sir! We'll hold on!
Let's go!
Karl! How is it?
Alright! Go!
Three years have passed.
Three years and 43 days
and I still can't get rid of the feeling it was all my fault,
I'm trying to remember their faces, gestures, voices.
But even these are gradually fading and feeding my guilt.
I guess that's my cross to bear. I have to bear it to the end.
Load!
Infantry 800 metres!
So that's why you are here?
Fire!
Change! Bring more ammo!
Karl!
Medic! Come here!
Piir, come on! Raadik, covering fire!
Took it out!!
Fire!
Were you and Talu from the same village?
No. I was assigned as his assistant when I arrived.
Attention!
Who are you? SS grenadier Käär.
Down! Stop!
At ease!
Reinforcements? Yes.
They promised 10 men, but sent two. These also look like one.
What are your names?
Kostja. Anton.
Karl Tammik.
Are you related? Brothers.
Yeah, I noticed a slight resemblance.
Raadik. I came with the spring replacements.
Säinas, medic.
Kamenski, sniper.
P…oder, squadleader.
Piir, just a guy. Our platoon commander is Saareste.
With him you are sitting in the lap of the gods.
There's nothing to do with these sticks.
Better leave them in the corner.
Gas masks should also be thrown away.
You can put all kinds of stuff here.
Girlfriend's letters, cigarettes, rubbers.
Sit down!
Quite good weapons. Foolproof.
There was a story in WW I of two brothers
stuck together so close that one shell killed both.
It stinks outside. The dead.
It's not possible to bring them away under fire.
It works like this.
I need an assistant on the machinegun.
I can come. I can come too.
Raadik, show him the bunks.
I'll take this. That's a crazy weapon.
Machinegunners are the first to be killed.
Then I'll come. I promised to take care of my brother.
I'm slightly older as well.
How much? Half an hour.
You'll be my assistant.
I wanted too. Maybe some other time.
Feed cover opens like this...
You are the only one who's left to me.
It's so hard to confess to you,
that I have covered something. Not told you the whole truth.
The time after deportation passed as if I were asleep.
I saw only one possibility.
To the front.
You told me not to go.
To whom are you writing?
To your girlfriend? Your parents?
What's wrong with you? I can't sleep.
The boys' first day on the front and you're making nasty jokes.
I have a strange feeling.
I can't recognize myself.
It feels like you're outside of your own body.
Feels like shit...
Huh, the safety was on!
Saareste told me to wake up the guys.
There's shooting in the next trench. They've let the Russians in.
It was a close call...
You were born under a lucky star.
That's our position here. The Russians are here.
Our guys may be trapped here.
8th company attacks from Graveyard Hill.
We attack from here. There's a mine field here.
But there's a corridor there. We'll go through here.
And encircle the Russians.
Any questions?
How many Russians are there?
A couple, at least.
July 28
The first tripwire is in 10 metres.
Keep toward the tree!
Cease fire! We are Estonians!
Keep your heads down! Russians are there!
Where is your officer? Dead.
We are Danes from Nordland Division.
How many men do you have? 4 men and 2 machine guns.
I'm Oberscharf†uhrer Saareste. I'll take over now.
We'll take your positions back. You'll give us supporting fire.
All clear.
Have you got any extra ammo? No.
We'll start at 4.00. Yes sir.
Thanks. What's your name? Carl.
Mine as well.
I'm Karl the Great. Then I'm Karl XII.
I'm Carl Madsen from Roskilde, 30 km from Copenhagen.
Karl Tammik. From Tammik farm.
3 km from Vanam…oisa.
Guys, Germans!
Push forward or we're all finished!
We're retreating!
Down! Grenade!
Everything's fine.
P…oder, blow up the door!
15 seconds!
Säinas, Piir is down!
Damn it, they have escaped from the other side.
Don't shoot, we'll surrender.
August 18
Attention!
Hello, men.
I see, here we wash ourselves.
It's a good place to fight.
Estonian soldiers!
The F†uhrer has shown great trust towards our nation.
He trusted you to fight at the hardest sector of Tannenberg Line.
We, the local government of Estonia,
have not been sitting on our hands either.
After years of meticulous scientific research
we have been able to prove that we belong to the Aryan race.
That's a fact now.
Led by the Greater German Reich,
we are destined for a happy future
in the common family of European nations.
The photos.
Heil Hitler! I do not say.
Why can't you say?
Heil Hitler!
I was sure we'd get an iron or a wooden cross.
But what's that good for? To wipe your ass.
No way, it's too rough. You'll rub it soft.
Give those to me, maybe the Dutch will swap them for cigarettes.
Adolf, The Shitty.
Käär, drink.
No, I'll go and relieve my brother on the guard.
Grenadiers, let's drink.
Take it, if you want. Here is Adolf's personal signature.
I already have my own F†uhrer.
You? Married? Well...
Yeah. What do you say...
She has a mustache or what? No, she hasn't.
You said she's your F†uhrer.
Doesn't mean she has a mustache.
F†uhrer has a mustache. She has not.
What's her name? Erika.
The lower part is missing.
That's the lower part.
Let's swap. Sod off, no swapping.
What are you thinking about? Nothing.
(A poem SOLDIER'S MOTHER)
To the fallen comrades.
The Dutch told me that they have toilet paper of their own.
They still gave me a pack of cigarettes.
There's only rubble left of Narva.
Home, governess...
I'll forget everything. I'm forgetting it every day.
That's all that's left from my father.
Father got it in WW I.
He fought in the White Army afterwards.
After June 1940 the Reds executed him.
What are we doing here?
This is not our war. Whose war is it then?
We didn't start it. Hitler's attack to Russia started it.
Wrong! Who attacked Finland? Who occupied the Baltic States?
Who occupied Poland? Damn it!
Yeah, Poland was attacked by them both.
Do you know what will happen next? The Red Estonians will come home.
Let them. How many of them are there? A handful. Thousands!
Russian propaganda.
What will you do when you meet an Estonian in Red Army uniform?
Your countryman! I'll kill all those red assworms!
Don't you get it? There are millions! It's an avalanche! A Red plague!
Calm down!
Where are you going? To relieve my brother.
He needs rest. Wait!
P…oder, down!
(Propaganda text)
Käär, we came to relieve you.
How's it been? Quiet.
You told me not to go.
How could I have done that?
You didn't know that uncle told me that night in Tallinn
that there will be arrests.
That I should warn our parents.
I didn't believe him.
Karl, take your weapon, we're going.
We're the last ones, the trucks are ready.
Where will we go? To Germany. That's an order.
I'll stay here.
Do you think this will bring your family back from Siberia?
No, it won't. But what will?
Do you know how many guys like you I have seen?
A week, a month, or two. And gone.
What's the purpose of all this?
Are we even a step closer to independence now?
If you want...
...we'll stay here.
September 19
Operation "Aster". Withdrawal of the German Forces from Estonia
The men don't want to go to Germany.
But in Tallinn we could get on a ship and then off to Sweden.
I have good connections.
Most important is not to turn toward Tartu. Then we'll be kaput.
Shut your mouth!
Men, don't go home! Back to your unit! That's an order!
Good morning! Have you got any ammo?
My men are running away. Who are you?
The 2nd company of Virumaa SelfDefense Force Batallion.
Or what is left for it. Guys, give all our trophies to them.
Men... August, Kaupo, Villem...
If there are no ammo for a rifle, it's only as good as a wooden stick.
Heil Hitler, then...
Hold on for a moment.
Are you going to the market or what?
What are you staring at? Go and help the master.
Men like cow's udders!
That one is a real F†uhrer.
Mom, look! A plane!
Alert! Alert!
Take cover! Planes! Into the forest!
Run to forest!
Get down!
Säinas, get down!
Damn it, the truck will catch fire.
Damn whorehouse... Come on and help to put the fire out!
Damn it!
Pastak, drive closer. We'll take the wounded on.
And then quickly to Tallinn. The Reds are here any minute now.
My sister has the same kind of doll.
No, she does not. How come?
It is my Kati. Alright then.
Where is she now? My sister is far away.
No, where is her Kati?
Let's go.
Help the folks on the truck.
Women and kids, ladies and girls, all of you, to the truck.
Move further.
Take the wounded to some hospital, the refugees to Tallinn.
They might catch some ship still.
But what shall I do after that?
Bloody shit! I must always make all the decisions by myself.
Do you know where my Mommy is? Yes, I do.
Kati wants to tell you something.
Kati tells you the rest.
Tartu
Vicinity of Avinurme
If here, then here.
There is no place to retreat.
Men, do you know what comes next?
Today, on September 19, we'll take this forest.
Tomorrow, on September 20,
the Russians will beat us out of the forest.
The day after tomorrow, on September 21,
we'll beat the Russians out of the forest.
On September 22, the forester will beat us all out of the forest.
Fritz took my daughter to a city store. When she came back, she was a whore.
I have to shed my blood for her on the Eastern front.
But Adolf let us down. But bloody Adolf let us down.
Men, our last supper arrived.
Take potatoes, ham and bread.
It's good to die with your belly full of good hot food.
Do you know who said that? No.
Erich Maria Remarque.
Some woman? What does she know about warfare?
The man who wrote "All Quiet on the Western Front".
But to get a bullet in the stomach full of food is way too shitty.
Help yourselves, guys. We'll bring more if necessary.
Haven't you thought about escaping? Where should we go?
Where do we leave our cattle?
Aren't you afraid of the Reds?
They can't deport everybody to Siberia.
While we are holding on here, the Germans will get on the ships,
Tallinn will be free and some brave Estonian
will climb hurryscurry to the top of the Tall Herman Tower
just like in 1918 with our blueblackwhite tricolor.
At the last minute someone will trip him.
Don't say that.
I didn't take the warning seriously. What arrests?!
And went to the city.
When the guys also started to talk about it, I went to the station.
The last train had left.
Got to a car that took me to the crossroad.
Very well, I thought.
And ran toward home.
September 20
The forester.
What are you staring at?
The pig is fond of shit and the sheep of warm water.
Hitler dreams of the East to get buns and butter.
Retreat to the forest! We'll retreat to the forest!
These are fellow Estonians! Cease fire! It's an order!
8th Estonian Rifle Corps of the Red Army,
249th Rifle Division, 916th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 6th Company
Why did you let them escape? Who gave the order to cease fire?
I did.
Captain Viires. All fascists must be destroyed.
I don't have time to chase every village boy shooting at us.
These were not village boys. They were ordinary fascists.
Captain Viires, I'll report on you.
The order to liberate the capital of the Soviet Estonia Tallinn
by September 22 was given by comrade Stalin himself.
I don't want to be Court Martialed.
Perhaps you do?
We shall see, which of us will be Court Martialed.
Kreml shat his pants.
J…ogi, you are platoon commander now.
Bury the dead, but make it fast. Keep out of the way of the NKVDtroops.
I'll leave a truck for you. You'll catch us up.
J†uri, what shall we do with those? Let's bury them all.
Men, what are you doing?
Are we burying fascists next to our guys?
It's the end of the road for everybody.
What are you thinking about?
Ah, bastard! Put down so many of our guys.
His name was Karl Tammik. My countryman.
Did you know him? No.
God, have mercy to them all and save them.
Let's get to work.
31 fallen Red Army soldiers.
We heard you had a great battle here. Brave guys!
Those beasts should be beaten, damn it!
Come on, guys, and help yourselves to food!
Where do you come from? I am from S…orve.
From so far away?
That isn't far away at all. Prohhor is from Siberia. That's far away.
His granny was an Estonian. Maria.
There were some other guys here yesterday. Where did they get to?
They were transferred.
I was in the War of Independence too. To what unit do you belong?
To the Estonian Rifle Corps.
Never heard of it. He knows nothing about the units.
Give them smoked meat. Thanks, but we have plenty of meat.
Aabram.
Good German stuff, damn it.
Thank you, granny.
How long can you hold on like that, lads?
I feel pity for them. Why?
I went to the taiga, became a hunter.
Where is a place for them to hide?
Will be labeled as kulaks and sent straight to the Gulag.
That's my mother.
That's my father.
The next will be granpa. Granpa.
Uncle Jakob. Uncle Jakob.
Who's that? Little Sarah, my sister.
Before the war in Pärnu.
Now he'll cry.
September 22 Tallinn
Why so gloomy?
It's time to be happy. To dance and to have a party.
All sorrows will be forgotten.
Staff sergeant J†uri J…ogi. Hello. Good evening.
Does A. Tammik live here? Yes, that's me, Aino Tammik.
Then I came to see you.
Come on in.
I think this is for you.
So I ran and thought,
please make it a false alarm.
But the truck was already there.
Kadri on mother's laps. She didn't cry.
She whispered something to mother's ear.
Then father lost it completely.
I had never seen him like that.
I sat in a lilac bush and saw them driven off.
Now you know it all.
Can I help you?
How did you get that?
I was one of those who buried your husband.
Karl was my brother. I'm not married.
How did he die? In the battle.
How do you know that?
I saw it. He was shot in front of my eyes. He died at once.
Karl was a lively boy. Talkative, always cheerful.
When the family was taken away... To Siberia?
Something was broken inside him. Now he wrote why.
He thought it was his fault that mom, dad and our little sister...
And you?
I was conscripted on 1939.
In June '40 we were watching at the border
how the Red Army marched in.
Why didn't you fight back?
Perhaps we were too disciplined, waited for an order.
Or we were just cowards.
Before we knew, in a couple of months,
we were in the Red Army ourselves.
Then the war began.
What about your family?
Ruudi, Alli, Oskar, Aabram, Prohhor. They are my family.
There is less and less of them left every day.
There's something similar in you. In who?
In you and in my brother.
The innocent ones feel guilty. The guilty ones do not feel anything.
You must be hungry.
This is not my apartment. It's my uncle's.
Two weeks ago they fled to Sweden by a boat.
The Red Army. On March 9.
We were told that the Germans did it.
There were only women, children and old people in the city.
Men were all on the front.
I pity the children most.
A cute girl was brought to our orphanage. I work there.
She drew me a funny card. I'll show you.
That should be...
It's open.
Are you staying for long?
Will you be moving on?
Where to?
They told us that to Saaremaa.
We are alone here.
I think I would forgive him. Who?
The one who put our family on the list to be deported.
Somebody named J…ogi. My brother wrote about that.
What is it?
I recalled how we were living before the war.
J†uri, I don't know your family name.
Tuul. J†uri Tuul.
Comrade J…ogi, come with me.
Hello, comrade captain.
We have fought a long way of battles together.
From Velikiye Luki to Tallinn.
But there are still bourgeois nationalists
and public enemies among us.
You do know that, don't you?
You are young, energetic, have time for everything.
You even hang around at night.
Who is she to you?
Who? The one from Estonia Boulevard.
My sister. I visited my sister.
I read your file, but I don't remember your sister.
I didn't read it properly.
So, we have come to an agreement.
You'll inform me about every antiSoviet act,
It concerns officers as well as soldiers.
You can go now.
November 17 Saaremaa
Prohhor, stop it!
Mann, come out of the barn, Alli's home!
He arrived home. He was born here.
Look at that! A soldier, and came right to his home.
My granny told me that Estonia is small, but that small...
J†uri, go with him.
Well, master, heat the sauna, butcher the pig.
There isn't anybody here. Even the barn is empty.
I'll go and look for something to eat.
We have got replacements. Three guys.
They are waiting behind the door. Send them in.
Comrade staff sergeant, can we come in?
I'm your platoon commander J†uri J…ogi. At ease.
Be honest, who of you has not served in the German Army?
I did. Tannenberg Line.
When the Germans retreated, I went home.
The Russians got me from there. Me too.
I ran away.
Now forget your past.
Those who will survive here are those that keep their mouths shut.
Is it clear? Yes.
Alli! Private Tuul!
Alli, where were you, damn it? I was frying potatoes for our guys.
Feed them as well. They are hungry. Eat as much as you like.
There's plenty in the cellar. No need to spare for the rear rats.
Alli, did you hear anything about your folks?
All farms in S…orve are destroyed. People deported to Germany.
The war will be over in a year or two. They will be back then.
My house is whole and I'm alive.
Here, around this farm, we'll break through the German lines.
Our artillery will flatten this area first.
The German minefield is here.
We'll follow the tanks. Our platoon moves first.
Why us in the front?
The company commander wants to save us.
The Germans have ships at sea. The last ones will take heavy fire.
Where's our victorious Red Fleet?
They are scratching their balls in Kronstadt.
Stalin's 100 grams was distributed already. We'll drink it at once.
Damn it, J†uri, I totally forgot. Kreml wanted to see you.
Yes!
Comrade captain. Staff sergeant J…ogi at your command.
Close the door.
Sit down.
To the victory.
You got replacements. Yes.
Three guys.
Did you check them? I did.
J†uri, you are from the right family and have made right decisions so far.
Just like your father in his time.
You haven't applied for the Party membership? No.
That's even better. You'll be trusted more.
You'll go far.
We'll send you to study, and you'll get an officer's rank.
You'll be the company commander soon.
We'd make a good team.
The company already has the commander.
Captain Viires.
That radish... Red outside, white inside.
Those kinds of guys should be kept an eye on.
Don't spoil your life, J†uri.
November 19
The last defence line of the German Army on S…orve Peninsula
Minefield on both sides! Follow the tank!
Get up! Move forward! Follow the tank!
Don't go! There's a minefield there!
Take cover! Behind the stone fence!
Prohhor!
Oskar!
Aabram, Käär, follow me!
Prohhor, Aabram, follow me!
Oskar, new guy, Alli, over there!
Alli...
Come out! Hands up!
Do you think it'll bring Sarah back?
What? You can't sleep?
I can't forget about that guy.
I delivered his last letter.
To his sister.
Did you tell her?
You couldn't?
But you fell in love.
J†uri, don't worry. You didn't kill him. The war did.
Perhaps God will forgive.
Or maybe not.
November 22
One last effort and Estonia will be ours!
Let's move!
J†uri, the political department is interested in you.
We are in deep shit. As if eating shit all the time.
I wanted to bring the men home. Where did I bring them?
Stop! Hands up! Don't shoot! We are Estonians.
Silence! Don't shoot!
Come out! Hands up! Come, come!
Easy!
Name? Hando Hirv.
Age? 16.
Volunteer? No.
The Germans took us. We were in the rear.
The Germans wanted to take us to Germany,
but we didn't want to go. We wanted to go home.
J†uri, take your men and shoot these traitors.
Comrade captain, they are children.
Soviet citizens who have deflected to the enemy must be shot.
Staff sergeant J…ogi, take your men and obey the order.
They were forcefully mobilized.
J†uri, obey the order.
I will not shoot them.
Shoot.
Shoot and all your relatives will be sent to the Gulag.
Are you scared? That's right.
One must be scared of Soviet Power.
Captain Viires, obey the order.
Second platoon, move forward!
Boys, you go home. Didn't you get it?
Get rid of your uniforms and go home.
One thought still bothers me.
What if I wouldn't have delivered the letter back then?
If we had met by chance after the war, maybe, in that church?
Hello.
Does Miss A. Tammik live here?
Yes, I am Aino Tammik.
Then I came to you. Come on in.
Who knows, perhaps we'll meet again.
How did you sleep? Well.
And to face you honestly then,
I have to tell the whole truth.
We need to start from a blank page.
This is from J†uri J…ogi.
The Red Army soldier who killed your brother in a battle.
I couldn't tell it to you eye to eye.
You are the only one left to me.
Please forgive me if you can.
To all who fought and suffered in the name of freedom.