Exhibition “Under the North Star – Estonian Volunteers in the Battle of Narvik 1940” in the Riigikogu

An exhibition about the twelve Estonian volunteers who together with the Brits, Frenchmen and Poles went to help the Norwegians to defend the freedom of Norway in April 1940 and took part in the battles under Narvik when Germany attacked Norway, was opened in the lobby of the Riigikogu Building.

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas said that it was necessary to recall this little-known fact from decades ago here at Toompea, because the Estonians had always been ready to fight against aggression.

“It is necessary to acknowledge the academic research paper “Norwegian Boys. Estonian Volunteers in the Battle of Narvik 1940” by historian Peep Pillak, which is based on the archive documents, historical research and memories,” Ratas noted. He said that the diary Gustav Adolf Lepik kept during the war, the letters Arnold Soinla sent home from Finland and Norway, and the memoirs of August Nirk have been published as annexes of the paper. Unfortunately, one of the Estonian soldiers, Arnold Soinla, perished in the Battle of Narvik in North Norway as the first Estonian who fell in World War II.

The joint exhibition of Norway and Estonia “Under the North Star – Estonian Volunteers in the Battle of Narvik 1940” was first opened in the Narvik War and Peace Centre in autumn 2018, and later that year, the Estonian and English language version of the exhibition was opened in the Estonian War Museum, where also a conference on the same topic was held with the participation of Norwegian and Estonian historians. The exhibition has also been shown in the 1st Infantry Brigade at Tapa, where the NATO allied forces are based, at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu and at the Estonian Defence League Headquarters in Tallinn.

The exhibition consists of 11 stands, which give an overview of Norway in World War; the Polish submarine Orzel that had connections with Estonia, Great Britain and Norway in World War II; the Winter War in Finland and the volunteers who participated in it, focusing on the Estonian volunteers in the military unit Sisu; the journey of twelve Estonian volunteers from Finland to Norway after the end of the Winter War and their participation in the battles under Narvik, with a special focus on the attack on Lillebalak, where Arnold Soinla was killed and two men were wounded. Information about the further fate of the Estonian volunteers who fought in Norway is also given.

The exhibition was put together by Hege B. Grundekjøn (Norwegian-Estonian Association), Ulf Eirik Torgersen and Gaute Rønnebu (Narvik War and Peace Centre), and Peep Pillak (Estonian Heritage Society). One of the exhibits is a mannequin dressed in the wartime uniform of a Norwegian soldier, with a greatcoat and a backpack. The diary kept by Gustav Adolf Lepik during the campaign in Norway and the letters of Arnold Soinla, the originals of which are in the Estonian War Museum, can also be seen at the exhibition.

The opening of the exhibition was also attended by Minister of Defence of Norway Bjørn Arild Gram, who later met with the members of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu.

The exhibition was organised by the Embassy of Norway in Estonia in cooperation with the Chancellery of the Riigikogu.

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Source: Parliament of Estonia