JTA - 08.24.2004

Estonian Monument Controversial

(JTA) -- A controversial memorial was dedicated to Estonian soldiers who fought alongside the German SS in World War II.

The memorial, a statue of a soldier wearing a Nazi uniform, was unveiled last Friday in the western region of Lihula in front of about 2,000 people. The inscription dedicates the memorial “to the Estonians who fought against Bolshevism and for Estonian independence from 1940 to 1941.” Regional Mayor Tiit Madisson said the memorial was dedicated to people who chose the lesser of two evils. “They had experienced Soviet occupation and did not want to return to it,” he said.