The Statehood representatives – envoys in DP camps

The main representative organisations for Estonians were Estonian committees. Their creation began in the spring of 1945 (and in some cases even before the end of the war), when the Allied headquarters in SHAEF authorised this. The UNRRA did not give official recognition to the committees, but interacted with them in official procedures. In the fall of 1945, the US zone had 47 Estonian committees, 21 committees were in the UK zone, and 6 committees in the French zone.

The Committees established regional offices and those with the most important tasks worked out of central offices. The Estonian Committee in the US zone joined Estonians throughout all the zones and aimed to represent compatriots of military and civil authorities, and committees to coordinate the Estonian representation of culture, education, economy and religious activities, as well as the merging the citizens of the Republic of Estonia to keep in touch with other missions. In practice, local senior officers explained the efforts of the Estonian people, organised legal protection during the screenings, resolved catering issues, accommodation, and supplies, as well as later, recruitment for work in other countries and emigration issues, and organisation of multifaceted cultural life.

The most important political action was the initiative of the Estonian Central Committee at the beginning of 1946 to collect signatures on a memorandum regarding the issue of the restoration of Estonia's independence. Three zones gave a memorandum signed by almost 18,000 Estonians. One copy of the document was sent to the British Prime Minister and the second to the President of the United States.

Unlike the Lithuanians, many of the representatives of the Estonian political constituency escaped to Sweden and many acted as international representatives in Germany, who in Estonia had worked in education or culture, or endeavoured with their own businesses or had taken other leadership roles.

A letter by Karl Robert Pusta to the senator of USA, Mr. Patrick A. McCarran giving an overview of DP camps as well as sending names and addresses of the Estonian representatives in Germany. September 27, 1947.
ERA.1622.2.49, page 59 (digitized, www.ra.ee/saaga)

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The Statehood representatives – envoys in DP camps

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