NKVD prisoner massacre in Tartu
| NKVD prisoner massacre in Tartu | |
|---|---|
| Part of the NKVD prisoner massacres and the first Soviet occupation of the Baltic states | |
Corpses of the massacre's victims | |
| Location | Tartu, Estonia |
| Date | July 9, 1941 (EET) |
| Target | Estonian prisoners |
Attack type | Massacre, war crime |
| Deaths | 193 |
| Perpetrators | NKVD |
The NKVD Prison Massacre of Tartu was a 1941 massacre of Estonian prisoners by the Soviet secret police (the NKVD) in the city of Tartu, Estonia, during the first Soviet occupation of the Baltic states.
On July 9, 1941, the NKVD executed 193 detainees held in a Tartu prison,[1][2]; their bodies were dumped in makeshift graves and in the prison well.[3]
It was one of several NKVD prisoner massacres in areas occupied by the Soviets.
History
The victims of the communist repressions of summer 1941 were detained in Tartu prison. During the last days of June 1941, there were 619 prisoners. As the German army approached, steps were taken to empty the prison, but arrests continued, and on 8 July 1941 the prison still held 223 detainees. At a meeting of the Estonian Communist Party's Tartu-region committee on the demand of local security leader Alfred Pressman (1894–1973) and with the consent of Estonian NKVD Tartu district leader Pavel Afanasjev (1903–1941) and Communist Party secretary Abronov, a decision was reached to execute the prisoners.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Alexander Statiev (2010). The Soviet Counterinsurgency in the Western Borderlands. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0521768337. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ M. Laar (1992). War in the Woods: Estonia's Struggle for Survival, 1944-1956. Howells House. ISBN 0929590082. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ Museum of KGB Cells
- ^ Antoniuse Õue verine punaminevik