Ostland Uprisings

Lithuanian rebels in 1953

The **Ostland Uprisings** was a failed rebellion in the Reichskommissariat Ostland between the Greater Germanic Reich against nationalist and Communist rebels. The nationalist rebels consisted of uprisings in the former Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Belarussians, and Russians. There were also Communist rebels, primarily from the Russian and Belarussian regions though also smaller groups from the Baltic states.

The rebellion had a mixed bag of success for the insurgents, with some initial success being seen in the former Lithuanian, Belarussian and Russian regions, however the rebellion failed in the Estonian and Latvian areas. The rebellion faltered in Belarus though as divisions between the Communists and formerly collaborationist Belarusian Independence Party led to internal conflicts.

It's estimated that around 800,000 Russian, 500,000 Belarussian, 300,000 Lithuanian, 300,000 Latvian, and 100,000 Estonian civilians died during the rebellion, as well as some 300,000 rebel fighters. The German and Dutch settlers who inhabited the Reichskommisariat suffered casualties during the rebellion also, with the worst coming from the Communist rebels.

## Aftermath

### Deportations to Moskowien

Following the failed rebellion in Ostland, and the end of the West Russian War, the German authorities decided to start the mass-deportion of many of the Russian and Belarussian inhabitants of the Reichskommissariat. With many slave workers in the Reichskommissariat Moskowien having fled eastwards to their newly liberated lands or killed in the war, there was a dearth of labourer's now needed to shore up the defences of the new eastern borders of the Reich.

### Deportations to Finland

While most ethnic groups who took part in the rebellion against Germany, the Estonians were one of the few who came out the other side relatively unscathed. As their rebellion had been smaller and failed faster, there was less bitterness sent their way by German reprisals. However, as they took part in the rebellion there was a view that their land too needed a degree of depopulation to ensure future insurrections don't occur.

Negotiations began with Finland who, as well as sharing a genetic heritage with the Estonians also had some linguistic similarities. They had already taken in a number of Estonian refugees who fled the initial German invasion, but there was a view to not take anymore for the moment. This changed following the Murmansk Rebellion in which Russians rose up against Finland in the annexed regions of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula. The Finns were able to eventually suppress the Russians and believed they, similarly to Germany, needed to create a more friendly population in the regions they annexed following the German-Soviet War.

The Helsinki Arrangements were agreed upon in 1958 and saw the Germans agree to transport many of the Russians who inhabited the Kola Peninsula and Karelia in return for Finland taking a number of Estonians off the German hands. The Russians were deported immediately to the frontlines of the Reichskommissariat Moskowien to be slaves and construct the new Großgrenzverteidigung, while most of the Estonians were taken by Finland to live in, and help rebuild, the city of Murmansk.