Tallinn to fly flags at half-mast on March bombing anniversary
March 9 will mark the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Air Force's air raid on Tallinn killing over 500 residents and leaving 20,000 homeless. Flags will be flown at half-mast across the capital in remembrance.
In March 1944, the Soviet Air Force bombed Tallinn and other Estonian cities. On the evening of March 9 and the following night, two bombing raids were carried out on Tallinn, destroying a total of 1,549 buildings and damaging 3,350 more, including the Estonia Theatre and St. Nicholas Church.
Last October, the Tallinn City Council passed a resolution declaring March 9 a city-wide day of remembrance.
This year, several events organized by the initiative of the Estonian Heritage Society will be held on the day and the city has allocated €3,500 in support.
At noon, a traditional memorial service will be held at the memorial for bombing victims in Siselinna Cemetery.
At 6 p.m., a memorial service and concert will take place at St. Nicholas Church, featuring the ensemble Linnamuusikud. Speeches will be given by Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) and former Member of the European Parliament Tunne Kelam (Isamaa).
At 7:15 p.m., candles will be lit on Harju tänav, and mourning bells will ring in Tallinn's churches.
On March 9, all city institutions will fly their flags at half-mast, and events incompatible with the nature of the memorial day will not be held.
The Estonian Heritage Society has been organizing commemorations for the victims of the bombing in Tallinn since 1989.
The Red Army's large-scale offensive against the German Wehrmacht to take back Estonia started on January 14, 1944 and reached the River Narva on February 1.
Some of the worst air raids took place in March 1944, when the Soviet Air Force launched a series of devastating raids on Estonian cities, including Narva-Jõesuu, Jõhvi, Tapa, Rakvere, Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu.
In Tallinn, around 20,000 residents of the Estonian capital lost their homes, 554 Estonian citizens were killed, along with 50 German soldiers and 121 prisoners of war.
However, Narva suffered the most. Between March 6-8, tens of thousands of mines, shells and incendiary and explosive bombs were dropped on the city.
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Editor: Helen Wright
