The Museum of Occupations chronicles the powerful and destructive impact of the two 20th-century foreign rulers of the Estonian people. The small institution contains intriguing exhibits with photographs and relics telling the harrowing story of the German and two Soviet occupations. Learn the individual stories that bring to life this torrid time in Estonia’s recent past.
The history of the occupations is told via a blend of video, audio and photographs. Browse daily Soviet and German items from their respective rules in Estonia, which was occupied by each of the warring factions during World War II. Contrast these foreign artifacts with personal objects, such as the suitcases lining the walls, that belonged to those forced to flee the country.
A closer look at some of the ostensibly mundane artifacts on display hints at the trauma faced by the Estonian citizens during this lengthy period of occupation. See the accounting ledger on which the words “Estonian Republic” were scrubbed out and the book that was partially chopped up with an axe due to its links to free thinkers. Examine the rusted and dilapidated cell doors from Soviet prisons.
Gaze up at the daunting emblem of the Nazis, who took hold of Estonia from 1941 for three years. The swastika stands beside the Communist Red Army sign of the Soviet Union, which occupied Estonia the preceding year and again from 1944 to 1991. For much of this time, the nation was known as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Inspect the various busts of leading Soviet statesmen.
There is a fee to enter the museum, with discounts for kids. The site opens daily.
The Museum of Occupations is less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) southwest of Tallinn’s city center. Take a bus or tram to the Vabaduse Väljak stop and walk northwest for several minutes to get here. Visit the nearby Kiek in de Kok, the Rahvarinde Museum and the Kaarli Church, among other intriguing landmarks.
