File No. 861.00/3117
I am directed to enquire whether information in the possession of the
State Department regarding conditions in Esthonia tends to confirm
the contents of this memorandum.
[Enclosure]
Esthonia: Recognition of the National
Council by the British Government
In view of the advisability or otherwise of the general policy of
granting provisional recognition to the national councils and
other representative bodies of the smaller nationalities, for
the purpose of stimulating their passive resistance under German
occupation and so encouraging them in their determination to
secure self-determination, to which principle the Entente powers
have pledged themselves, the following data, showing the result
of this policy in Esthonia, may be of interest.
With regard to the general question of the relation of these
smaller nationalities to Russia, it becomes increasingly clear
(a) that the general recovery and
return to normal political conditions in Russia will be a long
process; (b) that it therefore becomes
more difficult to suggest to these smaller nationalities that
they shall become units in a federation of Russian states; and
(c) that in proportion as we
encourage the independence of Finland and the Baltic states,
whether they remain apart or grow into a larger Baltic league,
we probably at the same time encourage the drawing together
again of certain
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elements in Great Russia and Germany, particularly if the former
country in the future becomes strong again and once more
develops an aggressive centralising tendency. To combat the
latter eventuality there appear to be only two lines of
counter-move, either the break-up or thorough democratisation of
Germany, or the full encouragement and support of the
independence of these Baltic states, and Lithuania in
particular, as a buffer.
The latest news from Esthonia is a story of brutal oppression, of
which possibly the most significant item in connection with the
above is the following:
The German commander in chief has issued instructions to the
district commanders to keep a careful watch over such of the
Esthonian intelligentsia as are spreading
propaganda in the British interests. Should such cases be
observed, the suspects are immediately to be arrested, even if
there are no definite proofs. It is further stated from the same
source that the people desire the liberation of their country
from the German oppression at the hands of Great Britain. Those
who are believed by the Germans to harbour such a desire are
punished with ten years of imprisonment: “In the prisons they
await death by starvation; the people moan but they still hope.”
It would appear that if the recognition already given has led to
such fortitude and endurance on the part of the Esthonian
people, we can hardly withdraw from the line already taken up,
and should on the contrary do everything to make our intentions
more clear. Other items of news from the same source are as
follows:
The former Esthonian Prime Minister, K.
Pats, who was imprisoned by the Germans and who had
been brought back to Revel and temporarily liberated owing to
his physical condition as the result of imprisonment, has again
been interned in a concentration camp. A deputation, headed by
the Esthonian Bishop Platon, who interceded
for his release, was met with a refusal: “We cannot liberate him
as this would lead to risings among the population.” All the
prisons are overcrowded with political prisoners. By order of
the German military authorities, the German language has been
made compulsory in all the secondary schools. A conference
dealing with the question of secondary schools was informed that
of foreign languages instruction in only French and English was
permitted. When the question of teaching in Esthonian was
raised, the conference was told that it was not a political
gathering and that the question could not be discussed. Russian
can only be taught from the fifth class-onwards, and then only
two hours a week. Verordnungs Blatt No.
26 further states that in all primary schools the
German language has to be taught for six hours weekly during the
first year, and for ten hours weekly during the second year. On
the railways German soldiers rob travelers of such foodstuffs as
they may find on them. The old gendarmes of the Tsarist times
are employed in increasing numbers by the Germans. A well-known
provocateur, Sinka, is again at work
at Revel, and so are secret police agents like the Bolshevik
Piskunov. Formerly there seemed to be a considerable number of
German sympathizers. Owing to their measures of oppression the
Germans are hated in the towns, but especially in the country.
The barons and the German clergy are trying everywhere and by
every means to arrange collections of signatures, requesting the
union of the country with Germany, but the farmers are showing
increased resentment of the methods employed. The local papers
are suppressed if they refuse to publish German-inspired
articles, which articles in turn are used as evidence of the
desire of the country to be united to Germany.
