Mihkli is a village in Lääneranna Parish , Pärnu County in southwestern Estonia .
56-584: The Baltic German biosemiotician Jakob von Uexküll (1864–1944) was born in Keblas Manor [ et ] , now part of Mihkli village. Mihkli church is located in the village. The first mentioning of the church dates back to the end of 13th century. This Pärnu County location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Baltic German Baltic Germans ( German : Deutsch-Balten or Deutschbalten , later Baltendeutsche ) are ethnic German inhabitants of
112-400: A ruling class over indigenous Latvian and Estonian non-nobles. By the time a distinct Baltic German ethnic identity began emerging in the 19th century, the majority of self-identifying Baltic Germans were non-nobles belonging mostly to the urban and professional middle class. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Catholic German traders and crusaders ( see Ostsiedlung ) began settling in
168-804: A century earlier than in Russia proper. For some time, there was no outward tension between the German speakers and indigenous residents. Earlier, if any Latvian or Estonian who managed to rise above his class was expected to Germanize and to forget his roots, by the mid-19th century German urban classes began to feel increasing competition from the natives, who after the First Latvian National Awakening and Estonian national awakening produced their own middle class and moved to German- and Jewish-dominated towns and cities in increasing numbers. The Revolution of 1905 led to attacks against
224-679: A note of independence to Soviet representatives in Stockholm on January 28, 1918, announcing their intention to break away from Russia under the rights granted to them by the Treaty of Nystad of 1721. In response, the Bolsheviks, who controlled Estonia, arrested 567 leading Germans and deported them to Russia. After the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk they were allowed to return. Under German-Soviet treaties, Germany gained control over Courland, Riga, Saaremaa (Ösel), Livonia and Estonia. In
280-714: A scheme by Karl Baron von Manteuffel-Szoege and Silvio Broedrich-Kurmahlen to pacify the countryside by settling up to 20,000 ethnic German farmers, mostly from Volhynia , in Courland. World War I brought the end of the alliance of the Baltic Germans and the Russian Tsarist government. German heritage led to their being viewed as the enemy by Russians . They were also seen as traitors by the German Empire if they remained loyal to Russia. Their loyalty to
336-473: The Generalplan Ost . The deportation orders required that enough Polish people be removed to provide space for every settler, e.g. if twenty Nazi, German bakers were sent, twenty Polish bakers were removed. The settlers were often given Polish homes where the families had been evicted so quickly that half-eaten meals remained on the tables and small children had been taken from unmade beds. Members of
392-650: The Constitutional Assembly of Latvia nationalized 1,300 estates comprising 3.7 million hectares of land. Former German owners were allowed to keep 50 hectares of land and farm equipment. In 1924, the Saeima decided that no compensation would be paid to former owners. In 1929, the Saeima voted that veterans of the Baltische Landeswehr could not receive any land. In Estonia, there
448-731: The German diaspora in Europe. The majority of medieval Catholic settlers and their German-speaking descendants lived in the local towns of medieval Livonia . However, a small wealthy elite formed the Baltic nobility , acquiring large rural estates. When Sweden had ceded its Livonian territories to the Russian Empire after the Great Northern War (1700–1721), many of these German-speaking aristocrats began taking high positions in
504-772: The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls were assigned the task of overseeing these evictions to ensure that the Polish left behind most of their belongings for the use of the settlers. Once they were settled, the process of Germanization was begun. Ethnic Germans were evacuated from territories occupied by the Soviets in 1940, notably Bessarabia and the Baltic States of Estonia and Latvia , all of which traditionally had large ethnic German minorities. However,
560-728: The Livonian Order invited over 200 German merchants from Gotland to settle in Tallinn where they founded a market town. Membership in the Hanseatic League and active trade links with Russia and Europe increased the wealth of German traders. As the military power of the Teutonic Knights weakened during the 15th century wars with the Kingdom of Poland , Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Moscow ,
616-681: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . Hitler's aim was to avoid having to fight on two fronts upon the invasion of Poland and best facilitate its successful capture by partition, a crucial matter in the first weeks of the Second World War. The real issues agreed upon in the pact were the partition of territories in Central and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence and the reciprocal transfer of ethnic German and Russian people to their native countries. Hitler's plan
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#1732790365732672-710: The Terra Mariana confederation, under the protection of Roman Popes and Holy Roman Empire . After the heavy defeat in the 1236 Battle of Saule the Livonian Brothers of the Sword became a part of the Teutonic Order . During the next three centuries, German-speaking soldiers, clergymen, merchants and craftsmen constituted the majority of the quickly growing urban population, as the native inhabitants usually were prohibited from settling there. In 1230,
728-524: The Baltic German landowners, the burning of manors, and the torture and even killing of members of the nobility. During the 1905 Revolution groups of rebels burned over 400 manor houses and German-owned buildings and killed 82 Germans. In response Cossack punitive expeditions aided by German nobles and officers burned down hundreds of farms, arrested and deported thousands and summarily executed at least 2,000 people. Reaction to 1905 Revolution included
784-557: The Baltic area consisted of the following territories: Small numbers of ethnic Germans began to settle in the area in the late 12th century, when traders and Christian missionaries began to visit the coastal lands inhabited by tribes who spoke Finnic and Baltic languages . Systematic conquest and settlement of these lands was completed during the Northern Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries; this resulted in creation of
840-789: The Bolshevik regimes were short-lived, they pursued the Red Terror against Germans, often killing them purely because of their nationality. After the collapse of the German Empire, Baltic Germans in Estonia began forming volunteer units to defend against the Bolshevik threat. On November 27, 1918 this was authorized by the Estonian government, and the Volunteer Baltic Battalion ( Freiwilligen Baltenbataillon )
896-823: The German Heim ins Reich policy in accordance with the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . As a result of Nazi Germany 's expansion, most German speakers in Europe were brought under one regime. There were millions of ethnic Germans living outside German borders, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe , with the majority of people being migrants in Russia . The migrated Germans – referred to as Volksdeutsche – had lived outside of Germany for centuries. These emigrants had settled in
952-572: The Imperial court. Starting from the 18th century, the Baltic German nobility also assumed some leading posts in the Russian imperial government. Germans, other than the local estate-owners, mainly lived in the cities, such as Riga , Reval , Dorpat , Pernau and Mitau . As late as the mid-19th century, the population of many of these cities still had a German majority, with Estonian, Latvian or Jewish minorities. By 1867, Riga 's population
1008-637: The Kingdoms of Poland, Sweden, and Denmark and lasted for 20 years. In 1561, Terra Mariana ceased to exist and was divided among Denmark (which took the island of Ösel ), Sweden (which took northern Estonia) and Poland, which annexed the newly created Duchy of Livonia , and granted the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , a vassal state of Poland-Lithuania, to the last Master of the Livonian Order Gotthard Kettler . The secularized land
1064-763: The Livonian Governorate found themselves in two new countries, both of which introduced sweeping agrarian reforms aimed at the large land owners, an absolute majority of whom were Germans. As a result of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Russian Civil War , many Baltic Germans fled to Germany. After 1919, many Baltic Germans felt obliged to depart the newly independent states for Germany , but many stayed as ordinary citizens. In 1925, there were 70,964 Germans in Latvia (3.6%) and 62,144 in 1935 (3.2% of population). Riga remained by far
1120-774: The Livonian branch in the north began to pursue its own policies. When the Prussian branch of the Order secularized in 1525 and became a Polish vassal state as the Duchy of Prussia , the Livonian branch remained independent while searching for a similar way to secularize. Livonia became mostly Protestant during the Reformation . In 1558, the Tsardom of Russia began the Livonian War against Terra Mariana which soon involved
1176-616: The Russian surrender at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, the German Empire occupied the remaining Baltic provinces. The Ober Ost military administration began plans for German colonization of Courland. On April 20, 1917, the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern front announced that a third of arable land there should be reserved for settlement by German war veterans. This was approved by Courland's German nobility on September 22, 1917. Livonian and Estonian nobles delivered
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#17327903657321232-635: The area. During this time, the Low German ( Plattdeutsch ) of the original settlers was gradually replaced by the High German ( Hochdeutsch ) of the new settlers. In the course of their 700-year history, Baltic German families had ethnic German roots, but also intermarried extensively with Estonians, Livonians and Latvians, as well as with other Northern or Central European peoples, such as Danes, Swedes, Irish, English, Scots, Poles, Hungarians and Dutch. In cases where intermarriage occurred, members of
1288-599: The call of the Führer . To encourage support of this program, later German propaganda films such as The Red Terror and Frisians in Peril depicted the ethnic Germans as deeply persecuted in their native lands. Families were transported by sea from the Baltic States and by train from other territories. The German government arranged for the transfer of their furniture and personal belongings. All immovable property
1344-623: The eastern Baltic territories. With the decline of Latin , German became the dominant language of official documents, commerce, education and government. By the first half of the 20th century, the Baltic Germans were, until after World War II, along with the Transylvanian Saxons and the Zipser Germans (in Romania and Slovakia respectively), one of the three oldest continuously German-speaking and ethnic German groups of
1400-498: The eastern shores of the Baltic Sea , in what today are Estonia and Latvia . Since their resettlement in 1945 after the end of World War II , Baltic Germans have markedly declined as a geographically determined ethnic group in the region. Since the late Middle Ages , native German-speakers formed the majority of merchants and clergy , and the large majority of the local landowning nobility who effectively constituted
1456-579: The ethnic Germans and the general public in October 1939. The Nazis set out to encourage the return of the ethnic Germans (called Volksdeutsche by the Nazis), from the Baltic States by the use of propaganda. This included using scare tactics about the Soviet Union and led to tens of thousands of Soviets leaving. Those who left were not referred to as refugees, but were rather described as answering
1512-472: The landed class of German noble families and their economic base. On October 10, 1919, the Estonian parliament expropriated 1,065 estates (96.6% of all estates). The law of March 1, 1926 set the compensation to the former owners of arable land at about 3% of its market value and no compensation at all for the forests. This almost instantly bankrupted the German noble class, even if they were allowed to keep some 50 hectares of their lands. On September 16, 1920,
1568-576: The lands east of Germany between the 12th and 18th centuries. Adolf Hitler had a plan to attract these German-speaking people into Nazi Germany. However, he also believed that the 1937 borders and territories of Nazi Germany, i.e. before the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria and the Sudetenland , were inadequate to accommodate this large increase in population. At this time, propaganda for more Lebensraum , or living space, grew fast. With
1624-594: The largest German center with 38,523 Germans residing there in 1935, while Tallinn then had 6,575 Germans. While the German landed class soon lost most of their lands after the agrarian reforms, they continued to work in their professions and to lead their companies. German cultural autonomy was respected. The Committee of the German Baltic Parties in Latvia and Deutsch-baltische Partei in Estland in Estonia participated in elections and won seats. At
1680-434: The largest number of ethnic Germans living in Russia, Hitler knew that he could not resettle all these people without the full cooperation of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. In late August 1939 (a week before the invasion of Poland and the start of World War II in Europe ), Hitler sent his foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop to Moscow to arrange a pact of non-aggression with the Soviet Union. This became known as
1736-426: The local Baltic nobility . Until the imperial reforms of the 1880s, local government was in the hands of the landtag of each province, in which only members of the matriculated Baltic nobility held membership and cities were ruled by German burgomasters . Between 1710 and approximately 1880, the Baltic German ruling class enjoyed great autonomy from the Imperial government and achieved great political influence in
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1792-556: The majority of the Baltic Germans had already been resettled in late 1939, prior to the occupation of Estonia and Latvia by the Soviets in June 1940. In most cases, they were given farms taken from 110,000 Polish who were expelled from the area. Ethnic Germans Resettled by Nazi Germany 1939–1944 Source: Dr. Gerhard Reichling, Die deutschen Vertriebenen in Zahlen, Teil 1, Bonn 1995, Pages 23–27 Reichling's figures do not include parts of
1848-618: The military, political and civilian life of the Russian Empire , particularly in its capital city Saint Petersburg . Most Baltic Germans were citizens of the Russian Empire until Estonia and Latvia achieved independence in 1918. Thereafter, most Baltic Germans held Estonian or Latvian citizenship until their coerced resettlement to Nazi Germany in 1939, prior to the Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia and Latvia in 1940. The Baltic German population never surpassed more than 10% of
1904-691: The native German population. There they were divided into groups: A ( Altreich ), who were to be settled in Germany and allowed no farms or businesses (to allow for closer watch), S ( Sonderfall ), who were used as forced, and unpaid workers, and O ( Ost-Fälle ), the best classification, to be settled in the 'Eastern Wall'—the occupied regions to protect Germans from the East—and allowed independence. This last group, after spending some time in refugee camps in Germany, were eventually brought to Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany and to Zamość County , as decided by
1960-550: The other ethnic groups frequently assimilated into German culture, adopting German language, customs, and family names. They were then considered Germans, leading to the ethnogenesis of the Baltic Germans. The families of Barclay de Tolly and of George Armitstead (1847–1912), who had emigrated from the British Isles, married into and became part of the Baltic-German community. Baltic German settlements in
2016-430: The rights of German landowners under the Treaty of Nystad . Between 1710 and 1795, following Russia's success in the Great Northern War and the three Partitions of Poland , the areas inhabited by Baltic Germans eventually became Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire : Courland Governorate , Governorate of Livonia and Governorate of Estonia . The Baltic provinces remained autonomous and were self-governed by
2072-438: The same time, as both young states built their institutions, this often reduced the status of their minorities. In Latvia, children of mixed marriages were registered as Latvians while in Estonia they took the nationality of their fathers, who increasingly were Estonians. This quickly reduced the number of German children. German place names were eliminated from public use. German congregations lost their churches. Tallinn Cathedral
2128-463: The signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the subsequent Nazi–Soviet population transfers . Nazi Germany resettled almost all the Baltic Germans under the Heim ins Reich program into the newly formed Reichsgaue of Wartheland and Danzig-West Prussia (on the territory of the occupied Second Polish Republic ). In 1945, most ethnic Germans were expelled from these lands as part of
2184-560: The situation of the native population. For examples, see List of palaces and manor houses in Latvia and List of palaces and manor houses in Estonia . The native Latvian and Estonian population enjoyed fewer rights under the Baltic German nobility compared with farmers in Germany, Sweden, or Poland. In contrast to the Baltic Germans, Estonians and Latvians had restricted civil rights and resided mostly in rural areas as serfs , tradesmen, or as servants in manors and urban homes. They had no rights to leave their masters and no surnames. This
2240-571: The spring of 1918, Baltic Germans announced the restoration of the independent Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and pursued plans for uniting it with the Kingdom of Prussia . On April 12, 1918, Baltic German representatives from all Baltic provinces met in Riga and called on the German Emperor to annex the Baltic lands. Subsequently, a plan for a United Baltic Duchy ruled by Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg , instead of outright annexation,
2296-567: The state was questioned, and rumours of a German fifth column increased with the defeats of the Imperial army led by Baltic German general Paul von Rennenkampf . All German schools and societies were closed in the Estonian Governorate and Germans were ordered to leave the Courland Governorate for inner Russia. Courland was conquered by Germany in 1915 and included into the military Ober Ost administration. After
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2352-582: The territory they lived in was part of the Kingdom of Prussia . Baltic Germans were not a purely German ethnic group. The early crusaders, tradesmen and craftsmen often married local women, as there were no German women available. Some noble families, such as the Lievens , claimed descent through such women from native chieftains. Many of the German Livonian-Order soldiers died during the Livonian War of 1558–1583. New German arrivals came to
2408-687: The total population. In 1881, there were 180,000 Baltic Germans in Russia's Baltic provinces; however, by 1914, this number had declined to 162,000. In 1881 there were approximately 46,700 Germans in Estonia (5.3% of the population). According to the Russian Empire Census of 1897, there were 120,191 Germans in Latvia , or 6.2% of the population. Baltic German presence in the Baltics came effectively close to an end in late 1939, following
2464-533: The wider explusion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe after World War II. Resettlement was planned by the Allies for the territory remaining under Germany under terms of the border changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference , i.e. west of the Oder–Neisse line . Ethnic Germans from East Prussia and Lithuania are sometimes incorrectly considered Baltic Germans for reasons of cultural, linguistic, and historical affinities. Germans of East Prussia held Prussian, and after 1871, German citizenship , because
2520-511: Was 42.9% German. Until the late 19th century, most of the professional and learned classes in the region, the literati , were Germans. German political and cultural autonomy ceased in the 1880s, when Russification replaced German administration and schooling with the usage of Russian . After 1885 provincial governors usually were Russians. Years of peace under Russian rule brought increasing prosperity and many new manor houses were built on country estates, but economic exploitation worsened
2576-399: Was developed. Its regency council met on November 9, 1918, but collapsed with the German Empire. The Baltic Germans' rule and class privileges came to the end with the demise of the Russian Empire (due to the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917) and the independence of Estonia and Latvia in 1918–1919. Baltic Germans suffered greatly under Bolshevik regimes in Estonia and Latvia. While
2632-514: Was divided among the remaining knights who formed the basis of Baltic nobility . The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia existed as a German-speaking country until 1795, while the northern part of Duchy of Livonia was conquered by Sweden which controlled parts of Estonia between 1561 and 1710 and Swedish Livonia between 1621 and 1710, having signed an agreement with the local Baltic German nobles not to undermine their political rights and autonomy. The Academia Gustaviana (now University of Tartu )
2688-440: Was followed by White Terror in which up to 2,000 people, mostly Latvians, were shot as suspected Bolshevik supporters. Baltic German outlying estates were frequent targets of local Bolsheviks (as portrayed in the film, Coup de Grâce ) and the combination of local Bolsheviks and nationalists following independence brought about land nationalisations and a displacement of Baltic Germans from positions of authority. Baltic Germans of
2744-605: Was formed under the command of Colonel Constantin von Weiss ( de ). During the Estonian and Latvian wars of independence from 1918 to 1920, many Baltic Germans voluntarily enlisted in the newly formed Estonian and Latvian armies to help secure the independence of these countries from Russia. These Baltic German military units became known as the Baltische Landeswehr in Latvia and Baltenregiment ( de ) in Estonia. The State archives of Estonia and Latvia keep individual military records of each person who fought in this war. Baltische Landeswehr units took Riga on May 22, 1919 which
2800-521: Was founded in 1632 by King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden. It remained the only institution of higher education in the former Livonian territories and became the intellectual focus of the Baltic Germans. At the end of the 17th century, Sweden introduced the land reduction in its Baltic provinces and properties held by German nobility became the property of the Crown . That effectively turned serfs into free peasants. However, it would be overturned when Russia conquered these territories in 1710 and restored
2856-468: Was given to an Estonian congregation in 1927. After the 1923 referendum St. James's Cathedral in Riga was lost and Riga Cathedral taken away after another referendum in 1931 . At the start of independence, Baltic Germans owned 58% of land in Estonia and 48% in Latvia. Radical agrarian reforms were implemented in both countries to break German power and to distribute land to the veterans of independence wars and landless peasants. This largely destroyed
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#17327903657322912-411: Was in keeping with the social scheme of things in Russian Empire . It lasted until the 19th century, when emancipation from serfdom brought those inhabitants increased civil freedoms and some political rights. In 1804, Livonian peasant law was introduced by the Imperial government, aimed at improving conditions for serfs. Serfdom was abolished in all Baltic provinces between 1816 and 1820, about half
2968-546: Was not enough to support their manor houses. Germans were banned from governmental and military positions . Many Germans sold their properties and emigrated to Scandinavia or Western Europe. Most of the grand manor houses were taken over by schools, hospitals, local administration and museums. Nazi%E2%80%93Soviet population transfers The German–Soviet population transfers were population transfers of ethnic Germans , ethnic Poles, and some ethnic East Slavs that took place from 1939 to 1941. These transfers were part of
3024-614: Was only one German party, which from 1926 was led by Axel de Vries ( de ), editor of Revaler Bote . Their leading parliamentarian was Werner Hasselblatt (1890–1958). Germans never received ministerial posts in governments. The three largest minorities – Germans, Swedes and Russians – sometimes formed election coalitions. The Deutsch-baltische Partei in Estland was established to defend the interests of German landowners, who wanted to receive compensation for their nationalized lands and properties. After land nationalization they received no compensation, but could keep plots up to 50 hectares, which
3080-416: Was sold, with the money being collected by the Nazis and not given back to the families. This was an intentional act designed to disconnect the displaced people from their former homeland. The value of the real estate left behind was to be compensated in cash and Polish property in occupied Poland. The transported ethnic Germans were initially kept in camps for racial evaluation, to prevent intermixing with
3136-467: Was to invade western Poland (having assigned the eastern part to the Soviet Union in the pact) and then force all non-German people (mostly Polish citizens) out of their homes and either use them for forced labour or move them to the General Government area. Once these territories were free of non-Germans, the population transfers could begin with ethnic Germans settling in the homes of the expropriated Polish. The planned transfers were first announced to
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