Kajalood. Jaak Pihlak: Eesti ajalugu on detailideni veel lahti kirjutamata
·55 min·5 clips
How does a historian uncover Estonia's unwritten history through decades of repressed memories?
The episode features an interview with historian Jaak Pihlak, conducted by host Kaja Kärner on the Vikerraadio show Kajalood. Pihlak begins by contextualizing Estonia's early 20th-century history, mentioning figures like Adolf Hitler and Mussolini to explain external influences. He discusses Estonian freedom fighters and how some, like Nikolai Trankman, collaborated with Russia for financial gain rather than ideology. Pihlak highlights the repression of Estonian military figures under Soviet rule, such as Gustav Jonsson. He then shifts to his research experiences, noting that hundreds of people shared memories with him in the 1990s, often driven by fear of Russian resurgence. Pihlak explains the difficulties in interpreting NKVD protocols, which falsely labeled Estonian officers as fascists. The conversation moves to his life's work on the Estonian Liberation Army and cavalry, emphasizing Estonia's need for more detailed historical research compared to neighbors like Latvia. Pihlak recounts his 34-year directorship at the Viljandi Museum, criticizing a 2009 Ministry of Culture plan to centralize local museums. He argues museums should focus on investigation and memory preservation, not revenue generation. Pihlak also touches on museum autonomy, contrasting Soviet-era propaganda with modern memory institutions. He praises his museum colleagues for enabling extensive research and publications. The interview includes personal reflections, such as Pihlak's childhood discovery of a book on the Estonian War of Independence, which was confiscated by a teacher. He describes studying history at Tartu University in the late 1980s, facing pseudo-scientific courses like scientific communism. Pihlak concludes by stressing the importance of historical symbols and museums for national identity, hoping future generations will continue this work.
