Abruka
After the outbreak of the war in the summer of 1941, the Red Soldiers were forbidden to communicate with the locals in Abruka.
After war broke out in summer 1941, Red Army soldiers were forbidden from talking to the locals in Abruka.
Nevertheless, two soldiers snuck out of the base to get some bread from the village. They stumbled upon their commissary, who had them arrested. The two men were later shot. The locals buried them in the cemetery in Abruka. They were most likely the only casualties on the island, as the garrison surrendered to the Germans without resistance. Around 10 years ago, hunters found a human skull in a Russian helmet in the forest. They took the helmet with them, leaving the skull behind.
Tõnu Veldre's conversations with local residents 2018-2019
Related objects
Abruka 130-mm Coastal Defence Battery
This coastal defence battery is situated in Pikanina in the southern part of the island of Abruka. It is 4 km from the village centre.
Battery no. 3 (the 29th battery) was built shortly after the decree of the Mutual Assistance Pact near the former border outpost. It was manned by 125 soldiers, five of them officers. The unit’s commander was Senior Lieutenant Savin, aided by Commissary Lukonin. By 1941, three 130-mm gun positions had been completed. Two of them were destroyed in German air raids. The gun that survived was to be relocated to the planned Battery no. 25a in Lindmetsa on Sõrve Peninsula, but in reality they only managed to move the shells and gunpowder there. The Germans captured Abruka on 3 October 1941. Estonian riflemen retook the island on 9 October 1944. A construction battalion comprising of? Latvians was immediately brought to the island. This time, four artillery positions were constructed, with American 127-mm guns being assembled on them.
Today, two of the emplacements can be seen clearly from afar; the other two are obscured by vegetation. Overgrown trenches and a collapsed ammunition dump with two entries can be seen near the road, marked with a temporary wooden tablet. The area is currently used as coastal pastureland, which is why there may be electric fences along the road.
