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« Tuna 2 / 2019

“…word is we’re going to let them have it so that our gun barrels sizzle in the snow.“ Notices Received from War Control Stations in Censoring Letters during the Estonian War of Independence

The Estonian War Censorship Bureau was established towards the start of the War of Independence in 1918–1920 by an order issued by the Estonian Commander-in-Chief on 5 January 1919. Its primary task was to prevent important military information from being disclosed in public print media. Alongside this, personal correspondence of both soldiers and private civilians was also monitored. Weekly synoptic ‘Notices from War Control Stations’ were drawn up on the basis of what was found in letters. Information was recorded in these documents on morale and the supply of food and clothing in the armed forces, and similarly on the frames of mind in the rear area, in other words among the civilian population. These documents contain valuable information on the history of the War of Independence. To introduce them we are publishing a selection here of notices from the Pärnu control station.