Germany's preparations for the Second World War in the Baltics: What was General Halder doing in Estonia and Finland two months before the war?

• In Event: Military Studies

Abstract

The Chief of the General Staff of the German Army (OKH), Artillery General Franz Halder, visited Estonia and Finland in the summer of 1939, just two months before the outbreak of World War II. The OKH chief had received an invitation to visit Estonia from the Estonian Army leadership as early as 1937, but the OKH chief at the time, General Ludwig Beck, could not find the time due to preparations for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. It is interesting how Beck's successor - General Halder, then still unknown to the international public, found time for a visit on the eve of World War II. What facilities did he visit in Estonia and Finland, whom did he meet there, and what was the purpose of his visit? The paper is based on the sources of German and Estonian Archives.

Short Bio

IGOR KOPÕTIN (1982), PhD. Education: 2000–2005, Tallinn University,
diploma of higher education (teacher of history and social studies); 2006–
2010, Tallinn University, MA in history; 2011–2018, Tallinn University, PhD
in history.
Professional career: 2003–2011, Estonian Defence League and Defence Forces,
instructor; 2011–2014, Lasnamäe Gymnasium, history teacher; 2014–2021,
Estonian Military Academy, lecturer of military history; 2021–2022, Estonian
Military Academy, head of the Chair of Strategy and Innovation; since 2021
Estonian Military Academy, leading researcher professor; 2022-2023, Centre for
Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr, visiting researcher.

Author

• Igor Kopõtin, Estonian Military Academy