Johan Pitka

Johan Pitka (1920)

Johan Pitka (* 19th February 1872 in Jalgsema, community Võhmuta, today community Järva-Jaani , järva county ; † the end of September 1944 in Läänemaa ) was an Estonian military and politicians. He is considered to be the founder of the Estonian naval forces and the hero of the war of freedom against Soviet Russia .

Life

Early years

Johan Pitka, like his older brother, the future writer Peäro August Pitka , was born in the village of Jalgsema. From 1881 he attended the community school of Seliküla and from 1885 the Alexander-Gymnasium in Reval . In 1890/91 he was hired on merchant ships. In 1891 he studied nautical science at the seafaring school of Käsmu , from 1892 in Arensburg and in 1894/95 in Baltic Port , where he passed the captaincy exam. In 1900 he worked on the Russian coastal armored ship Admiral Uschakow of the Admiral Uschakow class , in 1902 in the Mühlentahl shipyard in Saint Petersburg .

Entrepreneur

Pitka founded the Estonian-Latvian Shipping Agency in 1907 and the shipping association Joh. Pitka & Co. in Tallinn in 1911. In 1912 he was also one of the founders of Mereabi , a mutual marine insurance company . Pitka was one of the most influential commercial shipping companies in Estonia. The founding of an effective sea ​​rescue service for the Estonian coast can also be traced back to his initiative .

military

With the revolutionary unrest in Russia in 1917, Pitka organized the return of Estonian seafarers to their homeland. He was sentenced to death in absentia for this by the Bolsheviks . During the German occupation of Estonia, he organized an armed resistance with paramilitary troops, the so-called Omakaitse .

Monument to Johan Pitka in Tallinn

With the outbreak of the Estonian War of Independence against Soviet Russia (1918–1920), Pitka organized the equipment and construction for motor vehicles and trains. On December 16, 1918, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Naval Forces, which were under construction. He held the office until November 28, 1919. On September 21, 1919, he was awarded the title of Rear Admiral .

politics

Johan Pitka then went into politics in free Estonia. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly. In 1923 he founded the National Liberal Party ( Rahvuslik-Vabameelne Party ). In the parliamentary elections in Estonia in 1923 , Pitka won no mandate. He also fell out with other politicians and, bitter, moved to Canada with his family through the political establishment in 1924 . There he founded an Estonian colony in Fort St. James (British Columbia) .

In 1929 Johan Pitka returned to Estonia. From 1930 to 1937 he was chairman of the board of the Estonian Consumers Association. In 1937 he was elected as a member of the State Assembly for Järva County.

death

With the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940, Johan Pitka fled to Finland. In 1944 he returned and fought against the Red Army in his home country . The 72-year-old probably died in the fighting in West Estonia in September 1944.

Aftermath

The former flagship of the Estonian Navy was christened Admiral Pitka when it entered service in 2000 . Monuments were erected in his honor in Tallinn (on the edge of the old town) and in Fort St. James.

Web links

Commons : Johan Pitka  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• ENS Admiral Pitka ( Memento from March 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) short curriculum vitae and information on the ship "Admiral Pitka" (English)
• Detailed CV (Estonian)