Estonia lost every fifth person of its population of slightly over a million as a consequence of the occupying regime’s terror policy. Similar destiny fell upon many other nations as well. The memorial to the victims of communism sends a strong message to the world - all victims of totalitarianism must be remembered.
The memorial to the victims of communism is dedicated to all Estonian people who suffered under the terror inflicted by the Soviet Union. The communist terror regime was established with the occupation of Estonia on 17 June 1940 and ended with the restoration of Estonia’s independence on 20 August 1991. The names of over 22,000 people who never returned home are inscribed on the name plaques of the long black wall of memory, symbolising the merciless power of the totalitarian system. They were murdered or died due to inhumane living conditions in imprisonment or forced resettlement and the remains of many of them are in unnamed graves in unknown locations.
This memorial is one of the biggest remembrance sites for the victims of communism in Europe - around 30 000 m2. The Memorial is located in Tallinn, Maarjamägi and opened 24/7.
Digital Memorial
Digital Memorial is an electronic database which contains data of individuals who have been repressed or groundlessly convicted by the Soviet occupying regime in 1940-1991 in Estonia.
The database is an open source that can be found here, as well as general information about the Memorial: www.memoriaal.ee.
Everyone who possesses data that can help supplement or correct the information in the database is invited to contact the administrator: memoriaal@mnemosyne.ee.
The Estonian Institute of Historical Memory Foundation manages and administers the Memorial’s database.
Location of the memorial on the map of Tallinn:
