After a few hours, 300 of the strongest male prisoners were selected,\nsupposedly to carry out the evacuation. They were forced to carry logs to a\nclearing in the forest roughly one kilometre from the camp, where four pyres,\neach measuring 6 x 6.5 metres, were prepared for burning the bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\n
To maintain a sense of calm, the daily routine was adhered to and at\nlunchtime the prisoners waiting in the assembly area were given soup.\nMeanwhile, camp security was strengthened. The gates were blocked with trucks\nand everywhere the movement of soldiers was apparent. After lunch six strong\nmen were chosen to load two barrels of fuel onto the trucks. This was probably\nlater poured over the dead bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\n
The mass execution of the Jews began at 5 pm. The\nvictims were marched under guard in groups of 50 to 100. First the men, then\nthe women were taken from the camp to the clearing and ordered to lie face down\non the pyres. They were killed by a shot in the back of the head. Those who\nattempted to escape were shot and died in the forest. The bodies covered the\nlength of the pyre tightly packed together. When the first level was filled\nwith bodies, logs were laid over them forming the next layer. There were three\nto four layers altogether. Three of the prepared pyres were used, while the\nfourth remained unused. When it got dark the pyres were lit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\n
A small number of prisoners were killed only a few\nhundred metres from the centre of the concentration camp in a half-built wooden\nbuilding. About 30 to 50 people were brought to the building, dragged inside one-by-one,\nforced to the floor and shot in the back of the head. Late that night the\nbuilding, with the bodies inside, was burned to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\n
Last of all, camp inmates who\nperformed specific functions \u2013 hairdressers,\ncooks, shoemakers and others, a total of 79 people \u2013 were killed on the ground\nfloor of the women\u2019s barracks. It is believed that Estonian or Russian\nprisoners were among them, but conclusive information about this is\nunavailable. Several dozen prisoners managed to hide, mostly in the attic of\nthe men\u2019s block, and survived. According to Soviet sources of the time, a total\nof 108 prisoners survived the mass murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\n
The killing of the Jews was organised and supervised\nby German senior camp personnel, but a special commando of German SS-members arrived\nfrom Tallinn to carry out the shooting itself. The 3rd Company of the 287th\nPolice Battalion, formed of Estonians, guarded the perimeter of the camp during\nthe mass murder. In addition, camp security was strengthened with the help of a\nfew dozen men of the 20th Waffen-SS Estonian Reserve and Training Regiment, who\nwere stationed nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On 17 September 1944, it became known that the departure of the German forces from mainland Estonia was imminent. The personnel working in the occupation administration in Tallinn and north-west Estonia were given five days to evacuate from Tallinn or Paldiski harbours. The armed forces were ordered to retreat marching south towards Riga or over … <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/klooga.nazismvictims.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/0-16944_ft.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
Source: The exhibition Klooga camp and the Holocaust<\/em>, 2013 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"