Largest ever exhibition of weapons from 1944 opens at Estonian War Museum

Text Mark Taylor
Photos Ruwe Saare / Estonian War Museum

On Wednesday, June 5, the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi opened its largest-ever exhibition of weapons used in the 1944 battles. This temporary exhibition features an extensive collection of firearms, machine guns, light anti-tank weapons, and World War II engineering equipment, as well as trench art and other wartime artifacts.

Collectors Aku Sorainen, Kristjan Bachman and Leo Tammiksaar have contributed significantly to the exhibition. Sorainen’s collection includes around 200 items, with 60 weapons on display. Bachman has provided over 400 pieces of engineering equipment, including nearly 50 mines and grenades. The exhibition also showcases rare flags, including the 354th Rifle Regiment of the Estonian Rifle Corps and the 1st Grenadier Regiment of the Estonian SS Legion.

“To our knowledge, there have never been so many Soviet and German weapons in use in 1944 exhibited in the same exhibition. There are some real rarities for example, sniper rifles, the MP-35 machine gun, the like of which were distributed to members of the intelligence group Erna, and the German grenade gun “Sturmpistole,” explained Sorainen, one of the curators of the exhibition.

This World War II weaponry exhibition complements the museum’s new permanent display on Estonia during the war. The exhibition will be on display until spring 2025.

The Estonian War Museum, located near Tallinn in Viimsi Manor, welcomes visitors from Wednesday to Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm.

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Aku Sorainen Estonian War Museum Kristjan Bachman Viimsi Viimsi Manor Word War II World War II Weapons