Waffen-Sturmbannführer der ϟϟ Paul Maitla of estnische Nr.1

Waffen-SS officers Paul Maitla and Arved Laasi with fellow Estonians

Elements of Regiment 45 Estland caught up in the Czech Hell

Estimates suggest up to 1,000 Estoinians were killed in the Czech Hell

After the Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940 Paul Mathiesen Maitla was drafted into the Soviet Red Army, where he served until he finally managed to get over to the German side in July 1941. He joined the Waffen-SS Eesti Leegion (Estonian Legion). In April 1944 Maitla commanded the 1st Battalion of Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 45 Estland of the newly formed 20.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (estnische Nr.1). Paul Maitla was one of four Estonian volunteers who received the prestigious Knight's Cross. He was awarded it on August 23 1944 for leading the recapture of the Grenadier Hill (Sinimäed) during the Battle of Tannenberg Line, effectively breaking the Soviet offensive in that sector on July 29 1944. In February 1945 the Estonian SS Division was relocated to central Europe, which now numbered roughly 11,000 Estonians and 2,500 Germans, just in time for the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. Maitla was promoted Waffen-Sturmbannführer der SS on April 20 1945. The fate of Paul Maitla was uncertain until information was discovered in 2005 in the city archives of the Czech town of Nymburk. These archives show that Maitla was arrested on May 9 1945 and murdered together with other Estonian volunteers on May 10 1945 (after World War II had ended) by Czech communists. According to Maitla's chauffeur Arnold Mägar, who survived the "Czech Hell", Maitla did not have good relations with the Germans but was respected. They called him the “Kugelblitz” (fireball). Former Estonian SS-man A. Toomsalu wrote: When Maitla was asked to hide his Knight's Cross during the retreat over the Czech mountains towards river Elbe he answered: What was good enough in battles is good enough in death. The argument that it would mean a certain death to all of them made him finally put the award in his pocket. From that moment on it probably stayed there until the end of his short life. The Estonian author and former Waffen-Untersturmführer der SS Voldemar Madisso saw Maitla in the noon of May 9 1945 on a crossroad north of Prague. Maitla's car was blocking the road to Prague and he directed trucks towards Mladá Boleslav. Maitla and his companions were later captured when their car was stopped by a large number of Czech communists. It happened about 5 kilometers north of Nymburk, on the road to Mladá Boleslav. They were all humiliated and beaten before death. The burial site of these officers, of which one having a Knight's Cross in his pocket, is still unknown. The primary objective of these men was to free Estonia from the Soviet occupation and to restore the democratic polity in Estonia. Top image: Estonain Waffen-SS officers Waffen-Sturmbannführer der SS Paul Maitla, his aide-de-camp Waffen-Untersturmführer der SS Kalju Tamm and Waffen-Hauptsturmführer der SS Arved Laasi in the moments before being executed by Czech communists on May 10 1945. Although, World War II had ended in Europe on May 8 1945. Knight's Cross winner Paul Maitla, 32 years of age, front left and most likely Arved Laasi front right. All photos in the PD.