Ristideta hauad II - Arved Viirlaid

The main work of one of the most radical Estonian writers in many ways, Arved Viirlaiu's "Grounds Without Crosses", takes the reader to the beginning of the second Soviet occupation in Estonia. From the autumn of 1944, many who held the freedom of their homeland dear had to take refuge in the forests, from where they waged an armed struggle against the occupying power. This harsh and heroic novel tells of the hopeless struggle of Estonian citizens for their homes and lives. Graves without crosses became the fate of many of the fighters of that time.

Arved Viirlaiu was born in 1922 in Harju County, the son of a farmer. In the first year of the Soviet occupation, he joined the Forest Brothers, in 1943 he was a Finnish boy in the Continuation War, in 1944 in the last battles in Estonia, then fled to Finland and from there to Sweden. In 1945 he moved to England, where he prepared for intelligence activities in Soviet Estonia. In 1953 he moved to Canada, where he still lives today. For a long time, Viirlaid was the chairman of the Estonian PEN Club. His literary work has been compared to that of Jaan Kross.

“Graves Without Crosses” was published in Lund in 1952. The work has been translated into Latvian, Swedish, French, Spanish, Finnish, English, Chinese, Lithuanian and Russian. In 1954, Viirlaid was awarded the Henrik Visnapuu Foundation Prize. However, his name was not even allowed to be mentioned in the occupied homeland. Here, “Graves Without Crosses” was only published in 1991–1992. In 1997, President Lennart Meri awarded Viirlaid the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class, but with his characteristic radicalism, the writer refused to accept it.

The action of the second part of the novel focuses on the life and struggle of the forest brothers. The chain of tragic events is connected by the fate of the main character Taavi Raudoja's family – at the cost of his son's life, Taavi is forced to redeem freedom for himself and his comrades in battle.

Second edition, with the author's corrections.