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On the 23 rd of August 1939 the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Vyacheslav M. Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop, signed a secret protocol fundamentally dividing Eastern Europe into “two spheres of influence” between the two world powers. The agreement essentially stipulated that Communist Russia was to take control of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Poland would be roughly divided in half between the two regimes but other Central European countries such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria would be governed by Nazi Germany.

Shortly after the signing of the treaty the Red Army massed on the Estonian border and the Estonian President, Konstantin Päts, was forced by Joseph Stalin to sign a “mutual aid pact” allowing the Russians to establish military bases inside the country. If Päts had refused to sign the treaty Soviet Forces were prepared to forcibly occupy Estonia.

Eight months later, on June 16 th, 1940, the tiny independent and democratic nation of 1.5 million people was falsely accused by the Soviet Union of non-compliance with the mutual aid pact by allegedly giving refuge to a Polish submarine crew. The following day the Red Army poured over the border in addition to fanning out from its military bases already established within Estonia.

Immediately, a new provisional government was installed and three weeks later, under the guns of the occupying forces, elections were held in which only Communist Party candidates were allowed to appear on the ballot. The results were predictable and the newly “elected” administration wasted little time in asking for, and receiving, admittance into the Soviet Union.

Within a year 1,900 Estonians were executed, 1,100 vanished without a trace, and more than 10,000 men, women and children were randomly rounded up and deported to Siberian forced-labor camps. There was little doubt by anyone that the country had been fully incorporated into the “Workers Paradise.”

In late July of 1941 the Germans, now at war with Communist Russia, with support from the Estonian “Brothers of the Forest” (small lightly armed underground units including an entire battalion that had clandestinely returned from Finland) pushed the Soviets out of the country. Unfortunately, although the Estonians fought gallantly for their freedom on the eastern front, the nation never regained its independence from under the heel of the Third Reich. During the German occupation roughly 6,000 Estonians were executed, many were jailed and a considerable number were forcibly sent to Germany to work in their defense industry.

By the end of October 1944 the Soviet Forces were again in control of Estonia. Amazingly, for several days between the departure of the Nazi Army and the Communist occupation, the Estonians managed to regain their independence and form a government that included an army composed mostly of men who had been fighting on the eastern front and other physically able individuals recruited right off the street. Even the national flag was raised on top of Tall Hermann (the medieval castle tower overlooking Tallinn), which angered the few remaining German officials and required the use of force to keep the flag flying. However, the effort to reestablish a new independent republic was courageous but futile.

My father and I were among the approximately 75,000 citizens who escaped (mostly to either Germany or Sweden) from the return of the “Red Tide.” We were the lucky ones. The majority of people, including my mother and sister, had nowhere to run or hide. They had to remain behind and endured extreme hardships and callous treatment at the hands of the new landlords.

Many chose to fight to the bitter end. For instance, when the country was overrun by the Red Army, most of the Estonian soldiers faded into the woodlands and marshes to again form Brothers of the Forest bands as was the case during the initial Soviet occupation. These units conducted organized attacks against the Red Army, the KGB and other administrative agencies until well into 1954.

In fact, in 1978 the last active Forest Brother, while fishing, jumped into the river in order to avoid capture by several KGB agents who were about to apprehend him. The agents shot and killed him without hesitation. It’s estimated that there are at least 10,000 unmarked graves in the forests, bogs and swamps of Estonia containing the remains of fallen Estonian Brothers of the Forest.

Immediately after the Soviet Union had regained control of Estonia, large numbers of people again disappeared. Some were summarily executed; most were banished to slave labor camps in Siberia where the majority died as a result of inhumane treatment and appalling living conditions.

For example, by the end of 1944 about 30,000 people had already been sent to Siberia. Early in 1949 over 20,000 additional natives, mainly members of farm families, were deported in order to cut off supplies to the Brothers of the Forest and to squash the resistance to forced collectivization of all the farms in the country. Overall, between 1940 and 1959, approximately 145,000 ethnic Estonians perished as a consequence of Communist tyranny and the Red Army. Simply put, thirteen percent of the one-and-a-half million pre-war population of the country vanished.

Ironically, the Soviet portion of the infamous 1939 covert pact was further reinforced and actually expanded by the results of the Yalta Conference in February 1945 attended by Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. Basically, the three leaders agreed that all allied occupying forces would assure that democratic forms of government would be installed in all countries formerly ruled by Nazi Germany. Of course, Stalin never intended to comply with the accords reached at the conference and, before long, the world was immersed in the Cold War that lasted for forty-five long years.

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I attempt to bring to life many of the seldom mentioned tragic effects of the secret agreement made by Molotov and Ribbentrop and expanded by the Yalta Conference by tracing the trials and tribulations of the members of my family from 1940 until the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1990. I have always believed that being able to witness world events unfolding “through the eyes” of its participants allows people to get a much better sense of the extended suffering caused by wars rather than by customarily only relying on history books.

War affects people in infinitely dissimilar ways. Clearly, wars kill, maim and disrupt the lives of countless combatants as well as civilians. That, nonetheless, is only part of the story. Extended conflicts also tear families apart permanently, amplify personality conflicts that may have existed before, and cause irreversible psychological damage. Conversely, war may also strengthen the character and altruistic tendencies of individuals.

Accordingly, Aftermath is a very personal and bitter-sweet account of a family in a small “insignificant” Baltic country caught in a life and death struggle between two world powers.  From a broader perspective, the story depicts the fate of countless other refugees who lost their homes and were separated from members of their families and relatives by the events of World War II and later by the Iron Curtain for more than four decades. The work is also a partial chronicle of a small country’s frantic struggle against Nazi and Soviet terror, repression, and later systematic Russification of its ten thousand year old language and culture.

The book is based on my own experiences and numerous return trips to my native country, Estonia, before and after the breakup of the Soviet Union where I visited with my sister and other remaining relatives after thirty-eight years of separation. Essentially, the work describes the misfortunes of my family battered and finally separated by the ruthless events of war and forced to live in “two different worlds.” It’s also the story of desperate attempts made by its members to find each other after the war ended.

I hope that readers will get a reasonable sense of what it was like to survive in two drastically dissimilar environments, especially in a country like Estonia that was a free democracy prior to World War II but remained occupied for nearly fifty years after “peace” was supposedly restored. Paradoxically, millions of innocent people died and suffered before and after the war because of the demented impulses of two of the most inhuman tyrants in recent history, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

Is it possible for people and countries to be subjected to such drawn out misery again? Clearly, the answer is an unqualified “Yes!” All we need to do is to take a good look around the world. Evil lurks everywhere and it doesn’t discriminate against any particular race or color. Hence, in order for our kind to “successfully” survive on this planet we must learn how to benefit from one another’s diverse cultures and recognize that the earth’s resources aren’t infinite. In war there are no winners!

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What does the title Aftermath refer to?

Specifically “aftermath” refers to the continuing suffering by people “after” World War Two for decades following the secession of hostilities. More generally it applies to the painful aftermath of any war.

Accordingly, Aftermath is a very personal and bitter-sweet account of a family in a small “insignificant” Baltic country caught in a life and death struggle between two world powers. From a broader perspective, the story depicts the fate of countless other refugees who lost their homes and were separated from members of their immediate families and relatives by the events of World War II and later by the Iron Curtain for more than four decades. The work is also a partial chronicle of a small country’s frantic struggle against Nazi and Soviet terror, repression, and later systematic Russification of its ten thousand year old language and culture. 

What prompted you to write the book?

I started to write the book in the late 1980s. My original intent was to simply put something on paper about my past for our son and daughter and their children. After I had completed the second draft I let some of my friends and colleagues at Westminster College of Salt Lake City read the manuscript. Without exception, they all thought it was well written and quite an interesting story. I was encouraged to seek a publisher.

Next, I considered using the work to bring attention to the plight of the Estonian people and the three Baltic States in general. After all, the former independent republics had been continuously occupied by the Soviet Union since the final days of World War II and at that time without hope of regaining their freedom any time soon. It was at this point that I decided to give the book a more thorough historic foundation, particularly with the primary focus on the secret pact signed by the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Vyacheslav M. Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop, a secret protocol fundamentally dividing Eastern Europe into “two spheres of influence” between the two world powers.

After submitting dozens of inquiries to prospective publishers, including some personal help from Sam Weller, the owner of one of the most well known book stores in Salt Lake City, I was turned down by all parties. Consequently, I put the manuscript on the shelf for better than ten years.

Eventually, a close friend of mine asked to read the manuscript. He was overwhelmed by it and said he would help me to put it in a book format so that I could at least give copies of it to our grandchildren for Christmas. Encouraged, I went back to work to further refine and update the work with the goal of having it ready before Christmas of 2003. I accomplished my self imposed goal six months ahead of time. I again submitted the manuscript to more than a dozen publishers and as before, I was turned down but before putting the book on the shelf again I made one more attempt and submitted the work to PublishAmerica. In less than a month I received a positive response from them. The rest, as they say, is history.

I wish more people would be able to share their stories. Perhaps that would help eliminate the need for war on our planet

How did you and your father get separated from your mother and sister during World War II?

Our family lived in Pôlva, a small town in southeastern Estonia. By early August 1944 the front lines had crept within 25 miles of our home. The Red Army then launched an all out offensive and by August 10th they were less than 15 miles south of the town. On the 13th, a Sunday, we could hear artillery fire getting closer and closer. We hurriedly gathered what we could carry and headed for the rail station and hoped we could catch a train heading north that would take us out of harm’s way. At two in the morning we somehow got on the last train that came through the station with severely wounded soldiers as the retreating troops blew up a railroad bridge less than 3 miles behind us.

We eventually made it to Tallinn, the capitol, on the northwest coast of the country where we moved in with my half-sister, Laine. Shortly thereafter my mother and sister moved to my aunt’s place in the city because of the cramped conditions and continuous sniping by Laine. Soon after my sister went to live with our maternal grandparents who owned a dairy farm about 80 miles south of Tallinn.

Days later father took me with him when he was ordered with other civilians to build infantry trenches not far from the temporarily stabilized front lines near Tartu, a university city, not far from where we’d fled. On September 17th, after a fierce 14 hour battle, the Russians broke through and my father and I miraculously made it back to Tallinn.

Claiming that both my mother and sister were at my grandparents’ farm and that he had sent a courier to get them (years later my sister would inform me that mother was still in the city), we packed a suitcase and duffle bag and prepared to try to board a ship in the harbor heading to Poland. With father assuring me that Maimu and mother would catch up with us, we headed for the harbor after midnight on September 19th and happened to get on board a ship (after considerable complications) whose decks were fully laden with other fleeing civilians and German troops. The ship departed at 5 a.m. that morning and I never saw my mother again. Soviet tanks entered Tallinn on September 22nd.

Were there occasions before the end of the war when the lives of the members of your family were threatened?

Yes, on several occasions. First, in Estonia we came under a Russian bombing attack before we fled Pôlva. Luckily most of the bombs exploded in a nearby swamp. Later my father and I were strafed by a Soviet fighter as we worked on the fortifications. Finally, after we departed Tallinn our ship was strafed by another fighter and the two ships some distance in front of us were torpedoed and sunk without many survivors. Later Maimu was held at bayonet-point when the Russians overran our grandparents’ farm.

In Ulm, Germany we miraculously survived a British bombing raid, were threatened with execution by German military police near the Austrian/Swiss border, and somehow managed to walk out of a guarded camp near Salzburg, Austria that was apparently a “half-way house” for concentration camps.

What conditions did you and your father encounter in Austria and Germany after you fled Estonia prior to the end of World War II?

From barely tolerable to horrendous. We moved around quite a bit. First, father was assigned to a farm on the Austrian/Swiss border. There for a month we had plenty to eat. After that father was sent to Ulm to work in an electronics factory because he was a radio operator by trade. Within two weeks we were bombed out by the Allies (Brits) and then we were back in Austria where we were almost interred in a guarded camp.

After several more moves, the Allies (French) got close but we were stopped at the Swiss border and threatened with execution. At the end, after the Germans surrendered, we waited at the border for an entire week without food or shelter hoping to be admitted to Switzerland.

What was life like in “displaced persons” camps after the war and why didn’t you like to be called a displaced person or DP?

Life ran the gamut from exciting to outright boring. First, we lived in a former German military camp whose facilities were meant to be Spartan by design. That meant no hot water in the separate bath houses which also contained the communal latrines. You did receive three squares a day but you had to bring your own “dinnerware” (leftover military mess kits) and queue up at the prescribed times or you went without a meal. Generally, the diet wasn’t very balanced so most of us traded for fresh milk and vegetables with American cigarette rations (my father’s) from the locals. Hard goods and extra meat were gotten from the black-market usually with cigarettes or other valued items. The German mark was almost useless until a new currency replaced it.

While my father worked (initially in camp and later in outside factories), I hung around with my friends. We usually played soccer or ping-pong. I also liked to watch the men make all sorts of jewelry items including hunting knives (I still have one) in a repair shop that sprang up in one of the empty barracks. I even saw them “bring to life” a wrecked VW.

Later, several elementary schools were established and administered by former teachers who resided in camp. Initially they were ethnically separated but eventually combined because there were not enough kids to go around. Ultimately we all began to attend German public schools. I completed my elementary education in Hamburg.

After the UN authorities found sponsors for people in countries to where they wanted to emigrate they were then transferred to special camps where their backgrounds were thoroughly screened and they were subject to rigorous medical examinations. There things could get quite boring if you weren’t standing endless hours in some queue waiting to be screened, sometimes for the second or third time.

You mention in your book that you spent a year at sea as a deckboy. How did that come about?

My father was a radio operator by profession having served on salvage vessels and shore stations for years before the war. Therefore, when he got word that a small shipping firm in London (run by an Estonian who had emigrated to England before the war) was looking for a radio operator for an old ship that it had just acquired and was being outfitted in Kiel, he applied for the position. In order to get the job I needed to sign on as a deckboy.

We spent 12 adventurous months at sea mostly carrying coal from various locations in England to different Mediterranean ports and bringing minerals such as copper and iron ore back to the British Isles. Once we even traveled to Canada from where we took a load of pulp wood to a Turkish port on the Black Sea.

How did you and your father finally end up in the United States?

After we signed off the ship in England in September of 1949 we returned to Germany and applied for emigration to the US (we almost jumped ship in Canada in order to find our way to the States). Eventually UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) found us a sponsor from a small run-down dairy farm in upstate New York. We arrived in New York City on board a US troop carrier ship on July 12th, 1950. It was a great day for us!

Unfortunately, the first taste of life in the US wasn’t a very pleasant experience for the first 6 weeks but we didn’t complain.

When and how did you find out that your sister, Maimu, had survived the war and when were you finally able to see her again?

In 1955 my father was told by one of his friends in New York City or Paterson, N.J. (where we were living at the time), that he had received a letter from one of his relatives in Estonia mentioning that they knew my sister and half-sister. Shortly thereafter, we began to exchange letters and then, of course, discovered that my mother had succumbed to thyroid cancer on April 2nd, 1953. That was an exceptionally sad moment for me because I had been very close to my mother before our separation.

We tried in vain to have the Soviet Authorities allow Maimu and Laine, with their families, emigrate to the US. Consequently, I was not able to see them until the summer of 1982 when my wife Betty and I were able to travel to Estonia.

I understand you completed your last year of high school on an athletic scholarship at the Manlius School, a military academy in upper New York State. In a nutshell, what “roads have you traveled” since then?

I went to Colgate University on a scholarship and earned a BA degree in addition to receiving an Air Force commission by completing an ROTC program. In September 1960 I began a 20 year Air Force career. While on active duty I also earned an MBA from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. In 1980 I accepted an industry job as the manager of organization development and in 1983 I became the first Dean of the Gore School of Business at Westminster College of Salt Lake City. In 2001 I was awarded an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree and selected “professor emeritus” at the College.

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Aftermath Review & Newspaper Article

Beginning with the author’s return to Estonia in 1982 to meet relatives not seen for nearly four decades, Ehin chronicles not only the bloody results of the back-and-forth War as it battered Eastern Europe, but also day-to-day life of soul-smothering bureaucracy, tyrannical policies and burning prejudice that survived the war. The story is told in the first-person in a way that brings the reader right into Eastern Europe, to the moment at hand with its troubled history. With his eye for the “small” detail, the story comes alive, and points to the larger, underlying conflicts of past and present.

Aftermath shows the current problems in Eastern Europe and describes the past history that has led to these problems. It does so without losing the emotion of the moment. Aftermath is a valuable exposé of a courageous people who faced horrors beyond belief, a people whose story is seldom told in the West, and a story about war and its aftermath that needs to be heard in a country involved in conflict, and likely to face greater conflict.

Aftermath reveals the heart-wrenching catastrophe of war, whether for victim, perpetrator, by-stander or hero. When blood is spilled, there are no winners, only various kinds of pain. The author reveals some of his own deeply personal hurts and confusions, both as a boy struggling with an adult world-gone-berserk, and as a man who returned and tries to understand.

Aftermath takes us through a world of Eastern European history seldom seen. Throughout the book, both author and story keep alive a hope -- a hope for reform, for progress, for a potential that certainly IS there -- a hope that this potential for peace and understanding might become reality in us all. To say that the book is deeply-moving, enlightening and currently necessary is to border on cliché, but it is that. And more. Aftermath is well-told, historically accurate and with a message that needs to be heard sooner rather than later.

A warrior, it is said, understands war best. Ehin has that understanding, and out of it, brings us a provocative story and his own insightful observations to try to put warriors out of business, and back into life.

Michael Markowski, Ph.D., Professor of History, Westminster College of Salt Lake City

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Local book author tells of ‘Aftermath’
Melinda Williams, Staff Writer 16.SEP.04

BOUNTIFUL — Bountiful resident Charles Ehin wants people to know about the continued suffering of the Baltic peoples for decades after World War II. And he’s willing to share his family’s story during and following the war to help Americans better understand.

To that end, he’s written a book, Aftermath, sharing the historic perspective of life for those under Soviet domination, and the trials his family went through to gain freedom.

Ehin will speak about Aftermath at the Great Salt Lake Book Festival, at the City Library in Salt Lake City, Sept. 19 at 3 p.m.

Ehin, professor of management emeritus and the former dean of the Gore School of Business at Westminster College, was born in Estonia and fled, with his father to Germany during World War II. He came to the United States in 1950.

Ehin began writing the book in the late 1980s, originally to record his past for his son and daughter. But after completing the second draft, he allowed friends at Westminster College to read it. They liked what they read and encouraged him to have it published.

But, he said, there was another purpose to the book, to bring attention to the plight of the Estonian people and the Baltic states in general. “The former independent republics had been continuously occupied by the Soviet Union since the final days of World War II,” he said, so he decided to give the book a more thorough historic foundation, focusing on the division of eastern Europe between two world powers.

Ehin said that his book is not about the slaughter and inhumane treatment found in German concentration camps and Soviet gulags, nor is it about the famous battles that mark the war. Instead, “It’s an account of an average family’s struggle to survive, in the midst of World War II and its far-reaching ‘aftermath.’” He points out that “winning or losing a war usually represents only part of the misery and cost of armed conflicts. Most agonizing,” he believes, “are the repercussions of war that consume lives and resources for decades after the combat has ceased.”
His book details the persecution suffered by Estonians at the hands of the Soviet Union, beginning in 1940. With Germany’s help, the tiny country was able to gain its independence from Russia, but found itself instead being occupied by the Third Reich, which executed some 6,000 Estonians, jailed others and sent others to Germany to work in its defense industry.

By 1944 the Soviets were again in charge. “My father and I were among the approximately 75,000 citizens who escaped” from Soviet domination. “We were the lucky ones,” Ehin said.

“Aftermath is a very personal and bittersweet account of a family in a small, insignificant Baltic country caught in a life-and-death struggle between two world powers,” Ehin said. “The book is based on my own experiences and numerous return trips to my native country. It’s also the story of desperate attempts made by its members to find each other after the war ends.

“I hope that readers will get a reasonable sense of what it was like to survive in two drastically dissimilar environments, especially in a country like Estonia that was a free democracy prior to World War II but remained occupied for nearly 50 years after ‘peace’ was supposedly restored.”

Aftermath may be ordered through Publish America, Frederick, MD., 21705

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Charles (Kalev) Ehin has been a good friend for over a decade. He and I have collaborated on a number of ventures and in 1990 we visited Tallinn, Estonia together on business. Hence, I’m intimately familiar with his past and his place of birth. Charlie’s 40 year adventure is filled with heartbreaks, death defying exploits, gritty determination, luck and joyfulness. Once you begin to read Aftermath you won’t put it down! It presents a realistic perspective of war, occupation and the uncertainty of refugee life.”
      Carl Champagne, Chairman and CEO, Data Systems International Inc.

Aftermath is honest, clear, and direct – a timely reminder of the impact of war on individual lives. It vividly illustrates how decisions made by global powers create devastating waves of influence that wash over the lives of countless families.  At the same time, Kalev’s story speaks to the strength of resilience, the passion for a proud Estonian culture, and the undying power and the inexhaustible bonds of love. This is a personal tale that contains stirring universal truths.   I was moved and inspired.
      Heidi Van Ert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education, Westminster College of Salt Lake City

Charles (Kalev) Ehin`s book Aftermath is a powerful and awakening reminder of the fate of a small nation caught in the middle of the struggle between two totalitarian superpowers vying for world supremacy. It is also an excellent description of the individuals and families in the shadow of political tyranny; the feelings of insecurity, danger, longing, desperation and hope. Aftermath is a heart-wrenching story of the separation caused by war, and of the happiness of reunion and new independence. By reading Ehin`s fine book my admiration of our war veterans, always highly respected, climbed to new levels. They gave me a happy life in free and independent Finland by repulsing the Soviet attack in the Winter War and again in the summer of 1944!
      Heikki Nikunen, Lieutenant General (ret), Former Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Air Force

                 This is Kalev’s story of his nine year old Self who witnesses loss, determination, love, forgiving, reuniting, healing, and thriving experiences which contribute to the man, Dr. Charles Ehin, who has bettered the world that was at war with itself as he was growing up ‘midst chaos and possibility -- at both the personal and global levels.  We are taught by his example, we are all family and we each have a story that must be shared and understood for the deepest actualization of our individual and collective lives.
      Jan L. Tyler, Utah YWCA 2003 Leadership Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in      Education

In this honestly written book, the aftermath of war is not told in statistics of lives lost or cities bombed, but in the heartbreak of one family separated for decades by World War II and Soviet oppression.  How long does a war last?  Charles Ehin's story shows it is for decades, for generations.  Families suffer, sometimes quietly, often privately, long after the fighting stops.  Aftermath shows just how hard it is to answer what may be the most important question to ask of any war:  "What will be the consequences?"
      Jean Cheney, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Utah Humanities Council

A hardy story of Kalev's flight from communism during World War II; his reunion with his family after decades of separation; and a powerful tribute to the people of Estonia and their fight for freedom. A must read for free people everywhere.
      Lester Perry, Partner, Hoole and King, Attorneys at Law

While reading Aftermath I gained an appreciation of what life was like for a young boy and his family living through the ravages of World War II. Charles (Kalev) Ehin eloquently tells a story of the strength and resilience of people on both sides of the Iron Curtain. I had never known much about Estonia or her citizens and Aftermath helped me to see what amazing, courageous, stalwart individuals they are. What a wonderful culture! I had no idea how much singing and music plays a part in their lives. I look forward to the day when I can visit Kalev’s homeland to experience and enjoy its culture, people, and the country.
      Mary P. Lewis, Author and Professional Coach

Aftermath takes us through a world of Eastern European history seldom seen. Throughout the book, both author and story keep alive a hope -- a hope for reform, for progress, for a potential that certainly IS there -- a hope that this potential for peace and understanding might become reality in us all. To say that the book is deeply-moving, enlightening and currently necessary is to border on cliché, but it is that. And more. Aftermath is well-told, historically accurate and with a message that needs to be heard sooner rather than later. A warrior, it is said, understands war best. Ehin has that understanding, and out of it, brings us a provocative story and his own insightful observations to try to put warriors out of business, and back into life.
      Michael Markowski, Ph.D., Professor of History, Westminster College of Salt Lake City

In this book Ehin relates a remarkable personal narrative lived in the context of great 20th century events, including World War II and the Cold War. Ehin's distinctive experience and voice enable him to offer a richly textured account of an individual’s life deeply affected by global history.  An American success story, Aftermath is an absorbing and historically significant work.
      Michael Matheson, Northwest Regional Director, Lockwood Advisors

In these most troubled days perhaps the timeliest book that could have been conceived. Dr. Ehin succeeds in not only providing a personal glimpse into the tragic events of World War II, but presents a far deeper philosophic and politically astute comprehension of historical and, ultimately, globally important events. While there are many accounts of World War II, rarely have they accurately reflected the totality of war and, in particular, the events prior to and following World War II which greatly impact our lives right up to the present. Having personally lived and worked behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ for seven years and through the transition years of the Warsaw Pact Nations, I applaud Dr. Ehin’s powerful rendering of his life’s experiences in dealing with war, global power, diplomatic failure, family and personal tragedy. The book is an absorbing, authoritative and unique perspective on war and its Aftermath.
      Peter Gerity, Ph.D., Vice President of Academic Affairs, New Mexico Tech

The far-reaching impact of politics, war, and the darkest side of human nature are illustrated in Ehin's powerful memoir, Aftermath. His detailed account offers us a touching, personal and an often-overlooked perspective, that of the Baltic States, of the horrors of World War II.
      Dana Tumpowsky, Librarian

From amusing anecdotes to deeply personal moments, Aftermath immerses its readers into the Estonian society and introduces them to characters that range from the incredibly good to the worst of villains.  It gives insights into the type of life that few people will ever experience. The book is unified by a single theme: The traumatic effects war has on the individual, the family, the society, and ultimately the world.
      Ljubica “Buba” Roth, Director, Utah Peace Institute