Dedication of Holocaust Memorial at Site of Klooga Concentration Camp

On September 1, 1994, a memorial dedicated to Jews killed in the Second World War was opened in Klooga, on the territory of the former concentration camp.

This memorial stone was erected at the initiative of the Jewish Cultural Society and with the support of the Estonian Government.

In May 2005, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip gave a speech while visiting Klooga in which he both condemned the Holocaust and expressed sorrow that some Estonian citizens were complicit in committing war crimes during WWII:

"Although these murderers must answer for their crimes as individuals, the Estonian Government continues to do everything possible to expose these crimes.

I apologise for the fact that Estonian citizens could be found among those who participated in the murdering of people or assisted in the perpetration of these crimes".

In July 2005, Estonian President Arnold Rüütel, Israeli Ambassador Shemi Zur, and Holocaust survivors took part in an unveiling ceremony for the gray marble memorial stone, inscribed with following words: "Between 1941 and 1944, the German occupying powers established 20 labour and concentration camps in Estonia. Thousands of people from a number of countries were killed in these camps because they were Jewish. This is the site of the Klooga concentration camp". Later in the year Israeli President Moshe Katsav laid a wreath at the site of the camp deep in the Estonian forest while on a diplomatic tour of the Baltic countries.