TALLINN IN FLAMES

Horrifying...

The film shook me to the core. Many things were unknown to me. The format and visual presentation of the information in the film seemed a bit exaggerated, which in no way diminishes the colossal tragedy of the beautiful city and its people. Thank you!

As a history buff, I thought I knew a lot about WW2, but this specific tragedy of the 1944 Tallinn bombing was new to me. The restored images of the burning city are haunting. The story at the end about the 14-year-old schoolgirls who blew up the monument was a striking testament to resistance. A stark, powerful reminder of the costs of war!!

Жестко. Восстановленные кадры пугающе четкие! Супер!

A highly concentrated dose of history. Mart Sander does a commendable job using archival materials to bring this forgotten moonlit night to life. However, I felt the pacing was almost too fast. I would have gladly watched a feature-length version of this to dive deeper into the personal stories, especially Aili Jürgenson's time in the NKVD cell. Still, a very impactful short film.

Living in Eastern Europe, these stories hit very close to home. The documentary perfectly captures the horrifying reality of being caught between two brutal regimes. The opening explanation of why the German troops were initially seen as "liberators" in 1941, following the Soviet terror and deportations of 1940, is complex and historically accurate. A chilling and absolutely necessary watch.

It was very dense with dates, factions, and historical facts right from the first minute, which made it a bit hard to follow if you don't know European history well. However, the visual restoration of the archival footage is impressive. It’s sad to see a beautiful city turned into ash. Good for educational purposes, probably perfect for a history class.