Smugglers, spies & escapes · 11.11.1934
Artur Sirk escapes from the Central Prison
Artur Sirk, lawyer and deputy leader of the War of Independence Veterans' League (the Vaps movement), was arrested in Tallinn on the evening of 12 March 1934, accused of belonging to an organisation that aimed to overthrow the state by force. He was held in the Central Prison, which since 1920 had been housed in the old Patarei sea fort. On 11 November 1934, after eight months inside, he escaped together with a prison guard, Johannes Küttim. He wandered near Tallinn for several days, was driven secretly across Estonia by taxi to Valga, and reached Finland through Latvia on 4 December. From exile he plotted the failed coup of 8 December 1935. He died in Luxembourg in 1937.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Vabadussõjalaste Liidu aseesimees, advokaat Artur Sirk arreteeriti 12. märtsi 1934 õhtul Tallinnas ja teda süüdistati kuulumises organisatsiooni, mille eesmärk oli riigikord vägivallaga kukutada. Teda hoiti Keskvanglas, mis asus alates 1920. aastast vanas Patarei merekindluses. 11. novembril 1934, pärast kaheksat kuud vangis, põgenes ta koos vangivalvur Johannes Küttimiga. Mitu päeva eksles ta Tallinna lähedal, sõitis siis taksoga salaja läbi Eesti Valka ja jõudis 4. detsembril Läti kaudu Soome. Paguluses kavandas ta 8. detsembri 1935 nurjunud mässukatset. Ta suri 1937. aastal Luksemburgis.
Source: Estonian Wikipedia: Artur Sirk; Patarei Prison history (patareiprison.org). ↗