Estonian Vabadusaõjalaste Liit (Freedom Fighter’s Union) Collar Insignia

Nice early badge in gilt brass stamped metal measuring 20mm in height. Both prongs on reverse are intact. Used as a collar insignia on the veteran’s group’s uniform. Dates from the 1926-1934. A rarer item.

Freedom fighters, abbreviated vabsi (vab.-s.) or vapsi, were members of three organizations that operated consecutively in Estonia between 1926 and 1934 (Estonian Freedom Fighters Central Union, Estonian Freedom Fighters Union and Freedom Fighters People’s Movement). They were para-military and politically nationalist and anti-communist in nature.

After the end of the War of Independence, the Union of Demobilized Servicemen was formed in Estonia, which was supposed to protect the interests of the veterans of the War of Independence, primarily in solving the land issue. In 1926, the Union of Freedom Fighters was founded in Tallinn; such unions were also formed in other cities in the post-war years.