The Human Sausage Factory: A Study of Post-War Rumour in Tartu

185 Pages·2013·12.085 MB·English

by  Eda Kalmre

The Human Sausage Factory
A Study of Post-War Rumour in Tartu
On the Boundary of Two Worlds:
Identity, Freedom, and Moral Imagination
in the Baltics
34
Founding and Executive Editor
Leonidas Donskis, Member of the European Parliament, and previously
Professor and Dean of Vytautas Magnus University School of Political
Science and Diplomacy in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Editorial and Advisory Board
Timo Airaksinen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Egidijus Aleksandravicius, Lithuanian Emigration Institute,
Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Aukse Balcytiene, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Stefano Bianchini, University of Bologna, Forlì Campus, Italy
Endre Bojtar, Institute of Literary Studies, Budapest, Hungary
Ineta Dabasinskiene, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
Pietro U. Dini, University of Pisa, Italy
Robert Ginsberg, Pennsylvania State University, USA
Martyn Housden, University of Bradford, UK
Andres Kasekamp, University of Tartu, Estonia
Andreas Lawaty, Nordost-Institute, Lüneburg, Germany
Olli Loukola, University of Helsinki, Finland
Bernard Marchadier, Institut d’études slaves, Paris, France
Silviu Miloiu, Valahia University, Targoviste, Romania
Valdis Muktupavels, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
Hannu Niemi, University of Helsinki, Finland
Irina Novikova, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
Yves Plasseraud, Paris, France
Rein Raud, Tallinn University, Estonia
Alfred Erich Senn, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and Vytautas
Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
André Skogström-Filler, University Paris VIII-Saint-Denis, France
David Smith, University of Glasgow, UK
Saulius Suziedelis, Millersville University, USA
Joachim Tauber, Nordost-Institut, Lüneburg, Germany
Tomas Venclova, Yale University, USA
Tonu Viik, Tallinn University, Estonia
The Human Sausage Factory
A Study of Post-War Rumour in Tartu
Eda Kalmre
Amsterdam - New York, NY 2013
The book was supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and was
financed in the framework of state programme project SF0030181s08
“Narrative Aspects of Folklore. Power, Personality and Globalisation”.
Translations: Kait Tamm, Alexander Harding
Language editing: Daniel Edward Allen
Layout: Diana Kahre
Cover photo: Tartu after war. View of the open air market and bombed
houses from the other side of the Emajõgi River. Private collection.
The paper on which this book is printed meets the requirements of
“ISO 9706:1994, Information and documentation - Paper for
documents - Requirements for permanence”.
ISBN: 978-90-420-3717-5
E-Book ISBN: 978-94-012-0973-1
© Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2013
Printed in the Netherlands
Table of contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 3
(cid:135)(cid:3) Tracing an old horror tale 3
(cid:135)(cid:3) Rumour and the post-war period in Tartu 10
(cid:135)(cid:3) Rumours in retrospect 18
(cid:135)(cid:3) Rumours and legends – truth, ideology and interpretation 20
(cid:135)(cid:3) The sources and nature of this book 24
Chapter 1 – Narratives about consuming human body
parts as a folkloric and socio-historical phenomenon 31
(cid:135)(cid:3) Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century predecessors 32
Chapter 2 – The legend of the sausage factory: post-war
images of violence and evil 41
(cid:135)(cid:3) A secret room or chamber 43
(cid:135)(cid:3) The milkmaid enticed into the ruins in broad daylight and the
child sent to deliver a letter 51
(cid:135)(cid:3) Informants’ performance strategies: the limits of understanding
and mediating violence 56
(cid:135)(cid:3) Conclusion 61
Chapter 3 – The folklore of the split society: rumours
of cannibalism in post-war Estonia 65
(cid:135)(cid:3) Some views of the different features of ethnocentrism 66
vi
(cid:135)(cid:3) Creation of the figure of the adversary and possible symbolic
semantic models relating to the sausage factory story 67
Estonians and others 70
Estonian versus Estonian 76
Estonian versus Jew 78
(cid:135)(cid:3) Conclusion 81
Chapter 4 – The sausage factory rumour: food
contamination legends and criticism of the Soviet
(economic) system 87
(cid:135)(cid:3) Fingernails in jellied meat: reality or fabrication? 87
The story of Paul Saks 89
(cid:135)(cid:3) Taboos against discussing the Siege of Leningrad 91
(cid:135)(cid:3) Sausage factory rumours: a criticism of the Soviet (economic)
system? 95
(cid:135)(cid:3) The sausage factory rumour: aggression and control 99
(cid:135)(cid:3) Legend and humour 101
Chapter 5 – On the reception of the sausage factory
story today 105
(cid:135)(cid:3) Legends: a source of memoirs and biographies 105
(cid:135)(cid:3) On the content, structure and means of describing the Tartu
narratives 106
(cid:135)(cid:3) The ‘forbidden city’ and forbidden memories 110
(cid:135)(cid:3) The sausage factory rumour as part of the identity of the
pre-war generation 112
vii
(cid:135)(cid:3) When survival becomes ordeal: informants’ answers 115
The first narrator – female engineer with Christian views 116
The second narrator – farm girl and town official 119
The third narrator – construction worker and chronicler 121
The fourth narrator – chauffeur and bookseller with an interest
in culture 123
(cid:135)(cid:3) They might come back – the story without an ending 125
Chapter 6 – Rumour as a metaphor for social truth 131
Notes 135
List of illustrations 151
Archival sources 153
Interviews, correspondence, manuscript biographies 155
Bibliography 159
Index 173
Acknowledgements
The idea to write about post-war rumours and their significance came to me
when I was working at the Estonian Folklore Archives. Further focus on this
specific topic took shape after two articles by Alo Lõhmus were published in
the local Estonian newspaper Tartu Postimees in 2001: ‘The Secret of Tartu’s
Cannibals Lives on in Folktales. Fingernails in Pies and Rings in Jellied Meat:
Urban Folklore Savours Human Flesh’ (“Tartu inimsööjate saladus elab
rahvajuttudes. Küüned pirukas ja sõrmus süldis – linnafolkloorile meeldib
inimliha”, 13 Nov) and ‘The Legend of the Human Sausage Factory as Political
Horror Story’ (“Inimvorstivabriku legend kui poliitiline õudusjutt”, 21 Dec).
I was not only interviewed for these articles, but also served as an expert in the
field. After the first article was published I was approached by dozens of Tartu
residents, and even more in the following years, whom I interviewed for this
book. As is often the case, each person who knew something led on to the next.
I am eternally grateful to these people for sharing their recollections
with me. Like a scholar of recent history, a folklorist exploring these topics
often has to touch upon distressing details in people’s memories. According
to my experience, the more recent the past, the more painful are the moral
dilemmas raised in the belief stories and associated memories that relate to
them. I noticed this when studying belief narratives about the sinking of the
ferryMS Estonia, and also when interviewing my colleagues – employees of
the Estonian Literary Museum – about the haunting of the museum building.
I am aware that some informants may not agree with my interpretations of the
rumours that will be discussed in this book, because the mostly folkloristic
interpretationoffered here is merely one possible way to approach the material.
I am deeply indebted to many fine people and colleagues, in Estonia and
abroad, for their invaluable help in this research. Meelis Maripuu from the
Estonian State Archives (Party Archives) helped me to get started in that
archive, and historian Valdur Ohmann kindly provided consultation. Many
colleagues suggested helpful references and offered comments: Elo-Hanna
Seljamaa, Astrid Tuisk, Rein Saukas, Mare Kõiva, Mare Kalda, Mall Hiiemäe,
Tiiu Jaago, Rutt Hinrikus, also Kari Laukkanen and Irma-Riitta Järvinen from
Helsinki, Christine Shojahei-Kawan from Göttingen and Véronique Campion-
Vincent from France.
Advice and references were sent by correspondence by Linda Dégh in
(cid:37)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:47)(cid:68)(cid:76)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:36)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:78)(cid:76)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:417)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:3)(cid:46)(cid:68)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:78)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:48)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:81)(cid:76)(cid:78)(cid:82)(cid:89)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:3)(cid:54)(cid:87)(cid:17)(cid:3)
Petersburg and Guntis Pakalns from Riga. Kalju Leib, a wonderful informant
and one highly knowledgeable in the recent history of Tartu, helped me to
contextualise the rumours historically.
x Eda Kalmre
My special gratitude goes to Professor Ülo Valk, who taught me to see
the different interpretations of folk tales, set an example and gave me the
courage to become involved in narrative research, especially legend research.
My warmest thank you goes to my husband, journalist Vahur Kalmre, who
encouraged me and gave me confidence to take up this rather complicated
topic – one that does not always evoke positive emotions. I dedicate this study
to my mother, who was born near Tartu in 1930 and is among my informants’
contemporaries. The study offered me a chance to take a look at her and her
generation’s world in tumultuous times. My greatest respect goes to them all.
My first manuscript in English was thoroughly reviewed by Jeanmarie
Rouhier-Willoughby, professor of Russian folklore and linguistics at the
University of Kentucky. I am profoundly grateful to my American colleague
for deep reading my work and have taken many of her valuable comments
and suggestions into consideration in my book. My former colleague Kait
Tamm was of invaluable assistance and offered much support at translating the
manuscript and preparing it for publishing. My thanks also go to Diana Kahre,
who helped to format the manuscript to meet the publisher’s requirements. The
translation and preparation of the manuscript was supported by the Cultural
Endowment of Estonia and was financed in the framework of state programme
project SF0030181s08 “Narrative Aspects of Folklore. Power, Personality and
Globalisation”.
It is probably worth pointing out from the very start that this is a study that
follows the regularities and idiosyncrasies of folklore genres and motifs, and
considers the specifics of both archive texts and interviews. It also covers some
materials from the categories of history, anthropology and oral history because
they enable us to understand the specific period to which the legend of the
Tartu sausage factory belongs.
Eda Kalmre