Kalju Reitel
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Kalju Reitel | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1, 1921 |
| Died | September 10, 2004 (aged 83) Tallinn, Estonia |
| Resting place | Metsakalmistu, Tallinn, Estonia[1] |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
| Children | Sirje Helme |
| Relatives | Maarja Vaino Martin Helme |
Kalju Kumar Reitel (February 11, 1921 – September 10, 2004) was an Estonian sculptor.[2]
Kalju Reitel was born in Tapa, Estonia,[3][4] the son of Rudolf Heinrich Reitel (1887–1923) and Alice Maria Reitel (née Tirman, later Rööpson; 1892–1973). He attended Gustav Adolf High School in Tallinn from 1934 to 1936 and Tapa High School from 1936 to 1941.[4] From 1942 to 1943 he studied at the Tallinn School of Fine and Applied Arts.[2]
Reitel's art education was interrupted by the Second World War. During the first Soviet occupation of Estonia, he evaded mobilization in 1941 by hiding in a bog near Aegviidu, but he was captured one day before the German occupation of Estonia.[4] Reitel joined the German army as a volunteer and performed photo reconnaissance at Tallinn Airport.[4] In 1943, he was among the 20 men selected (from 300 applicants) to study at the Liepāja-Grobiņa flight school (German: Flugzeugführerschule A / B Libau / Grobin).[2][4] He then served as a pilot in a unit of the German Luftwaffe composed mainly of Estonians. At the end of the war he tried to escape to Sweden from the unit, which had retreated to Germany, but when the engine of his plane failed he was captured by US forces. After being released from captivity, he emigrated to France and was repatriated to the Estonian SSR from there in 1945. In 1950 he graduated as a sculptor from the Tallinn State Applied Art Institute.[2]
Career
After graduating in 1950, Reitel began teaching sculpture at the Tallinn Architectural and Construction College and the Tallinn Pioneers Palace.[2][5] However, in December of the same year, he was arrested on charges of fighting on the wrong side. After years in prison and internment in the Vorkuta gulag, he was released in 1955.[2] Reitel was then able to resume his work as the head of the sculpture group at the Tallinn Pioneers Palace. His students included the sculptors Hille Palm, Jaak Soans, Tiiu Kirsipuu, Hannes Starkopf, Vergo Vernik, and Al Paldrok, the architect Rein Luup, the furniture designer Toomas Kõrvits, and the ceramicists Leo Rohlin, Ingrid Allik, and Annika Teder.[2][5]