Estonian national Ilmar Haaviste, head of an association of Estonian veterans who fought on the German side: “Both regimes were equally evil – there was no difference between the two except that Stalin was more cunning”. Estonian national Arnold Meri who fought on the Soviet side and was later charged with genocide for his role in the deportations: "Estonia's participation in World War II was inevitable. Every Estonian had only one decision to make: whose side to take in that bloody fight – the Nazis' or the anti-Hitler coalition's."