Harry Möttus’s brother Max escaped from Estonia in 1944 and ended up in Australia. Half a century later, in 1994, the sick old man, confined to a wheelchair, wanted to come home to die. Meelis flew to Australia to get him and brought Max back to Estonia. A few weeks after arriving in his homeland, Max’s health gave out and he passed away. The uncle left his savings to Meelis and asked that the money be used to do something for Estonia.
“I figured that my goal should be maintaining life in the periphery and preserving the memory of the real Forest Brethren who believed in Estonian independence,” the son of a Forest Brother explains his mission. Meelis invested Uncle Max’s legacy in his companies, which provide employment to the people of the villages in South-Estonia, where the unemployment rate is exceptionally high. Meelis Möttus is the majority owner of OÜ Löunapiim, a farm with 250 dairy cows. In addition to animals and barns, he also operates a saw mill in Möniste, which mainly manufactures glass crates for the Saint-Gobain Group. Meelis employs 35 locals from Möniste, Saru, Tiitsa and Vastse-Roosa hamlets.
“If I can earn enough money with my enterprises, I will establish a bunker museum in Vastse-Roosa, on an islet in the Vaidva River”, the emotional entrepreneur expounds on his dreams. Admission to the museum will be open only between dusk and dawn, in order to convey the feeling of danger and secrecy. A boatman will take the visitors to the island, and they will gain passage by saying the right password, instead of showing a ticket. I have almost all the exhibits for the bunker museum already – and they are all originals and related to the Forest Brethren.”