Hiiumaa ceremony marks 80th anniversary of Estonians' Great Flight in WWII
This fall will mark 80 years since the Great Flight (Suur põgenemine), also known as the Great Refugee Flight or Mass Flight, in which tens of thousands of Estonians fled westward to escape the advancing Red Army in September 1944. A ceremony was held at Kalana Yacht Marina on the island of Hiiumaa on Saturday to commemorate the exodus.
Raivo Hansen's father Jüri was among those who fled across the sea from Hiiumaa to Sweden 80 years ago.
"He fled; he got on a boat together with his friend," Hansen said about his father. "The boat's name was Enge, and they took it to Sweden."
Saturday's event was organized on the initiative of Priit Laineste, who made a documentary about Jüri Hansen, "Jüri," released in 2021.
To commemorate the journey of these past refugees, there were plans to set sail from Hiiumaa on the sailboat Lisette following the ceremony, for a sea voyage to Sweden that would take 24-36 hours. Laineste is raising money through Estonian crowdfunding platform Hooandja to produce a documentary about this journey, and to record the stories of these refugees' descendants.
Very strong winds and high waves, however, postponed the sailing vessel's departure, and so Saturday's event was at least initially limited to the ceremony on land.
"There's a good chance that we may be able to depart by Sunday evening," Laineste said. "That's the last possible time for this boat."
Loaded aboard the vessel was an exhibition about the Great Escape co-produced by the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory (EMI), the Association of Estonians in Sweden (REL) as well as several other organizations.
"The exhibition being sent on its way first of all discusses the underlying causes of the escape and provides a statistical overview of how many of our people undertook this harrowing journey," said EMI board member Martin Andreller.
"On the other hand, it also provides an overview of our community's doings in Sweden – how they began establishing various cultural associations, schools, how Estonians managed to get by in general in Sweden, and how they're still active there today," he highlighted.
More events commemorating the Great Flight of 1944 yet lie ahead. For example, on August 24, EMI will present the first stage of a database of refugees who fled Estonia during WWII at a conference in Haapsalu.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Aili Vahtla
