Estonian Institute of Historical Memory

During the Second World War, thousands of people, young and old, left Estonia for the west, families were scattered all over the world. In most cases, they were forced to leave their homeland by fear of the Red Army and the repression of the new Soviet regime. We offer you to watch a small selection of video memories from people who were directly affected by these events.

Estonian Institute of Historical Memory

This database gathers information about Estonian residents who fled their homeland during the Second World War, since Estonia fell under Soviet occupation in June 1940; served in Finnish or German armed service during the war and remained outside the occupation zone of the USSR at the end of the war, becoming war refugees; came to Germany during the war as repressed or recruited, and at the end of the war remained outside the occupation zone of the USSR, becoming war refugees.