1944 Great Flight anniversary marked in Tallinn Bay
The 80th anniversary of the Great Flight, when thousands of Estonians fled across the Baltic Sea to escape the returning Soviet Army in 1944, was marked in Tallinn Bay on Thursday.
The ceremony was held on the Estonian navy ship General Kurvits and was attended by President Alar Karis, who said many Estonian families were affected by the events.
"The Great Escape of 1944 was not about seeking refuge from the war but fleeing from a new Soviet occupation, as the Red Army had once again captured much of Estonia," said Karis.
The terror of 1940 and 1941 – killings, imprisonments, deportations – were in everyone's mind. Tens of thousands of Estonians chose a dangerous route, mainly across the Baltic Sea, to avoid the same fate.
Some fled to Sweden, others to Germany, some initially to Finland, and still others to various other destinations, he said: "This difficult journey was filled with heartbreak over leaving their homeland and those who remained behind. It was a journey into the unknown, with little to no belongings. For many, the journey ended tragically on the autumn sea, before they could reach freedom."
Karis recalled his mother, who went to Germany with her parents, but was trapped there and eventually came home again. He quoted from her diary: "I returned starving, in my only dress, with the realization that I had been forced to grow up too soon."
However, tens of thousands of Estonians stayed abroad, found work, and built new lives.
