Vabamu exhibition puts Estonians on the world map
The “Estonia Worldwide” exhibition highlights the role of our diaspora in Estonian history. Whenever you come to Estonia, it is definitely worth a visit, and you can still share your stories.
The new exhibition titled “Estonia Worldwide” at the Vabamu museum displays the fates of Estonians in various parts of the world. These stories include those of sisters Olga Männik and Maria Otsa (Männik), who ended up in the opposite ends of the world in the 1940s.
Maria (1898–1981) and Olga (1902–1996) grew up in the early part of the last century in an ordinary Estonian family in the eastern part of the country. One sister became a teacher and the other a librarian. However, in the turmoil of the Second World War, they met very different fates.
Maria and her son Udo and husband Johannes were taken from their home on 14 June 1941. The father was taken to a forced labour camp and he never returned; Maria and Udo, in his early teens, were sent to Tomsk Oblast, where she had to work the fields, collect branches from the forest and work in a construction, hewing logs by hand. Udo obtained an education in agriculture in Siberia and worked as a tractor driver. He married in Siberia and had three children. In 1958, or 17 years after deportation, they were given permission to return to Estonia.
Maria’s sister Olga and her son Andres had also been pursued by the Soviet authorities in June
1941; however, they made a narrow escape. Olga decided not to risk remaining in her homeland when the Red Army invaded Estonia again in 1944. Her journey was risky but eventually they arrived in Gdańsk, then part of Germany. They then travelled on to war-torn Weimar and when the war ended, they managed to get to Bavaria, which had become a US zone after the division of Germany. In the 1950s, Olga and Andres were able to migrate to the state of Ohio in the United States, and Olga moved to Canada in 1968. She never returned to her homeland but she had an active correspondence with her sister and sent her packages.
The stories of Olga and Marie are just some examples of hundreds of stories added to the constantly growing interactive map of “Estonians Worldwide”. Everyone is welcome to share their story with us and contribute to the exhibition.
New major exhibition “Estonia Worldwide” at Vabamu
We live in an age of global migration: one in ten Estonians currently lives outside Estonia. At the same time, the role of the diaspora has always been highly significant in Estonia’s history. With this new exhibition, we wish to give that role the recognition it deserves.
The exhibition explores the story of Estonian communities abroad across several centuries. Despite the differences between various waves of migration, they also share much in common. For example, traditional folk costume as a bearer of Estonian identity appears both in 19th-century Crimea and in 20th-century Canada. The colourful design of the exhibition is inspired by the folk skirt of Linda Erika Kääramees, who fled the Soviet occupation.
The exhibition will remain open until January 2028.
Share your story – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUgP5ayPuDKIiW2c2mW5d3Zw2XVB37vAUSdskkjqvN-hERJQ/viewform
Vabamu website – https://vabamu.ee/en/exhibitions/tulekul-ilmakula-eestlased/
News and photos from the opening – https://vabamu.ee/en/news/estonia-worldwide-temporary-exhibition-opens-at-vabamu/
