Boston Estonian Society’s Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the “Suur Pōgenemine” or The Great Flight will occur on Sunday, September 22, at the Scandinavian Cultural Center at 206 Waltham Street, Newton, MA, 3:00 -7:00 pm.
Join us at this important event to highlight the history of these turbulent times and to honor and acknowledge society members and Estonians in the Boston area who experienced this historic event personally. This special multimedia program will be in both Estonian and English.
The program will include a historical overview and video; a discussion with Kirsti Valge, Liia Vilms, Mart Ojamaa, Raul Pettai (via Zoom), and Anu Pirn (via Zoom) who will share their personal experiences and be available for questions; musical selections from Epp Sonin and the Boston Estonian School children; and refreshments will be served.
With your help we wish to have a “Memory Table” and “Memory Boards” at the event. For the “Memory Table” we encourage you to bring to display items or photos of artifacts that your family brought along when they escaped. Please include a short description of its significance written on a 3’x5′ note card. We also encourage you to create a “Memory Board” showing the story of how your family arrived in Boston, along with photographs, articles and documents. A poster board would be ideal for this.
An exhibit of historical photos of the Big Escape, to Sweden and Germany, will be on display in the Scandinavian Hall during our event. On the wall will be a large world map where everyone can show their families’ journeys.
All are welcome! We look forward to having you join us.
Marilem Soodla Ferentinos
