A monument commemorating the Great Flight of 80 years ago was unveiled in Pärnu. The statue, funded through donations, was erected under the leadership of the Estonian World Council, which gifted it to the city of Pärnu during a ceremony on September 21st. The sculpture depicts the final touch of hands. The Great Flight was also remembered at Puise Beach in Lääne County.
A monument dedicated to the Great Flight generation was unveiled on the left bank of the Pärnu River, near the city center bridge. This location marks the spot from which people fled westward from Pärnu 80 years ago. Among those who escaped was 18-month-old Kristi Vuht-Allpere, who now lives in the U.S. and spearheaded the project to erect the memorial.
“We lived in Pärnu and had a small car company with two or three cars. There were seven of us – my grandmother, grandfather, my parents, my uncle, my aunt and me. I think we had a few more relatives with us, but 22 people left on our boat, which was nine meters long. And today, on September 21, that boat reached the shores of Gotland, Sweden,” Vuht-Allpere recounted.
Vuht-Allpere explained that the monument was funded primarily by donations from the descendants of refugees and cost €70,000. For her, the most important aspect is ensuring that the story of the escape is passed on and that young people know their ancestors’ histories.
“We didn’t leave to collect gold from the streets. They lived in incredibly poor conditions. Their hearts were here, their youth was here, and they cherished that. For me, it’s symbolic to bring their hearts, their souls and their youth back here in some way. Since both my parents have passed away, I imagine them swimming on Pärnu Beach in their bathing suits,” she said.
In 1944, ten-year-old Ülle Ederma also fled from Tallinn.
“I remember leaving Estonia very well. We went to Germany via Tallinn. It was a German warship, and women and children were placed in the bottom of the ship. When the ship started moving, we all went up to the deck. It was already dark, and I climbed through the people to get to the front, to see what was happening. Tallinn’s silhouette was under a red glow, looking strange. As it grew smaller and smaller, the song ‘Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm’ (My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy) began to be sung on the ship, through tears. That night, Tallinn fell, and we sailed into the dark sea, toward an uncertain future,” Ederma recalled.
The monument symbolizes the final touch between those who left and those who stayed behind. The stone for the monument came from Pärnu County, and the hands are crafted from aluminum rods.
“In a way, these hands and the material are like water – lines of fate, the paths of people’s lives. Within the lines of fate on the hand are boats carrying refugees. It’s a moment charged with energy; you don’t know what will come, you don’t know what will happen and you let go, leave, while others stay behind. We hope Estonia never has to experience this again,” said sculptor Elo Liiv.
Although the monument has been unveiled, it is not yet in its final location. After renovations to the riverside quay, it will be moved closer to the river and illuminated.
In addition to the monument, several exhibitions related to the Great Flight were opened at the Pärnu Museum.
Those Who Left Remembered on Puise Beach in Lääne County
In Lääne County, refugees who fled 80 years ago were commemorated at a monument located on Puise Beach. It was from this very spot that Kai Sillaste-Männik’s mother escaped across the sea in the fall of 1944. She later recounted that, due to her youth, she did not fear the journey ahead.
“She didn’t know to be afraid, but the sea was stormy. They left from right here. My grandfather’s father went back three times with the boat to bring people across,” Sillaste-Männik said.
Kai’s husband, Jaan Männik, shared that his parents, along with Jaan’s older brother, fled towards Sweden exactly 80 years ago, on September 21, 1944, from Pärnu.
“My parents lived in Tallinn, and their apartment burned down in March 1944 during the bombing. Much later, my father told me that we went to Sweden because we didn’t want to fall into the hands of the Russians,” Männik said.
In Haapsalu’s Town Hall, an exhibition commemorates the Great Flight, featuring objects that tell the stories of those who fled the war. One of the displayed items is a doll that belonged to acclaimed writer Elin Toona.
“Elin Toona left Haapsalu with her mother and grandmother, and their journey from Germany to the United Kingdom was complex and difficult. This doll symbolizes that story for me,” said exhibition curator Kadri Laur.
The exhibition on the Great Flight is open at Haapsalu Town Hall until August 24 of next year.
The Great Flight
The Great Flight was a mass exodus from Estonia in the late summer and fall of 1944, as people fled the advancing Soviet Red Army. It is also referred to as the “boat escape,” as most refugees fled by sea in small boats, earning them the name “boat refugees.”
Approximately 80,000 people fled Estonia during this period, with an estimated 6-9 percent perishing during the journey. The primary motivation for the escape was fear – memories of the terror from the years of Soviet occupation were still fresh in people’s minds. Many believed they were leaving temporarily, expecting to return within a few months or, at most, a year. However, as time passed and it became clear that returning was not an option, most of the refugees settled permanently in their new countries or relocated to other parts of the world. Large Estonian communities eventually formed in Sweden, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
ERR News
