The Baltic DPs Project: Recovering the History of the Displaced Persons

In 2014, the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, together the Latvian Folk Art Museum and the Chicago Estonian House, are planning a yearlong series of exhibits, events and programs commemorating 70 years since the mass westward flight of Baltic Displaced Persons, refugees from the war-torn Baltic republics. The Baltic DP Exposition will include exhibits, programs and events, documenting the experiences of DP Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanians in European DP Camps; their subsequent immigration to the United States and Canada; and their contributions to their host countries, as well as to the countries they left behind.

The cornerstone of the Baltic DP Exposition will be an exhibit titled "Displaced to this Place", spanning three stages of the Baltic DP experience: pre-migration (an introduction to the events and circumstances which compelled the refugees to leave their Baltic homelands); migration (spanning refugees' flight from their Baltic homelands and life in the DP camps); and post-migration (their subsequent immigration and settlement in the United States and countries around the world). The exhibit will open in Chicago on April 26, 2014 and travel to other cities in North America and the Baltic Republics. A permanent online exhibit and website dedicated to Baltic WWII refugees, "DisplacedPersons.org" is also in development.

Close living quarters in a DP Camp - Source ECLA 

The exhibit will serve as a launch padfor a series of film viewings, educational programs, art exhibits, lectures, and other events about Baltic DPs, their experiences, and contributions world wide as well as for the exploration of the theme of displacement in general, whether by political, social, economic, or environmental forces.

Teaching Tolerance through English: Forging Friendships across Baltic Borders

U.S. Embassy Tallinn hosted its first “Teaching Tolerance through English” Camp from August 12-18, 2013. Twenty-five boys and girls aged 10 to 14 years from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came together for one week to learn about diversity, how to counter bullying, and how to act as a positive force in their communities. While campers’ native languages were Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Russian, all activities were conducted in English. This year’s was the third camp in a series in the Baltics, with the two previous having been held in Latvia.  

Lithuanian students teach fellow Estonian and Latvian campers about their culture

Five Lithuanian students—two fifth graders and three sixth graders—from Pumpenai Secondary School attended the event, along with Ms. Olga Daugene, who provided instruction on English as a Foreign Language. They, along with their peers from Latvia and Estonia, engaged in an interactive session with U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Jeffrey Levine, through which they gained an insight into American culture, even learning to make S’mores around a campfire.

Author Inara Cedrins presents the Baltic Anthology of Contemporary Poetry

Congratulations to author +Inara Cedrins on the occasion of the special presentation of her recently published Baltic anthology of contemporary poetry, three books for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The anthology presents three generations of poets: those born before the Soviet occupation, during it, and shortly before the countries regained their independence in the 1990's. Come by the Balzekas Museum Book Club and learn about individual experiences of exile and homeland!