NEW YORGI EESTI HARIDUSSELTS JA PAGULASED
THE NEW YORK ESTONIAN EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY AND REFUGEES

Summary/Abstract: The article treats one of the most significant and eventful periods in the history of the Estonian diaspora in New York – the first decade after the end of the Second World War. It is the time of a substantial influx of Estonian refugees who had refused to return to their native country because they dreaded the communist regime, which had been established there. These people mostly came to America with the help of the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. Unlike the bulk of Estonians already in America, they had not emigrated from Estonia voluntarily in search of a better life, but felt they had no choice other than to leave their homes and live abroad temporarily – just until Estonia was freed again. Representatives of voluntary and forced migration met in a narrow space. Step by step the refugees started to gain power and influence in the Educational Society and its branches. Their specific views on life; the very politically engaged style of perceiving the world and their role in it in conjunction with their struggle to preserve Estonian culture abroad because of a fear it would not survive in Estonia proper, made their leadership fierce and shook the very pillars that the Educational Society was founded on. In order to provide evidentiary support for the aforementioned arguments, the article depicts how the Educational Society evolved as a result of the refugees’ activities.

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