Traces of Trauma in Estonian Women’s Life Narratives of World War II
Traces of Trauma in Estonian Women’s Life Narratives of World War II

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on the autobiographical life narratives of two Estonian women, Maire Polashek and Aire Kolbre Salmre, who fled from Estonia to Germany in 1944, during the Great Escape to the West, and thence to third states later on, as well as Elin Toona Gottschalk’s memoir, all of which include descriptions of traumatic experiences or allusions to such experiences. Thematically, the stories and memories involve recollections of events that occurred during World War II, before the narrators and their families escaped from their homeland, their journey to Germany, and local life as displaced persons in one or several refugee camps or at a local German’s household. Several of the women use excerpts from their parents’ memories or diaries in their narratives, thereby seeking support for their own reminiscences. The purpose of the article is to explore the traces of war trauma that can be found in the autobiographical life narratives of Estonian women who as children reached Germany among the confusion of World War II, as well as the ways in which the traumatic experiences are mediated in the narratives.

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