A 3-Part Jewish Adventure to BaltoScandia, Part 3: Estonia - The Singing Nation with Evgenia Kempinski

June 23, 2022
Estonia - The Singing Nation
Today we travel to Estonia - a small country between the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea that is known for its woods, lakes, islands and medieval fortresses. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and where we will spend most of our tour time, is often called as ""the best-preserved medieval town in Northern Europe"". Although there is some evidence of Jewish presence in Estonia already back in the 14th century, the community was only formed after 1865, as a result of the reforms of the Russian Tsar Alexander II. TOUR ITINERARY - We begin our tour of 150 years of Jewish life in Estonia with the Jewish community's commercial success of late 19th century. Next, we learn about a phenomenon of Jewish cultural autonomy in the independent Estonia of 1920s - 1930s. We then examine the impact that the Holocaust and Soviet repression had on Jewish life in Estonia, touching on stories of Jewish refuseniks in Estonia in the late Soviet time. Finally, we come to the modern times, when the Jewish community was re-established in the Independent Estonia. We’ll visit the synagogue and Jewish Museum in Tallinn and learn about the modern Estonian attitude towards Jews, Israel, Holocaust and other sensitive subjects.