Smugglers, spies & escapes · 09.1944
Puise beach and the Great Flight of 1944
In autumn 1944, as the Red Army returned, tens of thousands of Estonians fled across the Baltic to Sweden in whatever would float. Puise beach in Läänemaa was one of the places they set out from, and hundreds of people waited here for a place on a boat. About 5,000 are thought to have been lost at sea. A memorial by the sculptor Aivar Simson was unveiled on the beach in 2020. The idea came from Heidi Ivask, who had waited on this shore as a child with her mother.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
1944. aasta sügisel, kui Punaarmee tagasi tuli, põgenesid kümned tuhanded eestlased üle Läänemere Rootsi kõigega, mis vee peal püsis. Läänemaal asuv Puise rand oli üks lähtekohti ning sajad inimesed ootasid siin paadikohta. Arvatakse, et merel hukkus umbes 5000 inimest. 2020. aastal avati rannas skulptor Aivar Simsoni mälestusmärk. Idee pärines Heidi Ivaskilt, kes oli lapsena koos emaga sellel rannal paati oodanud.
Source: ERR News, 18 September 2020 (the memorial’s unveiling). ↗