The Baltic University in Exile was established by Baltic refugees in Germany to educate students from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, who had been forced to put their studies on hold and flee the advancing Red Army.

While the university only operated for a few years (1946–1949), its existence highlighted the motivation and organizational strength of Baltic refugees in the post–World War II period.

On Thursday, March 19, a special screening of Dutch filmmaker Helga Merits' 2015 documentary "The Story of the Baltic University" will be held at the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn to mark the university's 80th anniversary.

In Merits' film, former students from the three Baltic countries recount the story of the Baltic University through interviews, rare footage, documents, and photographs, reconstructing the story of a unique institution that should not be forgotten.

Merits first encountered the Baltic University when going through papers belonging to her Estonian father.

"I found his study book of the Baltic University and also a small diary. In this diary he wrote that he was so happy to leave the depressing refugee camp and start a new life," Merits explains.

Merits' father only studied at the university for a short period, as he contracted tuberculosis (TB) and had to spend almost three years in a sanatorium. When he left, the university no longer existed, and most of the students had emigrated.

Nonetheless, Merits was curious to find out more.

When she later discovered a text by Robert Riggle, an American working for UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), she knew she had to create something connected to the subject.

"As a former university professor, I knew only too well the complications of university life and the problems of its administration functioning in normal communities in times of peace and plenty," Riggle had written.

"But the idea of daring to attempt to create a university in the midst of chaos, when even the necessities of life were hard to come by, was the kind of exaggerated adventure to which a man cannot say no."

As Merits points out, "for Robert Riggle it was an adventure, but for the academic staff it was about their work, their life and their future."

Merits decided to make a documentary about the university to show the hope, courage, and determination of its staff and students.

She also wanted to demonstrate "what can be achieved, even in the most difficult circumstances, by people of different nationalities, who speak different languages and have different backgrounds, if there is a common goal."

"The story of the Baltic University is a story we all can learn from," Merits wrote.

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"The Story of the Baltic University" will be shown at Vabamu in English with Estonian subtitles from 6 p.m.

The screening is followed by a discussion and Q&A with filmmaker Helga Merits, literary scholar Tiina Kirss, whose parents attended the university, and telecommunications engineer Guntis Berzins, whose parents lectured at the university – his mother serving as an associate professor. 

Before the film, there will also be an introductory guided tour of Vabamu's new temporary exhibition, "Estonia Worldwide," by one of the curators, Ede Schank Tamkivi, starting at 5.15 p.m.

The exhibition explores the history of Estonian migration over the past 150 years. In February, curators Martin Vaino and Ede Schank Tamkivi spoke to ERR News about "Estonia Worldwide" and what it means to be Estonian in a multicultural world.

That article can be found here.

The event is free, though due to limited seating, advance registration is required via the link here.

More information about the documentary "The Story of the Baltic University" is available here. 

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