Even a cursory look at the historical chronology shows that the unfolding of these dramatic events held ominous, permanent changes both in the political destiny of the Baltic republics, and the lives of individuals, families, and kin networks.
The first speaker, Prof. Juris Dreifelds, Professor of Political Science at Brock University, presented a comparative analysis of the impact of the 25 March 1949 deportations in Latvia and Estonia, including motivations, political strategies, repercussions for communities left behind, and the experience of those who returned from Siberia. He grounded his discussion in the ways this event affected his own extended family.
Prof. Jüri Kivimäe`s presentation highlighted ways in which the casualties of the 9 March 1944 air raid on Tallinn were a cameo of the losses that spanned the years of World War II, and that marked the physical and human geography of the Baltics Autumn 1944 saw the flight into exile of thousands of Baltic people in the wake of a second Soviet occupation.
Wartorn Germany and Sweden were the main destinations, but, as Prof. Tiina Kirss demonstrated through literary texts and life histories, closer scrutiny reveals much more heterogeneity and complexity to these journeys.
The academic programme was followed by a a period of silence kept in memory of those who suffered and did not survive the events of 1944 and 1949.
Subsequently, the second part of the programme provided background and a prelude to the upcoming 19th conference on Baltic Studies, to be held at the University of Toronto 3-5 June 2004. The title of the conference is „Dynamics of Integration and Identity: The Baltics in Europe and the World.“
Professors Olev Träss, Toivo Miljan, and Juris Dreifelds, all of whom were active in organizing the three previous Baltic Studies conferences held in Toronto in 1972, 1978, and 1992, provided a lively exchange of vignettes and observations about those conferences.
Particularly engaging was the account of how scholars from the Baltics gained access to this scholarly forum and the interest with which they were met when they attended the Canadian conferences. It is the hope of the organizers that despite changed historical circumstances, the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies as a scholarly organization will draw upon the strengths of its dynamic past to craft an equally dynamic future.
After the programme there was opportunity for the approximately 70 participants to mingle, enjoy refreshments of both Latvian and Estonian provenance, to browse a booktable graciously provided by the Latvian Cultural Centre and staffed by Ms. Dace Veinberga, an active member of the Toronto Latvian community and Registrar for the June conference.
AABS publications were also available, as was the poster for the colloquium, ably designed by Amanda Wager of the University of Toronto.
We hope that this successful evening will provoke and entice many in the audience to submit scholarly papers, and to plan on participating in the conference and its attendant cultural events.