The collaboration between Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom and the Broken Cornflower Association has been ongoing for many years now but only recently did we sign an official cooperation pact.

To enable current school kids who have been born into a free Estonia to understand the true value of freedom we bring them in contact with those who were not so lucky and had to grow up during the Soviet Occupation and were targets of the regime’s repressions. During each of these events the students will have a chance to ask questions directly from those who were repressed by the Soviet regime and grew up in Siberia.

Having started the Meetup of Generations in early 2023, up to 15 events have happened in the series and more than a thousand kids across Estonia have been able to hear first-hand accounts of growing up in the remotest parts of the USSR, having to fight for a loaf of bread and their right to return home. More recently we have expanded the meetup series to (the offspring of) those who fled Estonia in 1944 and those who helped reinstate Estonian freedom in 1991.

Vabamu also supports student research work into the topics of Estonian recent history like deportations, mass flight and Soviet repressions. Every year we award several students for their outstanding research papers on these topics and also offer academic tutoring if necessary.