Wednesday 24 August 2016

A Look at the Estonian WWII Refugee Camp Geislingen

Geislingen Displaced Persons camp was the largest refugee camp for Estonians after World War Two. It was located near Stuttgart in southern Germany and housed over 2000 Estonians in repossessed German houses and other buildings. Despite the fact that Estonian refugees faced a bleak and uncertain future after WWII, (they lived in daily fear of being repatriated to Soviet-occupied Estonia) life went on in the camps and Estonian culture continued to thrive.

Many of the larger camps including Geislingen produced their own newspaper and many handicraft, dance, drama, choir and sports groups were formed. 

If your parents or grandparents were Estonian WWII refugees, you might find this booklet about Geislingen DP camp most interesting.

Poem about Geislingen written by Karl Torro.

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