The annual Commemoration ceremony in remembrance of the victims of deportations from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be held on 2pm, Saturday 17 June 2023 at the Migration Museum on Kintore Avenue, Adelaide
This year will be the 82nd Anniversary of the first deportations that occurred on the 13th and 14th June 1941, when approximately 43,000 Baltic people were deported to the artic regions of the Soviet Union. Several thousand people were also killed or deported in the following two months by the Russian “destroyer” battalions that enforced Stalin’s “scorched earth” policy during their retreat from the invading German Army. A second wave of forced deportations occurred after the war, and between 1940 and 1954 approximately 10% of the population, some 605,000 people, were deported from their homes. Few of the deportees survived and were able to return to their homelands.
A wreath-laying ceremony will be held at 2pm on Saturday 17 June at the:
Migration Museum on Kintore Avenue, Adelaide
The ceremony includes a speech from the President of the Baltic Council of South Australia, laying of a wreath on the memorial wall plaque, and songs by the choirs. The event is held outdoors so bring an umbrella if there is a chance of rain on the day. The ceremony takes about 30 minutes. All are welcome to attend.
