In August 1939, the Soviet Union signed a friendship treaty with Nazi Germany that facilitated the coordinated start of WWII, when Stalin’s Red Army and Hitler’s forces attacked Poland. The treaty, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, carved up Europe between the Soviets and Nazis, whereby Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were assigned to Stalin for violent annexation and colonization.
In order to break down resistance against Soviet colonization, Stalin ordered mass arrests and deportations to forcibly displace indigenous populations and secure the illegal Soviet annexation of all three Baltic nations.
The violent terror that Stalin imposed on the Baltic States, provoked a mass exodus of refugees in 1944, who fled the return of advancing Soviet forces – which brought with it mass human rights abuses and a new wave of repressions.
Millions fled, many arriving in Canada, where they found refuge and have contributed to building the prosperous, just and tolerant nation we know today.
It is even more important this year, in the wake of Russia’s barbaric imperialist invasion of Ukraine and the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainians and Ukrainian children by Russian forces, to never forget this history.
The launch of a new exhibition about Estonia’s struggle for independence will also be launched in the Rotunda of Toronto City Hall after the candle lighting ceremony and we invite all members of our communities to visit the exhibition between June 14–21.
