JOURNEYS TO UNITED STATES

For refugees fleeing communism after World War II, America stood out as a beacon of hope as “the land of the free.” The United States—unlike Sweden—had refused to recognize the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1940 and diplomatic representations in exile continued operating until independence was restored in 1991. Ernst Jaakson, the legendary consul general in New York, actively advocated on behalf of the postwar refugees in America.

The first Viking boats to land in 1945 galvanized popular support for the brave sailors. America was already familiar with Kõu Valter, the captain of the Estonia, because in 1930 he and his brother Ahto sailed across the Atlantic in a 26-foot-long (8 meters) sailboat and became media celebrities. The Erma, a 37-foot-long (11.2 meters) sloop, arrived next, completing a journey immortalized in Sailing to Freedom. This 1952 novel, coauthored by passenger Voldemar Veedam, became an international bestseller translated into 30 languages.

Despite public admiration for the brave sailors, nearly all of the refugees spent months on Ellis Island in New York before successfully petitioning to immigrate. Passengers on the Edith and Parita were refused entry and after months on Ellis Island, were sponsored by the Lutheran Church of Canada to settle in Canada. 

The arrival of the refugees helped trigger a debate on U.S. immigration. Quotas set in 1924—124 Estonians, 142 Latvians, and 344 Lithuanians were admitted annually—were inadequate for the post-war era. With the Cold War fanned by McCarthyism, the dramatic stories of refugees fleeing communism and risking all to live in freedom helped usher in changes in immigration legislation. 

President Harry S. Truman’s 1948 Displaced Persons Act opened the doors of America for 400,000 post-war refugees, making it possible to immigrate legally and ending one of the drivers behind the desperate Viking boat journeys. Additional legislation supporting immigration followed and between 1948 and 1952, about 12,000 Estonians entered the United States.