Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom Museum

The museum lesson “2 stories, 2 places – a journey of the senses into history” is primarily intended for students with special mental and learning disabilities, with whom we discuss what history is and why we study history. To better understand Estonia’s recent history, we will take a time journey to 1941 and 1944, where we will talk about deportation and the Great Escape through the story of 14-year-old Hans and Urve. We will use our senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell to illustrate the stories. On the journey, we will discover what Hans packed with him for deportation and what his home looked like far away in Siberia. Using emotion maps, we will discuss how Urve might have felt when she had to undertake an escape journey to the free world and what trials awaited her on the journey and in her new place of residence. At the end of the lesson, we will reflect on whether and what similarities there are in the stories of Hans and Urve compared to the stories of today's youth, both in Estonia and elsewhere.