Paper short abstract:

The presentation is focusing on the fate of key academic institutions of Estonian ethnology and the choices made by individual researchers in 1941–1944, to find out the functions of ethnology for different actors in Nazi-occupied Estonia.

Paper long abstract:

Estonian ethnology developed as a small but important branch of Estonian studies in the 1920s and 1930s. There were two centers, closely linked to each other – Tartu University and Estonian National Museum. Estonian ethnologists tended to be conscious patriots with clear national identity. Nazi Germany occupied Estonia from the summer of 1941 until the autumn of 1944. It is important to notice that it occurred after a year of the Soviet occupation. Nazis took ethnology quite seriously and tried to use it to substantiate their ideology and actions. How did Estonian ethnology and ethnologists fare under German rule? To what extent were they able to continue with their current research topics? What were the Nazis' plans for ethnological research on Estonians and Estonia? Did they try to exploit Estonian ethnologists? To what extent did Estonian ethnologists cooperate with the Nazis? Who did they have in mind as the audience for their research? In short, what were the functions of ethnology for the different actors in Nazi-occupied Estonia? To answer these questions, I will focus on the fate of key academic institutions and the choices made by individual researchers.