Screening of the documentary In the Footsteps of Jakub Grossmann

On October 3rd, the embassy welcomed Milan Grossmann, the grandson of Jakub Grossmann, who was forced to flee Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia on foot through the Ostrava mines in 1939. His journey led through Poland to the Baltics, where after Riga he also visited Tallinn. He then continued to France via Sweden, where he joined the Czechoslovak troops. Despite his heroism and unprecedented journey, his story was forgotten, and Milan gradually uncovered it by studying sources of that time. Milan Grossmann is now touring Europe to honour his memory. The documentary film, which tells both the story of Jakub and the story of Milan, was screened at the Eesti Mälu Instituut, where the film was introduced by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Estonia, David Král.

Debate after the screening.

After the screening, a lively debate began with the participation of Estonian director and screenwriter Ilmar Raag and the director of the Institute Meelis Maripuu. The latter helped Milan discover, by studying the Estonian Archives, a significant part of his grandfather's journey through Estonia. The debate moved from the subject of the film to the actual production to funny stories from the filming. For Milan and his team, the message of the freedom we have today compared to his grandfather's time is important, but also the story of Amelie Posse-Brázdová, who helped Czechoslovak refugees from Sweden during the Second World War, including Jakub Grossmann. In the end, there were proposals for a film number 2, which would tell the story from the perspective of Jakub's wife Marie, but more on that later. The pleasant debate was followed by little snack and the guests toasted with excellent Moravian wine. We thank the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, and especially Milan and his film and production assistant Filip Kotaček for the visit and a very enjoyable evening.

Debate after the screening.