Edgar de Wahl
Unlike his relatives,  did not leave to be  in 1939, deciding to stay in Estonia. , who represented the idealistic pan-European idea, did not like the National Socialist government of Germany, calling it a "termite state." Wahl may also have chosen to stay to avoid abandoning his large archive. The danger of ending up in a retirement home in Germany might also have played a role: this had happened to several of his acquaintances. De Wahl again avoided the  to Germany that took place in the winter and early spring of 1941. He was certainly aware of the opportunity to leave, for when asked about his plans by one of his former students, he replied, leaving no doubt that his decision was stay in Estonia: