Виллем Эрнитс (1891–1982) – первый эстонский полонист

Villem Ernits (1891–1982) – the first Estonian specialist in Polish philologyThe period between the two world wars – 1918–1939 – was the most fruitful time for Polish-Estonian cultural relations. The cooperation of Warsaw and Tallinn was especially intense in the 1930s, when the mutual interest of the countries culminated in the establishing of the department of the Estonian language in Poland. This article describes Villem Ernits’ work as a lecturer of Estonian in the University of Warsaw. The article also presents an overview of his scientific interests in the field of Slavonic philology during his work at the University of Tartu. Working as a teacher in both universities Ernits experienced two significant problems: there was inadequate research into teaching the subject, and the number of teaching materials was scarce. Although Ernits’ postwar pedagogical and scientific activity lies in the field of oriental studies, he can be definitely considered as one of the most important founders of the Polish-Estonian relations.