Vello Helk (23 September 1923, in

Varstu Varstu is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Rõuge Parish, Võru County in southeastern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Fi ...

, Estonia – 14 March 2014) was an eminent

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

historian of

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

origin. Helk was mobilized in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

army in 1944 and was forced to go to Germany. From there he fled to Denmark in 1945, where he attended the

University of Århus Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra G ...

from 1947, where he studied history, Latin and German. He concentrated on the history of Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, and his main work was about the Norwegian

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Laurentius Nicolai Laurids Nilsen (Norwegian), ''Lars Nilsson'' (Swedish) or ''Laurentius Nicolai Norvegus'' (Latin), known in Sweden as Kloster-Lasse or Convent-Lawrence (1538, Tønsberg, Denmark–Norway – 1622, Vilnius, Lithuania), was a Norwegian Jesuit, active ...

, who tried to re-catholicize Scandinavia. He also has written an extensive survey about the Jesuits in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

and had studied the history of Scandinavian students in Southern European universities from 1536 to 1864. He is also interested in Danish-Estonian contacts, especially in the 16th Century, and also during the Estonian War of Independence. Helk's main works are written in German or Danish and some of them are also translated to

...

. Helk worked for over 30 years (1959–1990) in the Danish National Archives, where he was leader of the 4th section from 1970 to 1990, and in 1978–1979 he was the deputy main archivist of Denmark. In 1990 he retired. In 1996 Vello Helk was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Tartu.TARTU ÜLIKOOLI AUDOKTORID
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helk, Vello 1923 births 2014 deaths People from Rõuge Parish 20th-century Danish historians 21st-century Danish historians Historians of Europe Historians of Estonia Estonian World War II refugees Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 3rd Class Estonian emigrants to Denmark