Historical empathy is crucial for understanding history. However, there are no clear guidelines for museum educators to back up their actions accordingly. This case study describes an activity developed in the Estonian Maritime Museum (Seaplane Harbour permanent exhibition) for secondary students using a historical empathy framework. The aim of the activity, "We'll be back by Christmas" was to enact the experiences of Baltic refugees of 1944 and broaden students' understanding about WWII events. Students and teachers were observed and interviewed. Students had vivid memories of their museum visit three months after their visit; they demonstrated that they were able to see beyond modern viewpoints and explain the actions through the eyes of historical refugees, and they felt motivated by learning in the museum. The key element for developing historical empathy in the museum seems to be meaningful collaboration with classroom teachers, as there is not enough time during a visit to cover the content deeply enough. We conclude that the historical empathy framework can help museum educators focus programming and enhance collaboration with classroom teachers.