Not to be confused with the Finnish children who were born during World War II in Finland (baby boomers), or with the Finnish children who were born to foreign troops and Finnish women during World War II.
During World War II some 70,000 Finnish children (Finnish: sotalapset, the 'war children' Swedish: krigsbarn) were evacuated from Finland, chiefly to Sweden, but also to Norway and Denmark.[1] Most were evacuated during the Continuation War (1941–1944) to ease the situation for their parents who set out to rebuild their homes in the re-conquered Karelia returning from the 1940 evacuation of Finnish Karelia. The first surge of evacuees arrived, however, during the Winter War when the Finns had reasons to fear a humanitarian catastrophe following the expected Soviet occupation.
Finnish war children in Turku, 1939.Identification document and tag of a Finnish war child.
In retrospect, the evacuation has been considered psychologically flawed, as the separations turned out to inflict a far greater damage on the evacuees than the damage suffered by those children who had remained with their parents in Finland. In comparison to Finland's approximately 23,000 military deaths in the Winter War, the 66,000 in the Continuation War, and the total of 2,000 civilian deaths – and the roughly equally many seriously wounded – the war children were, of course, not physically injured, let alone killed. However, their number is of about the same size as that of the war invalids, and many of them feel their sufferings to be ignored.
After the war, Finland experienced times of economic hardship, and also substantial insecurity with regard to the Soviet Union's plans for Finland, which resulted in the delay of the return of the children for several years. Ultimately, about 20% of the war children stayed with their foster families after the war, who often adopted them. Many more returned to Sweden as adults, when the prolonged post-war hardship in Finland pushed large contingents of unemployed Finns to Sweden's booming economy in the 1950s–60s.
2005 film – Mother of Mineedit
Mother of Mine (Finnish: Äideistä parhain, Swedish: Den bästa av mödrar) is a 2005 Finnish-Swedish film directed by Klaus Härö about a Finnish war child who is sent by his mother to live in Sweden during World War II. The film is based on a novel by Heikki Hietamies. It received good reviews from the Finnish press, and was selected as Finland's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards.
Notable peopleedit
Notable people who, as a child, were evacuated from Finland to Sweden during World War II:
^Korppi- Tommola, Aura. "War and children in Finland during the Second World War." 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine p. 445–455. Paedagogica Historica Vol. 44, No. 4, August 8, 2008
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finnish war children.
March 01, 2024
finnish, children, confused, with, finnish, children, were, born, during, world, finland, baby, boomers, with, finnish, children, were, born, foreign, troops, finnish, women, during, world, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, hel. Not to be confused with the Finnish children who were born during World War II in Finland baby boomers or with the Finnish children who were born to foreign troops and Finnish women during World War II This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Finnish war children news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message During World War II some 70 000 Finnish children Finnish sotalapset the war children Swedish krigsbarn were evacuated from Finland chiefly to Sweden but also to Norway and Denmark 1 Most were evacuated during the Continuation War 1941 1944 to ease the situation for their parents who set out to rebuild their homes in the re conquered Karelia returning from the 1940 evacuation of Finnish Karelia The first surge of evacuees arrived however during the Winter War when the Finns had reasons to fear a humanitarian catastrophe following the expected Soviet occupation Finnish war children in Turku 1939 Identification document and tag of a Finnish war child Contents 1 Effects 2 Fate 3 2005 film Mother of Mine 4 Notable people 5 See also 6 Notes and references 7 External linksEffects editIn retrospect the evacuation has been considered psychologically flawed as the separations turned out to inflict a far greater damage on the evacuees than the damage suffered by those children who had remained with their parents in Finland In comparison to Finland s approximately 23 000 military deaths in the Winter War the 66 000 in the Continuation War and the total of 2 000 civilian deaths and the roughly equally many seriously wounded the war children were of course not physically injured let alone killed However their number is of about the same size as that of the war invalids and many of them feel their sufferings to be ignored nbsp A Finnish war child in Boden Sweden Fate editAfter the war Finland experienced times of economic hardship and also substantial insecurity with regard to the Soviet Union s plans for Finland which resulted in the delay of the return of the children for several years Ultimately about 20 of the war children stayed with their foster families after the war who often adopted them Many more returned to Sweden as adults when the prolonged post war hardship in Finland pushed large contingents of unemployed Finns to Sweden s booming economy in the 1950s 60s 2005 film Mother of Mine editMother of Mine Finnish Aideista parhain Swedish Den basta av modrar is a 2005 Finnish Swedish film directed by Klaus Haro about a Finnish war child who is sent by his mother to live in Sweden during World War II The film is based on a novel by Heikki Hietamies It received good reviews from the Finnish press and was selected as Finland s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards Notable people editNotable people who as a child were evacuated from Finland to Sweden during World War II Jean Cronstedt born 1932 Swedish gymnast Toini Gustafsson born 1938 Swedish cross country skier Pentti Kaskipuro 1930 2010 Finnish artist Laila Kinnunen 1939 2000 Finnish singer Frej Lindqvist born 1937 Swedish actor Carita Nystrom 1940 2019 Finnish writer poet journalist and feminist Pentti Saarikoski 1937 1983 Finnish poetSee also editEvacuation of children in the Spanish Civil War from the north of the Second Spanish Republic to various European countries Notes and references edit Korppi Tommola Aura War and children in Finland during the Second World War Archived 2011 10 07 at the Wayback Machine p 445 455 Paedagogica Historica Vol 44 No 4 August 8 2008External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finnish war children Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Finnish war children amp oldid 1084658812, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
