Ida-Maria Pajari
Karoliina Niinikoski
Introduction
Location of Tornio, Finland
Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences
THE LAPLAND WAR 1944-1945
- When, Who&Where?
- Conflicts
- Result
Evacuations of Civils
Real-life Story about Evacuation Time
Dark Tourism in Tornio (Ideas)
Kemi-Tornio University of Applied
Sciences
Kauppakatu 58 95400 Tornio Finland
The Lapland War
When, Who&Where?
Was fought between Finland and Nazi Germany from September
1944 to April 1945 in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province.
Why?
Both Finland and Germany (assisting Finland) were in war against
the Soviet Union. After Finland and Soviet Union made an
agreement of peace, one of the terms of the agreement was that
Finland needs to send all German soldiers away from the country.
The Lapland War
Conflicts
When the Continuation War ended, according to armistice, the
Germans should dispel from Finland by date 15
thof September in
1944 → The Lapland War started.
Some German soldiers have settled down already in Finland and
even having families there. Also relationship between Finland and
German have been stable. Now Soviet Union wanted Germans to
leave the country.
The Germans wanted to themselves at least a few places, like
a mine of Petsamo.
The Lapland War
Results:
The Finnish pushed Germans upper and upper to Finnish Lapland.
While the Germans backed up, they burned almost the whole Lapland:
Lots of bridges, roads, buildings and railways were destroyed.
They also hide and planted mines everywhere.
They burned the city of
Rovaniemi
almost complitely.
War activity and battles in
Tornio
(Germans landing to
Röyttä harbor, Tornio
)
Last place for war was in ”arm” of Finland where the Germans packed down
to Norway.
Different kind of buildings and even some (war) items can still be found in
different parts of Lapland.
Evacuations of the civils
12 000 people was evacuated before the war.
Most of the citizens were evacuated to
Ostrobothnia and elsewhere of Finland.
Because there were 400 000 other evacuated
people from other part of Finland (Karelia), the
help was asked from Sweden.
In the end Sweden accepted 56 500 evacuees
From Lapland was evacuated 75% of all, 168
Real-life Story about Evacuations
Hilma Hepola, ikä: 75, nainen
’’Koulu olis alkanu mutta sitte se sota alako. Tuli evakkovarotus, nii kouluun emmä
päässeet.. Yhtenä pyhäaamuma laitoimma aamupallaa (korvikeesta) ja kylässä oli vieraitaki,
mutta pari tiimaa siittä nii sitte rupes tulehman kranaatteja liiterin seihnään. Lähimmä
Pirkkiön koulule venheelä ja olimma sielä yön. Aamula met menthin rautatiesiltaa Ruottiin,
sielä ruottalaiset sotihlaat tuliva vasthan ja kantoivat meät Haaparanthaan Ruottiin. Aluksi
olimma teltoissa. Sitte liikuima Haaparannalta 10 km mettään ja asuima sotilasparakeissa
parisen viikkoa.
Kotia palatessa näky saksalaisten ruumiita. Meän talole ei tehty pirruutta mutta joen toisela
puolen palo pirttejä.’’
Ensimmäisenä ruumiit kerättiin pois ja jälleenrakennus alkoi. Heille ei tullut tuhoja. Toisella
puolen jokea talo paloi ja kilometrin päässä josta kylätie alkaa, paloi kiinteistöjä. Elämä
jatkui pikkuhiljaa normaalisti, köyhää sota-aikana kuitenkin oli.
Saksalaisiin ei suhtauduttu jälkeenpäin vihamielisesti.
Pikku Berliini = metsä, saksalaisten asuttama alue.
Real-life Story about Evacuations
(Hilma Hepola, age:75, female, was 7 years during the war)
’’It was something in the end of summer and school was about to begun. I was 7 years old back then.
One Sunday morning we were making breakfast from nutrition substitute because food was really hard to get. We had also some guests with us. Then the alarm of evacuation came and grenades started to fly towards the warehouse of our home.
We travelled with a small boat in the river towards the school of Pirkkiö in Tornio. We stayed over the night there. In the morning the walked on top of the railroad towards to Haparanda, Sweden. On the halfway Swedish soldiers came and they carried us childrens over the border to Sweden. During the trip there was some grenade attack and we went down and hide ourselves in to the closest trench next to the road.
First we were accommodated in to tents and later on to containers in the woods, about 10 kilometres away.
We stayed there couple of weeks and then returned back to our home.
When we came back home we save bodies of the German soldiers. Parents told to their children that they were just sleeping.
Our home didn’t suffer any damages but across the river (200-300 meters) house we burned down. People started to clean and re-build the places and bury the bodies.
Life was continuing but of course it was very poor time because of the war.’’
However, people didn’t hate Germans afterwards and there was even some born or unborn children of the German soldiers excisting (soldiers might still have own family back in Germany). Also some Finnish women left to Germany.