(Sigvaldi Eggertsson) wrote in message . com...
(PJDBAD) wrote in message ...
The spin on the Finns is that they weren't allies of Germany but
cobelligerents against a common enemy, the Soviet Union. I'm willing to
buy into the idea that there is a difference between the two.

When the Finns, in the late summer of 1941, stopped upon reaching the
old border, most people were ready to buy the idea, but when they went
on to more conquests (dreams of "Greater Finland" etc.) few considered
them to be more than mere allies of the Nazis.

Dear Mr. Eggertsson,

Your post was interesting. When you wrote that "*few* considered them to be
more than mere allies of the Nazis", to which people(s) did your "few" refer?

As far as I know, there remains much sensitivity in Finland today about its
participation in the Continuation War (1941-44). Naturally, the Finns prefer
to place as much distance as possible between their objectives and those of
Hitler during that war against their common enemy, the Soviet Union. My
impression is that there were some Finnish nationalists who dreamed of
annexing East Karelia, but I am not certain of how influential they were
in determining Finland's national policies.

As far as I know, during the Continuation War, the military collaboration
between the Finns and the Germans was substantial, though not quite complete.
Finland declined the German invitation to join a direct assault on Leningrad,
but the Finnish forces were an integral part of that city's terrible blockade.
The Finns provided logistical support for the German attempt to capture or to
interdict Murmansk, a vital Soviet seaport for convoys from the United Kingdom.
Finnish and German units often fought alongside in combined operations, and
individual Finnish and German soldiers tended to work well together. And some
Finnish volunteers fought in the Waffen-SS, under direct German command.

Although the Finns (apart from those in the Waffen-SS) were not generally
motivated by the Nazi ideology that tended to dehumanise the Soviet peoples
as vermin, given their bitter memories of the Winter War (1939-40), the Finns
also tended to fight the Soviet soldiers ruthlessly and to treat the Soviet
civilians who were suspected of aiding partisans with hardly any more mercy
than the Germans. In Axis-occupied territories, Soviet civilians feared
military reprisals from the Finns as well as those from the Germans.

In fairness to the Finns, it was difficult for them to adopt a more independent
position because they depended nearly completely, apart from reusing captured
Soviet arms, on the Germans to supply their heavy weapons. For example, late
in the war, the Germans finally agreed to provide the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air
Force) with some modern Messerschmitt Bf-109G fighters, which the veteran
Finnish pilots then proceeded to fly with much success.

Of course, Finland's most important achievement of the Continuation War--at
the cost of many lives and some territory (vis-a-vis the 1939 border)--was
simply in preserving its national independence.

"The cruelty of memory manifests itself in remembering what is dispelled in
forgetfulness."
--Naguib Mahfouz

--Nick