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Soviet prisoners of war in Finland
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Soviet prisoners of war in Finland
Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II were captured in two Soviet-Finnish conflicts of that period: the Winter War and the Continuation War. The Finns took about 5,700 POWs during the Winter War, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. However, during the Continuation War the Finns took 64,000 POWs, of whom almost 30 percent died.
The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Winter War (1939–1940) was 5,700, of whom 135 died. Most of them were captured in Finnish pockets (motti) north of Lake Ladoga. The war lasted only 105 days and most of the deceased POWs were either seriously wounded or sick. Some of the POWs, at least 152 men, enlisted in the so-called Russian Liberation Army in Finland. They were not allowed to take part in combat. After the war, some members of the Liberation Army managed to escape to a third country.
After the Winter War, the Soviet POWs were returned to the USSR in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty. They were transported under heavy guard by the NKVD to special camps as suspected traitors. Prisoners were interrogated by 50 person research teams. After lengthy investigations 414 were found to be "active in traitorous activities while in captivity" out of which 334 criminal cases were transferred to the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union, which sentenced 232 people to death. 450 prisoners were released, but most of them, 4,354 men, were sentenced to three to ten years in labour camps (gulag). This would lead to the later death of some of the prisoners due to harsh camp conditions.
The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Continuation War (1941–1944) was about 64,000. Most of them were captured in 1941 (56,000 persons). The first Soviet POWs were taken in June 1941 and were transferred to reserve prisons in Karvia, Köyliö, Huittinen and Pelso (a village in modern-day municipality of Vaala). Soon Finnish administration realized that the number of POWs was much greater than initially estimated, and established 32 new prison camps in 1941–1944. However, not all of them were used at the same time as POWs were used as a labour force in different projects around the country.
The Finns did not pay much attention to the living conditions of the Soviet POWs at the beginning of the war, as the war was expected to be of short duration. The quantity and quality of camp personnel was very low, as the more qualified men were at the front. It was not until the middle of 1942 that the quantity and quality of camp personnel was improved. There was a shortage of labour in Finland and authorities assigned POWs to forest and agricultural work, as well as the construction of fortification lines. Some Soviet officers cooperated with the Finnish authorities and were released from prison by the end of the war.
Finnic prisoners who were captured on the fronts or transferred by Germany were separated from other Soviet POWs. At the end of 1942 volunteers could join the Finnish battalion Heimopataljoona 3, which consisted of Baltic Finns such as Karelians, Ingrian Finns, Votians and Veps.
About 2,600–2,800 Soviet prisoners of war were handed over to the Germans in exchange for roughly 2,200 Finnic prisoners of war held by the Germans. In November 2003, the Simon Wiesenthal Center submitted an official request to Finnish President Tarja Halonen for a full-scale investigation by the Finnish authorities of the prisoner exchange. In the subsequent study by Professor Heikki Ylikangas it turned out that about 2,000 of the exchanged prisoners joined the Russian Liberation Army. The rest, mostly army and political officers, (among them a name-based estimate of 74 Jews), most likely perished in Nazi concentration camps.
Most of the deaths among Soviet POWs, 16,136, occurred in the ten-month period from December 1941 to September 1942. Prisoners died due to bad camp conditions and the poor supply of food, shelter, clothing, and health care. About a thousand POWs, 5 percent of total fatalities, were shot, primarily in escape attempts. Punishment for escape attempts or serious violations of camp rules included solitary confinement and execution. Out of 64,188 Soviet POWs, from 18,318 to 19,085 died in Finnish prisoner of war camps.
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Soviet prisoners of war in Finland
Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II were captured in two Soviet-Finnish conflicts of that period: the Winter War and the Continuation War. The Finns took about 5,700 POWs during the Winter War, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. However, during the Continuation War the Finns took 64,000 POWs, of whom almost 30 percent died.
The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Winter War (1939–1940) was 5,700, of whom 135 died. Most of them were captured in Finnish pockets (motti) north of Lake Ladoga. The war lasted only 105 days and most of the deceased POWs were either seriously wounded or sick. Some of the POWs, at least 152 men, enlisted in the so-called Russian Liberation Army in Finland. They were not allowed to take part in combat. After the war, some members of the Liberation Army managed to escape to a third country.
After the Winter War, the Soviet POWs were returned to the USSR in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty. They were transported under heavy guard by the NKVD to special camps as suspected traitors. Prisoners were interrogated by 50 person research teams. After lengthy investigations 414 were found to be "active in traitorous activities while in captivity" out of which 334 criminal cases were transferred to the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union, which sentenced 232 people to death. 450 prisoners were released, but most of them, 4,354 men, were sentenced to three to ten years in labour camps (gulag). This would lead to the later death of some of the prisoners due to harsh camp conditions.
The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Continuation War (1941–1944) was about 64,000. Most of them were captured in 1941 (56,000 persons). The first Soviet POWs were taken in June 1941 and were transferred to reserve prisons in Karvia, Köyliö, Huittinen and Pelso (a village in modern-day municipality of Vaala). Soon Finnish administration realized that the number of POWs was much greater than initially estimated, and established 32 new prison camps in 1941–1944. However, not all of them were used at the same time as POWs were used as a labour force in different projects around the country.
The Finns did not pay much attention to the living conditions of the Soviet POWs at the beginning of the war, as the war was expected to be of short duration. The quantity and quality of camp personnel was very low, as the more qualified men were at the front. It was not until the middle of 1942 that the quantity and quality of camp personnel was improved. There was a shortage of labour in Finland and authorities assigned POWs to forest and agricultural work, as well as the construction of fortification lines. Some Soviet officers cooperated with the Finnish authorities and were released from prison by the end of the war.
Finnic prisoners who were captured on the fronts or transferred by Germany were separated from other Soviet POWs. At the end of 1942 volunteers could join the Finnish battalion Heimopataljoona 3, which consisted of Baltic Finns such as Karelians, Ingrian Finns, Votians and Veps.
About 2,600–2,800 Soviet prisoners of war were handed over to the Germans in exchange for roughly 2,200 Finnic prisoners of war held by the Germans. In November 2003, the Simon Wiesenthal Center submitted an official request to Finnish President Tarja Halonen for a full-scale investigation by the Finnish authorities of the prisoner exchange. In the subsequent study by Professor Heikki Ylikangas it turned out that about 2,000 of the exchanged prisoners joined the Russian Liberation Army. The rest, mostly army and political officers, (among them a name-based estimate of 74 Jews), most likely perished in Nazi concentration camps.
Most of the deaths among Soviet POWs, 16,136, occurred in the ten-month period from December 1941 to September 1942. Prisoners died due to bad camp conditions and the poor supply of food, shelter, clothing, and health care. About a thousand POWs, 5 percent of total fatalities, were shot, primarily in escape attempts. Punishment for escape attempts or serious violations of camp rules included solitary confinement and execution. Out of 64,188 Soviet POWs, from 18,318 to 19,085 died in Finnish prisoner of war camps.
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