Jewish Scene
The unique story of Finland's Jews
Tamir Cohen
Published: 29.09.09, 07:58
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31. THE BIRTH OF FINLAND
lea ,   FINLAND   (09.30.09)
Finland was a part of Sweden in 1323 - 1809 and under Russia in 1809 - 1917. Sweden didn't "sell" Finland to the USSR as it was Russia then (1809). Finland was a part of Sweden since the crusades about 1150 AD, although first in 1323 there was the peace treaty where this was officially stated in the "peace of Pähkinäsaari". Finland was given to Russia after the "FINNISH WAR". The reason of this war was that Napoleon wanted to force Sweden into the embargo of Britain by suggesting to the Russians to attack Sweden. The Swedes were not very motivated to fight and it was relatively easy for the Russians to occupy Finland (Swedes are said to fight for their country "to the last Finn", LOL). Some Finnish troops could not resist the Russian army, and there was also a willingness of the Finns to be rather under Russia (!) than under Sweden. Russia granted an extensive autonomy to Finland and this eventually lead to the rise of the Finnish nation which, however, got its independence only in 1917, after the birth of the USSR (in 1917; until this it was Russia under the czar). Russia had increasingly oppressed Finland in the beginning of the 20th century trying to abolish the Finnish autonomy, which lead to the demands of independence. This independence was perhaps surprisingly granted by Lenin, who thought that the Russian revolution would also spread into Finland, which then would become a part of the communist USSR (this miscalculation was our fortune!).
32. t 28
joel livak ,   ramat hasharon   (10.01.09)
finlan was no nazi ally .they just had the same intersts in 1941 .germany wanted toattack soviet union and finlan wanted to regain her territories brutally taken fro her in 1939 by soviets .pls answer me if finland was nazi ally why no finnish jews were given to germans .why after thhe war Winston churchill said to treat finns with biggest sympathy and humanity even they were in the wrong side. and why finland was admired by the whole world after the war .that could not have been riht if finlan was a nzi ally.
33. Dan Berger
Oscar ,   Guatemala   (10.01.09)
"During the Continuation War (1941-1944) Finland was co-belligerent with Nazi Germany, and dependent on food, fuel and armament shipments from Germany. The country did, however, retain a democratic form of government. During the war Germany and Finland were united by a common enemy, the Soviet Union, yet Finland kept her army outside the German command structure despite numerous attempts to tie them more tightly together. Finnish Jews were not persecuted, and even among extremists of the Finnish Right they were highly tolerated, as many leaders of the movement came from the clergy. Of approximately five hundred Jewish refugees, eight were handed over to the Germans, a fact for which Finnish prime minister Paavo Lipponen issued an official apology in 2000. The field synagogue operated by the Finnish army was probably a unique phenomenon in Europe." G'd bless Finland, land of Nokia, saunas and gorgeous women :)
34. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.02.09)
Thanx for your truthful comments, Joel and Oscar! There are many Russians who can't stand that the small FINLAND survived against the MIGHTY USSR --> this fact is hard to accept to many Russians until now. Dan Berger, you sound more like a communist!? You wanted to hang Mannerheim, who saved many ppl -- but how about Stalin, who killed 50 mill ppl, even his own ppl! Even starved the Ukranian farmers to death, when they didn't obey him. I read a very interesting research made by a British Jew (it's a pity that the link of it doesn't exist any more). She told that she is always grateful to our Field Marshal Mannerheim, who saved so many Jews in Finland and didn't bomb Leningrad (and he also refused to siege Leningrad at all), what he may have easily done. He thus saved thousands of Jews of Leningrad, because Mannerheim wanted more to save ppl. This researcher had many family members and relatives in Leningrad and is still so grateful to Mannerheim because of this. She wrote much about Mannerheim's wise tactics and humanity in the ww2, and that Mannerheim couldn't stand Hitler, but made use of German's help (NOT its ally). Mannerheim is Finland's HERO NUMBER ONE. There have been memorials on behalf of Finnish Jewish soldiers fighting for Finland in ww2 (until these days). My family members and relatives (who fought in the Winter, Continuation and Lapland Wars) have told many facts about ww2. The independent Finland has always had a compulsory army, you may guess why... Finns are fighters and survivors -- by the aid of great Finnish SISU (= extreme will power).
35. finland
joel livak ,   ramat hasharon   (10.02.09)
Kol hakavod to Lea Ariella Oleg Robert Joe and Oscar where is Atilla he went back to Turkey/
36. Baruch Hashem
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.02.09)
Toda Joel ! Almost all of our grandfathers, uncles, fathers etc. are now dead, who have fought in 3 wars in the ww2. We deeply respect those war veterans who are still alive. The situation after ww2 has been still unstable regarding to Russia. Our brave Finnish soldiers have fought Finland free and every Finn knows how hard work it has been to get it. The independence is very important to every Finn, we appreciate it very deeply. The USSR attacked Finland WITHOUT ANY DECLARATION OF WAR in the middle of the night 30.11.1939 -- despite the NON-AGGRESSION PACT between the USSR and Finland. Four days before this the USSR said that Finland had been shooting Russian territory, but in fact Russians were shooting these shoots themselves (these shoots are called the "Shoots of Mainila"), of which the USSR blamed Finland. ---> And that was the USSR's "reason" to attack Finland. When the USSR attacked Finland surprisingly, Finland couldn't believe that a war would brake out and thus was not prepared for a war. The USSR demanded Finland to disarm the German troops still in the country, and that resulted in the war of Lapland, where the Germans burned practically all of Lapland when the retreating. Germans also did other damage in Finland (to ppl etc). In the terms of the peace treaty Finland had to pay WAR COMPENSATIONS in 1944 - 1952 to the USSR and there was also Russian CONTROL COMMISSION, who oversaw that the terms were followed. This Commission required that Finnish "war criminals" (in their view) should be punished; even our president Risto Ryti was sentenced to prison and some other top-politicians. All these sad occasions happened without any reason, but this commission just wanted a revenge.. Our brave soldiers succeeded in the ww2, because they were used to the cold (-45 C), the forests and because of their SISU, wisdom, skillful Mannerheim and by the help of G'd. Germans and Russians were not used to fight in forest and the cold. This ww2 was from the Finnish view point also full of miracles, the miracles of G'd -- G'd guided and protected Finland in many marvelous ways (Finnish soldiers were rescued from many dangerous situations), B'Ezrat HaShem.
37. Finland
J.K. ,   Brooklyn USA   (10.04.09)
The Liaison Officer between the Finn Army and the Germans was a Jewish Officer,(the Germans must have liked that very much) # 22 Mr Berger ! you must be a old bolshevic still infatuated with comrade Stalin. Finland had every right to join forces with Germany against the soviets,parts of finland were stollen by Stalin from Finland at gun point,Churchil considerd sending troops to help Finland against the soviets.It is true the red Army saved the remnants of Jews in Europe,by breaking the back of the Germans,but the glorious red Army was not so glorious in how they treated their Jewish comrades,a Finn Jewish officer recalled how Jewish prisoners of war were abused by their comrades in Finn captivity.A Jewish woman in hiding in Hungary emerged after the red army arrived,she approached an officer in yidish asking for help telling him:I know you are a Jew,the officer ,horrified,hushed her down,so,this officer had to hide his Jewishnes from his red army comrades,and your beloved comrade stalin before he crocked,planned the extermination of the Jews under his rule.It is not to late to see the light even for old Bolshevics.
38. Lea's talkback #20
A Finnish Jew   (10.05.09)
The lady number #18 stated in her talkback to be a Finnish Jew of half-Finnish descent. This means her mother is Jewish (otherwise she wouldn't be one!) and father is a non-Jew. I have never encountered any proof of Mannerheim's Jewish roots. He was a nobleman of Russian descent who could hardly have had any recognizable Jewish roots bearing in mind how Jewishness was seen in the Tsar-era Russia where he had his military education. Recently there have been many wannabist theories - mostly lauched by eager Finnish Xtian supporters of Israel & Jews - concerning the "Hebrew roots" of the Finns. Yet until today no whatsoever reliable evidence has been presented. Thank you.
39. To 37
Scientist ,   Finland   (10.05.09)
Thank you for your realistic comment. There was new information for me, too. Those who have been persecuted by both the Nazis and the Communists say that of these two, the Communists were by far the worst! Stalin thought that he would have a victory parade in Helsinki one month after the start of the Winter War, but he made a huge miscalculation. Finland did not lose any territory through fighting, only in the peace treaties. Thus it is understandable that the leaders of Finland wanted their stolen territoty (e.g. Karelia) back and there was a treath that the Soviet Union would try again. They tried that politically in 1948 without success in Finland, but succeeded in Czechoslavakia. The Arabs want back the territory (e.g. the Golan Heights, Sinai, the West Bank) which was taken by fighting the IDF after they themselves (Arabs) had started the wars. The Golan Heights were taken by fighting and belong to Israel, it is strategically important and necessary to obtain water to Israel. So why would Finland not be allowed to want back its territory not taken by fighting, but through political decisions.
40. to 38
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.05.09)
Yes, you are right: there are no clear research results about these Jewish roots in Finland (until now), only some scattered data and yes, there are some wannabists, too. But despite that some Finns have found their Jewish roots, however. And regarding Mannerheim: lady number 18 said that Mannerheim was her grand-grand uncle --> and that's why I just wanted specification about Mannerheim' possilbe Jewish roots, about which I've never heard, knowing otherwise the background of Mannerheim.
41. Lea #40
A Finnish Jew   (10.06.09)
Thanks for your response, although i shouldn't answer for #18 I assume that her "half-Finnish" heritage refers to her father's isde; otherwise she wouldn't be a Jew at all. If Mannerheim was an uncle of hers from father's side it wouldn't prove anything about the marshall's supposed Jewish roots. You should know that Jewishness passes only and exclusively through the mother.
42. to 41
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.06.09)
First of all I know exactly what Ariela has explained about her background -- the only thing that remains unsolved: is Mannerheim a relative to her from the mother's side. Mathematically the chance is 1/8 that Mannerheim would be a brother of her great grandmother and thus officially a Jew. And as said before I've never heard about Mannerheim's possible Jewish roots. But he had a special relationship to the Jews (esp in that time when there was much antisemitism). As I've also said before: Mannerheim saved many Jews and he thought that "one lost Jewish tribe" may be found in Finland. It's not a question about me knowing how judaism is inherited (it's selfevident, Ive always known that fact). In Finland religion is always inherited through the mother, too. But not in my case: we siblings have our father's religion, don't know why and that's what is studied now. One of my family members is writing her PhD about Finnish history and the Finnish roots and she is very interested in the roots of my mother.
43. Mannerheim
Scientist ,   Finland   (10.06.09)
As a scientist I am very strict about the facts that are presented; and so far convincing evidence for Jewish roots in the Finnish population in general has been presented. Before believing this myself much more evedence has to be presented, although this possibility remains. Some Finns have found their Jewish roots and some of them have moved to Israel. Anyway Mannerheim might have been God's instrument to save so many Jews (cf. Cyrus in the Tanakh). God sometimes rises up this kind of people.
44. #12 in Talkback
David Stoler ,   Tucson, Arizona USA   (10.10.09)
Anat, Respectfully, you are wrong regarding the role Finnish forces played in the blockade of Leningrad. The Commander of the Finnish forces, Marshal Mannerheim, specifically halted the Finnish troops in the isthmus of Karelia and refused to advance toward Leningrad in spite of the requests from the German high command to attack the city from the west. The sole purpose of the Finnish participation in the so called Continuation War from 1941-1945 was to recapture the territory it lost during the Winter War 1940 when the Soviets attacked Finland without any warning. It is interesting to note that the Finnish army expelled the Germans from the Finnish territory in early 1945. This was a very brutal war as the Germans burned the country from South to North when they retreated. These are the facts and you can verify them. I take this close to my heart as I am a Finnish Jew living now in the states.
45. # 44
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.12.09)
Thanx for the facts u wrote about, it's nice to see that there are ppl, who handle the historical facts! :)
46. about Finland in jpost
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.13.09)
Here is a link about Finland in jpost July 1, 2009 -- a very interesting article ! :) http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246296539924&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ps. there were almost 200 talkbacks, but all they have gone.
47. bravooo FINLAND !!!
lea ,   FINLAND   (10.28.09)
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) – For those who value their freedom of expression as much as health, wealth, and prosperity, then FINLAND is the place to be, with an index ranking the Nordic nation the best in the world. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091027/lf_nm_life/us_prosperity_index
48. non-Jews with Jewish ancestry
Eric ,   PoCo, Canada   (01.12.11)
Jewish ancestry is a part of the soul that does not disappear. My great grandmother appeared to Finlands' Karelia from Russia and as I understand my mother was very close to her as I am to my mother. Time passes and customs are passed to those that follow, unfortunately a persecution of Jews which I perceive to have been set into effect by the romans has made a simple honouring of Gods' light something forced to be done in secrecy. Nothing is secret to God or Gods' Love.
49. USSR
Astrid ,   Kronohagen   (03.25.14)
Ariela, you don't know the first thing about history. USSR did not come into existence until 1922! How could Sweden have sold Finland to the USSR????
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