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The situation Finland faced during the Second World War differed
significantly from that of Denmark. During a period of six years,
Finland fought two wars against the Soviet Union.
In 1939, Finnish territory was attacked by Soviet armed forces,
which annexed an eastern province of Finland in the course of
what became known as the Winter War.
When
the Third Reich in 1941 declared war against Stalin, Finland
joined as a cobelligerent—not an ally—in order to gain back
its former territory.
At that time, the Jewish community numbered more than 2,000
members. Among those were some hundred foreign Jews who had
escaped from Central Europe.
History has produced no definitive answer as to whether there
was ever an earnest discussion between German and Finnish leaders
demanding the deportation and liqui-dation of Finnish Jews.
But German troops, including the Waffen-SS, were present throughout
the country. Some say that Heinrich Himmler broached the subject
directly with the Finnish Prime Minister Jukka W. Rangell, who
replied that his country had “no Jewish question.”
The Finnish government regarded its Jewish residents as fully
integrated into the society. Moreover, there were over 300 Jewish
soldiers who served in the Finnish national army in both wars
against the Soviet Union. However, in November 1942, eight foreign
Jews were arrested and handed over to the Gestapo; only one
of them would survive Birkenau.
“The surrender of eight Jewish refugees to the Nazis in
1942 is a stain on Finland ’s history. The wrongdoing cannot
be undone nor can it be justified under any circumstances. Neither
does the number of the extradited refugees give any grounds
for writing off the issue. Every man has but one life and all
lives are equally valuable.”
— Paavo Lipponen, Finnish Prime Minister, 2000
Due to strong democratic traditions, Finnish Jews were protected
by the government and never faced annihilation. The community
today consists of about 1,500 members.
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