Children from Helsinki are being evacuated to Sweden. In the yard of the post office, children are placed in buses to be taken to the station. February 1944 Image by Aavikko, Images from Krigsmuseet CC BY 4.0
I Was a War Child in Sweden by Bodil Soderberg
The Winter War broke out in November of 1939 and at the time I was only seven months old. A lot has been written about this fierce conflict with Finland’s arch enemy, Russia. There are books and movies about the war, which lasted until March 1940. The conditions of the peace treaty were harsh—Finland lost 8% of her territory. Following the Winter War there was a brief period of peace and then the so-called Continuation War broke out in June 1941. This is the war I remember. Finland and Sweden have always had a good relationship and when the Winter War started Finland appealed to Sweden for help. Because of Sweden’s status as a neutral country, they could not contribute military help, which was what Finland needed desperately. Instead, they offered to have Finnish children transported to Sweden away from the dangers of war. There was a severe shortage of everything, not just food and in Sweden the children would be safe and well taken care of. A relief organization was formed and in conjunction with the Save the Children organization the transports were planned. At first many Finnish parents were reluctant to let their children leave, but about 10,000 3 | The Occasional Christmas Dispatch
children were sent to Sweden during the Winter War. During the Continuation War a total of about 60,000 Finnish children were transported to Sweden. When the Continuation War started it was believed that it would be over in a few months. By then Finland had appealed to other nations for help fighting the Soviet Union, but only one nation agreed to help—Germany. They had their own reason for fighting the Soviets. Finland’s main objective was to regain the Karelian province, lost in the Winter War. Unfortunately, the war lasted much longer and by June 1944 the situation was critical for Finland. I was born in Helsingfors (Helsinki) where my family lived right in the center of town in an old apartment building. My father was hard of hearing and did not qualify for military duty but was very active in the civil defense. My mother was at home. My brother was drafted right out of high school when he turned 19 in January 1944. My older sister was 16 and a high school stu-
