You never see any Swedish Volunteers (Svenska Frivillig) in Finnish war films?!
I cannot remember seeing any finlandssvenskar (soumin routsilianen). If you read svenskarna som stred för hitler there were quite a few who fought for finland (finlands sak är vår sak)
There is a finnish movie called "Etulinjan edessä" (framför den främsta linjen, if I remeber correctly, my swedish is'nt that good at all).
The whole movie is about finnish-swedish (finlandsvenskar, suomenruotsalainen) soldiers and it includes some swedish volunteers too.
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I realise that Germany's only involvement in the winter war was as co-signator in the molotov-ribbentrop pact.
However, in svenskarna som stred for Hitler it discusses swedish soldiers who ended up in the SS. Some were winter war and continuity war veterans.
Funny that about finlands swedish. One of my mates had a FS sergeant during national service (lumpan) in Finland. The sergeant was punishing someone and said you have one minute to do that, that is 100 seconds.. ha ha.
I realise that Germany's only involvement in the winter war was as co-signator in the molotov-ribbentrop pact.
"They captured some Italian weapons from entering Finland"
Considering quality of Italian armament the krauts did us huge favor.
Fiat G.50 was a terrific plane, at least when Tuominen flew it.
The Apple Scruffs Corps, 05
Moppin' it up moppin' it up, yeah
It is more credit to pilot. Italians and their equipment in WW2 were joke. Even hungarian Turans tanks were milloin times better than anything produced by "spaghetti boys".
shareIt's just like hobgobbo said, they came first when the war was about to end. But they still helped with clothing and food and such things. You can't except that they write a big made in sweden on their shirts or something. And the swedes didn't fought along the whole border you know. My grandpa was in the war (he was a sniper) and he was fighting up north in Petsamo and he said that he didn't run into a single swedish man up there. But still, they helped with other things as I said.
Men man måste inte överdriva när man ska visa att svenskarna var med, det var ändå många gånger mer finskar än svenskar. Man ser inte många samer heller, och dom var ju också med och stred.
Finnish war movies are so few and still some expect to see them full of swedish volunteers whose achievements, as said above, are nothing to brag about.
I think that means that in the swedish schools they largely overrate the swedish involvement in winter war, because the help in combat was the smallest part of quite minimal swedish help for Finns.
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Heroes? Only heroes are still lying there.
You are exactly right. I'm a swedish citizen and now also an american citizen but I know from the swedish school that all they wanted to show was how brave and great the swedes were. I do respect and know that some swedes volunteered but the fact is that no body did a damned thing for Finland. If I'm not mistaken, Finland even paid war damages to the U.S., all while Sweden was busy bulding a factory base to sell stuff to Europe post-war.
shareI doubt Finland paid war damages to the U.S. I know they paid hundreds of millions of dollars to the USSR, but the U.S. didn't fight on the eastern front, so I'm not sure what the point would be.
Finland borrowed money during WWI and is the only country to fully repay their WWI debt to the U.S. These payments continued until 1976 with a brief moratorium during WWII. Partly as a result, Finland is generally held in high regard by Americans.
According to a 1935 newspaper article:
"some State Department officials have been wondering if part of these Finnish payments might not be set aside for a scholarship fund, for the education of Finnish students in American universities; and the idea has a good deal to recommend it. It would strengthen the bond of friendship and understanding between the two nations – and it would be a tangible way of showing how this country appreciates the presence of one good debtor among a flock of deadbeats."
Beginning in the 1950s, this was accomplished through the ASLA-Fulbright Program bilateral cultural exchange. The grant is available only to Finnish students.
Swedish schools? The Swedish effort in the Winter War isn't even taught in modern-day Swedish school. In fact, most people don't have a clue of how Sweden sent 8,000-12,000 of her sons to fight for her neighboring country's freedom and liberty.
shareBeing pro-german were not so very uncommon in the Swedish burgess, so many that were it fought in Finland, there were even pro-nazis in Sweden you know. Even one or two relatives(don't remember exactly) to Olof Palme fought with Finland.
shareI've met many Swedes who have false idea's about how much the Swede's helped in the war.
I guess their history teacher's aren't very objective.
My (swedish) history teacher never glorified the Swedish involvment in the "Winter war". My grandfather was fighting in Finland, and he definitely saw action, and THAT i glorify. Sweden´s dilemma was the fact that they where trying to stay neutral, we couldn´t have done *beep* during those years. The Nazis on one side and the Russians on the other..
Great diplomatic work though, im grateful for that.
And speaking of the Russians, I read that Putin, when discussing the Winter war, wouldn't concede that the Soviets started the conflcit by attacking Finland during that time. Now is that true?
shareHaving a relative or you yourself fighting in a war is nothing to glorify about... these films are made for people to remember NOT TO glorify war in any way. And indeed why would have Swedish citizens fought in great numbers in the Finnish wars? Swedes had no moral nor cultural obligations to Finnish. Sweden had a choise of entering the war or not. Finland did not have a choise and so it will remain in terms of geo-politics: Sweden has Finland as a safe-zone. Sweden had nothing to win and everything to lose so better stand back. That is the ultimate realworld-politics you just cannot deny.
The geography being what it is Finland stood alone and if the same situation occurs again, also in the future. Now we Finns can whine about it all we want but the facts remain and Sweden was better off coming unscratched from the World War. Now how do you think Sweden´s economy - and let us face it: society, is still far more developed compared to ours?
"Now how do you think Sweden´s economy - and let us face it: society, is still far more developed compared to ours?"
I wouldn't say that holds true today. Definitely not.
In the earlier decades, yes, but not in 2008.
Today, Finland is undeniably among the top countries in the world in the areas of technology and education (and metal music ;)).
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Slightly strange attitude that I often see in ideological "Nordists"... Sweden has no obligations, Finland just has to be a safe-zone and see Sweden sit pretty and then we must admire them for its benefits, and when we've done all the defending then there is nothing to glorify about war and we must be ashamed of fighting. Very Swedish attitude.
The issue here is if we should, due to some pan-Nordic political correctness, give screen-time to Swedish volunteers who were not substantially fighting, not whether Sweden should have actively intervened in the war...
"You never see any Swedish Volunteers (Svenska Frivillig) in Finnish war films?! "
Do you ever see any Finns in Swedish war films?
Besides, there were practically no Swedish Volunteers in the Winter War (you know, the war this story is about), and the few units that did manage to reach the frontlines before the end of the war were mostly stationed in the northern Finland, hundreds of kilometers away from Taipale and Vuosalmi (where this movie takes place).
There are handful of Finnish warmovies out there. And when you consider the fact that the Swedish Volunteers were a tiny minority in the army, should the get huge amounts of screentime?
That said: Tali-Ihantala 1944 has scenes about Swedish Volunteers in it.
I will raise a hat for those swedish who willingly came; thank you. But let's put a little perspective into this question.
I think first when war was about to begin Finland ask, if Sweden could join us. They said no.
Later when other countries saw what was happening here and was about come and help Finland Sweden told that they cannot send any troops trough Sweden to Finland, which was a huge set back and forced to make a unfavorable peace contract. So I think Sweden was not in the war and that's why you cannot see any swedish.
To me Sweden was like a big brother who left little brother alone when bully arrived.
-I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it