Join Markku Jokisipilä, visiting professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington for a lecture about the wars between Finland and the Soviet Union from the perspective of history and culture.
Historical Context:
In Finland, the Winter War and Continuation War are seen as the most important and dramatic events in the national history. Especially the defensive victories in winter (1939-1940) and summer (1944) are generally seen as existential moments for the nation. These collective experiences transformed the country and have been hugely influential in the Finnish postwar cultural memory throughout the decades.
This lecture analyzes the effects of the war experience and the memory of the war on the national identity and self-image of Finland.
Hear Norman Westerberg's Story, Courtesy of Nordic American Voices
"...during the Continuation War, the same thing. Helsinki, of course, was already bad, because they came from Estonia, with the Russian planes. It took them but 10 minutes to get to bombing Helsinki. It was hard to get any sirens going. But over there, the fishermen on the southern coast of Finland put, all the way up, bonfires, in the evening. In the Winter War that started then in 1939, very soon Sweden, Sweden announced that they will accept Finnish war children to come away for shorter or longer times, especially small children, through to four. They set up a system.
My father told my mother, "Let's try to get the boys over to Sweden." I was 11, my other brother was nine, and the little brother four. For the first week or so, ships could take them over to Stockholm from Finland. It was easier from Turku to get over, but very soon the Russian Navy took control of the Baltic and we couldn't do that.
The alternative was by train all the way up to where Finland meets Sweden, and we were one of the early ones that went by train. It could take two or three days, because the Russians bombed the railroads."
Markku Jokisipilä is a professor of contemporary history at the University of Turku, Finland.
He is the author of many books on the history of Finland. During autumn 2025, he is a visiting professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, where he is teaching a course on the history and politics of the European Union.
