Soviet prisoners of war in Finland
Encyclopedia
Soviet prisoners of war in Finland during World War II
were captured in two Soviet
-Finnish
conflicts of that period: the Winter War
and the Continuation War
. The Finns took about 5,700 POWs
during the Winter War, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. However, during the Continuation War the Finns took 64,000 POWs, of whom almost 30 percent died.
(1939–1940) was 5,700, of whom 135 died. Most of them were captured in Finnish pockets (motti
) north of Lake Ladoga
. The war lasted only 105 days and most of the deceased POWs were either seriously wounded or sick. Some of the POWs, at least 152 men, enlisted in the so-called Russian Liberation Army in Finland. They were not allowed to take part in combat. After the war, some members of the Liberation Army managed to escape to a third country.
(1941–1944) was about 64,000. Most of them were captured in 1941 (56,000 persons). The first Soviet POWs were taken in June 1941 and were transferred to reserve prisons in Karvia
, Köyliö
, Huittinen
and Pelso
. Soon Finnish administration realized that the number of POWs was much greater than initially estimated, and established 32 new prison camps in 1941–1944. However, all of them were not used at the same time as POWs were used as a labour force in different projects around the country.
The Finns did not pay much attention to the living conditions of the Soviet POWs at the beginning of the war, as the war was expected to be of short duration. The quantity and quality of camp personnel was very low, as the more qualified men were at the front. It was not until the middle of 1942 that the quantity and quality of camp personnel was improved. There was a shortage of labour in Finland and authorities assigned POWs to forest and agricultural work, as well as the construction of fortification lines. Some Soviet officers cooperated with the Finnish authorities and were released from prison by the end of the war.
Finnic prisoners who were captured on the fronts or transferred by Germany were separated from other Soviet POWs. At the end of 1942 volunteers could join the Finnish battalion Heimopataljoona 3, which consisted of Finnic peoples such as Karelians
, Ingrian Finns
, Votes
and Veps.
. The rest, mostly army
and political officer
s, (among them a name-based estimate of 74 Jews) died in Nazi concentration camps
. Sometimes these handovers were demanded in return for arms or food.
and execution. Out of 64,188 Soviet POWs, from 18,318 to 19,085 died in Finnish prisoner of war camps.
In 1942 the number of prisoner deaths had a negative effect on the international reputation of Finland. The Finnish administration decided to improve living conditions and allowed prisoners to work outside their camps.
Hostilities between Finland and Soviet Union ceased in September 1944 and the first Soviet POWs were handed over to the Soviet Union on 15 October 1944. The transfer was complete by the next month. Some of the POWs escaped during the transportation and some of them were unwilling to return to the Soviet Union. Furthermore, Finland handed 2,546 German POWs from the Lapland War
to the Soviet Union.
, signed by Finland and the victorious Allies, mainly the Soviet Union, the Finns were to try those who were responsible for the war
and those who had committed war crimes. The Soviet Union allowed Finland to try its own war criminals, unlike other losing countries of the Second World War. The Finnish parliament had to create ex post facto law
s for the trials, though in the case of war crimes the country had already signed the Hague IV Convention. In victorious Allied countries war-crime trials were exceptional, but Finland had to arrange full-scale investigations and trials, and report them for the Soviet Union.
Criminal charges were filed against 1,381 Finnish camp staff members, resulting in 723 convictions and 658 acquittals. They were accused of 42 murders and 342 other homicides. Nine persons were convicted to life sentences, 17 to imprisonment for 10–15 years, 57 to imprisonment for five to ten years, and 447 to imprisonment varying from one month to five years. Fines or disciplinary corrections were levied out in 124 cases. Though the criminal charges were highly politicized, some war crime charges were filed already during the Continuation War. However, most of them did not get anywhere during war time.
to special camps as suspected traitors. Prisoners were interrogated by 50 person research teams. After lengthy investigations about 500 of the prisoners were found guilty of high treason
and sentenced to death. Some prisoners were released, but most of them, 4,354 men, were sentenced to 5–8 years in labour camps (gulag
). This would lead to the later death of some of the prisoners due to harsh camp conditions.
. Furthermore, the article also stipulated the return of all Soviet nationals who were deported to Finland during the Continuation War. This meant that Finland also had to hand over all those who moved to Finland voluntarily, as well as those who fought in the ranks of the Finnish army against the Soviet union
, though some had Finnish citizenship. The return to the Soviet Union was in many cases fatal for these people, as some of them were executed as traitors at the Soviet train station of Vyborg
and some died in harsh camp conditions in Siberia
. After the collapse of the Soviet Union
they were allowed to return Finland.
Some of the Soviet prisoners co-operated with the Finns during the war. Before the end of the war all related Finnish archives, including interrogation documents considering co-operating prisoners, were destroyed and their destinies after the war are uncertain. Some of them were secretly transported by the Finnish army personnel to Sweden
and some continued on as far as to the United States
. The highest ranking Soviet prisoner of war was Major General Vladimir Kirpichnikov who returned to the Soviet Union. He was tried, convicted of high treason
, and executed in 1950.
, because it conflicted with some clauses of Finnish criminal law
. Though the Soviet Union had not signed the Hague IV Convention, the reality was unclear and ambiguous. Soviet law determined the surrender of a Soviet soldier as treason
which was to be punished by death or prison and a seizure of property.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were captured in two Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
conflicts of that period: the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
and the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
. The Finns took about 5,700 POWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
during the Winter War, and due to the short length of the war they survived relatively well. However, during the Continuation War the Finns took 64,000 POWs, of whom almost 30 percent died.
Winter War
The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Winter WarWinter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
(1939–1940) was 5,700, of whom 135 died. Most of them were captured in Finnish pockets (motti
Motti
Motti may refer to:*Motti, a Finnish military tactic.*A measurement of firewood, equivalent to one cubic metre of wood.*Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, a fictional character from the Star Wars universe.*a variant of Motikan, a Kurdish clan....
) north of Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...
. The war lasted only 105 days and most of the deceased POWs were either seriously wounded or sick. Some of the POWs, at least 152 men, enlisted in the so-called Russian Liberation Army in Finland. They were not allowed to take part in combat. After the war, some members of the Liberation Army managed to escape to a third country.
Continuation War
The number of Soviet prisoners of war during the Continuation WarContinuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
(1941–1944) was about 64,000. Most of them were captured in 1941 (56,000 persons). The first Soviet POWs were taken in June 1941 and were transferred to reserve prisons in Karvia
Karvia
Karvia is a municipality of Finland founded in 1865.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The population of Karvia is and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water . The population density is .Twin town of Karvia is Viru-Nigula...
, Köyliö
Köyliö
Köyliö is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, Huittinen
Huittinen
Huittinen is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the Satakunta region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
and Pelso
Pelso
Pelso may refer to:*Lake Pelso , the modern Lake Balaton*Pelso Strict Nature Reserve in Finland*Pelso Plate in the Carpathian Basin...
. Soon Finnish administration realized that the number of POWs was much greater than initially estimated, and established 32 new prison camps in 1941–1944. However, all of them were not used at the same time as POWs were used as a labour force in different projects around the country.
The Finns did not pay much attention to the living conditions of the Soviet POWs at the beginning of the war, as the war was expected to be of short duration. The quantity and quality of camp personnel was very low, as the more qualified men were at the front. It was not until the middle of 1942 that the quantity and quality of camp personnel was improved. There was a shortage of labour in Finland and authorities assigned POWs to forest and agricultural work, as well as the construction of fortification lines. Some Soviet officers cooperated with the Finnish authorities and were released from prison by the end of the war.
Finnic prisoners who were captured on the fronts or transferred by Germany were separated from other Soviet POWs. At the end of 1942 volunteers could join the Finnish battalion Heimopataljoona 3, which consisted of Finnic peoples such as Karelians
Karelians
The Karelians are a Baltic-Finnic ethnic group living mostly in the Republic of Karelia and in other north-western parts of the Russian Federation. The historic homeland of Karelians includes also parts of present-day Eastern Finland and the formerly Finnish territory of Ladoga Karelia...
, Ingrian Finns
Ingrian Finns
The Ingrian Finns are the Finnish population of Ingria descending from Lutheran Finnish immigrants introduced to the area in the 17th century, when Finland and Ingria were both part of the Swedish Empire...
, Votes
Votes
Votes are a people of Votia in Ingria, the part of modern day northwestern Russia that is roughly southwest of Saint Petersburg and east of the Estonian border-town of Narva. Their own ethnic name is Vadjalain . The Finnic Votic language spoken by Votes is close to extinction. Votians were one of...
and Veps.
Prisoner exchange with Germany
About 2,600–2,800 Soviet prisoners of war were handed over to the Germans in exchange for roughly 2,200 Finnic prisoners of war. Most of the prisoners transferred to Germany (around 2,000) joined the Russian Liberation ArmyRussian Liberation Army
Russian Liberation Army was a group of predominantly Russian forces subordinated to the Nazi German high command during World War II....
. The rest, mostly army
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and political officer
Political commissar
The political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
s, (among them a name-based estimate of 74 Jews) died in Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. Sometimes these handovers were demanded in return for arms or food.
Deaths
Most of the deaths among Soviet POW, 16,136, occurred in the ten month period from December 1941 to September 1942. Prisoners died due to bad camp conditions and the poor supply of food, shelter, clothing, and health care. About a thousand POWs, 5 percent of total fatalities, were shot, primarily in escape attempts. Food was especially scarce in 1942 in Finland due to a bad harvest. Punishment for escape attempts or serious violations of camp rules included solitary confinementSolitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
and execution. Out of 64,188 Soviet POWs, from 18,318 to 19,085 died in Finnish prisoner of war camps.
In 1942 the number of prisoner deaths had a negative effect on the international reputation of Finland. The Finnish administration decided to improve living conditions and allowed prisoners to work outside their camps.
Hostilities between Finland and Soviet Union ceased in September 1944 and the first Soviet POWs were handed over to the Soviet Union on 15 October 1944. The transfer was complete by the next month. Some of the POWs escaped during the transportation and some of them were unwilling to return to the Soviet Union. Furthermore, Finland handed 2,546 German POWs from the Lapland War
Lapland War
The Lapland War were the hostilities between Finland and Nazi Germany between September 1944 and April 1945, fought in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. While the Finns saw this as a separate conflict much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the...
to the Soviet Union.
Trials in Finland
According to the Moscow ArmisticeMoscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
, signed by Finland and the victorious Allies, mainly the Soviet Union, the Finns were to try those who were responsible for the war
War-responsibility trials in Finland
The war-responsibility trials in Finland was a trial of the Finnish wartime leaders held responsible for "definitely influencing Finland in getting into a war with the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in 1941 or preventing peace" during the Continuation War, 1941-1944. Unlike other World War II...
and those who had committed war crimes. The Soviet Union allowed Finland to try its own war criminals, unlike other losing countries of the Second World War. The Finnish parliament had to create ex post facto law
Ex post facto law
An ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
s for the trials, though in the case of war crimes the country had already signed the Hague IV Convention. In victorious Allied countries war-crime trials were exceptional, but Finland had to arrange full-scale investigations and trials, and report them for the Soviet Union.
Criminal charges were filed against 1,381 Finnish camp staff members, resulting in 723 convictions and 658 acquittals. They were accused of 42 murders and 342 other homicides. Nine persons were convicted to life sentences, 17 to imprisonment for 10–15 years, 57 to imprisonment for five to ten years, and 447 to imprisonment varying from one month to five years. Fines or disciplinary corrections were levied out in 124 cases. Though the criminal charges were highly politicized, some war crime charges were filed already during the Continuation War. However, most of them did not get anywhere during war time.
Winter War POWs in the Soviet Union
After the Winter War the Soviet POWs were returned to the USSR in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty. They were transported under heavy guard by the NKVDNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
to special camps as suspected traitors. Prisoners were interrogated by 50 person research teams. After lengthy investigations about 500 of the prisoners were found guilty of high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
and sentenced to death. Some prisoners were released, but most of them, 4,354 men, were sentenced to 5–8 years in labour camps (gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
). This would lead to the later death of some of the prisoners due to harsh camp conditions.
Continuation War POWs in the Soviet Union
After the Continuation War, Finland handed all Soviet and German prisoners of war in accordance with the 10th article of the Moscow ArmisticeMoscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on September 19, 1944, ending the Continuation War...
. Furthermore, the article also stipulated the return of all Soviet nationals who were deported to Finland during the Continuation War. This meant that Finland also had to hand over all those who moved to Finland voluntarily, as well as those who fought in the ranks of the Finnish army against the Soviet union
Finnish Infantry Regiment 200
Infantry Regiment 200 or Soomepoisid was a unit in the Finnish army during World War II made up mostly of Estonian volunteers, who preferred to fight against the Soviet Union in the ranks of the Finnish army instead of the armed forces of Germany....
, though some had Finnish citizenship. The return to the Soviet Union was in many cases fatal for these people, as some of them were executed as traitors at the Soviet train station of Vyborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
and some died in harsh camp conditions in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. After the collapse of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
they were allowed to return Finland.
Some of the Soviet prisoners co-operated with the Finns during the war. Before the end of the war all related Finnish archives, including interrogation documents considering co-operating prisoners, were destroyed and their destinies after the war are uncertain. Some of them were secretly transported by the Finnish army personnel to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and some continued on as far as to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The highest ranking Soviet prisoner of war was Major General Vladimir Kirpichnikov who returned to the Soviet Union. He was tried, convicted of high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
, and executed in 1950.
Legal position of Soviet POWs
Finland had signed the 1907 Hague IV Convention in 1922 that covered the treatment of prisoners of war in detail. However, Finland announced that it could not completely obey the convention as the Soviet Union had not signed the same convention. The convention required ratification of both parties of hostilities before becoming in effect. Finland did not sign the updated 1929 Third Geneva ConventionThird Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
, because it conflicted with some clauses of Finnish criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
. Though the Soviet Union had not signed the Hague IV Convention, the reality was unclear and ambiguous. Soviet law determined the surrender of a Soviet soldier as treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
which was to be punished by death or prison and a seizure of property.
See also
- Finnish prisoners of war in the Soviet UnionFinnish prisoners of war in the Soviet UnionThere were two waves of the Finnish prisoners of war in the Soviet Union during the World War II: POWs during the Winter War and the Continuation War.-Winter War:...
- East Karelian concentration campsEast Karelian concentration campsEast Karelian concentration camps were special internment camps in the areas of the Soviet Union occupied by Finnish military administration during the Continuation War. These camps were organized by the armed forces supreme commander Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim...