The 300 of Finland

As I have now finished reading even more books on Holocaust, understanding it actually becomes even more difficult. Controversies, paradoxes, complexities are constantly unwrapped the deeper you dig. One of the most interesting – at least for the Finns – is the case of the 300 Finnish soldiers fighting for their country during the Continuation War against the Soviet Union in 1941-1944.

So, what makes it interesting? These 300 were Finnish Jews. And what makes it even more interesting? Simultaneously as these 300 were protecting the independence of Finland, 220 000 German soldiers were sent to Finland. They fought side by side. The tragic stories of what is happening in Poland and the rest of Europe to Jews had spread to Finland as well. It is no wonder that these soldiers felt a little uneasy finding Wermacht soldiers in the tent next door.

An accident waiting to happen, then? Actually, no. The Jewish soldiers built a synagogue amidst the battles. They were given Saturdays off so all the Jewish soldiers, also from the nearby area, could ski to the synagogue for service. They were given Yom Kippur off to celebrate the most important Jewish holiday. All this – under Germany's eyes.

agricola.utu.fi

 How many synagogues were built - not destroyed - in the German battlefields? This was probably the only one.

Quoting one of the soldiers when a German officer asked him how this was possible, ”in Finland there is freedom of religion, I was born in Finland, raised in Finland, went to Finnish schools and have a duty as a citizen to protect my country when my country needs me”. The German officer said back to him ”I'm no SS, personally I have no problem with Jews”, and they both went on fighting their battles.

Afterwards, these 300 soldiers have been called fascists by other Jews. But the way the saw the situation, just like the Christian Finnish soldiers was that there was no alliance with Germany and they were fighting for the freedom of Finland and not a religious war – citizenship and religion are two separate things. And just as a remark for some rebellion from these Jewish soldiers: they did not greet the Germans. Also, three of these 300 received a German Iron Cross, from Hitler, as an honour for great acts of bravery – but none of them accepted this token.

It is admirable of these 300 to fight for Finland. If the Soviet Union had won, the whole of Finland would have suffered. If Germany had won, only they would have suffered. They concentrated on protecting the whole of Finland. Is that patriotism or what? They made a movie about the 300 soldiers in Sparta... What about a movie about this? Steven Spielberg, are you listening? :)