Sisällysluettelo/Contents in Finnish / Urkunder till Finlands historia
Document language:
Sisällysluettelo/Contents in Finnish / Urkunder till Finlands historia
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is a fine example of the Catholic time churches in Finland, with biblical stories painted on the walls.. |
Pope Innocentius IV's Letter
of
Protection to the Confessors of the Christian Faith in
Finland 27 August 1249.
A Letter of Protection
by King Birger Magnusson for womankind in Karelia on Oct. 1, 1316. A letter (1539) by Martin
Luther to the Swedish king Gustavus Vasa, original in Latin
with a Swedish
translation. The king sought a tutor to his son, and Luther recommends
also the Finn Michael Agricola, who later in 1548 translated the New
Testament (excerpt)
into Finnish. April 20, 1539. Georg North's short description
about Finland. Printed in London, 1561. North's text is based on
Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia, Basle 1544.
The Peace
Treaty
between Sweden and Russia May 18, 1595. The Duchy of Estonia was
recognized to belong to Sweden and the eastern border of Finland was
defined through this treaty. Even though its final signatories, the
Russian Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (died 1598) and the Swedish King
Sigismund (deposed 1599) never signed the treaty, it was put into
effect right after the negotiations. Parallel
old Swedish text included. 1662. The first printed map
of the Grand Duchy of Finland (Magnus Ducatus Finlandiæ). It
was published by Dr Joan Blaeu, a Dutch publisher of fine atlases. The
original cartographer was the Swede Anders Bure (Andreas Bureus). The
arms of Finland and her provinces are beautifully presented on the map.
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Satakunta and Varsinais-Suomi, on the tomb of the Swedish king, Gustaf Vasa, 1581. Uppsala Domkyrka, Sweden. |
Johannes Schefferus: The
history of Lapland 1674. Digital copy
at the National Library Digital Collection (link, pdf, 78 MB)
The Nystad
Peace Treaty of August 30, 1721 between Sweden and Russia. In Swedish and German.
In
Russian (Khronos).
The treaty ended Swedish dominance in the Baltics. Russian troops
withdraw from Finland. Karelian isthmus, city of Viipuri (Vyborg) and
areas north of Lake Ladoga were annexed to Russia. That part of the
country, Old Finland, was reunited with rest of the
country by the imperial decree
of Alexander I in 1811. In
1736 an
expedition organised by the French Academy of Sciences was
sent to Tornio (Swedish
Torneå), Finland, near the polar circle. It was lead by Moreau
de
Maupertuis and its purpose was to make precise geodesic measurements to
prove the globe to be an oblate spheroid. En español.
After the Peace Treaty of Turku
(Åbo) in 1743 the eastern border against Russia was drawn
along
the River of Kymi, considerably to the west of the previous one. To
strengthen the country's defence, the construction of the sea-fortress
of Sveaborg
began on islands facing Helsinki in 1748. (The Governing
Body of Suomenlinna).
An economic description of
Turku (Åbo), the provincial capital of Finland. A university dissertation
of Niclas Wasström, a local student in the Academy of
Åbo, 1749. Den
Nationnale Winsten (The National Gain/National Profit and
Loss). A study by Anders
Chydenius
from the year 1765. It was published as a partial answer to the debate
provoked by his book "Källan Til Rikets Wan-Magt" (The Source
of
the Nation's Weakness). (Chydenius Foundation)
The Form of
Government of Sweden (pdf). Given by the
Estates and King Gustavus III of Sweden. Dated Stockholm August 21,
1772. In Swedish.
A Treaty of Amity and Commerce Concluded between His Majesty the King of Sweden and the United States of North America. Signed in Paris April 3, 1783, and terminated Feb. 4, 1919 (Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776-1949, Vol. 11. Department of State, 1974. Google Books.)
The King's Proclamation concerning the Swedish
colony of the island of
St. Barthélemy in the West Indies, dated September
7, 1785. An overview to the history of the Swedish era.
His Royal Majesty's Gracious Proclamation about the fall of Sveaborg
Fortress to the hands of the enemy. May 6, 1808. 
History of Finland - Russian rule 1809-1917
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Painting, beginning of the 19th cent., assigned to W.L. Borowikowski (1757-1825) Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin |
The
secret treaty (in
French)
between Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit June 7, 1807. Countries, as
Sweden, which did not participate in the Continental System (a
commercial blockade against the British), were declared their enemies. In
English (The Napoleon Series). A convention of British
economic support in the eventuality of Sweden being attacked by allies
of France, Feb. 8, 1808.
The Russian declaration
of war (in
French) on Sweden, Feb. 10, 1808. The declaration of the Russian
commander-in-chief, Count von Buxhoevden, to Finns, to
give up resistance, on the day Russian troops crossed the border on
February 22, 1808. The convention
of the commander of the fortress of Sveaborg, Vice Admiral Cronstedt,
with Russian General de Suchtelen to surrender Sveaborg without fight,
April 6, 1808. The armistice at Olkijoki, November 7, 1808 (original text
in French, in English),
between Swedish and Russian troops after they already had taken the
major part of Finland.
The
Solemn Assurance of the Sovereign
given by the Emperor Alexander I on 27 March 1809 to respect all
constitutional rights of citizens in the newly acquired Grand Duchy of
Finland. In Russian. The Peace Treaty between Russia and Sweden
on 17 September 1809. Sweden accepted throught this treaty the de
facto situation of having already lost Finland to Russia.
Original in French.
The text in Russian
(Khronos).
A map
of the 1809 borderline against Sweden (The National Library
of Finland). The Bank
of Finland was established in Turku as Exchange, Loan and
Deposit Office of the Grand Duchy of Finland by an Imperial decree (in
Finnish and Swedish) of November 20, 1811. The decree in Russian.
His Imperial Majesty's Manifesto on December 11,
1811 concerning the reunification of the Vyborg Governmental
District (guberniya) with Finland (in
German).
Naturalized Germans, although a small minority, had during the Russian
rule established a considerable foothold in the administration of the
city of Viipuri
(Vyborg). In Russian. Eine kurze Geschichte (in
German) der Stadt Wiburg.
A Yearbook of Government
and Public Institutions and Officeholders (State
Calender) for the Leap-Year 1812. The
border convention concerning
Lapland between Russia and Sweden-Norway (in French).
May 14, 1826. Fixing of the borderline between Russia and Norway, and
checking the old border between Norway and Grand Duchy of Finland in
1826-27. (In French).
A
topographic overview
of Finland (in Swedish) by Friedr.
Rühs. 1827. Full digital copy of the 1813 Swedish
edition and the 1809 German
edition (links, pdf, 51 MB & 96 MB,
National Library of Finland)
A statistical overview
of the Russian Empire by Finnish statistician and scholar Gabriel Rein
in 1838. Main geographical features, government institutions,
fundamental laws and
remuneration of the Imperial family, commerce, natural resources etc.
An edition of tens of pages (in Swedish).
A Yearbook of Government and
Public Institutions and Officeholders (State
Calender) for the Leap-Year 1840. A full edition with tens of
pages.
A
letter of thanks
by the world-famous professor and linguist Jacob Grimm, for the
honorary diploma granted to him by the Finnish Literature Society.
December 19, 1845.
Sveaborg
and the Crimean War 1854-55. Optical telegraphy
in Russia and Finland. The Paris Peace Treaty of March 18/30, 1856,
ending the Crimean war in Russian
(Biblioteka elektronnykh resursov).
The The Kalmberg military
topographical map
1855-56. Southern parts of Finland. Largescale sample maps of Helsinki,
Turku, Tampere and Viipuri area. Original scale 1:100000.
The original demilitarization convention and later agreements and documents of the years 1856-1994 concerning the Åland islands. (Ålands kulturstiftelse r.s.). The 1856 treaty in
Russian. (Moscow State University) The
protocol
and the speech from the throne by Alexander II, Emperor of Russia and
Grand Duke of Finland, at the opening of the second Finnish Diet, on
Sept. 18, 1863.
A detailed Railway
and Travel Map
of Finland. A special prize was awarded a year later to land
surveyor I.J. Inberg for this excellent map of 1875.
La Convention
métrique internationale
(The International Convention of 1875 Respecting Weights and Measures).
Russia and thus Finland joined the Convention. The metric system was
made mandatory in 1887 with a transition period up till 1891.
Imperial Majesty's Gracious Rescript to the Governor General of Finland
(in Russian)
concerning public anxiety aroused by certain measures taken to increase
uniformity between the Grand Duchy and other parts of Russian Empire.
February 28, 1891. English
translation.
Finland. An article in Harper's Magazine N:o 489, February,
1891. The
Manifesto
(see № 17) of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia and Grand Duke
of Finland,
to uphold the rights and laws of the Grand Duchy of Finland (tarefer.ru).
All his predecessors had given a similar assurance when ascending the
throne. November 6 (October 25), 1894.
An extensive photographic
tour through Finland by I.K. Inha. 1896. (link,
pdf, 275 MB, National Library of Finland).
Text in Swedish, Finnish, Russian, French, German, and English.
1896.
G.W. Edlund: Helsinki Album.
34 views from Helsinki.
A Reference Map of Finland 1898
by I.
Uschakoff
(in Finnish only). The indexes and accurate maps include, in addition
to standard contents, sites for industrial enterprises, prominent farms
etc.  |
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of early 20th century Finland. |
Imperial Majesty's Gracious
Manifesto
concerning the Fundamental Rules to be complied with preparation,
inspection and promulgation of laws of the Empire, the Grand Duchy of
Finland therein included. February 3, 1899. Deputation to the Czar, March
8-13, 1899. An address consisting of more
than 520,000 names was collected all over Finland in two weeks. A
deputation of 471 persons representing 484 Finnish municipalities
travelled to St. Petersburg and tried to hand this appeal to restore
the fundamental rights of the Finnish people to the Emperor. Nicholas
II refused to receive them an audience. A
contemporary book of the photos of the deputation members
arranged according to provinces and municipalities (Ulrika
Juselius).
June 26-July 2, 1899. A deputation representing 1,050 European learned men and
prominent people tried to leave to the Czar addresses
supporting Finland's campaign to preserve her assured constitutional
rights. A report
of July 5, 1899 to the signers. June 8, 1899. Imperial Majesty's Gracious
Rescript to the
Governor General of Finland (in Russian),
concerning public anxiety caused by the forthcoming change in the
Conscription Act of the Grand Duchy of Finland and promulgation of the
Manifesto given on the 3rd of February. English translation.
The
Gracious Manifesto
of the Imperial Majesty (in Russian),
on June 20, 1900, concerning the gradual transition of language into
Russian in principal administrative establishments of the Grand Duchy
of Finland. English translation.
Russian military topographical maps of the Helsinki area 1902..1911 The
Act (in Russian),
passed by the Russian State Council and the State Duma, concerning the
procedure to be complied with introducing bills and decrees of
all-Empire significance given on 17 (30)th of June 1910. This act de
facto abrogated the Constitution of Finland. It was enacted
without the Finnish Diet's consent. In
English. En
français. The Governor-General F.A. Seyn 1909..1917. A picture postcard: Helsinki (near Market
Square)
in the beginning of the 1910's. The tram seen in the historical picture
is one of the new type cars ordered by Helsinki Tramlines &
Omnibuses Ltd. from ASEA in 1908. The same site in 1997. The
traditional yellow-green colours are preserved.
1911. The Finnish born Colonel of the Russian Army C.G.E. Mannerheim published an ethnographic report "A Visit to the Sarö and Shera Yögurs" in English in the Journal of the Finnish Ugrian Society (Société Finno-Ougrienne) nr. 27, in Helsinki (Helsingfors) 1911. In total 72 pages, photo plates and a map. The initial three pages in pdf form.
Later Mannerheim was promoted to Lieutenant General in the Russian Army and after the Finnish independence in 1917, he returned to Finland and became Marshal and the Supreme Commander of the Finnish defence forces during the Finnish war years of 1939-1944.
The Insurance Year-Book of
Finland for the year 1912. Finnish and foreign companies. Joint tariff companies
1877. The declaration of a
state of war
in the Grand Duchy of Finland, July 31, 1914. In Russian. Gracious
Manifesto about declaring a state of war between Russia and Germany, Aug.
2, 1914. In Russian.
And between Austria-Hungary,
Aug. 8, 1914. This in
Russian. And Turkey
on Nov. 2, 1914 (in Russian).
And Bulgaria Oct.
18, 1915. In Russian.(Collection
of decrees with respect to Finland) Encircling of Helsinki
with fortifications 1914-17. (John Lagerstedt and Markku
Saari)
The decision
of the Prussian Minister of War to enlarge military training of Finnish
independence fighters to 2,000 men on Aug. 26, 1915. Background.
Der Beschluss des
preussischen Kriegsministers die Militärausbildung den
finnischen Selbstständigkeitskämpfern auf 2000
Männer zu erhöhen den 26.8.1915. Hintergrund.
Emperor Nicholas II's Abdication
Manifesto of March 2/15, 1917, manifesto of Grand Duke Michael
Alexandrovich. Proclamation of the acting Governor General of
Finland. Abdication manifesto in
Russian. The grave
of Anna Vyrubova (née Taneeva, 1884-1964), Empress Alexandra's
lady-in-waiting in Helsinki Orthodox cemetary. She succeeded in fleeing
to Finland after the revolution broke out.
A Manifesto by the Provisional Government of Russia, March 7/20, 1917, on restoration and full reinstatement
of the Constitution of Finland . The original
text of the Manifesto (in Russian). A memoir of the hectic days in
Helsinki and (St.) Petersburg by Professor Edv. Hjelt. Governor-General
Seyn's arrest. Kerenski in the Finnish
Parliament April 13, 1917. Maps
of Finnish cities in 1902.
Nice pictures
by Alexander Federley from early 20th century Finland.
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political emigrants, who have arrived at Russian [Finnish] border in Tornio in the train nr. 353. The arrival date is on April 2, 1917 (Old Style). Source: The National Archives of Finland. The Russian Gendarmery in Finland. Commandant for railway and water areas of Tornio station. |
The Resolution of the Finnish
Senate on May 21, 1917 to remove
the portraits of the deposed emperor Nicholas II and his family
members, etc. from the office rooms.
The manifesto of the Russian
Provisional Government about dissolving the Finnish Diet, June 31,
1917.
The speech of People's
Commissar I.V. Stalin at the conference of the Finnish
Social-Democratic Party in Helsinki in Nov. 14 (27), 1917.
A communication of the Finnish Diet relating to instituting a new Government of Finland.
November 27, 1917. In Russian.
History
of Finland - Independence, Dec. 6, 1917.
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Station, St. Petersburg. The Bolshevik leader Lenin, disguised as stoker, returned to Russia on Oct. 7, 1917, after hiding in Finland to organize a coup to overthrow the Kerenski government The railway line from Finland to St. Petersburg was part of the Finnish State Railways in the Grand Duchy of Finland and run by Finnish staff. The engine was donated to the Soviet government by the Finnish government in 1957. |
The Declaration
of Independence adopted by the Finnish Diet on Dec. 6, 1917. In Russian.
Sixty years of independence: The Senate Square in Helsinki on Dec 6, 1977.
The recognition of Finland's
independence (in Russian)
by the Soviet of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Executive
Committee. 18/31 Dec. 1917 and 23 Dec/4 Jan. 1918. In English. Stalin on the independence of Finland, Dec. 22, 1917. A magazine article and a video clip about the meeting of Svinhufvud and Lenin at the Smolny Institute. Lenin comments
the recognition of the Finnish independence at the VIII Party Congress, March 19, 1919.A civil war broke out on January 28, 1918, when the Reds seized power in Helsinki and other cities and set up their rule in southern Finland. The legal government fled to Vaasa. A treaty of friendship (Heninen) was concluded between the revolutionary governments of Russia and Finland on March 1,
1918. Government declaration of April 5, 1918 in Vaasa concerning German troops arriving in Hanko. The Brest-Litovsk
Peace Treaty (Brigham Young University Library)
between Russia and the Central Powers, March 3, 1918. The Peace Treaty
between the government of Finland in Vaasa and Germany, March 7, 1918 (in
German, in
English).
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from 1929, published by the National Survey of Finland (pdf, 5 MB). |
The Peace Treaty (in Russian) between Finland and the Federal Socialist Republic of Soviet Russia, Dorpat (Tartu), Oct. 14, 1920. Includes declarations of the Russian delegation concerning Eastern Carelia and Ingria. English translation. (The League of Nations Treaty Series).
Map of Finland
after the this peace treaty. (Suomen koulukartta = Map of
Finland for schools).
The Åland agreement in the Council of the League of Nations 1921. (Ålands kulturstiftelse) A map of Helsinki Metropolitan Area, scale 1:400000 from the year 1923. A combination of two pages from an atlas originally published by the National Land Survey of Finland in 1920. The Act of the Finnish Diet clarifying the ownership of villas and farms in the Karelian Isthmus in Finland with their mainly Russian owners having disappeared and not claiming their property during the post-revolutionary years, 1922The report of an enquiry, presented to the German envoy in Helsinki Herbert Hauschild by the Finnish foreign minister Setälä on July 5, 1926, about the assumed war material cargo of German vessels stuck in ice in Finnish territorial waters, and heading for the Soviet Union. The remarks by the German foreign ministry official Herbert von Dirksen to the State Secretary Carl von Schubert in the ministry on August 11, 1926 (in German, Akten zur deutschen auswärtigen Politik 1918-1948, Band II.2). A map of southern Finland
1:3750000. Süd-Finnland. Meyers Geographischer Handatlas, Leipzig, 1926. Enlarged from the original. Exchange of notes between Finland and the USSR on appointing Frontier Commissars and defining their duties, Sept. 14, 1928. (League
of Nations, International treaties registry).
A short overview of the Finnish air traffic
during the years 1924-1937. Published in the book Finland — The Outpost of the North by the National Union of Students of
Finland in 1937. Part of a route map from 1936.
Treaty
of Conciliation, June 7, 1928, and Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and
Consular Rights, February 13, 1934, between USA and Finland. (The League of Nations Treaty Series)
Treaty of Non-Aggression (original
text in French) between the Soviet Union and Finland, January
21, 1932, and the protocol
prolonging the treaty up to 1945, signed on April 7, 1934. Signing
of the protocol (picture). In
Russian. Nordic declaration for similar rules of
neutrality, May 27, 1938. (The League of Nations Treaty Series)
The report of the Finnish Minister in the U.S. Hjalmar Procopé to the Finnish foreign minister Eljas Erkko about the personal discussion between him and the President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 22 March 1939 (The archives of the Finnish Foreign Ministry, original in Finnish, the draft translation by Pauli Kruhse), the request on April 17, 1939, to the U.S. Secretary of State (Cordell Hull) to permit a special Finnish envoy, Colonel Paavo Talvela, to discuss with US military and other authorities about Finland's purchase of certain materials and commodities (U.S. Foreign Relations, 1939, Vol. I). The memoranda of June 12, 1939, of the US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles and that of the Finnish Minister Procopé about the desire of the Finnish Goverment to purchase military supplies from the U.S. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library).
Large scale military exercises on the Karelian Isthmus on August 7-12. 1939. A pictorial report of the Schutzkorps weekly Hakkapeliitta: a double-page spread, page 2, page 3. The speech of Prime Minister Cajander on 12 August 1939 (in Finnish) to the command of the exercises, Swedish defence minister, military representatives of the Nordic countries, foreign military attachés and Field Marshall Mannerheim (Hakkapeliitta nro 34/1939, 22.8.1939; Cajander's speech: Annikki Kalela, Isäni A. K.Cajander, Kirjayhtymä 1985, pp. 458-462.).
Translations of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact of Aug. 23, 1939, and its secret additional protocol (Ibiblio).
In the secret protocol Finland and the Baltic countries were included in the Russian side of spheres of interest in the event of a territorial and political rearrangement in the areas belonging to these countries. The Pact and the Secret Additional
Protocol in Russian. Der Originaltext des
Vertrags und des geheimen Zusatzprokolls (in
German). The front page of Pravda
on Aug. 24, 1939. Molotov's speech (& English, German translation) at the Supreme Soviet on Aug. 31, 1939. Völkischer Beobachter reports about legislation changes for strengthening of the Soviet Red Army approved simultaneously by the Supreme Soviet on Aug. 31, 1939. (in German). A joint parade of German and Soviet troops in Brest-Litovsk - then in Poland - Sept. 22, 1939. The assessment of the Pact by the Congress of People's Deputies, Moscow 24 Dec. 1989. See also Finland in Great Power politics 1939-1940 The planned Olympic Games of 1940 in Helsinki: Schedule and venues for the 20th of July to the 4th of August, 1940 (The Finnish National Library). Newspaper
commentary on 3 September 1939: No
Stop to the 1940 Olympic Games Preparations. The radio transmitted appeal (in English and French) of the Organizing Committee of the XII Olympic Games to the world's athletes and sportsmen, Dec. 24, 1939. (National Archives of Finland)
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A sizable number of journalists were in Helsinki and elsewhere in Finland during the whole Winter War. For many days the NY Times ran news from the Soviet invasion as its main front page topics. Front page of Pravda, Völkischer Beobachter (Berlin) and Dagens Nyheter (Stockholm) on Dec. 1, 1939. |
The Soviet territorial demands in the memorandum handed over to Finnish negotiators in Moscow, October 14, 1939.
Molotov makes the Soviet territorial demands public in his report at the
Supreme Soviet of the USSR Oct. 31, 1939. In Russian (Hronos). An
address by Prime Minister A. K. Cajander in Helsinki November 23, 1939, concerning territorial demands by the
Soviet Union and Finland's willingness to negotiate all kinds of solutions without surrendering Finland's vital interests. An article in Pravda: "A Buffoon Holding the Post of Prime Minister" on November 26, 1939, as an answer to Prime Minister Cajander's speech. Finland in the Soviet foreign policy of 1939-1940. Diplomatic and other documents in Russian and English. With document résumés. A brief summary
to the propagandists of the Red Army describing the situation in Finland, November 1939 (Propagandist RKKA). The local commander report to the Leningrad Military District commander on the planned offensive
against Finland, November 25, 1939. Original in
Russian. Molotov's note
of the alleged shelling of Soviet territory at Mainila village on
November 26 and subsequent diplomatic correspondence on Nov. 27-29.
Molotov's radio
speech on November 29, 1939, on the Soviet unilateral
denouncement of the non-aggression pact. The war broke out Nov. 30,
1939. A pictorial
report of American journalist H.B. Elliston leaving the
border area the very day of the Soviet invasion ("Finland
Fights", Boston, 1940).
Pravda published on December 1, 1939, an appeal of the Central Committee of the Finnish Communist Party, operating on Russian soil, to workers of Finland. The transmission was "heard" from an unspecified location, and according to Pravda "intercepted and translated from Finnish into Russian" (heninen.net)
Declaration of the Peoples's Government of Finland, formed in the Soviet Union by emigré Finnish communists, led by Otto Kuusinen, 1 December 1939. The order of Soviet People's commissar L. Beriya on organizing reception points and camps for Finnish prisoners of war at six sites all around the Soviet Union, 1 December 1939.
A press statement by President Roosevelt of the United States, December 1, 1939. A telegram by K.A. Umanskii, the Soviet plenipotentiary to USA, December 2, 1939. In Russian. Pact of
Assistance and Friendship, which the Soviet Union signed with the "Democratic Government of Finland" Dec. 2, 1939, in Moscow (Andrew Heninen). Molotov's denial of civilian bombings, December 4, 1939. A propaganda leaflet dropped from Soviet airplanes during the first days of the Winter War. Contemporary press reports and news.
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government to respect the independence and vital interests of Finland. His statements were rejected and argued to be in violatation of the U.S. neutrality by the Soviet government. The Soviet attack on Finland on November 30 led to a large popular support and pressure in the U.S. to help Finland. One of the leading figures was former president Herbert Hoover. |
The article Deutschland und die finnische Frage was published on page 2 of the NSDAP organ Völkischer Beobachter on December 9, 1939. English translation: Germany and the Finnish Question
The League of Nations examined, on the Finnish initiative, the measures of the Soviet and Finnish governments in the light of its own covenant, and international and bilateral treaties as well, and decided that Soviet Union had lost its membership on Dec. 14, 1939. The Times of Dec. 11, 1939, evaluates
the possible outcome of this assembly. Pravda giving an "appraisal" on the decision (Moscow
News, Dec. 18, 1939). In
Russian. The Times' leading article on Soviet commentary, on 18 Dec. 1939. Radio speech of Kyösti Kallio, President of Finland, on Dec. 17, 1939.
The top three telegrams by Hitler, von Ribbentrop and Kuusinen congratulating Stalin on his 60th birtday on Dec. 21, 1939 (in Russian, Pravda). In English (Moscow News). The Executive Committee of Comintern congratulates Comrade Stalin on December 30, 1939. Kuusinen congratulates Voroshilov for Red Army victories in Finland.
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to publish a newspaper for Russian prisoners of war. It was called "Друг пленных" (Drug plennykh, Friend of Prisoners).In the issue #2, February 3, 1940, the article on Page One was titled "How workers and peasants live in Finland" (National Library of Finland) |
President Roosevelt denounces Soviet attack on Finland on Feb. 10,1940: Newsreel clip (36s, mkv; Turner Cold War series, 1 (1996),YouTube). One of the internal reports of the British Government about plans for sending military help to Finland. Conversation of the British Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs with the Soviet Ambassador Ivan Maisky, who told him the Russian terms for peace with Finland. The evaluations of the French General Gamelin about vessels and landing sites for allied help to Finland, February 23, 1940 (British National Archives)Roosevelt's statement on March 13, 1940, as the Winter War ended. British diplomatic correspondence during the Winter War. Sound samples: Tiltu,
a Finnish language version of Axis Sally in Radio Moscow during the Russo-Finnish wars of Nov. 30, 1939-March 13, 1940 and June 26, 1941-Sept. 4, 1944. The sign-on tune of Radio Moscow's Finnish language broadcasts in the 1970's. Finland
in Great Power
politics 1939-1941. Documents and statements: German documents
(transl.) | Deutsche
Dokumente | Swedish
(transl.) | Svenska
| British
diplomatic documents | U.S.
foreign relation documents . Contemporary worldwide politics as reflected by German diplomatic messages. Source: Documents on German Foreign Policy, Series D, Volumes VIII-XIII (Sept. 4, 1939-Dec. 11,
1941). Annotated list of documents in each volume. Finland in the Soviet foreign policy of 1939-1940. Diplomatic and other documents in Russian and English. With document résumés. The peace delegation to Moscow. Notes taken in shorthand in the session of the Finnish government on March 9, 1940 (four days before the end of the war). The Moscow Peace
Treaty of March 12, 1940 (Heninen). The Russian texts as
published in "Izvestiya" on March 14, 1940.
The Commander-in-Chief's Order of the Day March 14, 1940. Field Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim gave this order a day after the Winter War was ended. In Russian as a contemporary NKVD translation. In German. Order of the Soviet Military Council
of the North-Western front on March 14, 1940. Urho Kekkonen's, MP, later President of Finland 1956-1981, speech in the Finnish Parliament, March 15, 1940.
British parliamentary announcements and debates on the Winter War: The Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, informed the House of Commons on Nov. 30, 1939, members of the Parliament seeked support to Finland (e.g. Dec. 13, 1939 and Feb. 1, 1940). When the war ended on March. 13, 1940, the Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, gave a statement in the House of Commons and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Viscount Halifax, in the House of Lords. (Hansard, the Official Report of Debates in the British Parliament).
The organ of the National Socialist Party of Germany, "Völkischer Beobachter", comments (in German) the peace treaty between the Soviet Union and Finland, on March 14, 1940. In English. Pravda's leading article on March 13, 1940. The editorial of the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung on March 14, 1940 (in German). Marshall Mannerheim's thanks as the order of the day to foreign volunteers in the Winter War. March 24, 1940. German Minister in Helsinki Wipert von Blücher sent a critical assessment of the peace treaty to German Foreign Ministry reporting the disappointment and disillusion the Finns had over the treaty without getting help from anybody and the hatred against Germany who had let them down. He doesn't either expect the Finns being resigned to the new border, March 13, 1940. The Germans started internally soon after this peace treaty thinking about developing commercial relations with Finland, who presently had only very limited opportunities for export trade, March 28, 1940. A Report by V.M. Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, at the VI session of the Supreme Soviet on the good relationship between Germany and the Soviet Union, hostile attitudes of the British and French governments, and the Winter War. March 29, 1940. In Russian.
The exchange of letters between Aleksi Lehtonen, Bishop of Tampere, and the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, on April 1 and 10, 1940 (British National Archives) The Act,
enacted by the Finnish Parliament, concerning compensation for property left in the areas ceded to the Soviet Union. August 9, 1940. The total area lost was 35,000 sq.km (ab. 9 per cent of the Finnish territory). The entire population, consisting of 422,000 people, was resettled elsewhere in Finland and compensated, in means available, for their
losses by this law.
Pravda, August 23, 1940: Anniversary of the Soviet-German pact. The agreement between Germany and Finland to allow the transit of German troops through Finnish ports of Vaasa and Oulu to Kirkenes in Norway, 12 September 1940 (Finnish National Archives). Similar agreement between Sweden and Germany on 8 August 1940 to allow German troops from Norway to go through Sweden (in Swedish & German). The proposal of the Soviet government on 9 July 1940 to allow Soviet troops to use Finnish railways for their traffic from the recent new border to their naval base in the Hanko Peninsula. German Minister in Helsinki reports on 11 September 1940 about the final Finnish-Soviet agreement, done five days earlier, to the German Foreign Office.
1941
The leased territories of Hanko and Porkkala in 1940-41 ja 1944-56.
The declarations of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth and governments-in-exile of occupied European countries to continue struggle against Germany and her associates until victory is won (June 12, 1941). The Atlantic Charter, the joint declaration of the President of the United States and Prime Minister of Britain (August 14, 1941). The commitment of the Soviet Union and nine governments-in-exile to the Atlantic Charter and expressing their adherances to the principle that they desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned (September 24, 1941). The joint declaration of 26 nations against the members of the Tripartite Pact and its adherents (January 1, 1942). Атлантическая хартия (Atlantic Charter in Russian, history site: hrono.ru) .
Messages of the Swedish military attaché Curt Kempff from Helsinki to Stockholm: Notes about discussion with the Finnish HQ operational chief, Lt. General Airo on 13 June 1941, report of the arrival of the Chief Supply Officer of the Luftwaffe General Lorentz [General z.b.V. des Oberkommandos der Luftwaffe Generalmajor Walter Lorenz] at Helsinki on 13 June 1941, observations in Helsinki on the day of the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 (The Military Archives, Stockholm)
Stalin to Churchill and Roosevelt July-August, 1941. Minister of Commerce and Industry, CEO of Elanto, Helsinki Metropolitan area co-operative retail operative Väinö Tanner gave a radio reply on 28 October 1941 to a message by R.A. Palmer, General Secretary of the British Co-operative Union relayed through BBC Finnish service on 23 October 1941 (Archives of Finnish Labour Movement)
Herbert Hoover protests US pressure on Finland, Nov. 4, 1941. Documents concerning the relations between Finland, Great Britain and The United States of America during the autumn of 1941. (The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, 1942) The British Prime Minister Churchill's telegram of Nov. 29, 1941 to Field Marshal Mannerheim. His reply on Dec. 4, 1941. Both relayed through the American minister in Helsinki. 1942
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in listening to foreign radio stations. Even lists of their wavelengths were published. Clip from the weekly magazine Radiokuuntelija (Radio Listener) of August 9, 1942. |
Columnist Pekka Peitsi (Urho Kekkonen) of Suomen Kuvalehti Magazine about the effect of Soviet and British radio propaganda on listeners in Finland, Jan. 8, 1942. In Finnish.
After Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war on the U.S. the State Department sent, on February 4, an inquiry to the Finnish Government asking Finland's position in the war and about the German troops on Finnish soil. The Finnish Government gave the reply to this on 16 February. American diplomatic correspondence concerning Finland from February 2 to February 16 (U.S. Foreign Relations, 1942, Volume II)
Confidential hand-written private letter of President Ryti (copy) to Field Marshal Mannerheim about the political aspects in military strategies for advances of Finnish troops in Russian Karelia, 25 March 1942. In Russian, in English. (National Archives of Finland)
A double-page spread about Finnish athletes in military service in the English edition of the German twice a month propaganda magazine "Signal", nr. 13, July 1942. Correspondence concerning mainly Russian but also Finnish prisoners of war with the International Red Cross. Machine translations of documents into English.
A wartime song Äänisen aallot (Waves of Onega)
1942. Includes a mp3 file, time 3:02.
1943
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died in the POW camp in Juuka, Northern Karelia, Finland (Здесь погребено 43 советских военно-служащих) |
The report of the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Helsinki to the Secretary of State Cordell Hull about his discussion with the Finnish President Risto Ryti: how the Finnish political leadership saw the ongoing war with the Soviet Union as Finland being a co-belligerent with Germany, Jan. 21, 1943. News published by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter about the confidential letter of 33 well-known Finnish politicians and M.P.'s to President Ryti to restore the well-established good relations with the United States, and now, when Finland has already advanced to her pre-war borders, to drop out of Great Power conflicts and to seek a way to conclude a separate peace treaty [with the Soviet Union], August 21-22, 1943. The complete text (here as translated into English) was published a few days later, on August 27, in Helsingin Sanomat - a newspaper with the largest circulation in Finland.
Hitler's order for the 20th Mountain Army stationed in Northern Norway and Finland to plan preparations for the case Finland collapses or pulls out of the war. (Web publication: Hitlers Weisungen für die Kriegführung 1939-1945. Dokumenten des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, based on Bernard & Graeffe earlier publication of 1962)The draft prepared by the Voroshilov commission, set on Oct. 13, 1943 in the secretariat of the Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, for Finland's unconditional surrender (The digitized Archives of Russian Foreign Ministry)1944
Soviet air raids on Helsinki in Feb. 1944
Declaration by the governments of Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States, addressed to Germany's satellites Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland. Published in British and Soviet newspapers, May 13, 1944 (heninen.net) The letter of Field Marshal, President C.G. Mannerheim to the German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler about Finland's parting from the war, Sept. 2, 1944 (The Memoirs of Marshal Mannerheim) Armistice Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on the one hand, and Finland on the other, Sept. 19, 1944 (heninen.net) Russia agrees to pay compensation to Canadian-British mining companies for the loss of their businesses in Petsamo, Oct. 8, 1944 Your
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