*This thread was asked a permission regarding its publication
**This thread is not directly about the war, but the consequences
***To us all, what we should and should not to do
Helsinki citizens watching as the surrendered Red Guard, the prisoners of the war are being transported through the city during the Battle of Helsinki in 1918. Image: Espoo City Museum.
The Finnish Civil War of 1918 was highly characterized by terror, committed by the both sides of the war. The Red terror took place during the war, accelerating towards the end of the war as the nascent defeat in the horizon. The White terror happened also during the war, but mainly after the war as the Finnish White Guard imprisoned tens of thousands of the Finnish Red Guardsman and civilians, leading to a humanitarian crises and to more casualties which the war itself had resulted. This terror was later explained as an external matter, not belonging to the war itself, but it clearly was a part of the war. The White Finland executed an ethnic cleansing after the war, if a Red survived the aftermath, I mean, not being shot, at least her/his civil rights were denied for the two coming decades. While this occurred, the medicine, the psychology was still taking its first-steps recognizing the consequences about this kind of an event. The aftermath of the war created a remarkable trace to the Finnish history, a great trauma, a silence, it was quickly processed while all hands, even the socialist ones were needed in 1939. But the war of 1918 and the aftermath left such a scars, even at the modern days, it's a very hard topic to discuss about in the 'coffee-table-talks'. While the foreign nations had recognized the Finnish independence earlier, they later claimed withdrawing the recognition while the news of the aftermath reached them.
A countryside parish, Varkaus. Red Guardsmen, civilians and suspects being shut-up into a former working-class parish church, the people waiting here to being called-up into the front of the Field Court. Image: Museums of Varkaus
The White terror after the war was systematic, organized, searching a purpose. It was stressed by the global situation, the WWI, the newly gained independence, but above the all, the anger and the hate between the social classes, it was 'the pay-back-time'. The 'debts' from the pre-war era were now paid, you know, from 'eye-to-eye-method'. The White terror suppressed all the socialist and communist activities throughout the whole line. The judgement at the field-court were often personal, while the Whites hunted-down the ones which they consider inflicting them injustice before, or during the war. Having the greatest threat, of course, they were the former Red leaders in the politics, or in the Red Guard and considering their families also. The terror reached also the Russians present in Finland, because of the Imperial Russian Army was still partly present in Finland and the remnants of it supported the Finnish Red Guard during the Civil War. It's a pretty much guessing-work as the research is still inadequate, but most likely, some of the Red prisoners stayed in jail all the way until the 1930's.
Executing the Red Guard members after the war in a farm-field uphill. The photo is probably from the early summer of 1918, the Civil War had ended in May. Image: Museums of Varkaus
Executing the suspects and the found-guilty. It was not so accurate always, if someone didn't like the other, he/she was shot. If someone was a needed workman, let's say for instance, at the sawmill, he/she was spared.
I cannot remember, this injustice has never been spoken-out in the modern days. But probably it is admitted earlier, in different occasions and during the commemoration-days. The involved ones to the bad treatment of the Red prisoner, they were never judged. It should also be remembered, during the war, the White Senate pretty much gave plenipotentiary powers to its army. In its name, for instance, at Viipuri, the 2nd largest Finnish city then, the graves of the fallen Reds were disgraced, the bodies were dig-up and moved to the dog-cemetery in the city. Because of the foreign pressure and maybe having also 'the 2nd thoughts', the Finnish President declared an emergency- and amnesty law, freeing all the Red women and men in the prison camps. Still, the hunger and the diseases killed every day hundreds in the captivity. The released prisoners had to walk to their homes, sometimes hundreds of kilometres, many died during their walk to back home, for instance, eating a proper meal too quickly to the unprepared bowels.
It's a classic saying, -'On sentään tie jäänyt mieleen' - 'At least, I can remember the road to my home'. It describes the Red prisoners walking to their homes via the forest roads.
**This thread is not directly about the war, but the consequences
***To us all, what we should and should not to do
Helsinki citizens watching as the surrendered Red Guard, the prisoners of the war are being transported through the city during the Battle of Helsinki in 1918. Image: Espoo City Museum.
The Finnish Civil War of 1918 was highly characterized by terror, committed by the both sides of the war. The Red terror took place during the war, accelerating towards the end of the war as the nascent defeat in the horizon. The White terror happened also during the war, but mainly after the war as the Finnish White Guard imprisoned tens of thousands of the Finnish Red Guardsman and civilians, leading to a humanitarian crises and to more casualties which the war itself had resulted. This terror was later explained as an external matter, not belonging to the war itself, but it clearly was a part of the war. The White Finland executed an ethnic cleansing after the war, if a Red survived the aftermath, I mean, not being shot, at least her/his civil rights were denied for the two coming decades. While this occurred, the medicine, the psychology was still taking its first-steps recognizing the consequences about this kind of an event. The aftermath of the war created a remarkable trace to the Finnish history, a great trauma, a silence, it was quickly processed while all hands, even the socialist ones were needed in 1939. But the war of 1918 and the aftermath left such a scars, even at the modern days, it's a very hard topic to discuss about in the 'coffee-table-talks'. While the foreign nations had recognized the Finnish independence earlier, they later claimed withdrawing the recognition while the news of the aftermath reached them.
A countryside parish, Varkaus. Red Guardsmen, civilians and suspects being shut-up into a former working-class parish church, the people waiting here to being called-up into the front of the Field Court. Image: Museums of Varkaus
The White terror after the war was systematic, organized, searching a purpose. It was stressed by the global situation, the WWI, the newly gained independence, but above the all, the anger and the hate between the social classes, it was 'the pay-back-time'. The 'debts' from the pre-war era were now paid, you know, from 'eye-to-eye-method'. The White terror suppressed all the socialist and communist activities throughout the whole line. The judgement at the field-court were often personal, while the Whites hunted-down the ones which they consider inflicting them injustice before, or during the war. Having the greatest threat, of course, they were the former Red leaders in the politics, or in the Red Guard and considering their families also. The terror reached also the Russians present in Finland, because of the Imperial Russian Army was still partly present in Finland and the remnants of it supported the Finnish Red Guard during the Civil War. It's a pretty much guessing-work as the research is still inadequate, but most likely, some of the Red prisoners stayed in jail all the way until the 1930's.
Executing the Red Guard members after the war in a farm-field uphill. The photo is probably from the early summer of 1918, the Civil War had ended in May. Image: Museums of Varkaus
Executing the suspects and the found-guilty. It was not so accurate always, if someone didn't like the other, he/she was shot. If someone was a needed workman, let's say for instance, at the sawmill, he/she was spared.
I cannot remember, this injustice has never been spoken-out in the modern days. But probably it is admitted earlier, in different occasions and during the commemoration-days. The involved ones to the bad treatment of the Red prisoner, they were never judged. It should also be remembered, during the war, the White Senate pretty much gave plenipotentiary powers to its army. In its name, for instance, at Viipuri, the 2nd largest Finnish city then, the graves of the fallen Reds were disgraced, the bodies were dig-up and moved to the dog-cemetery in the city. Because of the foreign pressure and maybe having also 'the 2nd thoughts', the Finnish President declared an emergency- and amnesty law, freeing all the Red women and men in the prison camps. Still, the hunger and the diseases killed every day hundreds in the captivity. The released prisoners had to walk to their homes, sometimes hundreds of kilometres, many died during their walk to back home, for instance, eating a proper meal too quickly to the unprepared bowels.
It's a classic saying, -'On sentään tie jäänyt mieleen' - 'At least, I can remember the road to my home'. It describes the Red prisoners walking to their homes via the forest roads.
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