Page 414 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo I

414 XXXIV Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

and the close and poor conditions were strange after the superfluous living in Sweden. The
transfer back and forth was a traumatic experience and some of the children are still suffering
from it.
After the war not everything passed smoothly and there were disputes between the bio-
logical and foster parents over the future of the child. In some occasions this has been con-
sidered as a great loss to Finland, the affair being a historical mistake. More than a fifth of
them never came back. The majority of the war children found their place in Finland, Sweden
or Denmark.
Besides the war orphans and war children, many other children had fateful experiences
during the wars. This developed an emotion which sank down into the innermost recesses of
one’s mind, a knowledge which has its impact even today. One of the war orphans did hit the
core saying “I don’t remember the bombings, but I was astonished, when I felt an indefinite
11
fear, when I as an adult heard the noise of a motor driven aeroplane” .
Fear, suffering and the narrow conditions of life are reflected in many stories. The degree
of the difficulty of the problems varies. Children who had been content during the war and
had lived in families who kept together had fewer emotional damages. In these families the
adults did not share all their worries with their children. They also tried to hide things from
children, but the stories reveal that the little pitchers had big ears. the emotional insecur-
ity was strong among children, whose parents showed their bitterness to their children or
shared it with them. This led to an inexplicable feeling of insecurity and caused anxiety and
nightmares. In other words, loving and responsible parents seemed to be the key to a happy
childhood during the war. 12

siX O’clOck in the eVening after the war
The Finns were shocked when the sounds of the arms died down on the front in Sep-
tember 1944. The interim peace agreement signed in Moscow was strict. This time Finland
lost not only Carelia and Salla but also Petsamo or 12 per cent of its territory. Additionally,
Finland had to rent Porkkala to the Soviet Union for 50 years. This caused presentiments
among citizens.
In these wars about 85 500 Finns disappeared or died, 100 000 parents lost their child and
there were 50 000 war orphans, 30 000 war widows and over 74 000 war children. Of the
fallen and disappeared 90 per cent were men between 20-40 years.
During the wars nativity and mortality surprisingly stayed in balance. The biggest popu-
lation losses were suffered in 1940, 1941 and 1944, when the increase of population almost
stopped. The only minus year was 1940 when the loss was 8000 citizens. The population
increased with 52 500 people. Between 1945 and 1950 there were many marriages and a
baby boom: the increase of population was per annum more than the total growth during the
wars.
The year 1945, when there was peace in other parts of the country, and the war in Lapland
was still going on, was a kind of zero point. Goods were scanty, and the delivery was still

11 Vuornos 2008, p. 25.
12 Korppi-Tommola 2003, p. 152