To the Bomb and Back

Finnish War Children Tell Their World War II Stories
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-78920-516-9
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, 326 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 491 g

Between 1939 and 1945, some 80,000 Finnish children were sent to Sweden, Denmark, and elsewhere, ostensibly to protect them from danger while their nation’s soldiers fought superior Soviet and German forces. This was the largest of all of World War II children’s transports, and although acknowledged today as “a great social-historical mistake,” it has received surprisingly little attention. This is the first English-language account of Finland’s war children and their experiences, told through the survivors’ own words. Supported by an extensive introduction, a bibliography of secondary sources, and over two dozen photographs, this book testifies to the often-lifelong traumas endured by youthful survivors of war.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Saffle, Sue

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Besondere Kriege und Kampagnen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Altersgruppen Kinder- und Jugendsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Biographien & Autobiographien: Historisch, Politisch, Militärisch
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Oral History (Zeitzeugen)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Illustrations

Foreword

Kai Rosnell

Introduction

(Names in quotation marks are pseudonyms chosen by the authors)



The Work of Sorrow by Marja Hultin Barron

Unanswered Questions for a Finnpojke by Martti Kalervo Broström

A Desire to Scream by “Emmi Eskola”      

Horseshoes and Licorice Drops by Juha Hankkila      

The Last Summer in Sweden by “Karina Heino”        

Farting in Swedish by Veijo Holopainen       

Sugar Beets and Spettecaka by Soile Kiema Ilvesoksa           

Dragons in a Handbag by Veikko Inkinen        

A Good and Bad Hand by Eric Jaakkola     

The Red Shoes by Anita Jakobsson         

Bread in a Suitcase by Rauni Janser       

The Lucky Stain by Rauno Juntunen    

Paper Dolls by Sirpa Kaukinen        

The Woman in the Broad-Brimmed Hat by Kirsti Kettunen   

Swedish Toys by Helena Nyqvist Koivisto       

Goodbye to the Bombs by Anne-Maj Korpela

Someone’s Daughter by “Leena Korpi”          

To the Bomb and Back by Eeva Lindgren           

A Blonde Curly-haired Girl by Mirja Luoma        

Fishing with Ragnar by Pekka/Peter Louhimo      

Black Birds by Seppo Mälkki      

A Terror of the Dark by Marita Merilahti      

Funeral Games by “Eine Miller”         

The Woman in Black by Helena Nilsson        

Understanding Backwards by Veijo Pönniäinen Paine    

A Happier War Child Story by Virve Kaisu Kyllikki Palos      

No Easy Choices by Ossi Rahkonen        

God natt, sov Gott by Lea Rehula        

A Lifelong Exile by Kai Rosnell        

“Take the Bed Down!” by Gertrud Rullander           

Waiting for the Time to Pass by Irma Saarinen           

Children’s Prayers by Kaarina Siilasto          

“Send the Little Ones!” by Bodil Nordman Söderberg       

A Tale of Two Sisters by Marja Tähtinen     

Swedish Fish by Rolf J. E. Tarvala     

Horses in the Kitchen by Jorma Törmänen         

Rita, not Rauha by “Rita Trent”      

Repairing the Clock by Kaj Wanne         

Soldier Boy by Norman Westerberg

Appendix: A Swedish War Child Administration Form

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Saffle, Sue
Sue Saffle holds a Senior Instructorship in Virginia Tech’s Department of English. She is a winner of VT’s University Sporn Award for outstanding teaching and was inducted into the institution’s Academy of Teaching Excellence. In 2000–2001 she lived in Helsinki, where she began collecting the stories of Finland’s war children. Her articles about them have appeared in the journal Children and War and in the collection Children: The Invisible Victims of War (2008).

Sue Saffle holds a Senior Instructorship in Virginia Tech’s Department of English. She is a winner of VT’s University Sporn Award for outstanding teaching and was inducted into the institution’s Academy of Teaching Excellence. In 2000–2001 she lived in Helsinki, where she began collecting the stories of Finland’s war children. Her articles about them have appeared in the journal Children and War and in the collection Children: The Invisible Victims of War (2008).