Finnish Jews

Finnish Jews

Some Historical Background

The history of Jews in Finland only goes back a couple of hundred years, and their number has never reached two thousand (Harviainen 333). Boris Grünstein describes the Finnish Jewry as not even being a minority, but a curiosity (43). There were virtually no Jewish people in Finland when the country was part of Sweden. The situation changed and the arrival of Jews began when Finland was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1809 (Harviainen 333, 335).

Most Finnish Jews are descendants of so-called cantonists, Jewish soldiers who served in the Russian army (Pentikäinen and Anttonen 163–64). Many of these were orphans and sons of underprivileged families, who could be called to duty as early as at the age of twelve. During the reign of Nicholas I, their term of service was twenty-five years, during which many of them lost contact with home. The aim was for them to abandon their religion and become Christians (Jakobson 152–53).

Alexander II shortened the term of service to 4–6 years and allowed soldiers released from the army to settle with their families in the town where they had served. The lives of those who stayed in Finland were quite restricted, e.g. the ways in which they could earn their living were very limited (Jakobson 153).

The increase in the number of Jews led to debate about their civil rights in the Senate in the 1870s, but no decisions were made, and their position remained insecure until Finland gained independence in 1917 (Harviainen 336–37). Finland was the last country but one in Europe to remove restrictions concerning Jews. The bill granting them civil rights was passed by a vote of 163–6 in December 1917 (Smolar 51–52).

Jews in the Army

The Winter War

In 1939 there were three Jewish congregations and some 1700 Jews in Finland. The congregation in Helsinki had about 1200 members, Viipuri 300, and Turku 200 (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 53). Approximately 260 Finnish Jews participated in the Winter War, 200 of whom served at the front (Harviainen 339). There were also several Jewish volunteers coming from Europe, some of them desperately seeking a way to escape Nazi influence (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 54–55). Jewishness was not emphasised in the army; anti-Semitism was not an issue (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 61–62), and neither was the war particularly problematic for the Jews ideologically, for Finland was merely seen as defending itself against an attack by the Soviet Union (Torvinen, Kadimah 130). The war united the Jews with Finland more strongly than anything before, and it has been said that with their effort, they proved they truly were Finns (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 53, 61). General attitudes towards Germany were not particularly warm at the time due to Germany’s relations with the Soviet Union (Torvinen, Kadimah 130–31).

The Continuation War

In the summer of 1941, Finland joined the war Germany had started against the Soviet Union. In this Continuation War, as it is often called with respect to Finland’s part, the loyalty of Finnish Jews was put to test, and was shadowed by fear and uncertainty. Nevertheless, the Jews fought like everyone else. The Jewish magazine Makkabi declared in December 1942 that they were fighting “for the freedom and independence of Finland” ¹ (Torvinen, Kadimah 132–33). During the war, co-belligerence with Germany felt distant and theoretical, and not everyone came into contact with the German troops in Finland (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 122). Many of the Jewish soldiers did not really think about it until after the war (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 143–44).

Relationships with the Germans were described as correct, even friendly (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 125, 127). Most Jews spoke German (Jalowisch in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 128), which may have contributed to friendships being formed. No serious incidents were reported (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 129), but some Jews felt ill at ease and were afraid (Kaplun in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 127).

The Jewishness of these soldiers was not hidden from the Germans, and there even was a field synagogue. Furloughs were given for Sabbaths, and some came from considerable distances to attend. The Germans were aware of the synagogue but did not interfere (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 127, 129–132). Some of the Jewish soldiers even liked to proclaim their religion to provoke the Germans, whose reactions were mainly surprised but not particularly negative. When asked about their Jewish soldiers, Finnish superiors usually defended them, saying they were no different from other Finns (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 128–129). Jewish medical officers treated German patients and saved their lives, even risking their own (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 133, 141). Several Jews were awarded German decorations, but they refused to accept them (Poljakoff in Torvinen, Kadimah 135; Smolar 155–57).

Since most of the members of the Helsinki and Turku congregations were Swedish-speaking, for some of the Jewish soldiers military service was a chance to make better contact with the Finnish-speaking majority. This worked both ways, for many of their comrades in arms had never met a Jew before (Kuusi in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 35, 36, 43–44). The Jews’ relationships with other Finnish soldiers were generally very good (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 129), though not everyone felt comfortable advertising their religion (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 148), for there were sometimes anti-Semitic comments (Wardi in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 148; Rautkallio, Holocaust 124). Sometimes Jewishness could even be an obstruction in the way of a successful military career (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 143).

There were not a lot of Jews in the armed forces before the wars, and attitudes were one of the reasons. This was especially seen in admittance to the Reserve Officers Training Corps (Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 47). John Anker recalls his surprise when he was not sent back from the Naval Academy (in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 155). There are other examples as well: The Jewish soldiers’ association was not allowed to join the federation during the war, for the federation thought it better to “keep the Jewish soldiers in the background” (Lefko in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 144). A Jewish medical officer felt he did not get duties corresponding to his medical expertise (Zevi in Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 134). An official of the State Police, Ari Kauhanen, tried to get Jews assigned to staff duty transferred elsewhere, implying they were not “real Finns” and that they would have a bad effect on the Germans as well as the Finns, whose opinion of Germany had “recently turned appreciably more favourable” (in Rautkallio, Holocaust 171–172).

Rautkallio points out that most of the Jews in the army saw themselves first of all as Finnish soldiers; their Jewishness was a secondary consideration (Aseveljeys 154). Max Jakobson recalls feeling different in his battalion, because he was very young and from the city – he does not even mention his Jewishness in this connection (336–38).

The Home Front

Already before the Winter War broke out, the Jewish congregation arranged a collection for the benefit of the Finnish defence (Torvinen, Kadimah 130). The home front took care of soldiers, their families, and other members of the community who had suffered because of the war, such as the Jews of Viipuri, who were evacuated mainly to Helsinki after the Winter War. Besides this, the congregations took care of Jewish refugees from Europe, as well as the approximately 300 Soviet Jews who were in Finland as prisoners of war (Torvinen, Kadimah 135–36; Rautkallio, Aseveljeys 63–64). The Finnish congregations themselves were lent a helping hand from abroad, e.g. children were sent to Sweden, where they stayed with local Jewish families (Torvinen, Kadimah 157).