Finland 1942
All of today's images, taken in Finland in 1942, are from SA-Kuva, the amazing Finnish archive of photos from World War II.
World War II began in Europe in September, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Two months later, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, and Finland fought Russia until an armistice was reached in Sept. 1944.
Above: Finnish soldiers taking a bucket shower in Karhumäki on April 22, 1942.
Washing at a stream in Syvärin on June 29, 1942.
Standing on the end of a dock at Karkasjärvi on July 7, 1942. Finland is the land of 188,000 lakes.
Enemy planes approach, and the sunbathing men hurry to load the anti-aircraft guns without stopping to get dressed.
Soldiers carrying a small raft at Hiisjärven lohko.
Soldiers on a raft.
More soldiers carrying small rafts, or boards to make rafts, through the woods.
Lakeside at Rukajärvi.
We end with this photo at a facility for frontline troops to wash and rest. The guy on the left seems to be holding a small mirror to help his buddy shave. But I noticed that this photo was taken on Feb. 14, 1942, and from the way the guy is holding out his arms, he might be saying, "Be my Valentine!"
8 comments:
They look healthier than the Estonians in those posture pictures, don't they? Big Dude
Some amazing bare butts!
Yes, the butts are beautiful.
I think Big Dude might be onto something.
Always glad to see SA-Kuva photos! Nitpicking here, but the Finns and the Soviets signed an armistice in September of 1944, effectively ending the war between them. In return for getting the Soviets off their backs, the Finns agreed to expel or intern the remaining German troops in their country. That resulted in a two month mini-war in Lapland as the Nazis retreated into Norway. A final peace treaty with the Soviets didn't come until 1947, however.
@Vintage Muscle Man - Thanks, Jerry. I didn't know about the 1944 Finnish-Soviet armistice, and I have updated my text. I didn't want to get into details about how the Allies (U.S., Britain) wouldn't support Finland against the Russians, because Russia was an "ally" fighting Germany, so Finland had to turn to Germany for help against Russia.
The Finns have Sisu in their character and it has served them very well. :)
Now Finland is part of NATO, in the past the threat was Stalin and the USSR, now it is Putin and a revanchist Russia.
Great job!!
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