Studia Historica Septentrionalia 45
Kari Alenius, Olavi K. Fält, Jouko Vahtola (Toim.), Vieraat sotilaat. Seminaari Oulun yliopistossa 5.2.–6.2.2004. Pohjois-Suomen Historiallinen Yhdistys, Rovaniemi 2004. 276 pages

Summary:
Marianne Junila, The Presence of a Foreign Military Force in the Northern Finnish Community

During World War II the civil populations of many countries came into contact with foreign soldiers. The foreign military was present either in the role of an ally (for example in the U.K. and in Finland), or as an occupying force (in Iceland and Denmark). The way the civil population regarded the foreign forces was not only dependent on the kind of position and power that was held by the soldiers, but it was also influenced by the way this power was used. Within the limits set by the position and power of the foreign forces, the civil population chose between collaboration and resistance.

According to Werner Rings, forms of collaboration and resistance can be categorised in the following way:

Resistance

Offensive
Defensive
Polemic
Symbolic

Collaboration

Neutral
Conditional
Tactical
Unconditional

In my article I examine the way the people in Northern Finland related to the foreign forces. I also compare the attitudes and behaviour of the Northern Finnish civilians to situations in other European countries.

All forms of resistance occurred in Northern Finland. Offensive, defensive, symbolic and polemic actions were taken even though the resistance as a whole was unorganised and sporadic. Moreover, civilians sought non-political and non-ideological co-operation with the soldiers when this was beneficial to them. For example, trading with the Germans or finding employment in the military’s service could prove to be very profitable. This neutral collaboration was part of the civilian population’s effort to adjust to the unusual and unavoidable circumstances. This was the most commonly found attitude towards foreign soldiers in Finland as well as in other European countries.

The Finnish people had great confidence in the power of law and order, which brought them a strong sense of security. Despite the fact that the German soldiers were representatives of a foreign military force, the civilians did not feel their sovereignty threatened by them. Therefore the position of the Germans as foreign soldiers did not, in the first instance, determine they way they were regarded by the Finnish civilians.


Takaisin Studia Historica Septentrionalia 45