Need help finding information

[Pychox]

Hello!

So, I made a post here a few years ago asking about my grandfather Yrjö Pitkänen. I got some very good answers but I was wondering if I could get some more information.

Name: Yrjö Gunnar Pitkänen
Born: 31-12-1905
Died: 15-08-1941
Rank: Captain (Posthumously Major).


He was the battalion commander of 3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 15.
He fought in the battle of Taipale and was awarded for his bravery.

He became adjutant to field Marshall Mannerheim, and there is footage of him in attendance to Mannerheim in Helsinki waiting to greet Chancellor Hitler.

There is apparently also footage of my Yrjö Pitkänen awarding soldiers with medals, as my grandmother told me she saw it on the telivision, but I have no further information there.

He died by a mortar shrapnel during a Soviet offensive in August 1941 at the front line in Hiitola on Pirun Vuori.

Now, I have only found footage of Hitlers visit to Finland in 1942, not in 1939-1941 when he was alive. If anyone could give me footage or pictures of that I would greatly appreciate it, I would also deeply appreciate any other pictures you could find of him.

[Vaeltaja]

To be honest i have not heard of Hitler visiting Finland in 1941. Or in fact any time prior to the short visit in 1942. And even then he didn't visit Helsinki.

[Pychox]

To be honest i have not heard of Hitler visiting Finland in 1941. Or in fact any time prior to the short visit in 1942. And even then he didn't visit Helsinki.

That's what I thought, at least not in public.

In 1941, German officers went to Helsinki to plan operation Barbarossa, but Hitler was not there.

[Mangrove]

He became adjutant to field Marshall Mannerheim, and there is footage of him in attendance to Mannerheim in Helsinki waiting to greet Chancellor Hitler.

Mannerheim had two adjutants during 1939-1945, senior adjutant Ragnar Grönvall and junior adjutant Osvald Backmän.

[Pychox]

He became adjutant to field Marshall Mannerheim, and there is footage of him in attendance to Mannerheim in Helsinki waiting to greet Chancellor Hitler.

Mannerheim had two adjutants during 1939-1945, senior adjutant Ragnar Grönvall and junior adjutant Osvald Backmän.

Hmm, what is written in this letter must be false then. Thank you for telling me.

How can I find pictures of Yrjö etc?

[Mangrove]

How can I find pictures of Yrjö etc?

His name isn't listed in the Finnish Wartime Photograph Archive (sa-kuva.fi), so it's quite safe to say he wasn't photographed by the official war photographers. There are several thousands photographs of soldiers printed in books series Suomen Rintamamiehet 1939-1945 and book Vapautemme hinta. The latter contains only such soldiers that died during the Winter War.

Besides these, there are also several books with photographs compiled by the associations based in a certain municipality.

[JTV]

I checked book Kadettikunta, jäsenet 1921 - 1955 (Officer Corps, Members 1921 - 1955), page 201 lists following:

Pitkänen, Yrjö Gunnar. Captain. Born 31st of December 1905. Killed in Hiitola 15th of August 1941.

His membership number was 686 and he had graduated from 10th training course of Officer School (Kadettikoulu), which had been held 6th of October 1927 - 16th of May 1929.

Jarkko