Finnish jews in combat !

[Topspeed]

Just read the new Helsingin Sanomat today.

Max Jacobsson had added up the history of finnish jews in numbers ( info was in a longer study of finnish post war foreign policies ).

During the war 1 700 jews lived in Finland. 260 of them were in the front. 23 died.

[Tero T]

Good Day !

One of those Jewish soldiers lives here in Toronto Canada. He is Abbo Kent . His name when in Finland was Abbo Kotschak and his family owned the Sotilas Pukkimo (Soldier clothing company). He is in his 90's and as sharp as a whip. I had lunch with him every couple of months. He served during the winter war and then left Finland with his wife Helen to the U.S. He then served in the U.S army in the Pacific. So his medal grouping is one of the rarest out there. His wife was from Frankfurt and new Anne Franks family. She new Anne Frank but was older and did not associate with her much. She passed away several years ago and I attended her funeral.
Abbo is a staunch defender of Finland and even called in all his government friends here in Canada to promote the Fire and Ice film. He is close to Harry Matso who heads the Finnish Jewish War Veterans in Finland. Did you also know there is a muslim war veterans group in Finland also.? Anyhow a small tidbit of info. Regards Tero T in Toronto

[Topspeed]

One finnish jewish soldier received an Iron Cross from a high ranking german officer ( Keitel ? ).

[Esa K]

For those who reads Swedish theres a short text by Harry Järv (yes, it´s "the" Harry J.) about the topic:

Järv, Harry: Civilkurage, in: Fenix : Tidskrift för Humanism redigerad av Harry Järv, nr 2&3 1996, Stockholm Atlantis 1997.


Regards

Esa K

[carolwmahs]

One finnish jewish soldier received an Iron Cross from a high ranking german officer ( Keitel ? ).

It's an indication of the high regard Germany had for the Finns in that they didn't press for the institution of the same racial policies that were in effect in other European countries.

From: http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~aphamala/pe/issue2/al-tartu.htm

by Antero Leitzinger

Among the most dramatic potential loyalty conflicts were the encounters between Finnish Jewish officers and Nazi Germans, who were allied with Finland from 1941 to 1944. When a German Colonel Pilgrim had been rescued by a Finnish captain, then still Lieutenant Salomon Klass, the German offered his rescuer his thanks and the Iron Cross, which Klass however declined to accept. When the German heard that his rescuer was a Jew, he nevertheless shook the latter’s hand and said: "I personally have nothing against you as a Jew. Heil Hitler!" (Hannu Rautkallio: "Suomen juutalaisten aseveljeys", Jyväskylä 1989, p. 157-158) ["Finnish Jews as Germany’s Waffenbrüder"].

Soviet Union produced in 1944 a list of suspected war criminals. The list included also a Jewish Captain Eugen Apter, who remained innocently imprisoned until 1947. (Rautkallio, p. 142)

In the wars, 23 Jews and 10 Muslims fell for the freedom of Finland. Many of the Jews and Muslims fought as volunteers, having not yet received the Finnish citizenship.

[Tero T]

About three years ago I was asked by the head of the Jewish Canadian war veterans to do a display at their local synagogue . At this luncheon meeting was a table of Finnish war veterans .Next to this table were some Russian Jewish war veterans. It was interesting to see the Finnish veterans sitting erect with a simple oak leaf on their blazers indicating their veteran status. The Russians were all leaning to one side because of the 30 or so medals they had pinned to their jackets. in effect immobilizing themselves. Tero T

[mars]

One finnish jewish soldier received an Iron Cross from a high ranking german officer ( Keitel ? ).

It would be interesting to know what that Jewish soldier was thinking when he received a medal from a German, did he have any idea the fate fall to his brothers and sisters ? would he show this medal proudly to his friends after the war like other veterans did ?

[Mikko H.]

Two Finnish Jews were awarded the Iron Cross, and both refused it.

[Esa K]

Mars wrote:

would he show this medal proudly to his friends after the war like other veterans did ?

my emphsasis

Where have you got that Finnish soliders proudly showed their Iron Crosses? Except from some high ranking (fomer Jägers of Prussian 27th Jägerbatallion) officers, and some of the volontary SS-men who had recived the cross before their return to Finland, my impression about the soliders attitude (or how to put it) towards the decoration was that it was not very highly ranked. Every Finnish decoration was apprecitiated higher cause in contrary how the process to recive a Finnish decoration, the Iron crosses moore or less was given by the Germans in some numbers to the Finnnish Army Corps and Divisions to be distributed among the troops. Well, this is my, with bad spelling and grammar expressed, personal observations about this, those who have more on this, correct me if I´m wrong.


regards

Esa K

[Juha Tompuri]

Two Finnish Jews were awarded the Iron Cross, and both refused it.

The other being Medical Captain (later ? Major) Leo Skurnik.

Regards, Juha

P.S this page ( Finnish) also mentions a third person, a woman, Dina Poljakoff, but I'm not sure is it correct:
http://w3.verkkouutiset.fi/arkisto/Arki ... UTSOTA.HTM

[Mikko H.]

Where have you got that Finnish soliders proudly showed their Iron Crosses? Except from some high ranking (fomer Jägers of Prussian 27th Jägerbatallion) officers, and some of the volontary SS-men who had recived the cross before their return to Finland, my impression about the soliders attitude (or how to put it) towards the decoration was that it was not very highly ranked. Every Finnish decoration was apprecitiated higher cause in contrary how the process to recive a Finnish decoration, the Iron crosses moore or less was given by the Germans in some numbers to the Finnnish Army Corps and Divisions to be distributed among the troops.

I assume the Iron Cross experienced a dramatic increase of value when Soviet diplomats and Finnish communists in the 1970's angrily commented how some old generals carried their German decorations.

[Juha Tompuri]

A Field Synagogue of Finnish Jews at River Svir sector, winter 1942, near German positions.




Marshall Mannerheim attending to a memorial service of the fallen Finnish Jewish soldiers at Helsinki Synagogue on Finnish Independence day, 6th December, 1944

http://www.holocaustinfo.org/faq/suomessa/

Regards, Juha

[Grendel-B]

Mars wrote:

would he show this medal proudly to his friends after the war like other veterans did ?

my emphsasis

Where have you got that Finnish soliders proudly showed their Iron Crosses?

Well, those chaps I know, who have been awarded the Iron Cross, they do display it among their other medals in events that require the "full suit".

Finnish combat pilots also wear their Iron Crosses then they're in Germany in veteran's gatherings. And they have the original Iron Cross, with the swastika, instead the post-war neutered ICs of the German soldiers.

So in my own experience, they value it as much as anything else and use it in public when needed.

[Topspeed]

See Mannerheim is not having his Iron Cross in the pic in synagogue...he posed in one in early 1942. He knew it would not be suitable in such an occasion.

[Esa K]

Grendel B wrote:

So in my own experience, they value it as much as anything else and use it in public when needed.

Ehh... I forgot that many of the pilots recived the decoration, and valued it.
I admit that I was making a generalization founded on the few cases I read about, and what a relative to me once told me, about the value of reciving the award in question. The reason to not value it high in those cases was, as I got it, that there was lack of, or how to put it, the social context that gave the reciver the feeling that it was was especially awarded for him by a particular reason. (well, this probably went a bit blurry, but, again, hope it is possible to understand the reson to my original point...)


Regards

Esa K