Laurance.Robinson wrote: For example he states "the group of people who were handed over was very small, apparently just eight individuals" in relations to Jews. There is no apparently. We know that 8 individuals were handed over by the Finnish government to Germany. However they were not handed over because they were Jewish but because information presented by the German government showed them to be criminals, indeed they were accompanied with 19 other individuals who Germany called criminals. While this obviously doesn't excuse the action, it does shine more light onto the situation and indeed after this incident, Finland never allowed any other German or occupied territory refugees be deported
This interpretation is repealed by Antero Holmila in his book
Holokausti. Tapahtumat ja tulkinnat. From the German POV, it was
indifferent how the Finns justified the matter to themselves – the Germans got a set Jews from Finland and Jews were ordered to be annihilated. If the Germans had regarded it as a mere police work, why would they have murdered also a wife and two children who left with those five "criminals" ? (They have indeed done petty crimes if I remember right.) Also the Finns (meaning Valpo) knew how the Germans treated the Jews, although the chief of Valpo, Antohoni, tried to claim otherwise in his trial after the war.
Holmila believes that Heikki Ylikangas is right in his claim that behind the surrender of eight Jewish refugees was the difficult food situation
in Finland. At the same time, there was a struggle of power between the ministers, whether they had a decision in their own areas. By threatening to resign, the Minister of Interior, Horelli, backed by President Ryti, won Tanner and Fagerholm who had opposed surrending the Jews, with the
help of the Social Democrat and Liberal press. However, the public attention prevented any further surrenders.
According to Holmila, despite his extreme Antisemitism, warfare was a top priority for Hitler. He was angry to Mussolini who protected Italian Jews but didn't do anything. In the same way, he didn't want to endanger his relationship with Finland whose war contributionwas important to Germany. Also, the Germans couldn't afford to punish Denmark for the transfer of Jews to Sweden.
The reason for that most Jews in Finland were saved, was simply that Finland wasn't occupied by Germany.
Just as in the other countries, also in Finland the relation toward Jewish citizens was different than the relation towards the Jewish refugees.
Already in the summer 1941, Ryti had given Anthoni extensive powers to deal with refugees.In the summer 1942, Anthoni had made an agreement
with the chief of Gestapo, Henrinrich Müller, that the Germans would receive from Finland such people that Valpo regarded as unrealiable.
Anthoni could freely decide what kind of persons how he defined "political unreliability".
Anthoni and Horelli were known for their Antiseminitism, but that wasn't the central reason for surrenders. If it had been, there would have been
more persons. In addition to eight Jews, 19 other aliens were sent to Tallinn. Nobody has been interested enough to clarify what their fate
was although comparing their "crimes" with the "crimes" of five Jews would give light why just these persons were selected to be surrender.
Holmila corrects Elina Sana: Jewish POVs (except Jofficers and politruks) were assembled in one camp so they could be better helped by
the Jewish congregation and a list of Jewish refugees was made by the Foreign Ministry (not by the Miinister of Interior whose subordinate
Valpo was!) in order they could be transferred to Sweden.