Memories on resettling, racism and rebuilding by Karelian evacuees

After the Second World War more than 500 000 Finnish citizens formerly living in the eastern part of Finland had to flee their homes because of the occupation by the Soviet Union. The people were offered housing and land to farm across Finland, but many of them faced harsh discrimination. New studies on this topic deal with dislocation of people from their dwellings and their relocation during the crisis period of 1939-1949. Besides history from written sources they include oral history too, including emotional memories. The methods, among new ones, have been applied to serve also the didactic part of this project: creative writing, quotes and small narratives, photo telling and collage books with objects.
After painstaking debates a new Land acquisition law was decreed to solve the resettlement of Karelians. The law that came into effect in 1945, interfered with private land ownership that had traditionally been highly valued in Finland. It helped in stabilising living conditions and helped in the self-subsistence of Finns in food production, supporting especially farming on small homesteads. The state relied mainly on the independent peasant’s own work, although it was supplemented by various support measures. 16% of the settlements were so called ‘cold farms’ in remote areas, where families had to fell trees in order to make arable land. Some of the families had to build their new home twice. Others moved to more urban areas where the local people did not want them to take their jobs. The Karelian evacuees became scapegoats for many a social problem. The sudden appearance of the evacuees on the road ignited an old prejudice against wandering people, especially outside large population centres. Questions such as “Why did you start to wander in the first place?”, worsened the distress of the evacuees who were grieving the loss of their dear homes.
The land area handed over to the Soviet Union consisted of more than 12% of the total surface area of Finland. The resettled part of the population was also large. Now, after 75 years of peace, a quarter of Finns have at least one ancestor or family member who was a Karelian evacuee, and practically everyone knows someone who has a Karelian background. There are a lot of un- or understudied family histories and personal memories, both good and bad, waiting to be told and Karelian cultural heritage to be recovered. The migrants themselves fell silent because they were ashamed of the discrimination they had encountered from the local population. In the public they wanted to show the side of the Finnish survivor identity.
The bad treatment of the evacuees arose from differences in religious customs, as many Karelians were Greek Orthodox, whereas the majority of Finns were Lutheran protestants. Religion has been an avoided discussion topic. Many of the memories of Finns from Karelia are nostalgic. Remembering past homes and neighbourhoods can be considered as a future-oriented community-maintaining practice by which Karelian identity is constructed. But the memories of fear and loss have been too hard to share for many. For others, however, there has been emotional protection by a big family capable of sharing and a sense of humour, acting like a buffer.
Some Karelians have been able to save objects as memorabilia from evacuated Karelia, and they are precious tools for remembering dear places and relatives. Some still have family, hobby groups or bigger associations where they can talk using the Karelian dialect, which creates a ‘safe space’. The history and emotional stories of Karelians can teach the public about empathy and remind everybody that according to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, people have the right not to be ridiculed for their faith. On the other hand, the rich cultural traditions of Karelians, such as the Karelian pies and Easter traditions have been accepted and are celebrated in Finland proudly as part of the national treasure of the country’s cultural heritage.