FACTFILE: Nearly 12 percent of population forced to leave homes
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The Second World War forced 11.6% of the Finnish population to leave their home areas. In December 1939, the population of the areas of Karelia that were ceded at the end of the Winter War was more than 400,000. Nobody has counted the exact number of children.
In addition to the Karelians, there were 5,800 people who had to leave the area of Porkkala, west of Helsinki on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, which was leased to the Soviets as part of the peace agreement. There were also 10,800 people who had to leave the communities of Petsamo, Salla, and Kuusamo in the Northeast.
When the Winter War ended in March 1940, there were an estimated 100,000 - 200,000 people in the areas that were to be ceded.
When the Continuation War broke out in 1941, and when Finland soon reclaimed the lost territories, nearly 70% of the population of the areas returned to their homes. Some of the evacuees had died, but thousands of children were born to evacuee families.
When the second evacuation began in June 1944, more than 260,000 people left Karelia immediately, and the rest left in the late summer.
There were also evacuations of people in Finnish Lapland to Sweden in the autumn of 1944.
Evacuation refers to the removal of civilians from an area affected by hostile action during wartime. Those who lost their homes when the areas were ceded to the Soviet Union are referred to as displaced persons.
In 1944 there were 450,000 Finns who were considered to be displaced. Of this group, 55% were farmers.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 30.8.2005
More on this subject:
 Karelian wartime evacuees forced to leave home as children also want to tell their stories
Helsingin Sanomat
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