FINLAND IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1938–1948

Between Stalin and Hitler: an unjustly overlooked and highly instructive history.

This work deals with the history of Finland during the Second World War, from the first crises of 1938 to the signing in 1948 of a bilateral treaty with Moscow. For the country, the winter of 1939–1940 began badly: attacked in late November by the USSR, it seemed on the verge of collapse under the blows of its powerful neighbour, but the unexpected resistance of the Finnish army unbalanced the Soviet giant and sparked a wave of enthusiasm across Europe for this peripheral and little-known country.

This three-month war, which Stalin brought to an end to prevent it from setting the whole of northern Europe ablaze, constitutes one of the essential milestones of the opening months of the Second World War. Immediately forgotten by the European media once peace was signed in March 1940, Finland, though still independent, found itself nonetheless weakened in the face of Moscow. This explains why, from 1941 onwards, the Finns fought alongside the Germans against the Soviet Union.

After extricating itself from this dangerous alliance in the autumn of 1944, the country stabilised its international position in the post-war period, drawing on both the skill of its leaders and the room for manoeuvre afforded by its peripheral situation. This little-known episode of the Second World War, which has the character of a David versus Goliath struggle, is masterfully recounted by an author working closely from Finnish sources.