Friday, November 30, 2012
Exactly 73 years ago, the biggest and mightiest ally of Nazi Germany launched its armies against independent Finland in an attempt to install its own puppet regime to power. Hundreds of thousands of Finns were forced to flee their homes ahead of the totalitarian war machine. The Winter War lasted 105 days and cost the lives of nearly 26,000 Finns and 127,000 Soviet citizens. The onset of the war marked the beginning of an arduous torment and fear for our independence.
Finland's Winter War Society proposed that a national monument to the war be erected in Helsinki. The monument is due to be unveiled during the 75th anniversary of the end of the Winter War on 13 March 2015. The Winter War is a unique event in that a minor country fought alone, yet successfully, against an overwhelming great power. The Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee wishes to remind people of the significance of this battle for our democratic system of government.
In Russia, a presidential commission on history was tasked with making sure that the "liberating" and "peace-making" role of Soviet totalitarianism in the "Great Patriotic War" was not questioned. The goal of Russia's official historiography is to obscure the fact that the Soviet regime was guilty of the worst acts of state terror in Europe. The continued idolisation of aggressive militaristic imperialism is still a cornerstone of Russia's official history.
In most countries, the Second World War obliterated the social basis of society, and the consequences of this are still being assessed in the 21st century. The Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee stresses the importance of history for the perseverance of our system of government. The Winter War is part of European history; the values intrinsic to the war are deeply European: justice, democracy, and equality. Our organisation will continue its work to defend these basic European values.
