Finland has agreed to fund an independent inquiry into the actions of its citizens who volunteered to fight with the Waffen-SS during World War II after a letter suggesting Finnish culpability in the Holocaust was found recently, contradicting the historical narrative the country promotes.
Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff demanded the Nordic country appoint a commission of inquiry to obtain a full account of Finnish culpability in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust. Zuroff, who heads the Jerusalem office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, demanded the investigation so that living Finnish citizens who committed war crimes during World War II would not evade prosecution.
Zuroff referenced a letter unearthed by Finnish historian Andre Swanstrom, sent from the front lines and dated July 24, 1941, which suggests Finnish troops who fought with the Nazis against the Soviets took an active role in the murder of Jews. The letter is signed by six Finnish recruits who joined some 1,500 of their countrymen in the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS.
In the letter, six Finnish recruits complained they were being taken advantage of for executing Jews and repairing vehicles.
Finland has long prided itself on protecting its Jewish population in its entirety during the war – except those who were killed in battle – unlike other European countries that collaborated with the Nazis.
The Finnish narrative is that the volunteers in the Waffen-SS were not involved in war crimes and that is why a memorial has been erected at Helsinki's main cemetery. They also tout the fact that the central synagogue in Helsinki did not close at any point during the war as proof of the country's benevolent treatment of Jews. But the new letter seems to turn that narrative on its head.
Zuroff received the following reply from Finnish President Sauli Niinisto's office: "The Wiking Division of the Waffen-SS and the Finnish volunteers who joined its ranks were already a major subject of research in Finland. … Nevertheless, there is still room for further study, therefore the Finnish government, in response to concerns, will fund additional independent research into the actions of the Finnish volunteer division in the Waffen-SS and their activities in Ukraine in particular."
To achieve "comprehensive understanding based on research that relies on a wide variety of original sources as well as discussions among researchers, accompanied by an open public debate. … Of course, if crimes are exposed, appropriate steps will be taken," the office said in its response.
Zuroff welcomed the decision, and in a conversation with Israel Hayom, expressed hope that the investigation would be handled by historians.
Swanstrom said it was "a good thing that the president is taking the matter seriously" by funding the investigation.
Swanstrom did, however, note one major obstacle, saying, "The archive materials were collected mainly in the 1960s by a researcher who was appointed by a committee of Waffen-SS veterans, so the archive material that remains is biased."
Swanstrom also noted that while conducting the research, he encountered journals that had pages torn out, which he said could be the result of government censorship after the war.
