The Winter War 1939-1940
Exhibition at the Miltary Museum, 1 December 2009 - 31 December 2012
THE WINTER WAR EXHIBITION
The Winter War broke out on 30 November 1939, when the Soviet Union attacked Finland along the length of the border and began bombing Finnish territory, and ended on 13 March 1940 with a Peace Treaty signed in Moscow. The war that the Soviet Union planned to be a fast invasion of Finland, and which was fought by sides of unequal strength both in terms of manpower and weaponry, lasted a total of 105 days. At the time Finns proclaimed this tenacious defensive combat "our Days of Honour".
Dec. 12:
Winter War Dvd
The exhibition: Winter War 1939-1940 - Finland's Days of Honour covers the history of the Winter War from background events to the events directly after the war. The exhibition's main emphasis is on actual wartime items and their history and use that is supplemented with a wide varierty of photographs, maps, drawings and archive material. Compred to the immensely popular 60th anniversay exhibition of the Winter War, the current exhibition is considerably more extensive and it includes material that has never been on display before. Part of the material is also on loan from private collectors and other museums.
Some of the basic weapons of the war from both sides are on display, individual weapons as well as crew-served weapons and heavier equipment. Also on display are uniforms used by Finnish and Soviet soldiers as well as other parts of their kit.
The operations and equipment of the Finnish anti-aircraft artillery, coastal artillery and infantry nd that of the Soviet Air Force, field artillery, Navy and armour troops are presented with pictures and objects. The important duties on the home front, such as civil defence and fields that were mainly the responsibility of women like air-raid warnings, nursing and making of clothing and other articles of equipment, are on show.
Finland fought alone, but many foreigners saw that Finland's cause was also their cause. Besides humanitarian aid, volunteers also came to Finlan and some items telling their stories are on display. The attention Finland got abroad is shown with newspaper clippings from the era. The exhibition displays information and examples of the weaponry received a s donations and bought from foreign countries. This weaponry played an important part in complementng Finland's domestic weapons production along with weapons captured from the Soviets.
You can familiarise yourself with the Winter War's most significant battles, those in the Ladogan Karelia, Northern Finland and the Karelian Isthmus where the course of the war was decided, with the help of pictures and maps. On display are a scale model of a motti (an encirclement) and a room size diorama portraying the battle of Raate Road.
From the Finns' perspective the Winter War ended with a bitter peace. Finland lost over 10% of her territory and was forced to cede many areas that the enemy had been unable to cnquer in battle. Approximately 420,000 people lost their homes and many significant industrial plants were left behind the new border.
The perspective on the Winter War is supplemented by a multimdia presentation that you can watch from different viewing stations placed around the exhibition. Another picture of the times is relayed by newscasts from the Winter War period.
The number of war veterans is declining, but there are still amny people who personally lived through the war, for example as children or who otherwise carry the memory of the war with them. With this exhibition the Miltary Museum wishes to honour the people who struggled, worked and fought for Finland's independence, both the living as well as the veterans and others who have already passed away. The exhibition is also a show of compassion to those whose everyday lives were trampled by the war.
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