1918
MEMORIAL SITES
IN HELSINKI
In 1918 a Civil War was raging in Finland, dividing the people in two.
The two sides in the Civil War were the White Guard that represented the Finnish Senate, that is Government, and the Red Guard led by the Finnish People’s Delegation. At the end of January 1918, the Revolution of the Reds started. Helsinki was the capital of Red Finland until April, when the Germans who had arrived in order to help the Whites occupied the city between April 11–13. There was a transfer of power in the city and the Whites came out of their hiding-places at the same time that the Reds gave up their arms.
During the acts of war, in Helsinki over 400 people died, but the most destructive phases came only after the actual fights had ended, in the prison camps. Several thousands of Reds were taken prisoners by the Whites. At first they were placed in the schools and barracks of the city, but only a couple of days after the occupation of Helsinki prisoners were starting to be concentrated on the fortress islands outside Helsinki. The biggest prison camp was established on Suomenlinna, but others worked on the islands of Isosaari and Santahamina, as well as in the mainland city district of Katajanokka. All the camps were under the superintendence of Suomenlinna.
In the prison camps of Helsinki, during the summer and autumn of 1918 there were about 20 000 Red prisoners altogether. Apart from their being in camps, prisoners were also used until the autumn of 1918 as labour on the islands and in the city. In the prison camps, about 1550 people lost their lives, and the majority of them were buried on the island of Santahamina. Most of the prisoners died waiting for their trials, of starvation and diseases.
During the decades that have passed, the ways of remembering the Civil War have varied. Immediately after the war, the interpretation of the events of the wartime was that of the winners, that is the Whites. At the memorial places of the Whites, monuments to the winners of the war were raised. The Red side was left outside official history writing and memory at state level. After the Second World War, there was a political turn, along with which also the experience of the losing side became more valuable. At the same time, a new wave of monuments to the Civil War started, during which monuments were also beginning to be placed on the Reds’ graves. The politics of remembering has had an impact on what kinds of monuments have been raised in places important to the respective sides.
The names of the Red prisoners buried at Santahamina have been presented on this page and in an experience of virtual reality (VR), which can be seen in the Helsinki Central Library Oodi.
The background of the project
This page 1918 Places of Memory in Helsinki has been realized as part of the project of the Helsinki City Museum and the Helsinki Historical Committee for bringing forth the names of the deceased who were buried in connection with the Santahamina prison camp. Another aim of the project has been to map the other places of memory of the Civil War in Helsinki. The background of the page and the VR experience which brings forth the names of the Red prisoners buried on Santahamina is the resolution of the Helsinki City Council.
The information on those who lost their lives in the 1918 Helsinki camps for Red prisoners and those who were buried in the mass grave of Santahamina has been investigated in the study Helsingin sotasurmat (Helsinki War Victims): http://www.helsinginsotasurmat.fi/.
The cooperation partners of the project have been Kansan Arkisto (The People’s Archives), Työväen Arkisto (The Labour Archives), Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura (SKS, The Finnish Literature Society), Svenska litteratursällskapet (SLS, Society of Swedish Literature in Finland). For the realization of the project, the Armed Forces of Santahamina and the leader of the project Helsingin sotasurmat, Jarmo Nieminen, have been of valuable help.
Military demonstration in Helsinki 1917. The Finnish Civil War didn’t start from nothing in January 1918, it was the consequence of a long development. The Russian Revolution which had occurred in March 1917 still united all the Finns who celebrated together the end of the Czar’s power, but soon after this the question arouse in Finland concerning the turn the events would take, something that was already dividing the people. Helsinki was full of demonstrations. The continuous political instability of 1917 led to a weakening of the social peace, and this finally led among other things to the rise of guards that were politically opposed to each other. Out of these guards, the Red and White Guards of the Civil War developed.
Finnish National Board of Antiquities, Musketti. Historical Picture Collection.
Red Guardsmen in a studio portrait, Helsinki 1918. Many Red as well as White Guardsmen immortalized themselves in studio photos. As Jaakko Paavolainen, who has investigated the terror of the time of the Civil War, puts it: “In the photos, on both sides we see the same face, the same arm, the same character, intelligence and natural gifts. The only difference lies in the mentality.”
The People’s Archives.
White guardsmen who have participated in the occupation of Helsinki. The building in the background is the Swedish Grammar School for Boys and Girls in Helsinki.
Finnish National Board of Antiquities, Musketti. Historical Picture Collection.
Women sewing garments for the White Guard before the occupation of Helsinki, the picture was published in Veckans Krönika issue number June 8 1918. From the beginning of the Civil War until the beginning of April, Helsinki was the capital of the Reds. The Whites of the city were hiding or operating secretly in private homes.
Finnish National Board of Antiquities, Musketti. Historical Picture Collection.
The occupation of Helsinki: German soldiers in Market Square, by the monument the Empress’s stone. There was a transfer of power in Helsinki on April 13, when the Germans who had arrived in order to assist the Whites occupied the city.
Seppänen, Eino W. 1918. The Helsinki City Museum.
German Troops with their arms after occupying Helsinki at Smolna, the head quarters of the Reds in Etelä-Esplanadi. The red flag that had been on the roof is in the gutter.
Ilmari Wasenius 1918. The People’s Archives.
The capitulation of the Reds in Siltasaarenkatu 5. A young man is carrying the white capitulation flag on the empty street. At the side of the street, two men are looking upwards to the right. One of the men is crouching to photograph the event. Photographer: Tyyne Böök, April 13 1918. The last Reds surrendered in Helsinki on April 13. In connection with the Battle of Helsinki, more than 400 people died: 63 Germans, 23 White Guardsmen, 320-340 Reds and 10-20 civilians. Thousands of Reds were taken prisoner.
Tyyne Böök, April 13 1918. The People’s Archives.
The grave in Old Church Park of the White Guardsmen who fell during the occupation of Helsinki. The coffins were kept open in the common grave in Old Church Park for a couple of days. On them are written the names of the deceased.
Eric Sundström, April 19 1918. The Helsinki City Museum.
The grave in Old Church Park of the German soldiers fallen during the occupation of Helsinki. After the Battle of Helsinki, the fallen were gathered in the city morgue, the Cholera Barrack, where their families could go and collect them. The Germans and a group of Whites were buried on the days following on the occupation in Old Church Park as deceased war heroes.
Gunnar Lönnqvist, April 16 1918. The Helsinki City Museum.
Red prisoners who have given themselves up at the Turku Barracks, photo in the magazine Veckans krönika 26, July 6 1918. After the occupation of Helsinki, the Reds were put up in prison camps. The number of prisoners grew rapidly, while Reds who were still walking free were being looked for and imprisoned. Only a couple of days after the Battle, there were more than 6000 Red prisoners. In Helsinki, prison camps were established on Suomenlinna, Isosaari, Santahamina and in the mainland city district of Katajanokka.
Finnish National Board of Antiquities, Musketti. Historical Picture Collection.
Red Guardsmen who have been taken prisoner are being transported to Suomenlinna.
The People’s Archives.
General Mannerheim is saluting a German officer at the Helsinki Senate Square after the Victory Parade of the White Army. In the photo you can also see the General of the German forces Rüdiger von der Goltz. The Finnish Civil War ended officially on May 16 1918. At that time, the White Guard led by General Mannerheim organized a great victory parade in Helsinki. In connection with this, the German Army, which was still in Helsinki, gave over the city to be controlled by the White Army.
Finnish National Board of Antiquities, Musketti. Historical Picture Collection.
The occupation of Helsinki 1918. The Turku Barracks, Läntinen Heikinkatu 28 at the place of today’s Lasipalatsi (Glass Palace), after the fire caused by the bombing carried out by the German forces. City inhabitants looking for canned food among the ruins. The Civil War left its marks on Helsinki. The city had suffered destruction during the Battle of Helsinki and the city inhabitants tried to return to normal life amidst the ruins. Lack of foodstuffs and starvation threatened all the city’s inhabitants.
Lönnqvist Gunnar, April 17 1918. The Helsinki City Museum.
The Suomenlinna prison camp. The People’s Archives. In all, during the summer and autumn of 1918 there were about 20 000 Red prisoners in the Helsinki prison camps. The lack of foodstuffs that afflicted Finland was especially bad in the prison camps and the prisoners suffered from malnutrition. In addition, the prisoners lived in narrow spaces without proper possibilities of washing, which increased the spread of infection. Many died in the prison camps of starvation and diseases before the courts could pronounce any sentence.
The People’s Archives.
The Reverend of the Santahamina prison camp, Johannes Kunila, blessed and annotated all the dead buried at Santahamina. He also informed the families and sent the death certificates of the dead to their home congregations. Several decades later, when efforts were made to find information on the dead, the lists of dead and buried made by Kunila were the most valuable source of material.
Oulu Lyceum Archives, H/I:548. The National Archives.
During the decades, the ways of remembering the Civil War have varied, and the politics of remembering has had an impact on what kinds of monuments have been raised.
The Graveyard for Red Prisoners and the Monument of Santahamina
In 1918, on Santahamina a graveyard for the Helsinki prison camps was established. A monument was raised in the closed military area in 1949 through the effort of former Red Guardsmen. As the years went by, the location and the significance of the graveyard were forgotten. In a study published in 2015, the personal data of those buried have been confirmed, and the names of the deceased have been brought forth here.