When the Soviet Union occupied the Baltic States and parts of Romania in the summer of 1940 the Winter War of 1939–40, in which Finland had resisted a massive Soviet invasion, was still fresh. Many Finns feared another assault from their eastern neighbor—and they were right: in June 1941, Finland entered what became known as the ‘Continuation War’, fought to secure the country’s survival and to reclaim lands lost to Moscow. Yet the war is remembered with unease, because Finland fought as a co-belligerent alongside Nazi Germany, though never as a formal ally.
A War of Paradoxes
The Continuation War was shaped by the shifting alliances of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Germany’s launch of Operation Barbarossa. Finland, a democracy, ended up fighting alongside Hitler’s forces, while Stalin’s dictatorship briefly aligned with the Western democracies. Strategic concerns also played a role. Germany sought raw materials—nickel in Finland, iron in Sweden—as well as naval bases and control of supply routes to Murmansk. For Finland, cooperation with Germany offered a chance to reverse territorial losses and protect independence against Soviet dominance.
From Offense to Stalemate
Led by Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish forces advanced quickly in 1941, retaking Karelia. For many Finns, this was a recovery of rightful land rather than expansion. But relations with Germany were uneasy. Finland’s war goals were limited, while Germany aimed to crush the Soviet Union. After the initial gains, the front stabilized, and for two years the conflict became a brutal war of attrition along defensive lines.
Soviet Breakthrough and Peace
By 1944, the Red Army had regained strength. In June it launched a massive offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, forcing Finnish troops into retreat and threatening Helsinki. Finland, outnumbered and exhausted, was compelled to seek peace. The September 1944 armistice imposed harsh conditions: territorial losses, heavy reparations, and the demand to expel German troops. This led to the Lapland War (1944–45), in which Finnish forces drove their former partners out of the north, leaving behind widespread destruction.
Heavy Losses, Long Shadows
The human toll was severe. Finland lost around 63,000 soldiers out of a population of 3.8 million, compared with 24,000 in the Winter War. Another 3,000 died in the Lapland War. The Soviet Union’s losses on the Finnish front were staggering, exceeding 300,000 dead. In 1948, Finland signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with Moscow, committing it to neutrality but under Soviet influence. This posture defined Finnish foreign policy during the Cold War and gave rise to the term “Finlandization,” shorthand for preserving independence while accommodating a powerful neighbor.
Nordic Divergences
World War II pushed the Nordic countries down different paths. Norway and Denmark, scarred by Nazi occupation, joined NATO. Sweden stayed neutral but strengthened its defenses. Finland, bound by its wars with the Soviet Union, remained outside NATO but joined the European Union in the 1990s. This balance shifted dramatically after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Memories of Finland’s wars of survival against Stalin resonated strongly, and in 2023 the nation ended decades of military non-alignment by joining NATO.
Remembering the Continuation War
The Winter War has long symbolized Finland’s courage against a giant aggressor. The Continuation War, by contrast, is often overlooked, burdened by the uncomfortable fact of fighting beside Hitler’s Germany. Yet it was a defining chapter, one that cost tens of thousands of lives and shaped Finland’s course for half a century. To recall the Continuation War is to confront the hard choices Finland faced in a time of global upheaval—and the resilience that ensured its survival as an independent democracy on the edge of a turbulent empire.
