Lotta Svärd () was a Finnish voluntary

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organisation for women. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. During the Second World War, it mobilized to replace men conscripted into the army. It served in hospitals, at air raid warning positions, and other auxiliary tasks in close cooperation with the army. The women were officially unarmed except for an antiaircraft battery in 1944. Virtanen argues that, their "accountability to the nation took a masculine and military form in public, but had a private, feminine side to it including features like caring, helping and loving." The organisation was disbanded by the government after the war.

Name

The name comes from a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Part of a large and famous book, ''

The Tales of Ensign Stål ''The Tales of Ensign Stål'' (Swedish language, Swedish original title: , , or year 2007 translation ) is an epic poem written in Swedish by the Finland-Swedish author Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the national poet of Finland. It was published in two ...

'', the poem described a fictional woman named Lotta Svärd. According to the poem, a Finnish soldier, private Svärd – means a sword – went to fight in the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

and took his wife, Lotta, along with him. Private Svärd was killed in battle, but his wife remained on the battlefield, taking care of wounded soldiers. The name was first brought up by Marshal Mannerheim in a speech given on 16 May 1918.

History

During the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

it was associated with the White Guard. After the war Lotta Svärd was founded as a separate organisation on 9 September 1920. The first known organisation to use the name Lotta Svärd was the Lotta Svärd of

Riihimäki Riihimäki (; ) is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and La ...

, founded on 11 November 1918. The organisation expanded during the 1920s and it included 60,000 members in 1930. Helmi Arneberg-Pentti was chairman of Lotta Svärd from 1921 to 1922 and 1925 to 1929. By 1944 it included 242,000 volunteers, the largest voluntary auxiliary organisation in the world, while the total population of Finland was less than four million. Fanni Luukkonen was the leader of Lotta Svärd from 1929 to 1944. Inspired by the Finnish Lotta Svärd, a similar organisation was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1924 by Tyra Wadner. The organisation, which later took the name Sveriges lottakårer he Swedish Lotta corps kept close contact with its Finnish sister-organisation. During the 1920s and 1930s only Christian Finnish citizens were eligible to join, and two references from persons considered reliable were required. The latter requirement was often ignored after the break of Winter War in 1939. Foreigners could be accepted by special permission. However, in 1940 the first Muslim and Jewish members were accepted, and the first non-denominational member in 1941.

World War II

During the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

some 100,000 men whose jobs were taken over by "Lottas" were freed for military service. The Lottas worked in hospitals, at air-raid warning posts and other auxiliary tasks in conjunction with the armed forces. The Lottas, however, were officially unarmed. The only exception was a voluntary anti-aircraft battery in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in summer 1944, composed of Lotta Svärd members. The battery operated the AA search-lights. The unit was issued rifles for self-protection, thus being the only armed female military unit of the Finnish Defence Forces history. The medical section was led by doctor Suoma af Hällström. The dire need for labour led to fast recruitment and there was often no time to properly train the new Lottas according to the principles of the organisation. In addition, most new recruits were young and inexperienced. This caused some friction between the veterans and the new recruits. Lotta Svärd suffered relatively light losses, considering the number of women posted to a war zone and the length of the war. During the wars 291 Lottas died, 140 from diseases caught on duty, 66 were killed on the front, 47 in air raids and 34 in accidents. The fallen Lottas were buried in war heroes' graves in their home parishes.

Postwar

When the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

(1941–1944) ended, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

demanded the ban of all organisations that it considered to be

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

or semi-fascist. Lotta Svärd was one of the groups that was disbanded, on 23 November 1944. However, a new organisation, Suomen Naisten Huoltosäätiö, was started and took over much of the old property. The organisation still exists by the name of Lotta Svärd Säätiö (Lotta Svärd Foundation). The Finnish Lotta Svärd organisation has inspired similar organisations in other countries and there is still a Lotta Svärd organisation in Sweden (the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization ("Lottorna"); the same model is also used in Denmark and Norway.

Popular references

Oulunsuun Pirtti Plaque Oulu 20200405 02

The 2005 film '' Promise'' describes the experiences of Finnish Lottas during the Second World War. The Finnish indie pop group Vasas flora och fauna released the album "Släkt med Lotta Svärd" in May 13, 2015. A webcomic by Setz released April 23, 2017, "Lotta Svärd: Women of War" details the life of members of the Lotta Svärd during the

, (1939-1940).

Name

History

World War II

Postwar

Popular references

See also

References

Further reading