The war reparations myth and Finnish historical literature

Authors

• Aaro Sahari University of Helsinki http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5099-8249

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54331/haik.102502

Abstract

Finnish state actors and leading politicians created a particular propaganda narrative during the war reparations program, 1944–1952, that led to the formation of a national nostalgic myth. Previous historiography has treated this narrative imprecisely and incoherently. This article deconstructs the making of the war reparations myth in Soteva, presents the historicizing of this myth, and develops a taxonomy of its key elements for further analysis. The myth’s three central elements are 1. emotional closure for citizens, 2. justification for industrial investments in the program, and 3. un-political meaning for newly peaceful relations with USSR.