History of the Jews in Finland
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (about 1,500) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Helsinki (80% of the Finnish Jewish community), Turku (13%), Tampere (3%) | |
| Languages | |
| Finnish, Hebrew, Swedish | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Russians in Finland, Finnish Tatars |
Finnish Jews are Jews who are citizens of Finland. The country is home to approximately 1,500 Jews, who mostly live in Helsinki. Jews came to Finland as traders and merchants from other parts of Europe.
The first Jew said to have settled on Finnish soil was Jacob Weikam, later Veikkanen, in 1782, in the town of Hamina, which was at that point under Russian rule. During that time, most of Finland was included in the Kingdom of Sweden. In Sweden, Jews were allowed to reside in a few towns—all of them outside the territory that is now modern-day Finland. In 1809 Finland became part of the Russian Empire, as an autonomous Grand Duchy, but Swedish laws remained in force, meaning Jews were still unable to settle in Finnish territory.
Despite the legal difficulties, during the period of Finnish autonomy (1809–1917) Russian Jews established themselves in Finland as tradesmen and craftsmen. As Jews were in principle prohibited from dwelling in Finland, almost all these Jews were retired soldiers from the Imperial Russian army. Being cantonists, forced into the Russian army in childhood, they were required to serve at least 25 years. After their term expired, they had, however, the right to remain in Finland regardless of Finnish ban on Jewish settlement, a right forcefully defended by the Russian military authorities. It was only after Finland declared its independence, in 1917, that Jews were granted full rights as Finnish citizens.
Finland's involvement in World War II began during the Winter War (30 November 1939 - 13 March 1940), the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland prior to Operation Barbarossa, (launched in June, 1941). A total of 204 Finnish Jews fought in the Finnish Army during the Winter War, of whom 27 were killed. Finnish Jews were among those made refugees from the ceded territories. Finnish national anger at the outcome of that war led to Finland's involvement in the Continuation War (1941–1944). While Germany launched Barbarossa, Finland simultaneously resumed hostilities against the Soviet Union. This resulted in Finland fighting alongside Nazi Germany. Approximately 300 Finnish Jews fought in the Continuation War, and eight were killed in action. Some Finnish Jews who were fluent in German served in Finnish intelligence. As Finland's forces had substantial numbers of German forces supporting their operations, the Finnish front had a field synagogue operating in the presence of Nazi troops. Jewish soldiers were granted leave on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. In addition, the most popular Finnish singer of the time, Sissy Wein, was Jewish. She entertained Finnish troops during the war, and became known as the "soldier's sweetheart" or the Finnish Vera Lynn. She refused to sing for German soldiers. Finnish Jewish soldiers later participated in the Lapland War against Germany.
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