Winter War in popular culture

The influence of the Winter War in popular culture has been deep and wide, both in Finnish culture and worldwide. The Winter War began three months after World War II started, and the war had full media attention as other European fronts had a calm period.

The Soviet documentary film, The Mannerheim Line (1940), presents the official view of the Winter War between Nazi-allied Finland and the USSR, including its causes, denouement, and outcome.

The play There Shall Be No Night (1940) by American playwright Robert E. Sherwood was inspired by a moving Christmas 1939 broadcast to America by war correspondent Bill White of CBS. The play was produced on Broadway in 1940 and won the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The American film Ski Patrol (1940), photographed by the Hollywood master Milton Krasner, features a Finnish reserve unit defending the border against Russians. The film took great historical liberties in its storyline.

The Finnish movie Talvisota (1989) tells the story of a Finnish platoon of reservists from Kauhava. The platoon belongs to the 23rd Infantry Regiment, which consists almost solely of men from Southern Ostrobothnia.

The documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia (2006) shows how the Winter War influenced World War II and how Finland mobilized against the world's largest military power.

In 2011, Philip Kaufman began filming HBO's Hemingway & Gellhorn (first airdate May 28, 2012), which features Martha Gellhorn (played by Nicole Kidman) reporting from Finland during The Winter War. Steven Wiig portrays Simo Häyhä, leading a group of Finnish soldiers to shelter.

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Wikipedia