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To the Bomb and Back

To the Bomb and Back

Sue Saffle

(2015)

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Abstract

Between 1939 and 1945, some 80,000 Finnish children were sent to Sweden, Denmark, and elsewhere, ostensibly to protect them from danger while their nation’s soldiers fought superior Soviet and German forces. This was the largest of all of World War II children’s transports, and although acknowledged today as “a great social-historical mistake,” it has received surprisingly little attention. This is the first English-language account of Finland’s war children and their experiences, told through the survivors’ own words. Supported by an extensive introduction, a bibliography of secondary sources, and over two dozen photographs, this book testifies to the often-lifelong traumas endured by youthful survivors of war.


Sue Saffle holds a Senior Instructorship in Virginia Tech’s Department of English. She is a winner of VT’s University Sporn Award for outstanding teaching and was inducted into the institution’s Academy of Teaching Excellence. In 2000–2001 she lived in Helsinki, where she began collecting the stories of Finland’s war children. Her articles about them have appeared in the journal Children and War and in the collection Children: The Invisible Victims of War (2008).


“…a fine collection… The book is affecting, to be read a little at a time. You won't forget it afterwards.” · Finnish American Cultural Activities.

“Over a number of years, Sue Saffle has earned the respect of the war children in Finland and Sweden… to such an extent that she has been able to tap into a great source of social and war history. In addition, for many who contributed to the research, [this book] has the added element of being a form of personal catharsis. This is an excellent book which will add a great deal to the academic study of war children past and present.” · Martin Parsons, University of Reading


Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
To the Bomb and Back i
Contents vii
Figures x
Foreword xii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1: The Work of Sorrow 28
2: Unanswered Questions for a Finnpojke 34
3: A Desire to Scream 39
4: Horseshoes and Licorice Drops 42
5: The Last Summer in Sweden 51
6: Farting in Swedish 55
7: Sugar Beets and Spettecaka 59
8: Dragons in a Handbag 62
9: A Good and Bad Hand 71
10: The Red Shoes 78
11: Bread in a Suitcase 85
12: The Lucky Stain 96
13: Paper Dolls 106
14: The Woman in the Broad-Brimmed Hat 113
15: Swedish Toys 122
16: Goodbye to the Bombs 128
17: Someone’s Daughter 133
18: To the Bomb and Back 142
19: A Blonde Curly-Haired Girl 150
20: Fishing with Ragnar 152
Photo Section 161
21: Black Birds 166
22: Terror of the Dark 175
23: Funeral Games 180
24: The Woman in Black 186
25: Understanding Backwards 195
26: A Happier War Child Story 204
27: No Easy Choices 213
28: God natt, sov Gott 221
29: A Lifelong Exile 225
30: Take the Bed Down! 231
31: Waiting for the Time to Pass 241
32: Children’s Prayers 245
33: “Send the Little Ones!” 249
34: A Tale of Two Sisters 255
35: Swedish Fish 259
36: Horses in the Kitchen 268
37: Rita, not Rauha 273
38: Repairing the Clock 284
39: Soldier Boy 294
Appendix 310
Bibliography 312
Index 314