Incredible production, Loving the videos in my home country!

That's my old home!!!! Haven't see it inside after renovation. When I first time visit in Artikum museum, there wasn't our house in the model of destroyed Rovaniemi. But nowdays is it. ;) The story of that house is quite special. My grandpapas original house was in the corner of the Pohjolankatu/Koskikatu. In this house was a shop. In early 30's shop owner and my grandpapa switch the houses. That original house (shophouse) was destroyed in ww2. Lucky coincidence. The cellar was, yes bomb shelter in ww2 but it originally was just a potato cellar.

The Moscow Armistice demanded that Finland expels or disarms any German soldiers remaining in Finland. The German troops were already withdrawing from Finland to Norway, but Soviet Union wanted to see fighting, which then led to the scorched earth and land mine strategies from German part. Here's Rovaniemi in 1930: "Rovaniemi, Finland (1930) - Colorized footage". Here's a video of the Lapland War devastation: "Jouka Hainen Lappi Palaa". This was filmed from Haparanda: "Lappland War fighting filmed in Tornio". Some pictures and clips: "utsjoki_pox Luton miehet". Clearing mines and preparing the rebuild after the war. You can see architect Alvar Aalto there talking about the Rovaniemi's new "Reindeer Antler" layout: "Miinanraivaus Lapin sodan jäkeen. ( 1.1.1946 )". Scenes from the rebuild: "Lapin sota - Yhteistyöllä eteenpäin.". Some history you might come across: "Rooseveltin maja | Napapiirin ensimmäinen maja". Pictures from the 60s: "Onnea Rovaniemi - 60 vuotta kaupunkina". One aspect of the aftermath: "Finland: Forgotten children of German soldiers | Focus on Europe".

My father's parents (and my dad and his twin sisters as kids) had a small hotel (matkustajakoti Lappi) in Rovaniemi. Luftwaffe took it over during the continuation war. The Germans were so nice that they carried all the funiture outside to a lorry before they set the house on fire. My dad's family then took the lorry south as they evacuated for the Lappland war.

@tomgoesnomad

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing your story. Did they return to Rovaniemi?

@retrieveri

5 ай бұрын

Yes they did. Later the kids moved to Helsinki (University studies) and my grandfather died in mid 50's. My grandmother moved then to south closer to the kids. My parents and I visited one of these Luftwaffe guys in Hamburg in 70's. @@tomgoesnomad

❤Great videos! Thank you❤😍

My grandfather when he was alive spoke of how much hatred they had for the Germans for burning the Finish homes. He was on the Swedish side of the border and Sweden was neutral but he hinted at him and his squad dealt with some Germans personally as revenge when they got close to the border. I wish I knew more but he died many years ago and never spoke about it to anyone besides me.

Cool! I was in Rovaniemi in november 2013. As I had applied to do military service in Finland. I was exempt from conscription in Finland as I had previously done (conscription) military service in Sweden in 2006. But I studied political science at the university and wanted to compare the two. As Sweden had abolished peace time conscription in 2010. Which the general public in Sweden thought was a bad idea. I could have done the call up at the Finnish embassy in Stockholm, but I wanted the real experience. So I went to Lapland as my relatives are from Salla municipality, so I fall under the Lapland magistrate. I took a taxi to the call up office in Someroharju, outside Rovaniemi. After the call up was done, I walked back to the town in the afternoon in the snow. Took a selfie on the Lordi square, the band who I saw on the TV during the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006.. In the barracks during my military service in Sweden. So it went sort of full circle. Then in 2014 during my military service in Finland, Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time and annexed Crimea. The land of my relatives are not in Finland anymore thus I my thoughts are with all the Ukrainians struggling today. Death to Putin and glory to Ukraine.