The Finns Are Faltering

Rumors of Peace Surrounding Finland.
Finland’s Stance
The spokesperson of the Finnish legation in Washington, according to the British news service as announced by American Secretary of State Hull, declared that Finland’s stance remains unchanged. Even if Helsinki were to be razed to the ground, the Finns would not surrender. Meanwhile, a voluntary evacuation of the capital is being carried out. – 9-2-44

Sensational rumors about Finland are circulating once again. The well-known Finnish councilor, Paasikivi, has been staying in Stockholm for several days, and soon the Finnish Minister of Internal Affairs, Ehrnrooth, will also arrive there. According to the rumors, these visits are intended for negotiations with the Soviet envoy, Mrs. Kollontay, about a possible peace. However, Paasikivi, who is 74 years old and also led negotiations during Finland‘s previous war against Moscow, stated that he is in Sweden for health reasons, and Ehrnrooth stated that he is only coming to give a lecture. Since such statements do not necessarily have to be true, the rumors persist. Naturally, this has also caught the attention of Berlin, and it is noticeable that a great deal of reserve is being exercised. In Finland itself, the press admits that the people long for peace but not at the cost of their freedom. A red occupation would mean the end of Finland. In any case, Finland will never willingly sacrifice itself for this death. On the contrary, it must continue to defend its right to exist with the certainty that, in Finnish opinion, there can be nothing worse than an unconditional capitulation to Bolshevism. – 16-2-44

New Air Raid on Helsinki.
Helsinki was once again attacked from the air last night. The following official report was issued at 2 a.m. last night: Last night and in the past night, the enemy attacked Helsinki and the immediate vicinity of the capital with strong air forces. – 17-2-44

In the center of everyone’s concern
Now the Finns are taking a stand,
For they are currently very afraid
That Germany will not win.

They sit now full of regret and sorrow,
In the same boat as Hitler.
They see the future in shades of gray,
And Hitler‘s fountain of lies,

That Russia will go down the drain,
No longer convinces in Helsinki.
Today, every Finnish soldier counts
His chances on one hand,

That this war will be soon
By won by Russia.
Now they ask to understand,
What have we gotten ourselves into?

We entered a war
Based on Hitler‘s promises,
And Mannerheim urged us on,
And now, thanks to these villains,

We find ourselves in a bad situation,
With the consequences of our actions.
And now we understand how quickly
Things can change.

We now stand a second time
Defeated before the Russians,
Likely it will take more effort now
To appease their anger and resentment.

The first time, the Russians treated us
Reasonably well,
So why did we again choose
To go to war?

Why were we not content then
To be left alone,
And did we have to hope for revenge
Even though we were free?

It almost seemed as if they wanted
To kill an elephant,
Oh, if only we could go back
To peace with the Reds.

We were astonished ourselves,
The Russians had us by the throat,
And yet they only took from us
The narrow Karelian Isthmus.

Instead of being content,
We let ourselves be manipulated,
Blindly following the Anti-Moscow line
Of the Nazi tyrants.

Once again, we send
Councilor Paasikivi,
He does it for the second time,
Which is a heavy grievance.

He tries to establish relations
With Madame Kollontay,
The Germans find it less than pleasant,
As Finland turns away from them.

The Führer has been lately
Irritable and pessimistic,
First, Benito‘s splendor collapsed,
Now Finland becomes disloyal.

Benito, Boris, Mannerheim,
And many will follow,
Germany is almost fainting,
And they are deeply angered.

But they prefer not to show
Their fear in the newspaper,
Mocking: Should Finland break away,
Would it not be worth the trouble.

With a smile, one listens to their barking,
Now that Finland is leaving,
They think they can handle it alone,
Yes! Alone … lose.