The act on compensation for internees after the Continuation War
Civilians who were interned after the Continuation War are given the opportunity to apply for compensation. The act concerning the compensations enters into force on 1 September 2014. Nearly all eligible applicants were children when interned.
– The compensations granted by the state are a way of recognizing that the actions of the Finnish authorities were unreasonable, as they also interned women and children with Finnish roots. These people could not have posed any threat whatsoever to the safety of the Allied Forces, and neither did the Allied Control Commission require Finland to intern them, Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson emphasises.
Applications for compensation may be submitted to the State Treasury once the act enters into force. Applications must be submitted by the end of 2015. The State Treasury will issue further information about applying for compensation in August 2014. The State Treasury will also acquire all the documentation needed for establishing the internment of the applicant.
The amount of the compensation is EUR 3,000. In those rare cases in which the internment lasted for less than a month, the compensation amounts to EUR 1,500. If, however, the person was interned for less than three days, he or she will not be eligible for compensation.
Most eligible applicants were children when interned
According to the terms of the 1944 Moscow Armistice, Finland was obligated to intern all German and Hungarian civilian nationals in Finnish territory. Initially the Finnish authorities did not intern e.g. people with dual nationality and their children. However, the list was later expanded to also include Finnish-born women and their children.
Further information:
Senior Adviser for Legislative Affairs Jukka Lindstedt, tel. 02951 50492,
e-mail: [email protected]