Finland Raises Flags to Honor
Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

Finland Raises Flags to Honor WWII Evacuees

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On Sunday, flags will be raised for the first time in Finland to honor the Finns who were evacuated during World War II, reports Svenska Yle.

When Finland lost large areas of land in the war, around 440,000 people were permanently evacuated and nearly 200,000 were forced to leave their homes temporarily.

About a third of all evacuees were children. Sweden received around 70,000 of them, so-called Finnish war children. Most were able to return to Finland after the war, but around 15,000 stayed in Sweden, according to the Institute for Language and Folk Culture.

The initiative for the extra flag day comes from the Karelian Association.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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