Episode 325: Culture beyond Time and Space series: Historian Martin Andersson

Finland, her culture combines influences from the east and the west.  Finnish history is a story of trading routes, clashes of cultures and life next to great neighbors.  The immigration to Finland is far back under Swedish control from 1323 to 1809, besides Swedish many Germans, Norwegians, Danes, Poles, Swiss, Dutch and Scottish people settled in Finland this area.  Then comes the Russian control in year1809 till Finland declares her independence in 1917.  According to the researcher John Lagerstedt from Helsinki City Museum, during the first world war, the 2000-3000 Chinese labor groups worked in the southern Finland in a short period of time, from August 1916 to January 1917.  The evidences tell that this Chinese labor groups were brought under the order and the supervision of the authority of the Russian military administration.  It was an attempt to ease the shortage of labor for the fortifications.  They were employed for the forestry works in the areas of Espoo, Vantaa and Sipoo, the rural areas of Helsinki.  The Russian field administration was completely unprepared for housing and outfitting for these forced labors.  There was lack of discipline from the outset, in the form of desertion, theft, violence and even murders. The first Chinese labors were already taken away from Finland after three months and the last ones in January 1917.  This brief visit by a mass group of foreigners had never seen before in Finland, however, left an indelible mark on oral tradition.  The past reflects how we live with today and what we pass on to future generations.  Today, their forestry work can been seen, for example in the Sipoo forests.  And the stories of what the Chinese did are still being told.  In this episode, the Finnish historian Martin Andersson will tell some of the stories.More stories about the First World War fortifications in the Helsinki region: John Lagerstedt 2015. First World War fortifications in and around Helsinki : guide to the landward defence zone of the Sveaborg Fortress. Helsinki: Helsinki City Museum. https://www.finna.fi/Record/uef.9910973193705966Martin Andersson (Maija-Liisa Vuorjoki, translator) 2016. Yellow Danger (Gula faran: Keltainen vaara). https://www.academia.edu/33538103/Gula_faran_-_Keltainen_vaara