Finland’s Interior Ministry has recommended that flags be raised at government offices and institutions Thursday to commemorate 70 years since the end of Finland’s Continuation War with the Soviet Union.
The initiative came from a war veteran from Kankaanpää in southwest Finland, as well as disabled war veterans and servicemen who served on the front. According to Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen the raised flags are a reminder of the long-term impact of the war on everyday family life.
“We still live in a world where war is possible. This flag day is a good reminder that today there are also families in Europe who don’t know the fate of their family members,” Räsänen said.
The Continuation War was fought between June 1941 and September 1944 at the same time that World War II was waged. Finland dubbed the conflict the Continuation War to clarify its relationship with the preceding Winter War fought with the Soviets, and which began in 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded Finland and ended one year later in 1940. The Soviets however, framed the later conflict with Finland as a struggle against Nazi Germany and its allies.
Flags will be raised Thursday morning at 8.00 am and will be lowered at sunset, just after 8.00 pm.