Simo Muir's Article in Yad Vashem Studies (1/2016) about Finnish-Jewish relief schemes for Holocaust survivors

Date	1st January 2016
URL	http://secure.yadvashem.org/store/product.asp?productid=822
Format	Printed book

Finland, in the far north-eastern corner of Europe, was an unlikely destination for Holocaust survivors. Besides its geographical location, Finland, a former Axis ally, had fallen under the Soviet sphere of interest, casting its future in the post-war political development in uncertainty. Yet, previously unused archival sources reveal well-developed plans to bring a small group of survivors to Finland and for the country to serve as a transit point for getting Jews out from Poland. The Jewish community in Finland, which had largely escaped the Holocaust, initiated two relief schemes for Jewish survivors from Poland; consequently, in October 1945, the Finnish government established a quota for Jewish children and, in September 1946, a transit quota for refugees of anti-Jewish pogroms. Nevertheless, the Central Committee of Jews in Poland opposed sending children to Finland and eventually the World Jewish Congress disapproved Finland serving as a transit point. This article explores these relief schemes and the reasons behind their failure.

The article exists also in Hebrew translation.

The image shows members of the Blaugrund family who were involved in the relief schemes.