During the Second World War, letters were the primary communication channel between families, spouses, and friends. It has been estimated that the Finnish military post service carried up to 1.3 billion letters and other mail during the war years. The extensive wartime correspondence in Finland survives as national heritage, and as research material for linguists and historians. The 40,000 letters and postcards in the Folklife Archives at Tampere University were studied on a special course on Finnish language history in 2016. "Letters on War and Love", a research article collection written by students was published as a book in 2017.
Background
The research on wartime correspondence covers Finland nationwide. The original focus on regional variation started expanding and yielded studies on syntax, discourse, and gender. Human emotions and experiences are reflected and subtly merged with patriotism, regionalism, and religious sentiment. Postal censorship and the challenging writing circumstances also affect both the contents and the linguistic form of the letters.
The letters enable a deeper understanding, communication and scientific discussion across Finnish regions, age groups and socio-economic levels. Given the chance to participate in national history research, students demonstrate massive potential to work together as a part of the scientific community.
Contact persons
University lecturer, PhD (Finnish Language Studies)
Liisa Mustanoja
liisa.mustanoja [at] uta.fi
+358 50 318 0769