Why a Booktrail?
WW2 – The story of Finland during the second world war
The Midwife
What you need to know before your trail
An orphaned girl who is brought up in a very unforgiving foster home is raised as an outsider and unloved by those who are supposed to be taking care of her. She’s given the unflattering nickname of Weird -Eye but that just pushes her to prove to people that beauty is only skin deep. She works as a midwife at perhaps the most fraught time of Finland’s history – World War II is in full flow and German soldiers are taking over her native Finland.
Everything and everyone is changing. So it’s to her surprise when she finds herself drawn to a war photographer working for the SS. Johannes Angelhurst, doesn’t seem to be like the Germans she’s been taught and who she’s learned to hate. Giving him the name of Wild-eye, the two begin a very unusual love affair
Travel Guide
Finland and Lapland
Not many accounts of the 2WW from the eyes of the Finnish people in Lapland. This account looks into that – of a war which led to more than 774 dead and many thousands injured.
The Lapland war ended on April 27 1945 and the last German troops would leave.
This account is a love story to come from two very different people on both sides of an horrific chapter in the war. The Germans had controlled the Lapland Front since 1941 and by 1943,
People in Lapland were fearful that Finland would hand over the territory to the Soviet Union in any ceasefire agreement.
Dead Man’s Fjord
There is some doubt as to the precise location of Dead Man’s Fjord, which features prominently in the transcripts.It seems to be near to the west of Ifjord and some the location of Varanger Fjord or even the are around Kirkenes. The discrepancy between where the fjord is supposed to be is due to the magnetic fields in the area which makes measurement hard.
Booktrailer Review
Clare: @thebooktrailer
A difficult book to read given the subject matter and I must admit I was a little wary when I started to read and it felt like I’d stepped inside a history lesson. Luckily the novel comes after that and a word by the author which really does set the scene for what is to come.
A fictional story based on real fact is always something that gets me as well, it has come from the author’s research and often interpretation of the facts but on the other hand it is probably steeped in more truth that we ever care to realise. The love story really brought the contrasts into sharp relief for me and although the name Weird Eye did jar a little with me, it was a lovely way in which the two characters gelled and especially when he got a similar nickname.
The idea that nursing was going on in such rough conditions and the sights they must have seen is horrendous. Babies being born in the middle of it all. Shocking in the extreme and I hadn’t read much of the Finnish and Lapland experience of it all so a very unique view of a horrific period of history.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Midwife
Author/ Guide: Katja Kettu Destination: Finland, Norway, Russia Departure Time: WW2
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