Steamy sisu: How Finland’s incredible WWII soldiers built war zone saunas
The official archives of the Finnish Defense Forces are home to thousands of photos taken during the Finnish WWII era. We have highlighted some particularly striking color photos of Finnish soldiers from their collection before. This time we feature something that remains an icon of Finnish culture: the sauna.
In Finland, which remained a poor and rugged place until post-war industrialization, the sauna played a central part in society. Not only were they important in maintaining personal hygiene in the dark times before showers, but life often began and ended in the sauna. Childbirths took place in their clean environments and the deceased were sometimes prepared for burial in them. Finns have been socializing, cleaning and even cooking in saunas for centuries. It is easy to see why the sauna is such a huge part of Finnish culture even today.
Sauna on the front lines
Naturally, Finnish soldiers during the WWII era needed access to the sauna. Soldiers were known to light up any usable sauna they happened across in the field. When there were no usable saunas in sight, the soldiers would do what any sensible Finn would do. They built their own sauna. Sometimes using logs and sometimes using only the terrain, Finnish soldiers could have a working sauna up and smoking in a matter of hours. In order not to give away their position with tell-tale sauna smoke, Finnish soldiers on the front lines would usually only light it up at night, getting in and out as quickly as possible. Soldiers in more remote locations had the luxury of enjoying their steams a bit longer.
We could go on about the wonders of the sauna, but do not just take our word for it. Take a look at these amazing photos with translations of the original Finnish captions. They depict the Finnish soldiers of WWII who built and used saunas, even during wartime, one drop of sweat at a time.
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The Finnish sauna is more than a luxury. It is a cultural necessity that has sustained soldiers through war and civilians through peace. Understanding this history is key to understanding the Finnish spirit — that unbreakable quality Finns call sisu.
The Finnish relationship with sauna goes far deeper than wartime ritual. For a modern take on Finland’s most beloved institution — and much else besides — Joel Willans’ 101 Very Finnish Problems captures the national character with warmth and wit.
I had to live without a sauna for a couple of years and it was horrible, so I totally understand why they do this. Probably same with most Finns :)
Great idea, IMO. Keeps the mind sharp and the body clean.
We still do it even in places that are really hot. Here is one Finnish army built in Afganistan
We built one when I was stationed in Iraq with the US Army.
Also got to remember that lice and other annoying parasites were very common in the front lines (and probably everywhere else too, in the old times). Saunas were very effective in getting rid of those.
My three older siblings were born in a sauna.
Amazing. Energy, vigor, peace from the sauna.. and sisu from within.
Great collection of historical photos! The people look so happy…maybe because it was sauna time.
My father was stationed at Karhumaki. The photos from Karhumaki make me wonder if he enjoyed a sauna in one of them.
Maybe he is even one of the men in the photo building it…
Finns sure do love saunas. Always remember legendary Stanley Cup champion Teemu Selanne celebrating with the cup in a sauna
Wow, cool article. Really interesting how some things can be of such importance depending on your culture. If I were ever deployed at war the last thing I would think about would be “this place could use a sauna”.
I would think you would like a bath every now and then, though, especially if you had lice. It’s the same thing, except you would still probably have lice after a bath.
We finns do wash after Sauna.
A sauna might be basically a very simple thing, used for bathing for centuries. But At war knowing you’ll have a chance to get warm and clean must have been a very big deal.
These men weren’t afraid of naked men, after all they were fighters!
Ah the Sauna (mispronounced by many as a Sonna) It is practiced by many Canadians influenced by Finns who emigrated to Canada (especially to Ontario where the terrain mimics Finland). Here, it is not uncommon to find Saunas in homes of people whose heritage is in countries far away from Finland. And yes…., with the arrival of snow, one often sees the amazing site of almost naked (and sometimes naked) people rolling around it it.
I still remember feeling how remarkable it was when I first visited Finland (I am 50% Finn) and was up at the arctic circle. At the hotel a stranger invited me to join he and his wife in the nearby sauna, if I would bring orange soda to mix with his vodka. He was a reindeer herder bringing his herd south. He was a colonel in the Finnish Army reserve. A great time and great memory.
Every Saturday was sauna day.
This tradition still goes on. Finnish peace keeping forces always build sauna to the camps they occupy.
i LIVE IN AFRICA AND HAVE WORKED AS A SPRAY PAINTER IN THE HOT 40DEGREES PLUS CLIMATE FOR MANY YEARS. iMAGINE THE JOY WHEN A SAUNA WAS OPENED AT THE LOCAL GYM. AFTER WORKING A 16 HOUR DAY WITH STINKING CHEMICALS THE SHEER JOY OF GOING INTO THE SAUNA AND ROASTING MY SELF DRIVING OUT ALL THE CHEMICALS ABSORBED BY MY SKIN AND LUNGS OUT OF MY BODY AND HAVING A DECENT NIGHTS SLEEP IS INCREDIBLE. BEST MEDICINE EVER
My father fought in the Winter War and said saunas were life savers especially when temps 40 below degrees zero (F).