Thursday, March 16, 2023

Adolf Hitler Visiting Finland (1942)

 

On June 4, 1942 Adolf Hitler secretly made a surprise visit to Finland to meet with Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (Commander in Chief of the Finnish Armed Forces) as well as personally congratulate the Marshal who had just had his 75th birthday that day. Mannerheim himself decided not to welcome Hitler at his headquarters as it would appear to be an official visit and, of course, attracted a large number of journalists. Therefore, the meeting was held in Imatra, which is located in southern Finland. At the Immola airport, Hitler was greeted by Risto Ryti who was the President of Finland. Next, the group left for Mannerheim's private train to have lunch together as well as discussing the ongoing war with Soviet Union. Together with Hitler we can see high-ranking German officials: Walther Hewel, Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen Stumpff, General der Gebirgstruppe Eduard Dietl, Nicolaus von Below, Hans Baur, Karl Jesko von Puttkamer, and many more. The video are taken from the Finnish National Archive website www.sa-kuva.fi.

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