Finns Who Are Not World War II Soldiers

When I post images of Finnish men, they are almost always World War II soldiers,

but today we will look at some other types.  We start with a wader and his toy

sailboat from 1913, a time when Finland belonged to the Russian Empire.

 

Sauna I

In the first of three sauna photos in today's set, we get a peekaboo look 

at the guy at left while a bored looking female attendant walks past.

 

Happy Naturist

This exhuberant nudist is supposed to be from the 1980s/

 

Soldier

At first glance, you might think I sneaked a World War II soldier in, but this guy is actually from 1975.  Historically neutral, Finnland has always maintained a well trained military, and their joining NATO in the wake of the Ukraine War was a big plus for the alliance.  Russia was not happy.

 

Lake Guy

I'm posting front and back views of the Finnish naturist photographed wading in a lake.

 

Sauna II

It was 1951 when this congenial group of Finns got in a sauna together.

The guy at right seems to know he's putting on a show.

 

No Date

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Sauna III

These men relaxing outside a sauna are supposed to be from the 1970s.

 

Don't Know

I don't know if these two are practicing the Finnish custom 

of ice swimming or cooling off after a sauna.

 

Gesture

I have no idea what the gesture means, but our closing shot is another naturist in a lake.

 

Finnish Lumberjacks

These men are 1900s Finnish forestry workers getting some exercise.  Given  their line of work, I would think they probably got plenty of on-the-job workouts, but I'm glad they demonstrated for us.

 

Finn

Leave it to Larry to find an SA-Kuva photo that I had never seen before.  The note attached said:  "1941-06-20-Vilppula-Matti Niherjuuri."  I think his name was Matti Vilppula, but the last 

word in the note does not show up on Google.  Maybe it's in Russia now.  I have this 

bizarre fantasy that Matti is leading a Finnish Army Sunday service's hymn singing

 in the nude, but the cigarette in his hand makes me think otherwise.

 

Finns in World War II

As many of you know, I have the great pleasure of having worked and become friends with six men from Finnland, so I'm always happy to post a series on their soldiers in the Second World War.  Today's set begins (and will end), appropriately enough, with a sauna photo.

 

Down time

I can't tell what these men are doing, but it looks like a relaxing moment.

 

Boiling pot

At first glance, I thought the naked guy was manning a very large stew pot, but I think he's actually 

doing his laundry.  I have to say that I really like the lighting and composition of this photo.

 

Charming

There's something charming and noble at the same time about this photo of a Finnish officer.

He was fighting for nothing less and nothing more than his country's national survival.

Although they were unwilling allies of the Germans, the Finns rejected Nazi ideology,

as well as Soviet Communism.  It was all about Finland being free and independent.

 

Bucket

Looks like a bucket of water is being handed off to go into the sauna.

 

Nice smile

I love the smile on the guy at left.

Another good one

This is another example of how good the Finnish war photographers could be.

The light, water, steam, and men combine to make a fine image.

 

What's in the water?

 

All but one of these guys is looking at something in the water to our right.