Lotta Svärd organization consisted of Finnish women, who would act as noncombatant support during wartime. Their tasks included medical care of wouded soldiers, preparing food and supplies for them, taking care and manufacturing of equipment, washing the bodies of fallen soldiers, fundraising for support, paperwork, courier stuff, aerial surveillance and such. They basically did all kinds of war stuff that didn't have to do with shooting people.
They are pretty much as respected as the actual veterans, nowadays. Don't be fooled by their Swastika symbol, which was already used by Finnish Air Force in 1918 and adopted by lottas way before WWII.
Thank you for your post Budoka. Stuff likes this just makes me more obsessed with Setz. The quality is great, and it's still the epitome of his unique and charming art style. I love educational pieces like this, I already can't wait for more from him.
Fred1515 said: Weren't Molotov cocktails invented in WWII Finland too?
I think they were actually "invented" (in their most commonly known and present form) in Poland, by the local name of Sidolowka, but improvised incendiaries were in use as far back as the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, not counting Greek Fire and its ilk.
That said, I really want to see a Reisen or Eirin as the White Death too.
Serlo said: I can't find the infamous zig-zag swastika anywhere in the image. Do you mean the iron cross looking medals?
None is pictured. I just said it in case anyone goes googling. Their emblem was an upright, blue ziz-zag swastika with white roses behind it. To avoid unfortunate conclusions, it's usually best to give a bit of explanation for non-nazi swastikas, especially if the context is even remotely military.
About Molotov Cocktail, it was indeed invented in Spanish Civil War in the form recognizable today. The name was coined by Finns, who developed their own version, consisting of ethanol, petrol, and tar in a half-liter liquor bottle. (There was an abundance of those.) The origin of the name is pretty funny. The Soviet minister of foreign affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, claimed they never bombed Finland, but only dropped food packages (dubbed Molotov's bread baskets). Semi-outraged, semi-amused by this quite ridiculous claim, The Finnish soldiers decided to offer molotov a drink to go along his bread, thus they called it "Molotov's Cocktail".
I bet Wikipedia knows more than I do, so don't hesitate to go there.
