The Kalevala Society

Religion, Myth, and Folklore in the World's Epics

The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems- both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series.

The Kalevala

Finland in World War II

This volume brings together a rich array of original contributions - hitherto unavailable in English - on Finland during World War II and the place of the war in Finnish collective memory. Providing readers with a solid narrative of the war's political and military framework from a Finnish perspective, this volume also offers well-argued analyses of the ideological, social and cultural aspects of a society at war. As part of the complex legacy of the war it discusses the 'Karelian question' and the Holocaust in Finnish public memory, topics often neglected in international scholarship. Besides a historical narrative, this volume, with its thorough introduction, also reveals to readers the history and current state of Finnish historiography of World War II. Contributors are Outi Fingerroos, Sonja Hagelstam, Antero Holmila, Markku Jokisipilä, Michael Jonas, Marianne Junila, Tiina Kinnunen, Ville Kivimäki, Helene Laurent, Henrik Meinander, Tenho Pimiä, Oula Silvennoinen, Tuomas Tepora, and Pasi Tuunainen.