From: etxonss@ufsa.ericsson.se (Staffan Axelsson)
Subject: Re: The Finns of Sweden
Organization: Ericsson Telecom, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 15:36:49 GMT

Kent Sandvik writes:
>In article <1992Nov17.151437.13857@ericsson.se>, etxonss@ufsa.ericsson.se
>(Staffan Axelsson) wrote:
>> 
>> Excuse me, but if any genocide was completed, I wouldn't be alive today.
>> You see, I happen to hail from V{rmland and my (Finnish) ancestors lived 
>> in Finnskogen in Northern V{rmland. I also have relatives (although far away)
>> that are living in Finnskogen now whose ancestors also were Finnish.
>> Or would you claim that I have dreamt all this? :-)
>> 
>> I find this assertion about a genocide and the comparison to the Nazis
>> very offending.
>
>Staffan, you seem to be a far more reliable source than Jarmo. Could
>you explain what actually happened with the Finnish population in
>V{rmland. My guess is that it was just assimilated into the Swedish
>culture, slowly but steadily, but I would like to hear the real story.

 Well, history is not my best subject so I had to consult my father who
 is a genealogist and thus very interested in our cultural heritage.

 When the Finns came to Finnskogen, they brought an outstanding technique
 of farming called burn-beating (svedjebruk) i.e. burning down the woods
 and grow seeds in the ashes. Since the Finns were the masters in this
 area they managed to stay together and this enabled them to keep their
 language and their customs. However, in the 1960's, more advanced
 farming techniques developed causing the assimilation process to speed up.
 The mixture between the Swedes and the Finns became more apparent and as
 a result Swedish became the language they chose to speak.

 I visited Finnskogen this past summer and it is very interesting to note how
 well preserved the Finnish culture is, e.g. many old buildings are intact
 such as R|kstugor (smoke-houses?) and names of villages, mountains, lakes
 etc are still in Finnish. The people that live there now (many are of  
 mixed Finnish and Swedish descent) are very nice, easy-going and
 relaxed people. May I recommend for Mr. Ryyti an extended vacation in
 Finnskogen. I think he would find it interesting and it would most
 likely help him to lighten up.

>The funny thing, this happens in my own small village in Finland, more and 
>more Finns have moved to this originally Swedish speaking settlement,
>and mixed marriages cause the village to slowly become Finnish. But
>I don't call it genocide, exactly :-).
>
 This is a very good example. As time goes by, these things are
 bound to happen. Just look at what happened to the Finns, Swedes and 
 Yugoslavs in Minnesota... exactly the same thing and, as you correctly
 pointed out, it can by no means be called genocide.

 I would still like to know if Mr. Ryyti could address this issue.
 Does he maintain his view that it was a complete genocide (=folkmord)
 and if so, how does he explain my existence??

 BTW, My dad has traced one branch of our family tree back to 1640 when
 a Finnish couple immigrated to Finnskogen in northern V{rmland.
 Quite amazing and interesting IMO.

 Staffan
--
 ((\\  //| Staffan Axelsson            
  \\  //|| etxonss@ufsa.ericsson.se    
\\_))//-|| contact for Swedish hockey  
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