 the rytiâribbentrop letter of agreement () of june 26, 1944, was a personal letter from president risto ryti of finland to german fÃ¼hrer adolf hitler whereby ryti agreed not to reach a separate peace in the war with the soviet union without approval from nazi germany, in order to secure german military aid for finland to stop the soviet offensive. this letter marked the closest to an alliance that finland and nazi germany came to during world war ii. == historical background == although finland had had residual pro-german sentiments from imperial germany's critical support during the civil war, those sentiments were dented by the nazi ideology, especially its undemocratic totalitarism. finland had democratic traditions dating back to at least the 16th century, and after the failed rebellions by left-wingers and right-wingers, the finns were rather alienated by the brutal policies of the new germany. so it was no wonder that neither finland nor germany wanted a formalized alliance in the beginning in their fight against the soviet union, though for very different reasons. it was only after the war turned out to last longer than expected that german interest in an alliance treaty rose, although by then the finns had even less desire to bind themselves with a formal treaty. germany tried several times to pressure the finns by cutting food and arms deliveries, but the military importance of finnish participation resulted in their resumption quite soon afterwards. as nazi germany's war fortune waned, the finnish government tried to reach a peace agreement with the soviet union in march 1944, which was not popular in berlin; and hence food and munitions shipments from the third reich to finland were once again discontinued in march 1944. == soviet offensive == finland was terrified by the soviet summer offensive of 1944 that was coordinated with d-day in france. in two weeks, the finns evacuated the southern karelian isthmus. another result was german foreign minister joachim von ribbentrop's unexpected june 22 arrival in helsinki to finally rein finland into the axis fold. == negotiations == the deal was the result of finnish negotiations with ribbentrop. the letter was given after ryti's consultations with finnish commander-in-chief marshal mannerheim and the finnish war cabinet. the promise that resulted was expressed as ryti's personal undertaking, which thereby deliberately avoided the form of a binding treaty between the governments of finland and nazi germany, which would have required the involvement of the [[parliament o
1944_in_Finland 1944_in_Germany 1944_in_international_relations 20th_century_in_Finland Continuation_War FinlandaGermany_relations Foreign_relations_of_Nazi_Germany Military_history_of_Finland_during_World_War_II Military_history_of_Germany_during_World_War_II Political_history_of_Finland Politics_of_World_War_II Treaties_of_Finland