We are pleased to welcome the Lotta Svärd Foundation and the Lotta Museum to the LREF network, further strengthening our presence in Finland and enriching the diversity of historical perspectives shared across our international community.
Located on a historic site by the Tuusulanjärvi Lake in Tuusula, the Lotta Museum is a specialist museum of national significance. It is dedicated to preserving and researching the history of the Lotta Svärd organisation and the role of women’s voluntary work in Finnish society.
The Lotta Svärd was a women’s voluntary organisation supporting national defence efforts that operated from 1921 to 1944. At its peak, it involved over 220,000 women and girls. During wartime, its members worked in nursing, communications, logistics, food supply, equipment maintenance and many other essential roles, both on the home front and near the frontlines. Whilst the Lottas generally did not take part in armed combat, in the summer of 1944 they formed the 14th Searchlight Battery Division for the 1st Anti-Aircraft Regiment in order to ease the shortage of men. However, this was the only women’s military unit that was active and ready for combat during the years the Lotta Organisation was active. The Lotta’s experiences form an important part of Finland’s wartime history and contribute to a broader and more nuanced understanding of the Second World War in Europe, including perspectives that are still too often overlooked.
With several members already in Finland, the addition of the Lotta Museum brings an especially valuable perspective to the network by highlighting women’s experiences and contributions during WWII. This new membership reflects the LRE Foundation’s ongoing commitment to a multiperspective approach to history, ensuring that lesser-known stories from across Europe become part of a shared and more inclusive narrative of the war.
“We are very pleased that the Lotta Museum has joined the LREF cooperation network. In this way, the work of Finnish women and the members of the LottaSvärd organisation will receive the international visibility it deserves. I warmly welcome everyone to visit the Lotta Museum.” says Saija Ylitalo, Museum Director.
Rémi Praud, Managing Director of the LRE Foundation, also welcomed the new partnership:
“The stories preserved and shared by the Lotta Museum are an essential contribution to our understanding of the Second World War in Europe. Learning more about the experiences of Finnish women and the members of the Lotta Svärd organisation has been deeply enriching for our network. This collaboration is an important step toward broadening the perspectives represented within European remembrance, and we are looking forward to developing future projects together.”
The new partnership marks the beginning of a broader collaboration between LREF and the Lotta Museum, opening opportunities for future international projects, exchanges and educational initiatives that connect Finnish wartime experiences to the wider European history of WWII.
