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Finland in World War II
During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: she defended herself against the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-1940 (with limited but crucial support from Sweden), resulting in the loss of Finnish Karelia, and invaded the Soviet Union herself in the Continuation War of 1941-1944 (with considerable support from Nazi Germany), leading also to the loss of Finland's only ice-free winter harbour Petsamo. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944-1945, when Finland fought against the Germans to force them to withdraw their forces from northern Finland.
Finland managed to maintain its independence and democratic constitution, contrary to most other countries proximate to the Soviet Union, but was punished far more than other German allies and cobelligerents, having to pay enormous reparations, resettle an eighth of its population, and lose an eighth of its territory, including its industrial heartland and the second city Vyborg (Viipuri). After the war, the Soviet Union settled these gained territories with people from many different regions, for instance from Ukraine.
Anti-Communist sentiments had, following the Civil War, been even more pronounced in Finland than in most other West European societies. The propaganda war between Bolshevist Russia/the Soviet Union and her western border state neighbours had been harsh and intense. The Finns were also better informed of the Great Purge than more distant nations. Hence, at the eve of the World War, the Finns had very concrete fears for their survival as a people — let alone as a nation state. The Finns perceived the defence against the Soviet Union as literally a fight of life or death — and during the Winter War, this perception was also shared by the spectator nations in the West. The Continuation War, however, was a Finnish invasion of the Soviet Union, designed to recover lost territory and incorporate Russian Karelia into Finland, thus forming a Greater Finland.
During and immediately after the wars, approximately 80,000 children were evacuated abroad. 5% went to Norway, 10% to Denmark, and the rest to Sweden. Most of them were sent back in 1948, but 15-20% remained abroad. In retrospect, the separation from their parents, siblings and language, and then later again a repeat of the separation, this time from their foster homes, has proved to be an often forgotten tragedy.
Post-war era
Finland retained a democratic constitution and free economic structure during the Cold War era. Treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included obligations and restraints on Finland, as well as territorial concessions. Both treaties have been abrogated by Finland since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, while leaving the borders untouched. Even though being a neighbour to the mighty Soviet Union sometimes resulted in overmuch caution concerning foreign politics ("Finlandization"), Finland developed closer cooperation with the other Nordic countries and declared her neutrality in regard to superpower politics.
In 1952, Finland and the countries of the Nordic Council entered into a passport union, allowing their citizens to cross borders without passports and soon also to apply for jobs and claim social security benefits in the other countries. Many from Finland used this opportunity to get better paid jobs in Sweden in the 1950s and 1960s, dominating Sweden's first wave of post-war labor immigration. Although Finnish wages or standard of living could not compete with wealthy Sweden until the 1980s, the Finnish economy rose remarkably well from the ashes of World War II, resulting in the buildup of another Nordic-style welfare state.
Despite the passport union with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland Finland could not join the Nordic Council until 1955 because of Soviet fears that Finland might become too closely related to the West. Back then the Soviet Union saw the Nordic Council as part of NATO with Denmark and Norway being members of it. During the same year Finland could join the United Nations, though it had already been associated with a lot of the UN's suborganisations. The first Finnish ambassador to the UN was G.A. Gripenberg (1956-1959), followed by Ralph Enckell (1959-1965), Max Jakobson (1965-1972), Aarno Karhilo (1972-1977), Ilkka Pastinen (1977-1983), Keijo Korhonen (1983-1988), Klaus Törnudd (1988-1991), Wilhelm Breitenstein (1991-1998) and Marjatta Rasi (since 1998). Max Jakobson even was a candidate for Secretary-General of the UN in 1972.
In another remarkable event of 1955, the Soviet Union decided to return the Porkkala peninsula to Finland, which had been rented to the Soviet Union in 1948 for 50 years as a military base and was somewhat endangering the sovereignty and neutrality of Finland.
Finland became an associate member of the European Free Trade Association in 1961 and a full member in 1986. A trade agreement with the EEC was complemented by another with the Soviet Bloc. The first Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), that started developments leading to OSCE, was held in Finland 1972-1973. In Finland, CSCE was widely considered as a possible means of reducing the tensions of the Cold War, and a personal triumph for President Kekkonen.
The post-war period was a time of rapid economic growth and increasing social and political stability for Finland. The five decades after the Second World War saw Finland turn from a war-ravaged agrarian society into one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, with a sophisticated market economy and high standard of living.
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Europe 
