The Winter War began in November 1939 when the Soviet Union attacked Finland. A rapid evacuation of the war-affected areas in Karelia ensued. Approximately 450,000 Karelian refugees were evacuated to different locations in Finland. The life of the evacuated Karelians in their new areas was not easy. The Karelians were generally called to as “evacuees”.
Liisa Ake-Helariutta was just a little girl when her family arrived in Pargas in 1941 with only a bag in hand. The family’s escape from Koivisto had started on December 1, 1939. The ship Tähti brought the family to the Koivisto parish center and they then continued by bus. The family had to go aboard a barge which was towed in a blizzard across the Bay of Vyborg. The journey was dangerous and at Riihimäki the family was forced to seek shelter in snowdrifts as the train they were travelling on was attacked by Soviet bombers.
In Pargas the family of six lived in one small room with a fire place in the house which is now a home museum. A shoemaker had his workshop and home in the second halft of the cottage. The walls of the cottage are adorned with paintings made by Liisa with a variety of different themes, often depicting scenes from Koivisto or from Pargas. Among Liisas memorabilia is a wooden four scoop from her home in Koivisto.
För att boka besök i “Evakko- stugan” bör man kontakta Liisa Ake, 0400 694 603 eller liisa.ake@luukku.com.
