Statues - Hither & Thither

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Lahti
Päijät-Häme

Felmanninpuisto
(Fellman Park)

Punavankien muistomerkki

Pardon Memorial

Monument to Red prisoners of the 1918 civil war

Erkki Kannosto
1978

Description

On a granite platform is a large granite gate, with in front five huge human figires of bronze, symbolizing the prisoners released from the camp in 1918.

Inscription(s)

lahtelaisten työväenjär-
jestöjen aloitteesta pys-
tytettiin toukok. 28. pnä
1978 tälle vuoden 1918
suurimman puhavankien
kokoamisleirin paikalle
kuvanveistäja erkki kan-
noston suunnittelema
kaikille punavangeille
omistettu muistomerkki

On the initiative of the Lahti
workers' organizations erected
28 May 1978 on the site of
the largest Red prisoners
camp of 1918.
The monument, designed by the
sculptor Erkki Kannosto,
is dedicated to all red prisoners

[please correct translation]

Annotation

Unveiled 28 May 1978. At the end of the civil war in 1918, the fields were the site of a camp where Red prisoners were collected, holding 20,000 male prisoners and thousands of women with their children.

Finnish Civil War, 1918

The Finnish Civil War (Finnish: Suomen sisällissota, kansalaissota; Swedish: Finska inbördeskriget) was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I (1914-1918). The Civil War concerned control and leadership of the Grand Duchy of Finland after it had become sovereign in 1917. The war was fought from 27 January to 15 May 1918 between the forces of the Social Democrats led by the People's Deputation of Finland, commonly called the 'Reds' (Finnish: punaiset, Swedish: röda), and the forces of the non-socialist, conservative-led Senate, commonly called the 'Whites' (Finnish: valkoiset, Swedish: vita). The Reds — dominated by industrial and agrarian workers — were supported by the Russian Soviet Republic. The Whites — dominated by peasants and middle- and upper-class factions, in particular upper-class Swedish speakers — received marked military assistance from the German Empire. The Reds were based in the towns and industrial centres of southern Finland, while the Whites controlled more rural central and northern Finland. The Whites won the war, in which about 37,000 people died out of a population of 3 million (Wikipedia).

Sculptor

Erkki Kannosto (Tampere 1945), Finnish sculptor (Kuvataiteilijamatrikkeli).

Sources & Information

Wikipedia, Luettelo Lahden muistomerkeistä, -laatoista ja veistoksista.
Wikipedia, Punavankien muistomerkki.

Locatie (N 60°59'3" - E 25°38'40") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: fi058; Photograph: 29 June 2013
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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