Organisation

The Lotta-Svärd organisation was first founded on November 19, 1918, in Riihimäki and got its name from a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg in his work “the Stories of Vänriikki Ståhl”. The poem tells of a woman who went to war to help her husband, and when he was killed she went on to help other wounded soldiers.

On jan 23. 1919 the Lotta-Svärd chapter Nr. 1 was founded in Helsinki. This was a Swedish-speaking chapter and its rules served as a model when more chapters were founded in other parts of the country. The commander of the Civil guard, Lieutenant Colonel Didrik von Essen issued an order on August 29. 1919 that Lotta-Svärd chapters should be founded together with Civil guard chapters and so also happened during 1919-20. By the end of 1919 there were already over 200 independent, more or less organized Lotta-Svärd chapters in Finland. However, without common rules cooperation was difficult and caused confusion. As a consequence, the national Lotta-Svärd organisation was founded in May 1920. At the founding meeting common rules were presented and approved. The rules had been made by a committee under Helmi Arneberg-Pentti and also approved by commander von Essen of the Civil guard. As the head of the organisation was appointed Greta Krohn on Jan 20, 1921. The first board of management members were Dagmar von Essen, Ruth Serlacius, Maja Ahlberg, Suoma af Hällström, Siiri Bäckström and Lolan Vasström. Substitutes were Greta Silvenius and Karin Herliz. Mrs Krohn was however relieved of her duties by von Essen quite early, apparently she was making too many decisions on her own. On October 10. 1921 the new Civil guards commander Lauri Malmberg made Helmi Arneberg-Pentti the new leader of the Lotta organisation, she however resigned in 1922 and was replaced by Dagmar von Essen. She was followed in 1924 by Tyyne Söderström who held the post until 1929, when commander Malmberg appointed the teacher Fanni Luukkonen who would lead the organisation until its end.

Different branches

The organisation was strictly divided into branches, in which new Lottas were placed according to their skills and education. This guaranteed an efficient way of working in both war and peace. At first various names were given to the branches but eventually they were called Medical, Catering and Supplies. As the organisation grew and new tasks were received, and as the situation changed during the wars, the division into branches and their tasks was modified to better fit their purposes.

Medical branch

At first the tasks given to the Medical branch were basically the same as during the Civil war, i.e. first aid and assisting the Civil guard. New orders in 1922 however said that every Civil guard chapter, company and division should have a certain number of medical Lottas to perform duties at the front (treating and transporting wounded and sick soldiers, arranging first aid places) as well as at the home front with similar and other medical tasks. The greatest undertaking of the Medical branch was however the field hospitals, of which there were eight by 1935. The field hospitals were later under army command. At the outbreak of the Winter war the single most important task of the branch was to train Lottas for duties at hospitals, helping the regular nurses, and also for duties in hospital trains and at the first aid places. Furthermore the Lottas took medical care of evacuees and helped in different duties to protect civilians. The manufacturing of bandages and other similar equipment were also part of their duties. The Lottas washed and mended the clothes of wounded soldiers and their aim was that when someone left the hospital he would always have clean, whole clothes. Not only humans were looked after by the Lottas, also animals needed caring for. Especially in the countryside animals could be left without veterinary care during the wars and it was left to the Lottas to look after them. Horses in particular had a hard time and received special care from trained Lottas. The war brought some surprises, as the Med Lottas also had to perform some unexpected tasks such as writing letters home for soldiers that were not able to do it themselves, and be good listeners when someone wanted to talk to someone about their difficult experiences at the front. Lottas also delivered information regarding evacuees to their relatives in the army. Libraries were set up at hospitals, and entertainment arranged. The med Lottas often took care of the canteens at hospitals. The toughest job was performed by the Lottas at the KEK centres were killed soldiers were washed, dressed and put in coffins before being sent home to their relatives.

Catering branch

The catering branch was the biggest in the Lotta-Svärd organisation, and it took care of food supply during Civil guard manoeuvres, parades and during other public events – one that deserves mentioning is the 1938 celebration of 20 years since the end of the Civil war, some 900 Lottas and 120 field kitchens were involved in the festivities.

The catering branch also assisted during big Army manoeuvres and upheld Lotta-cafés all over the country, the income from the cafés were used to buy more equipment. During the years the activities became quite diverse, partly thanks to the book “Muonuttajien ohjeet” published in 1926 and later additions to it. The “bible” for the catering branch was the Catering Lottas’ Handbook (Lotta-Svärd publication nr 10) written by Elli Malmgren. In the summer of 1939 the Lottas were responsible for the food supply to the volunteers working in Karelia building fortifications, 200 Lottas took part in that operation. Similar work was done between the wars and also there the Lottas helped.

At the start of the Winter war the Lottas baked 100 000 kg bread every day for the troops, this enormous task was organized through special baking groups and local chapters worked shifts to maintain the supply. School and large farm kitchens were used. Food was organized for evacuees and other civilians affected by the war, and for field and army hospitals and hospital trains.

Supplies branch

The roots of this branch can also be found in the 1918 war. When the priest in Siikajoki, O.A. Salminen and his wife Maija learned about the outbreak of war, they organized knitting meetings for the women, and the response was good. Wool was collected and converted to mittens, socks and other winter clothing to be sent to the front. In the first years of the Lotta-Svärd organisation the activities were similar; knitting, sewing and mending, mainly equipment and clothing for the Civil guard and the Lottas themselves. New gear was also acquired and some stored for (war)times to come. All uniforms, armbands and patches were made by the Lottas. Naturally they also took part in bookkeeping and other tasks related to CG equipment. Already before the Winter war they had made snow camouflage suits for the army and more were made during the war. Laundries and workshops were started and railroad cars were converted into mobile laundry facilities that could be moved closer to the front.

Collecting and office branch

This branch was to collect funds and supplies for supporting the Lotta-Svärd and Civil guard organisations. This was done through lotteries, soirees, different festivities and by selling magazines and badges. Office was added to the name in 1925 in connection with updating of the organisation’s rules. The first courses were organised in 1927 and in 1932 the activities included i.e. chemical warfare protection, mobilisation manoeuvres, and intelligence (from 1937). During the war the Lottas were mainly stationed at headquarters, field post offices and as switch board operators. The experiences gained during the Winter war caused a more clear division of the branch into two main areas; Supplies and services with the responsibility for materials, funding etc, and Office and communications. Office and communications took care of field post offices, communications, office jobs, weather reports and observations; they operated switch boards, telegraphs and search lights and conducted air surveillance.

The office jobs were at their own offices as well as Civil guard and Army offices, freeing “manpower” for the front. Sea surveillance Lotta groups were formed already before the war in coastal areas, were they worked together with the Civil guard. Metrological Lottas handled weather observations and –reporting, that greatly helped in air surveillance. The air surveillance Lottas were some of the most well-known, also abroad. The search light Lottas were not a group of their own until 1944, when they were trained to be a part of Helsinki’s air defence. They were the only armed Lottas and carried guns to be able to protect the valuable equipment from saboteurs etc.

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