Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrat335
Both you and Ari are incorrect. Finland Sweden and Norway via the Red Cross took in Russian orphans from Leningrad. I remember pictures of an orphanage Helsinki funded by the Red Cross and another in Oslo. Of note is what the Finnish nurses were wearing. Ushankas and great coats like Russians wore in the winter. Damned if I can find anything on the internet about it though.
Children were most of the first individuals to be evacuated and the vast majority were shipped by train throughout the Soviet Union to orphanages. 100s of 1000s.
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Sorry, Scrat. I really really do not think so.
You cannot find it on internet (and neither am I - I looked into it) - because it did not happened.
I personally wanted to believe that Mannerheim did something like this - he was Chairman of Finnish Red Cross 1922-1951 and involved in Child Welfare Association but I could not find anything supporting your statement. Finns actually "harassing" the Road of Life to a point That Churchill had to send them a letter - to stop or else. Finns also captured families that managed to escape from Leningrad. Where those families were sent? Probably to Finnish concentration camps...
I admire Mannerheim for what he was as a person and truly believe personally that Mannerheim’s reservedness and wisdom had saved Leningrad from destruction. Well, hell, Finland too.
I am trying to get his memoirs on eBay or amazon if they will go below $100 just to learn the truth "from the horses mouth".
Red Cross was accused after WWII for not helping enough. Hitler (or rather Himmler) let them send packages to Allies POWs, closed their eyes on almost entire Dutch Jewish population escaping to Sweden.
But refused any help to Soviet POWS.
If something like what you think happened - it would be all over the internet (including Finnish).
And, if Ariete says it did not happen - take his word for it...
Red Cross said it did not help Soviets because the USSR did not sign Geneva Convention and the Red Cross could only operate in countries that allowed it to operate. In August 1941 Soviets agreed to set up an office in Ankara to exchange lists of POWs with Germans but it did not go far.
Anyway, here is a timeline of the siege:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect...ion_evacuation
and scroll to p.5 Civilian evacuation.
You will see the Three Waves of evacuation.
You are absolutely right - Russian evacuated children first.
First Wave in August 1941 336000 civilians mostly children were evacuated.
Could be still possible by train... but to Northern Russia and Siberia together with industrial stuff, Hermitage treasures, etc..
But last two waves were through lake Ladoga to Russia.
There is no way they could have done it through Baltic sea.
The bottom line is:
The pictures that you saw could be Finnish Red Cross evacuating Finns during the Winter War to Sweden and Norway - it did happen. Could be Finn children from Soviet territories? I don't know.
Or the First Wave Russian evacuation by Russians - all Russian trucks , trains, ships that evacuated wounded had red crosses on them (on top too), but they were bombed by Germans anyway...
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Scarred the genetic memory of those who said it for eternity. 
