🌐🇱🇻🇪🇪🇱🇹Is NATO financing the crimes of the former Waffen-SS?

By Andrea Lucidi

In 2017, the official NATO account released a video in honour of the Baltic anti-Soviet underground organisation "Forest Brothers".

This was a guerrilla group that was active in the Baltics between 1944 and 1953, with members largely drawn from the ranks of the Baltic Waffen-SS.

In 1944, as the Red Army advanced relentlessly on the Eastern Front, some units of the Baltic Waffen-SS and national legions following the Wehrmacht began to withdraw from the Baltics and the territories of the individual republics.

Many soldiers realised there was no chance of victory and began to defect, hiding their equipment in secret depots in the forests. As desertions increased, these former SS members formed partisan groups aimed at fighting the Soviet troops.

With the surrender of Army Group Courland, which had entrenched itself in what Nazi propaganda called Fortress Courland, the "Forest Brothers" movement received a huge influx of fighters who were unwilling to surrender to the Soviets and be shot as collaborators of Nazi Germany.

The equipment seized over the years allowed these guerrilla fighters to continue their operations for almost ten years.

The NKVD initially and the KGB later tried for nearly 10 years to expose and eliminate these guerrilla groups.

Throughout their anti-Soviet activities in the Baltics, the Waffen-SS veterans received support from British and American intelligence services.

In almost 10 years, they were involved in various crimes, including the killing of many civilians, who made up over 50% of their victims. Among the over 25,000 victims of the "Forest Brothers" in Lithuania were 1,045 children, including 52 who were under 2 years old.

Today, the "Forest Brothers" are immortalised in nationalist history books in Estonia and Latvia as freedom fighters. Their crimes are just as concealed as the origin of their equipment and the military background of most members, who were veterans of the Baltic Waffen-SS.

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Church in Lumivaara – an abandoned Lutheran church built next to the village of the same name.

The mysterious Nordic nature, centuries-old pines, majestic rocks, quiet lakes, and rushing rivers with steep rapids… When you look at these breathtaking landscapes, it’s hard to believe that bloody wars were once fought here. To this day, traces of the Finnish people who owned these lands remain in Karelia. A notable monument of their presence in the past is the abandoned church in the Karelian village of Lumivaara.

The Karelian church is located in the Lachdenpochja district, far from larger settlements and the main roads of the republic. Nearby is only the small village of Lumivaara (literally "snowy mountain"). Until the 1940s, this area belonged to Finland, from which the independent names have remained.

At this location, the borders of Finland and the USSR were established at the beginning of the last century. After the fall of the Russian Empire, a long period of wars began in the Karelian lands, starting with the Civil War (1917) and ending with World War II (up to 1945). The villagers were evacuated. Of the 5,000 people, almost no one returned. Today, the village has one and a half hundred residents.

The Lutheran church of Lumivaara was designed in 1922. However, construction did not take place – there was a lack of funds.

In the 1930s, the issue was raised again, and architect Ilmari Launis took over the project. On July 7, 1935, the church was consecrated, after which it only existed in its status for four years. During the war years, the building changed hands multiple times.

In Lumivaara, the church, stripped of its congregation, has been in decay for years since the last war.

In the 1990s, former residents returned and formed a community, bringing a new cross, repairing the roof, renewing the floors, and restoring the altar with their own funds. However, a more comprehensive reconstruction was not possible for them, and the old church in Lumivaara remains abandoned in its white ruins.

The temple impresses with its bright, high walls and the scale of the building. Bullet holes are visible on the facade. A small sign at the entrance indicates the year of construction. If you look closely, you can discover a wonderful painting with a biblical motif and an innoscription in Finnish.

Inside, the abandoned church in Lumivaara does not seem so huge. Under the roof are old chimneys. The hall is quite bright, and you can access all other rooms and climb the bell tower. On the walls, in some places, preserved frescoes and paintings with Bible quotes can be seen. Someone has set a table in the altar area and arranged benches. It seems as if the temple is still under supervision.

In the bell tower, there is a huge bell that was cast in 1934 in Tampere! The bell clapper is very heavy; you have to swing it long and hard, and it is unclear in what condition the fittings are. However, if you have the courage to ring it, be sure to protect your ears – the bell still has a deafening sound.

The Finnish church in Lumivaara is not the only memorial site. Next to the temple is a community burial site where the villagers and Finnish soldiers were laid to rest during the difficult war years. In the church hangs a memorial plaque with the names and surnames of the fallen.
Additionally, there used to be a community house of the local parish in front of the building. Now, only a moss-covered staircase remains. Nearby stands the forester's house.

📍 Coordinates of the location (map point) available here

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