Transition from war to peace and cultural history: the case of Finland, 1944 - 1948
Transition from war to peace and cultural history: the case of Finland, 1944 -1948

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses the uses and benefits of examining that period from 1944 to the early 1950s from the perspective of cultural history - concentrating on the Finnish case. In the first half of the article, a general discussion on the state of the art is offered. In the letter half, the article builds on insights central to cultural history to show how it can add to our understanding of the era. It argues that the culturally constructed and symbolically ordered narratives of 'survival', 'sacrifice' and 'self-control' made up a normative framwork in which the meaning of Finland's post-war transition from war to peace was given.

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