Concentration camp

A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. The term refers to situations where the internees are persons selected for their conformance to broad criteria without judicial process, rather than having been judged as individuals. Camps for prisoners of war are usually considered separately from this category, although informally (and in some other languages) they may also be called concentration camps. The word "concentration" indicates a regional concentration, but it also implies the crowded, and often unhealthy, state of the facilities.

Finland

In the aftermath of the Finnish Civil War of 1918, some 75,000 suspected Communists were incarcerated in concentration camps. While 125 Communist prisoners were convicted of treason and executed, an estimated 12,000 died of disease and starvation and an unknown number lost their lives after release, some of them shot after return to their home villages.

Related Topics:
Finnish Civil War - 1918 - Treason

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When the Finnish Army during the Continuation War occupied East Karelia 1941–1944 that was inhabited by ethnically related Finnic Karelians (although it never had been a part of Finland — or before 1809 of Sweden-Finland), several concentration camps were set up for Russian civilians. The first camp was set up on 24 October, 1941, in Petrozavodsk. The ultimate goal was to move the Russian speaking population to German-occupied Russia in exchange for any Finnic population from these areas, and also help to watch civilians.

Related Topics:
Finnish Army - Continuation War - East Karelia - 1941 - 1944 - Finnic - Karelians - Sweden-Finland - Russian - 24 October - Petrozavodsk

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Population in the Finnish camps:

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• 13,400 — December 31, 1941
• 21,984 — July 1, 1942
• 15,241 — January 1, 1943
• 14,917 — January 1, 1944