Thinking about the unknown. An Interview Study of Finnish War Children

Abstract

During the Second World War, 1939-45, around 80.000 Finnish children were evacuated to neighbour-countries, the vast majority of them to Sweden. Approximately one-third of them were between two and five years of age at the time of their departure. Ten of the approximately 5000 to 7000 children who did not return to Finland permanently after the war were interviewed in 2007. The present study focuses on how they as adults during the interview cope with their early experiences of evacuation and on the ways they are thinking about and remembering, or not remembering these matters. This material was processed in line with the principles of Grounded Theory and with a psychoanalytical perspective. The conclusion is that the war children had great difficulties when it came to thinking about the significance of the evacuation for their lives. Obstacles to reflection were manifested, among other things, as acute traumatic reactions during the interview. Most of the interviewees could not confront or handle their ignorance and anger. Bion’s concepts of K and –K give precision and depth to the picture of the evacuation’s traumatic after-effects. Lack of containing has an influence on the capacity to experience mourning and loss and therewith on the development of thinking as well.