Crosses in Karelia
The novel Crosses in Karelia (Finnish original title: Tuntematon sotilas , 1954), published by Volk und Welt in 1971 also under the original title The Unknown Soldier , is the best-known work of the Finnish writer Väinö Linna . The first German edition was published in 1955 by the Kiepenheuer & Witsch publishing house (slightly shortened). By 1990 it had sold around half a million times in Finland, that is, one in ten Finns bought this book. This makes it the best-selling Finnish fiction work . The book was translated into several languages, filmed three times and staged as a play.
content
The book describes the use of a Finnish machine gun company from the summer of 1941 to the summer of 1944. Some of the figures are specially highlighted: some officers (especially Major Lammio, Captain Kariluoto, Lieutenant Koskela), the superior battalion commander Major Sarastie and - above all - the NCOs like Sergeant Vanhala and Sergeant Rokka and the men . Most of the characters fall in the course of the book, so that in the end only a few, disaffected and numb soldiers survive. The fighting and sometimes the death scenes are depicted very brutally and in great detail. The initial idealism of most (active) young officers evaporates in the course of the hard fighting and hardships at the front. The solid soldier language of the characters makes the novel appear particularly realistic.
The novel also contains a criticism of the officer's class in Finland and takes a very critical view of the Runebergian war hero tradition , in which Linna also saw herself. With its realism and harshness, it destroys the myth of the noble war, as the simple Finnish soldiers mostly use a crude language and dilemmas of leadership and wrong decisions by superiors are presented. For this reason, the first version was censored, the uncensored version was only published in 2000 under the title Sotaromaani (war novel). The novel is based in part on Linna's own experiences, but is mostly fictional. His description of the psychology of the characters is particularly emphasized.
Movies
The novel Crosses in Karelia was made into a film just one year after its publication. The director of this film was Edvin Laine and the premiere was in December 1955. The score was by Ahti Sonninen , but in prominent places Finlandia by Jean Sibelius was also used. The first film adaptation was a great success. It had 2.8 million viewers in Finland and was broadcast in over 40 countries. YLE has broadcast the film every year on Finnish Independence Day since 2000 .
After 30 years, the novel was filmed again by Rauni Mollberg .
A new version of Aku Louhimies was released in cinemas in Finland on October 27, 2017 .
expenditure
Original version of the novel:
-
Tuntematon sotilas . WSOY, Porvoo 1954.
- German edition: Crosses in Karelia . Translated by Karl-Heinz Bolay and Rolf Schroers . Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne / Bonn 1955.
- German edition: The Unknown Soldier . Translated by AO Swede . Volk und Welt publishing house, Berlin 1971.
Uncensored version of the novel:
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Sotaromaani. Tuntemattoman sotilaan käsikirjoitus . WSOY, Helsinki 2000, ISBN 951-0-25187-9 .
- German edition: War novel . Translated by AO Schwede and Angela Plöger . EvM Edition in Viaiuris Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-941211-12-4 .
literature
- Lea Martin: The German version "Kreuze in Karelien" of the Finnish novel "Tuntematon sotilas" by Väinö Linna. A linguistic and stylistic investigation . Turun Yliopisto, Turku 1967.
Web links
- "The Finnish war film classic The Unknown Soldier opens old wounds in Russia" (article by Helsingin Sanomat from January 21, 2003)
- The Unknown Soldier (1955) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Tuntematon sotilas (1985) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Tuntematon sotilas (2017) in the Internet Movie Database (English)