Annakati Mattila’s father Arvi took part in three wars and, after the Civil War, spent months at the Hennala prison camp. His story points to a generation shaped by war and detention, with experiences that have often remained outside the wider public memory.

According to Iltalehti, about 1,100 children in Finland were once sent to prison camps, showing how far the consequences of the Civil War reached beyond adult combatants. The report also mentions Tiutinen Island, where access was long limited to boats and, in winter, ice roads.

Hennala has gone down in history as a particularly notorious prison camp, and Arvi’s fate illustrates the harshness many Finns faced in the aftermath of the conflict. Tiutinen’s isolation, meanwhile, is a reminder of how restricted travel and everyday life could be in parts of the country for a long time.