In February 1942, Carita Blomqvist was in the basement of Helsinki’s post office with her mother and her younger brother Tage. Around them, hundreds of other children were waiting to be sent to Sweden, a scene that reflected the uncertainty and strain of wartime Finland.

According to HBL, the memory is tied to the wider child evacuation to Sweden during the war years, when Finnish children were moved abroad for safety. Blomqvist’s account highlights how the journey began not with departure, but with a crowded and emotional wait.