Hirvivaaran aitta. Kuva Lassi Piirainen.

Partisan attack at Hirvivaara

People at Hirvivaara knew to fear partisan attacks in the summer of 1944 but could not escape them. The partisan attack on 24 July killed eight innocent civilians – three adults and five children. In addition, one civilian was wounded in the attack.

Luodinreiät on merkitty valkoisilla nastoilla aitan seinään. Kuva Lassi Piirainen.

Partisan attack at Hirvivaara

Four families lived on three farms in Hirvivaara, Kuhmo. July 23 1944 was a restless time for the villagers, as the dogs of the farms kept barking in the direction of the forest. There were also whistle calls from the forest, and the boys shouted back into the woods, but there was no response. In the evening, despite the uncertainty, people went to sleep.

In a state of great fear, people settled down to sleep on makeshift beds on the floor of the Hirvivaara storage shed. Everyone had to be very quiet so that potential enemies would not be able to hear them. Because of the silence, even the sound of mosquitoes flying seemed very loud. Around three o’clock in the morning, loud gunfire was heard in the vicinity.

The master of the farm went to look outside and, on opening the door, saw three partisans in the immediate proximity of the shed. He asked the partisans not to do anything bad to innocent people. But no mercy was shown

Info-taulu aitan ulkoseinässä. Kuva Lassi Piirainen.

One of the partisans jumped into the doorway of the storage shed with a submachine gun and started shooting furiously. The master was shot outside the shed. In the shed, the gunfire killed the master’s wife and one of the children, but three of the children survived.

In the neighbouring Jaakkola farm, a similar hell had broken loose. The family could not get out of the door of the farmhouse because of the firing, so they tried to escape through the window. The partisans noticed the escape and fired their submachine guns at the escapees. Four girls were killed in the gunfire, the youngest of whom was two years old. The children’s mother was also wounded and died later from her injuries.

The family’s six-year-old daughter was asleep in a room in the farmhouse, unaware of the incident, and survived. The old master of the farm and his wife also survived the attack, but she was wounded. The shooting was also heard in the village’s third farm, Jussila. The two families living at the farm managed to escape the massacre unharmed.

After a few hours, the survivors ventured out of hiding. The reality of the situation was discouraging. The investigation into the final damage began. Apart from the shooting, the enemy had taken everything and there was no food. At the same time, the survivors also had to work out who would milk the cows and feed the cattle in the barns of all three farms.

In the afternoon, around 15 Finnish soldiers arrived. They provided food for everybody and first aid to the wounded. Later, 17 more soldiers arrived from Suomussalmi. The soldiers immediately started making temporary stretchers and searching for the dead. The situation was difficult, as it was almost 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) to the road. It would also have been possible to transport people via the lake, but distance to the lakeside was 13 kilometres (8.1 miles).

Three adults and five children were killed in the attack, and one adult was wounded.

Memorial text. Photo by Lassi Piirainen.

Hirvivaaran muistomerkki. Kuva Lassi Piirainen.

Hirvivaara memorial

A memorial to the partisans’ victims was erected on the site by LC Kuhmo/Kuhmoniemi. It was unveiled on 24 July 1995. The memorial was designed by Kauko Haverinen.

The site also has an information board related to the incident and the storage shed where some of the killings took place.