The purpose of this article is to explore the education that a Finnish voluntary organization, Pikkulotat, the Little Lottas, provided for girls aged 8–17 in Finland during the turbulent and highly political 1930s and 40s. Little Lottas, and their adult counterparts the Lotta Svärd, were nationalistic organizations designed to work on the home front in case of war. From an outside perspective, their activity resembled the scout movement. The aim of the organization was to teach girls skills and knowledge that were to be used in national defence work. The Little Lotta organization had approximately 13,000 members in 1935, 24,000 members in 1939 and 52,000 members in 1944 when its activities were shut down due to political reasons.

The primary data of this article consists of magazines Pikkulotta [Little Lotta] (1938–1943), Lottatyttö [Lotta Girl] (1943–1944) and Lotta Svärd (1934–1943). The specific aim of this article is to answer, by using Critical Discourse Analysis as a theoretical tool, the following questions: What were the attributes of a stereotypical Little Lotta? What ideology, skills and guidelines were passed on to readers of previously mentioned magazines? What do texts reveal about the historical context and prevailing culture in which the Little Lotta organization functioned? Results show that members of Little Lotta were given instructions, advice and recommendations that covered all aspects of life: physical appearance, morals, ideology, religion and so on. These measures had three somewhat overlapping aims: 1) to incorporate women into service for the country, 2) to spread officially approved ideologies to homes and, finally, 3) to raise future mothers.