“Route step, march!” Finnish-German brothers in arms and their Liedbräute
Finland fought the years 1941–1944 as a cobelligerent of Hitler’s Wehrmacht against
the Soviet Union. This political-military “brotherhood of Arms” took also other forms,
including cultural exchange. One form of this was the import and translation into
Finnish of German military marching songs.
This article studies military songs that were named after Women names and who
were renamed when translated to Finnish. Using five songs as example, this article analyses
their composition, function, the background of their names as well as the portrayal
of womanhood in these songs. In addition key persons behind the import, translation
and distribution of these songs to Finland are identified.