Lotta Svärd

Lotta Svärd (Finland Swedish: [ˈlotːɑ ˈsvæːrd]) was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. The women were called lotat (sg. lotta, lit. 'Lottas') in Finnish. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. During the Second World War, it mobilized to replace men conscripted into the army. It served in hospitals, at air raid warning positions, and other auxiliary tasks in close cooperation with the army. The women were officially unarmed except for an antiaircraft battery in 1944. Virtanen argues that, their "accountability to the nation took a masculine and military form in public, but had a private, feminine side to it including features like caring, helping and loving." The organisation was disbanded by the government after the war.