Finnish women, German pigs and a translator: Translation consolidating the performance of “brotherhood-in-arms” (1941–44)

Abstract

ABSTRACTFrom June 1941 to September 1944, northern Finland was the host for the Finnish–German military alliance and a space of military as well as civilian interaction and interconnections. As such, the space also became a translation space that called for different forms of mediation on both sides of the alliance. One of the translating agencies was Department Ic of the German Staff (Armeeoberkommando 20) that was responsible, for example, for monitoring the Finnish press. This article analyses one seemingly insignificant translation that was produced as a part of Ic’s daily operative routine in December 1942. Immediately after its publication in the local Finnish newspaper, the German translation of a feuilleton circulated in the German units, causing much annoyance on the Finnish side. By adopting Goffman’s dramaturgical approach, translation is discussed as a powerful weapon in the German campaign to realign the performance of brotherhood-of-arms.