This Open Access book presents the first in-depth analysis of the Finnish-German military alliance (19411944) as a translation zone a multilingual network of military, administrative and civilian encounters held together by linguistically versed soldiers and civilians acting as interpreters and translators. It focuses on interpreters and liaison officers of the Finnish Liaison Staff in Rovaniemi, who were assigned to the staffs of the German army units with the task of maintaining communication between the two armies and assisting German troops in their daily matters. Furthermore, attention is paid to Finnish civilians, especially women whose language skills made them candidates for a range of mediation tasks in the German units. The reconstruction of military interpreters and liaison officers tasks and mediation agency between the brothers-in-arms and their military cultures is based on their war-time weekly reports, whereas the civilian interpreters experiences are drawn from a variety of autobiographical accounts, including interviews.
1 Introduction or: Field Reconnaissance of a Translation Historian.- 2
The Finnish-German Military Cooperation 19411944.- 3 Multilingual Alliance
and its Civilian Linguistic Links.- 4 Military Structures Supporting the
Alliance.- 5 Translators Interpreters and Errand Boys in the Rear Area.- 6
Communicative Links at the Front.- 7 Interpreting Cultures and Ideologies.- 8
Women and Pigs on the Streets of Rovaniemi.- 9 Snapshots at the Ruins of the
Alliance.- 10 80 Years Later A Translation Historians view into the
Brotherhood-In-Arms.
Pekka Kujamäki is Professor of Translation Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. His publications deal with translation history, translators' networks and agencies in Finnish-German cultural-political exchange, and translation and interpreting in WWII in Finland. His current interests include translation and interpreting during the occupation of Austria (1945-1955).
