The Inger Finns memorial site in Põllküla
Memorial site

Approaching from Kersalu, before the Põllküla railway crossing, the forest road goes to the right, along this road, there is a memorial site in a forest clearing about 200 m away.

In the years 1942-1944, more than 63,000 Inger-Finnish war refugees were evacuated from the Soviet Union to Finland. Most of them were temporarily placed in quarantine and refugee camps, which were located in Põllküla, but also in Klooga and Paldiski. The transfer of the evacuees to Finland took place through the port of Paldiski.

Probably several tens of thousands of people passed through the Põllküla camp alone. The stay in the camp ranged from a few weeks to several months. They lived in buildings built for the Red Army in 1939-1940. The living conditions were difficult and they suffered from lack of food, cold, humidity and various infectious diseases. Therefore, the death rate in the camp was high. It is estimated that about a thousand Inger Finns lost their lives in the camp.

With the armistice signed on September 19, 1944, which ended the Finnish Continuation War, Finland was obliged to extradite to the Soviet Union the citizens of the Inger Finns of the Soviet Union. In the years 1944-1945, about 56,000 people were transported back to the Soviet Union.

In the Põllküla memorial, there is a commemorative plaque to the victims and Pentti Kaitera, who led the evacuation.