1941: New Zealand Attacks Finland
July 29, 2019
By AHNZ
Today in New Zealand History: 29 July, 1941, the New Zealand State stole a ship from Finland.
Consider our long history of expense and stress about the Russians invading New Zealand. For 100 years we fretted. Then it finally happened in 1941: The rubber hit the road. Time to pick a side.
And what did New Zealand do? Pitch in on Uncle Joe Stalin’s side by helping him make war on Finland: nicking off with their ship full of bird dung!
Fine contribution Labour 1.0, the local Kiwi Communists must have been so proud.
“Pamir entered Wellington flying the Finnish flag, and with the blue and white symbol of a neutral vessel painted on its steel hull.”
Little did her captain know that Finland were fighting the Communist invasion back home and that by diplomatic twist the Kiwis were on Stalin’s side!
The State (Labour 1.0) seized the sailing ship and all the fertilizer therein! ‘We‘ literally stole their shit.
Nearly half the crew were of nations ‘on our side’, including seven Kiwis. It was not legally possible to seize the ship as relations with Finland were still open so The State stalled bureaucratically until August 3rd when the conflict had deepened and the ship could be ‘collected’ as with any other tax revenue.
The first thing The State did was to install a marine radio- the one thing it did not have which could have prevented Pamir from sailing into the Kiwi kleptocratic trap.
In my opinion Prime Minister Peter did an ignoble thing in pinching this ship. Imagine the Fins snatching New Zealander’s private property while our homeland was under attack by an Empire! On the other hand, a war leader has to look at things differently and you’d better be on the right side when the Japanese start attacking Pacific Islands next door.¹
What would you have done?
—
1 Pearl Harbour, within months
Note: Labour (4.0) have been an unreliable ally, balancing the ledger of taking ships for the Ruskies by sinking their cruise ship ‘Mikhail Lermontov’ in 1986 and blaming the victim
Ref. Marine Department Annual Report (1942-2) and (1945-6); Papers Past
Ref. Wartime Visit of the Pamir to New Plymouth (December 1940); ketenewplymouth
4 thoughts on "1941: New Zealand Attacks Finland"
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I am really interested in who were the crew of this ship when she entered Wellington? Do you have a crew list?
Thanks
Kath
jelly.k@xtra.co.nz
I’d be interested too but do not have the details. Suspect it would be sealed from our end but the Fins we had as POWs would have been repatriated and spoken of it so that would be an angle to take.
Are you interested in their personal experiences of being ‘taken’?
Disgraceful Labour antics ignoring 50 million gulag prisoners in supporting Stalin.
What had been NZs position on Finlands struggle against the Soviet demands for territory and consequently “Winter War”?
Agreed. I don’t know but I expect the policy position was ‘don’t mention the war’.