The diary of Simo Häyhä

visualized and contextualized.

Simo Häyhä, known as the White Death, is perhaps the most renowned sniper in the world. Yet as a person he might be less known as many of the sources regarding Häyhä have remained unknown to the English-speaking world.

Through his only recently discovered diary, letters and other thoughts you can learn more of his humane side and how he felt about life and war.

Kollaa, the front, in which Häyhä served in the Winter War against the Soviet Union also deserves to be remembered.

You can read the diary either in its visualized form with added war-time photos and context behind the text and characters. Or in its original form of a handwritten notebook.

Articles

Learn how the diary was found and made into a website. Discover resources and media related to Simo Häyhä, Kollaa and the Winter War.

Häyhä and The Winter War in Literature, Movies and MediaWinter War ResourcesHistory of the Diary

the white sniper

Major Tapio Saarelainen who interviewed Simo Häyhä dozens of times has written a book called the White Sniper about Simo Häyhä. Which is the most authentic long-form source available in English regarding Häyhä so I can recommend it if you want to learn more.

The White Sniper

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unknown soldier

Unknown Soldier is both the most beloved Finnish book and movie. The various humanized characters of the machine gun company can also be found in the recent modern movie adaptation of the Väinö Linna classic novel. If you ever want to truly surprise a Finn, try quoting lines from Unknown Soldier out of the blue.

Unknown Soldier

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Free online courses

If you are interested in free online courses FreeMOOCs.com can help. As our sister site highlights all the completely free university courses from Finland.

FreeMOOCs.com