During my research today I discovered the remarkable story of a man named Leo Skurnik. Major Leo Skurnik was a Jewish soldier/medical officer who fought for Finland during the Second World War in 1941. If you know your history of the Second World War like I do you would also know that Finland was allied with Nazi Germany at this point of the war. This created quite the circumstance for Leo because of the fact that he was Jewish. Throughout Major Leo Skurnik’s military career he would go on to actually fight beside and for the very people who wanted to kill him because of his Jewish background. Major Skurnik even goes as far as to save the lives of 600 men in which include members of the SS (an elite group of Nazi soldiers known for their brutality against the Jewish) by risking his own safety by making his way through Soviet shelling to a field hospital on the Finnish-Russian border and ordering them to evacuate. Leo was even awarded the Iron Cross (a prestigious award of bravery) from the German Army for this act of bravery and valor! That’s right he was awarded by the very people that wanted him and his “race” exterminated! Leo goes on to turn down the award and never officially gains recognition for his bravery. After looking at this brief background of Major Leo Skurnik a question arises in my mind, this question being, “Why would Leo Skurnik do all these things for the German Army when he knows what they are doing to his people (the Jewish)?”. Well after thinking this question over in my head I came to the conclusion that the reason must be fear, more specifically fear of the Nazis. Think of it this way, at that time Leo lived in a country that was allied with Nazi Germany (Finland). This means that Finland did not agree or disagree with the policies that the Nazis practiced and believed in, including the extermination of the Jewish population. Now since Leo was Jewish this put him in a very dangerous situation, one that had only two routes of escape. His first choice of escape would be to flee the country, however this posed near impossible, do to the fact that the alert for Jewish people was extremely high and he would most likely be caught and sent to his death since he lived in close proximity to Germany. The last route of escape would be to enlist in the Finnish army. This sounds crazy I know but it actually makes more sense and provides a higher possibility of Leo surviving. The Germans and their allies were continually looking for Jewish peoples to exterminate, they were searching homes, villages, businesses etc. However Finland wasn't. Why would they? They weren't concerned with the Jewish at that time, they were more concerned with fighting the Russians and regaining their lost land. This means that Leo would be able to gain entry to the Finnish army easily, and if he could get into the Finnish army he would be safe from the Nazis since he was enlisted into an army that they are allied with and would now look non Jewish to the Nazis. Obviously Leo chose the second route of escape and it thankfully worked for him. Leo Skurnik went on to survive the war and later died on December 4, 1976 in Oulu, Finland. The story of Leo Skurnik is quite outlandish but to be completely honest, if I were him and faced with the same situation I would have done the same thing.
Feel free to leave a comment below of your opinion, and if you'd do the same or what you would change if you were faced with the same situation as Leo!
I was doing some research on the topic of Dr. Skurnik and it came out that the Finns had come out of a particularly brutal civil war in the 1920s that pitted factions against each other. It was further stated that many Jews were instrumental in unifying both sides and preventing further enmity. As a result, the Jewish character of a Finn was never a factor when the Nazis arrived. Finns were part of the fight against the Soviets and rooting out Jews wasn't practical. While I agree there was a certain fear from the Nazis, I find Dr. Skurnik was a man who kept his dedication to his medical craft first and used the Hippocratic Oath as his guiding principal in life. If that meant risking his life to save 600 Nazi souls at great risk or peril to himself or to treat a fallen enemy, so be it.
Doctor, Major Leo Skurnik was awarded the Iron Cross by the Germans. He told his General Siilasvuo that he cannot possibly agree to receive it and that he will wipe his ass with their decorations. General Siilasvuo faithfully passed the message on to the Germans, and it of course infuriated them and they wanted him handed over to them so they could punish him appropriately, to which General Siilasvuo responded that there is no way in Hell he will hand his best doctor over to the Germans.