From the outbreak of the Winter War onwards, dressing stations were visited by men who were not physically wounded but had become mentally disturbed. The Defence Forces’ medical service had made no practical preparations to treat psychological disorders.
During the assault and retreat phases of the Continuation War, men suffered psychological disorders related to combat, while the period of trench warfare gave rise to other disorders. At that time, military psychiatry was in its infancy in comparison with today’s standards. The forms of treatment provided were very much in line with the times, and the root cause of illness was considered to lie in the “morbid structure of the individual’s soul”.
The 17th Military Hospital operated in several different locations in Mikkeli. One of these was the Mikkeli District Mental Hospital, built in the 1920s on the site occupied by Moisio state mansion and the military service office. During the Continuation War, Moisio housed a surgical ward and a ward intended for patients suffering from mental disorders.
Moisio is still a psychiatric hospital, and it is connected to the Hospital Museum, which tells the story of Moisio hospital and of psychiatric treatment more generally. The Hospital Museum is open in the summer and by arrangement.
