Communications operations – the term, “propaganda”, was still in use during the Winter War – played an important role in communicating the status of the war, as well as in assessing, maintaining and boosting morale. The Headquarters communications division acquired military information and images, arranged visits to the front for journalists, prepared flyers and other material in Russian, took responsibility for inspecting field mail, assessing morale among troops and on the home front, and inspecting written material concerning the Defence Forces and military operations.
The elegant Mikkeli Savings Bank building was completed in 1941 on a plot where a commercial building had been destroyed by bombing in the Winter War. The Headquarters communications division was based on the fourth floor of the Savings Bank during the Continuation War. At its peak, the division was staffed by 50 reservists, all of whom were journalists or authors. The best known were Olavi Paavolainen and Ilmari Turja.
The Savings Bank is now a branch of Danske Bank, and it also houses several service companies.
