Just posted to let you know I'm still avidly following this thread.
I've always found it fascinating that people (and nations) do what seem to be bad things for good reasons, and vice versa. I once was part of a discussion in which one person was arguing how bad he thought the Finns were for siding with the Germans during the war. I asked him what other choice he thought they had. The Soviets were threatening to overrun their country, and since the Soviets were the "good" guys because they were helping fight the "bad" guys (and the Nazis were indeed bad), the mere act of accepting help from the Germans meant that the Finns were taking the "bad" side.
I think taking that help from the Germans was the best thing Finland could have done at the time.
And thanks again for keeping this thread going.
