Finnish Father’s Forgiveness Transforms Lives
Viktor Ståhlberg didn’t want to see 10 soldiers killed in revenge during Finland’s Civil War.
Something tragic happened in Finland exactly 100 years ago. But my great-grandfather Viktor Ståhlberg didn’t want to see 10 soldiers killed in revenge.
In 1918, Finland was mired in a bloody civil war where Reds mainly comprised of the working class and Whites, mostly from the middle and upper classes, were locked in conflict.
Viktor’s son, my great-uncle Väinö Ståhlberg, decided to join the White troops on the Gulf of Finland island of Lavansaari (now Moshchny Island and part of Russia).
Viktor pleaded with his son to change his mind.
“Please, my son, do not take off with your friends to join the army,” said Viktor, who had joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church three years earlier.
He quoted the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:52, “For all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (NKJV).
But Väinö felt a strong urge to fight for what he believed, and he left home under the darkness of night.
He met a group of friends on the ice-covered Gulf of Finland early on Easter Sunday. They had all snuck from their homes. Some rode on horse and sleigh, and others took cross-country skis to reach the meeting point.
Almost immediately, Red soldiers detained Väinö and the other young men and took them to their headquarters in Hamina for questioning. It later emerged that a housemaid who had fallen in love with Väinö had revealed his plans to a Red sympathizer, who in turn had tipped off the Red army.
In captivity, Väinö regretted his disobedience to his father and asked God for forgiveness, a friend said later.
On Easter night, the young men were put on a horse-drawn sleigh with two armed Red soldiers and taken back out onto the frozen Gulf of Finland. Several soldiers cut a hole in the ice and ordered the prisoners to stand in a row in front of it. Väinö refused and was shot dead on the spot. Then three more young men were killed. Two others made a run for it and were shot dead.
One prisoner pretended to be dead and was left alone while the soldiers ran after a second group of escapees. Seizing his chance, the man fled to freedom and told others what had happened.
Back in the gulf, the Reds threw the bodies of the slain young men into the ice hole.
Väinö’s father, Viktor, and the rest of the family mourned for days. Väinö’s dog, sniffing his master’s scent, followed his footsteps to the ice hole and howled there for many nights. One night the dog dove in after his master and did not return.
After some time, the Whites re-conquered Hamina and started to seek vengeance on the Reds as the 1918-20 Civil War drew to a close.
One day Viktor heard the news that 10 Red prisoners had been captured and would be executed for his son’s death. He grabbed his Bible and hurried to the execution site on a hill.
“Now this slaughtering is enough,” he declared. “You cannot kill any Reds for my son’s lost life, not one.”
The love of Christ had softened Viktor’s heart, and he wanted to honor the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
As he preached the gospel message on the hill, the cycle of revenge was broken, and the lives of the Red prisoners were spared.
Among those 10 Reds were the two sons of a local blacksmith. Seeing his sons saved, the joyful blacksmith started to read the Bible, became a Christian, and joined the Adventist Church.
God also has blessed Viktor’s family. Eight family members have served as Adventist pastors, including me and Väinö's brother Toivo Seljavaara, a public evangelist who baptized more than 1,500 people.
Uutiset, a Finnish newspaper, published this story on the 100th anniversary with the headline “The Miracle of War.”