Commemorating the fallen for friendship and encouragement: the commemoration of fallen soldiers in the military culture in the Baltic Sea region 1919-1939
ENIn this article we study how death was depicted and used in military culture in Sweden, Estonia and Poland during the interwar period with the aim to identify the national characteristics of these states, as well as the traits created by a common military culture in connection with death. Sweden exemplifies what Gellner calls an old state, while Poland with its historical tradition and newfound independence exemplifies a re-established state. Estonia, which lacked experience as an independent state, exemplifies a new state. These states to be examined formed at the same time different nodes in the security complex of the Baltic region and developed an intimate military interchange. The study is based on three themes from different sources. In the first theme, military manuals and journals are examined, in the second theme military commemorations and monuments are studied, and finally in the third theme the position that the memory of the dead played in international relations is studied. This latter examination is based on the reports of the military attachés who witnessed the commemorations.
