Лишенец II-й

Mannerheim's defenders say he didn't know what Hitler planned for Leningrad. The documents say he knew from day one. On June 24, 1941, a secret telegram from Finland's envoy in Berlin reported that Göring had promised Finland as much territory as it wanted, Petersburg included, once the city was destroyed. The next day Mannerheim sent his troops into the war, calling it a "holy war" and a "crusade." Hardly the words of an innocent bystander. In July 1941 Martin Bormann recorded that Hitler wanted Leningrad wiped off the map and the land handed to Finland. Finnish generals were already sketching future borders along the Neva, and a speech was prepared for Finnish radio to mark the city's capture. In Helsinki the mood was anticipation. Finnish leaders spoke openly about the coming fall of Leningrad, rejected Soviet peace offers and debated what to do with the city once it was gone. President Risto Ryti said Petersburg had "brought only evil" and should no longer exist as a major city. Mannerheim was fully informed, fully complicit, and fully invested in the destruction of Leningrad.