During World War II around 80.000 Finnish children were evacuated from Finland, about 70.000 to Sweden and 4.000 to Denmark. Most were evacuated during the Continuations War. The period of reconstruction after the war was difficult for Finland. There was a lack of food, clothing and housing all over the country and many families had been broken because of evacuation, death or divorce. This made it more difficult to bring children back to Finland after the war. The foster parents had also often become attached to their Finnish children, and many of them wanted to adopt these children. After staying with their new families for several years some of the children had forgotten their biological parents as well as the Finnish language ñ their roots and sometimes children themselves did not want to leave their new families. Although many families did want their children back, they did not succeed. Ultimately, around 20 % of the war children stayed with their forest families after the war. Many more returned to their countries as adults. It was June 1942 when Kai Palom‰ki was sent as a war child from Finland to Denmark. He was seven years old. After six days and five nights travel he arrived to Hoptrup, a small town in southern Jylland, where he met his new Danish parents. He didn¥t know how long his stay would be. He spent 17 years without any connection with his Finnish family. Kai's Finnish Parents

Both Kai and his brother Kalle were supposed to go abroad but just few days before the travel Kaiís mother was told that only the younger one, Kai, could go. Kalle was 11 years old at that time, and he never got the change to have a better life, says Kai.

Kai¥s new parents, Christian and Marie Schmidt, were one of the many families in Denmark who were willing to take care of the Finnish war children. They didn¥t have children of their own and Kai was like a child sent from the heaven.

Kai never thought that he would like to be back in Finland. He had a good life in Denmark. He didnít have any memories about his Finnish father who left them when he was very young. His parents had gotten divorced and his Finnish mother ñ as a single mother ñ had to work long days to be able to feed her two boys. Kai spent most of the days playing with his older brother Kalle. Kai reading a letter from his mother in Finland.

Kai met his wife, Helga, when they were studying to become teachers, just a few hundred meters away from where they still live. They have been married for 56 years. During the Christmas time in 1958 Helga talked with Kai about his Finnish family again and they decided to send a card to the old address in Helsinki and try to find Kaiís roots again. Kai and Helga during their wedding day.

Kai during summer holiday in Finland.

Years later, Kai¥s wife Helga was travelling in Finland with a school class and had their daughter Susie with her. During their stay Helga and Susie visited Kai¥s Finnish mother in Helsinki. Grandmother wanted to stay alone with her grandchild and talk to her alone. Kai doesn¥t know how they communicated, since Susie couldnít speak Finnish and the mother could only speak Finnish. But when Susie came back to Denmark she said ìI want to change my name and put Palom‰ki into it tooî. Soon after this the whole family changed their last name to Palom‰ki Schmidt. The Finnish grandmother withi Susie, Kai and Helga's daughter.

Kai with his brother Kalle during a summer vacation in Finland.

Kai spent 17 years without any connection with his Finnish family. The picture shows the day they met again in Malmi Airport.

Finnish Letters from Kai's Finnish mother.

Finnish Letters from Kai's Finnish mother.

Kalle, Helga and Kai during a summer in Finland. After the reconnnection they spent a lot of time every summer trying to discover Kai's finnish roots.