'The sea shall have our weapons': small arms and forced migration across the Baltic Sea during the Second World War. Issue 2 (2nd September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Arnshav, Mirja
• Is Part Of: Journal of conflict archaeology. Volume 14:Issue 2/3(2019)
• Page Start: 126
• Page End: 142
• Publication Date: 2019-09-02
• Subjects: Mobility -- forced migration -- absences -- guns -- Estonia -- Second World War -- border crossing -- boat refugees -- hybridity -- object biographies; Battlefields -- History -- Periodicals; Excavations (Archaeology) -- Periodicals; Military history -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1080/15740773.2019.1735218
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1574-0773

Abstract

ABSTRACT: During the Second World War, a large number of guns were brought to Sweden by refugees escaping the occupation powers of the eastern Baltic countries. Most people had very limited space for bringing belongings with them, but small arms were apparently highly prioritised when setting out – yet, at the same time, they were usually disposed of in the course of the crossing. Informed by Latours' thoughts on hybrid actors, this paper explores the relationship between humans and arms during the escape across the Baltic Sea in 1943–45. It is shown that although they were seldom fired, the physical presence of these arms directly affected human action, perception and identities, and that it did so in different ways during different phases of the crossing.