White Death by Damn Interesting published on 2014-05-05T01:47:24ZIn April of 1938, representatives from the USSR approached the Finnish government and expressed a concern that Nazi Germany could attempt to invade Russia, and such an attack might come through parts of Finland. The Finns replied that they were officially neutral, but any Nazi incursion on Finland’s borders would be resisted. Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf, was published thirteen years previous with specific note that the Nazis would need to invade the Soviet Union. In November 1939, however, all negotiations ceased, and on 30 November 1939 the Soviet Red Army invaded Finland. Before the four-month war ended, humble Häyhä would gain infamy among the Russian invaders, and come to be known as the “White Death”.