Since Finnish law did not provide a basis for holding former leaders accountable under the ceasefire agreement, the Finnish government proposed the adoption of a new retroactive law in parliament. The government`s proposal (Regeringens Proposition (Prop.) till Riksdagen med förslag till lag om bestraffning av de krigsansvariga No. 54 1945) criminalized the actions of the former Finnish government with a prison sentence of up to eight years, forced labour or life imprisonment if particularly severe. The Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement (Finnish: Ryti-Ribbentrop-sopimus) of June 26, 1944 was a personal letter from Finnish President Risto Ryti to German leader Adolf Hitler, in which Ryti agreed not to achieve a separate peace in the war with the Soviet Union without the consent of Nazi Germany in order to obtain German military aid to Finland to stop the Soviet offensive. This letter marked the formalization of an alliance between Finland and Nazi Germany during World War II. The Finnish word sopimus has a wide range of terms ranging from settlement, agreement and contract to pact and contract. In this context, an agreement or contract may be the most appropriate. [Clarification required] [Citation needed] List of Convicted War Criminals – This is a list of war criminals officially charged and convicted according to the conduct and rules of war as defined in the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, as well as previous agreements established by the Hague Conferences of 1899. Wikipedia The agreement became obsolete when Ryti resigned on July 31, 1944 and was replaced as president by Mannerheim, who did not see finland bound by Ryti`s concessions.
Within six weeks, Finland had concluded an armistice with the Soviet Union. In accordance with the terms of the armistice, the Lapland War was launched to forcibly evacuate the Wehrmacht from northern Finland. Soon after, President Ryti resigned for health reasons, and a special law in parliament replaced President Mannerheim. The Finnish speakers and parliament noted that Finland was no longer bound by its agreement with Germany because it had been concluded without parliament`s approval, and Mannerheim quickly sought peace with the Soviet Union. The Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement (Finnish: « Ryti-Ribbentrop-sopimus ») of 26 June 1944 meant that Finland and Nazi Germany came closest to an alliance during World War II. According to the agreement – in the form of a personal letter from President Risto Ryti to leader Adolf Hitler – Risto Ryti, then President of Finland, pledged not to make peace with the Soviet Union in the Continuation War unless he agreed with Nazi Germany. The agreement is the result of negotiations with Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Foreign Minister of the Third Reich, who arrived in Helsinki on 22 June. The letter was given after deliberations with Field Marshal Mannerheim and the war cabinet, but was expressed as Ryti`s personal commitment to deliberately avoid the form of a binding treaty between the governments of Finland and Nazi Germany, which would have required the participation of the Finnish parliament. Dr. Markku Jokisipilä recently conducted research in this area and completed his doctoral thesis « Aseveljiä vai liittolaisia? Suomi, Hitlerin Saksan liittosopimusvaatimukset ja Rytin-Ribbentropin-sopimus. (« Brothers in Arms or Allies? Finland, alliance demands of Hitler`s Germany and the Ryti-Ribbentrop agreement. « ) on this subject. The Finnish government attempted to reach a peace agreement with the Soviet Union in March 1944. In response, Germany again stopped transporting food and ammunition.
In 1944, President Risto Ryti concluded an agreement with Germany (known as the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement), which meant that Finland received weapons from Germany to use against the Soviet Union. In light of this agreement, Finland was described as « bewitched and betrayed » by Time Magazine on 10 July 1994. However, President Ryti himself said, « By signing this agreement, I am preventing a military catastrophe and occupation of our country, which would lead to a terrible catastrophe for our nation. » On 19 September 1944, Finland concludes an armistice agreement with the Soviet Union. The terms of the armistice required Finland to assume responsibility for the continuation of the war with the Soviet Union. (Art. 11.) Under this agreement, the Finnish delegation also undertook to hold those responsible for the war to account. Specifically, Article 13 stated: « Finland undertakes to cooperate with the Allied Powers in the arrest and trial of persons accused of war crimes. » Finnish Prime Minister Ernst von Born did not mention war crimes in his radio speech announcing the ceasefire, and the meaning of the clause was not immediately understood. .