Diplomatic Relations

Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.

Finland - Winter War

Day 25

On the Ladoga Karelia at Tolvajärvi, the Russians are pushed back across the Aittojoki River. This sector remains stabilized for the remainder of the war. The Russians launch another offensive at Kollaa. In the northern Karelia the Soviets are pushed back across the border in the Inari-Lieksa sector. In northern Finland Group Ilomäki advances from Jyrkänkoski to strike at the Rasti crossroads in Kuhmo. The advance is thwarted and the Finns return to their original positions suffering 53 casualties. In Suomussalmi the Soviets launch fierce counterattacks at Hulkonniemi and along the Raate road.

In the Gulf of Finland the Russian battleship Marat shells Koivisto Fortress. The Finns mine the Soviet naval bases in the Baltic States.

President Kyösti Kallio tours the military hospitals to greet soldiers wounded at the front. Photo: SA-KUVA President Kallio

Occupied Poland

A Synagogue Going up in Flames in Siedlce, Poland Approximately two months after occupying the city, Germans, along with Polish policemen, encircle the synagogue in Siedlce, remove the Torah scrolls from the building, and light up both the synagogue and the Torah scrolls. The fire spreads to the neighboring Jewish study house and Jewish community offices. After the fire, the Germans order the Polish police to prepare a report holding the Jews responsible for igniting the fire. After the synagogue was burned down many Jews are deported to labor camps in the Lublin area. On August 1, 1941, two ghettos are established in Siedlce that together contain 12,000 Jews. Most of the Jews in Siedlce are shot by the Nazis or their Ukrainian collaborators, or deported to Treblinka. About 2,000 Jews from Siedlce survive the war.