Arvid (Arvi) Edvard Ojasti (born Arvid Fagerström; 18 June 1903 – 6 December 1963) was a Finnish chief detective of the ValPo. In July 1941, during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, Ojasti, who worked as a superior in ValPo's

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

department, was ordered to join a 12-man Finnish group assisting German SS-Untersturmführer Wilhelm Laqua, the commander of Einsatzkommando Finnland, in Kirkenes, Norway. He was involved in the transfer of prisoners of war and executions. In the fall of 1941, men from the Finnish group worked in

Nazi concentration camps in Norway Nazi concentration camps in Norway (Norwegian: ''konsentrasjonsleirer'') were concentration camps or prisons in Norway established or taken over by the Quisling regime and Nazi German authorities during the German occupation of Norway that began ...

. Some of them also moved with the Germans to the Soviet side in

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

, where they supervised the local population and hunted for communists. At the end of the Continuation War and Finland switched sides, Ojasti joined the pro-German movement, and was transferred to the service of the German security police under Laqua.Uola, Mikko: Unelma kommunistisesta Suomesta 1944–1953. Helsinki: Minerva, 2013. ISBN 978-952-492-768-0. After the end of the war, Ojasti fled to Norway, then

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and finally

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, where many other Finnish Nazis wanted for war crimes had moved to exile. Ojasti also assisted with the trade-ins of wartime loot. He traded with fellow fugitive

Aarne Kauhanen Aarne Emil Kauhanen (29 November 1909 – 11 October 1949) was a Finnish officer of the Central Detective Police (EK) and its successor, the State Police (ValPo), with special responsibility for aliens in the 1930s and 1940s.Norssit 1867–1992 ...

. Ojasti became a farmer, before working as a biology professor at the

University of Caracas A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. In December 1963, he was shot and killed under unclear circumstances by a military patrol at roadblock in the city of

Maturín Maturín () is a city in Venezuela, the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas and a centre for instrumental exploration and development of the petroleum industry in Venezuela. The metropolitan area of Maturín has a population of 401,384 inha ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojasti, Arvid 1903 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Finnish educators Antisemitism in Finland Academic staff of the Central University of Venezuela Einsatzgruppen personnel Finnish expatriates in Sweden Finnish expatriates in Norway Finnish expatriates in Venezuela Finnish exiles Finnish military personnel of World War II Finnish police officers Finnish Nazis Finnish war criminals Nazis in South America People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Venezuela