The monument to the died Roma in the wars of 1939-1945 at Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki is probably the only monument in the world to be erected in honor of the Roma who participated in the war. The monument was jointly implemented by the Finnish Roma and Veteran Organizations and the National Advisory Board on Romani Affairs RONK with the support of the state and the church. Artist Heikki Häiväoja designed and built the base of the monument made of Tervakoski stone and a broken cart wheel depicting a broken trip. In the foundation stone is written in Finnish and Romani "In memory of the Roma who dies in the wars of 1939-1945".
In 1997, at the joint initiative of the Finnish Roma organizations and RONK, the first Roma war veteran celebration was held in the House of the Estates. The patron of the celebration was Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, who in the 17th October 2003, as the President of the Republic, also blessed a war memorial in the Hietaniemi cemetery to commemorate Romani veterans who fell during the war.
More than 300 Roma men participated in the Winter and Continuation War, 60 of whom suffered the fate of a hero.
The war also affected the Roma in other ways. One third of Finland's Roma population had lived in the pre-war Karelia, and as a result of the war, about 1,000 Roma had to move away from their old homelands and detours. In search of livelihoods and housing, Roma evacuees scattered all over Finland, usually without similar government support then other refugees from Karelia.
