| Abstract | This article analyzes interactions between women's experience narratives and the shared, cultural narrative of Finland in World War II (1939-45). The collective memory of World War II in Finland is based on a shared narrative of heroic sacrifice. This study questions this narrative by examining the reminiscences of retail store assistants whose work changed considerably when the war broke out in 1939. It uncovers the challenges they faced with regard to workplace fatigue, dishonesty, and black marketing. The use of oral-history methods allows the narrator to reflect and to produce a narrative of the past for today's audience. For the researcher, the materials reveal the connections of meanings and values to the time, place, and social environment. The article contributes to the growing scholarly challenge to the heroic narratives of World War II.
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