Finland was recovering from World War II, and people wounded from the war were recovering both physically and mentally. Vaakunakylä formed into a unique neighbourhood, basically on the ruins of the war, in the outskirts of the city of Oulu. People had experienced bombings and basically lost their homes and possessions in the war. The entire Vaakunakylä neighbourhood was structured around an atmosphere of fear after having been inhabited by the German soldiers who were sometimes intimidating to children. Hietasaari, the island on which Vaakunakylä was established, was also the location for prisoner of war camps, and the inhabitants remember the poor treatment of the Soviet prisoners.