It was set up for the Reds captured by the White Army after the Finnish Civil War Battle of Tampere.

Hundreds of Reds were executed right after the capitulation but as the number of prisoners increased, the Whites decided to set up a concentration camp to the former Russian Army garrison in the Kalevankangas heath.

The captured Reds were first gathered to the Central Square and then marched to the camp located 2 kilometres east of the town.

Some of the prisoners were first held at local schools and other public buildings, by the end of May they were all transported to the Tampere camp.

The total number of bodies in the grave is approximately 2,700, including the Red Guard fighters killed in the Battle of Tampere.