A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Window to Europe : Finland and Nordic Fascist Networks during the Cold War (2022)

Kotonen, T. (2022). Window to Europe : Finland and Nordic Fascist Networks during the Cold War. In N. Karcher, & M. Lundström (Eds.), Nordic Fascism : Fragments of an Entangled History (pp. 166-187). Routledge.

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Kotonen, Tommi

Parent publication: Nordic Fascism : Fragments of an Entangled History

Parent publication editors: Karcher, Nicola; Lundström, Markus

ISBN: 978-1-003-19300-5

Publication year: 2022

Pages range: 166-187

Number of pages in the book: 242

Publisher: Routledge

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: Channel is not openly available

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/85739

Abstract

For Finnish fascist groups and organisations, which were officially banned by the 1948 Paris Peace Treaty, Nordic contacts and networks provided an opportunity to maintain contact with their ideological comrades, if only in a clandestine manner, and open a window to Europe. For their Nordic comrades, Finland was a land glorified not only for its battles against the Soviet Union, but also a buffer state against the threat of communism. Contacts with the Finns were, in most cases, unofficial and often denied when revealed in the newspapers or by the police. From the 1950s onwards, organisational contacts were nevertheless also developed. By the 1970s, a Swedish fascist party, the Nordic Reich Party [Nordiska Rikspartiet], had established a local chapter in Finland, initiating a new wave of fascist activism there. This chapter explores the evolution of the Finnish-Swedish and other Finnish-Nordic contacts from the 1940s through the 1990s and studies their importance for both Finnish activists and the other Nordic groups. The chapter is based on the analysis of archival data drawn particularly from the files of the Finnish Security Police and the archives of the Swedish and Finnish fascists.

Keywords: political history; right wing movements; fascism; fascists; Cold War

Free keywords: Nordic fascist networks; cold war

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2022

Preliminary JUFO rating: 3