A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Finland and the outbreak of the War in Korea (1950) in documents of the US Department of State (2024)

Suchoples, J. (2024). Finland and the outbreak of the War in Korea (1950) in documents of the US Department of State. In J. Suchoples, S. James, & H. Hanka (Eds.), The Cold War Re- called : 21st Century Perceptions of the Worldwide Geopolitical Tension (pp. 541-582). Peter Lang.

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Suchoples, Jarosław

Parent publication: The Cold War Re- called : 21st Century Perceptions of the Worldwide Geopolitical Tension

Parent publication editors: Suchoples, Jarosław; James, Stephanie; Hanka, Heikki

ISBN: 978-3-631-87145-4

eISBN: 978-3-631-91444-1

Publication year: 2024

Publication date: 25/06/2024

Pages range: 541-582

Number of pages in the book: 728

Publisher: Peter Lang

Place of Publication: Berlin

Publication country: Germany

Publication language: English

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Abstract

The War in Korea was the first military international conflict during the Cold War. It attracted the attention of the whole world as a possible prelude to the outbreak of World War Three. In addition, the north of Europe was fearful that this region could become a victim of increased tension in international relations caused by the conflict in the Far East. Especially vulnerable in this context seemed to be Finland, a democratic country located geopolitically in the Soviet sphere of influence. Therefore, members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Helsinki collected opinions and considered whether the Korean conflict would influence Finland's international and internal situation. This paper analyses documents produced by officials of the US Legation in Helsinki from 25 June 1950 to the beginning of October of that year. On the one hand, they reveal the point of view of Finnish officials regarding Finland's situation, positions taken by various Finnish newspapers, as well as the mood of Finnish society and exposes internal divisions within it at that time. On the other hand, the document content reveals what kind of information was collected by American diplomats working in Finland during the first three months of the conflict, their sources, what was interesting for them and how they perceived Finland's situation during the initial phase of hostilities waged on the other side of the world. Although, it would be tempting in this context to also compare the contents of documents written by American diplomats serving in Helsinki in 1950 with research done by Finnish historians (above all Tuomo Polvinen and Juhani Suomi, biographers of Finland's presidents Juho K. Paasikivi and Urho K. Kekkonen) based on Finnish sources, it would go beyond the frame of this paper and would make it unduly long.

Keywords: Korean War; Finns; public discussion; public opinion; Cold War; international relations; geopolitics

Free keywords: Cold War; Finland; Korean War; Soviet Union; United States

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Preliminary JUFO rating: 1