Arne Sakari Somersalo (born 18 March 1891 in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

as Arne SommerBiography at the Parliament of Finland (in Finnish)
/ref> – died 17 August 1941 near

Kiestinki Kestenga (russian: Кестеньга; krl, Kiestinki; fi, Kiestinki), is a rural village in the Loukhsky District of the Republic of Karelia in Russia on the northern shore of Lake Topozero. It is the administrative centre of the ''Kestenga r ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

officer and

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

activist. Somersalo was educated at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

before studying

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pr ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', 1990, p. 364 Based in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he enrolled in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

as an officer in 1916, serving until the armistice. He would later claim that the war had been the death of old

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and argued that one of its main positives was that it had "rescued our nation from the deadly, slimy embrace of a lothsome

cuttlefish Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...

" in reference to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

.Hans Rogger, Eugen Weber, ''The European Right'', University of California Press, p. 413 He transferred straight to the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

and from 1920 to 1926 was the commander of the

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...

.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 365 He became involved in politics in 1926 when he started editing the

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

journal ''Valkoinen Vartio'' and then founded the fiercely anti-communist Finnish Defence League. He joined the Lapua Movement in 1930 then the

Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen kansanliike, IKL, sv, Fosterländska folkrörelsen) was a Finnish nationalist and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1 ...

(IKL) in 1932, serving as a delegate to the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

for the latter from 1933 to 1935 for

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

. He was also the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the IKL party newspaper ''

Ajan Suunta ''Ajan Suunta'' (Direction of Time) was the newspaper of the Finnish Patriotic People's Movement (IKL) that ran from 1932 to 1944. IKL published thirty newspapers and magazines, but the daily newspaper ''Ajan Suunta'' was the main organ of the par ...

'' from 1931 to 1935. Ideologically he was a supporter of

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

and was close to

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. Recalled to active service for the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, he acted as Chief of Staff for the frontline in

Suomussalmi Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popul ...

and was awarded the

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin ritarikunta; sv, Frihetskorsets orden) is one of three official state orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. Organisation ...

for his actions. During the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

, Somersalo acted as a

liaison officer A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...

for the German SS division Nord in

Finnish Lapland Lapland ( fi, Lappi ; se, Lappi; smn, Laapi; sv, Lappland; la, Lapponia, links=no) is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the region of North O ...

. He was killed in action near Kiestinki (Kestenga), USSR on 17 August 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somersalo, Arne 1891 births 1941 deaths People from Tampere People from Häme Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Patriotic People's Movement (Finland) politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (1933–36) Finnish Air Force personnel Finnish military personnel killed in World War II University of Jena alumni Finnish soldiers Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Finnish fascists