Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen kansanliike, IKL, sv, Fosterländska folkrörelsen) 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 ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1932 to 1944 and had an ideology similar to its predecessor, except that IKL participated in elections, although with limited success.

Formation

The IKL was founded at a conference on 5 June 1932 as a continuation of the Lapua Movement.Upton, p.215 The three major founding members were Herman Gummerus,

Vilho Annala Vilho Annala (17 January 1888 – 28 July 1960) was a Finnish civil servant, economist and far right politician. Early years Annala was born in Lapua, and first came to prominence as a student at the University of Helsinki, where he edited the s ...

and Erkki Räikkönen. Lapua leader

Vihtori Kosola Iisakki Vihtori Kosola (10 July 1884 – 14 December 1936) was the leader of the Finnish right-wing radical Lapua Movement. Kosola was born in Ylihärmä, Southern Ostrobothnia. His family's farmhouse burnt down the next year, and the family ...

was imprisoned for his part in the Mäntsälä rebellion at the time of formation but the leadership was officially kept in reserve for him and other leading rebels, notably Annala and Bruno Salmiala, were involved in the formation of IKL.

Structure

Ideologically, IKL was ardently

and anti-Communist, and endorsed an aggressive foreign policy against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and hostility towards the Swedish language. The creation of a

Greater Finland Greater Finland ( fi, Suur-Suomi; et, Suur-Soome; sv, Storfinland), an irredentist and nationalist idea, emphasized territorial expansion of Finland. The most common concept of Greater Finland saw the country as defined by natural borders enc ...

was an important goal for the party.Carsten, F. L. (1982) ''The rise of fascism''. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 168–169 Many of its leaders were

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

s or participants of the mainly Ostrobothnian

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

movement called ''

Herännäisyys The Awakening ( fi, herännäisyys or ) is a Lutheran religious movement in Finland which has found followers in the provinces of Savo and Ostrobothnia. The origins of the movement are in the 18th century. It has functioned inside the Evangelical ...

.'' Its manifested purpose was to be the Christian-moral conscience of the parliament. A more hard-line tendency was also active, centered on Bruno Salmiala. The IKL

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

was a black shirt with blue tie, inspired by the Italian fascists, and also by the ''Herännäisyys'' movement, which had a tradition for black clothing. Members greeted each other with a

Roman salute The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...

. The IKL had its own youth organization, called ''Sinimustat (Blue-and-blacks)'', members of which were trained in combat. It was led by

Elias Simojoki Lauri Elias Simojoki (28 January 1899 – 25 January 1940) was a Finnish clergyman who became a leading figure in the country's far right movement. The son of a clergyman, Simojoki was born on 28 January 1899 in Rautio. Philip Rees, '' Biographic ...

, a charismatic priest. ''Sinimustat'' were banned in 1936 (although they were immediately reformed as ''Mustapaidat'' ("Blackshirts")). The party received its main support from wealthy farmers, the educated middle-class, civil servants, the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

clergy and university students. Geographically, IKL obtained its largest share of votes in

Southern Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...

n municipalities such as

Kuortane Kuortane is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The neighboring municipalities of Kuortane are Al ...

Lapua Lapua (; sv, Lappo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located next to the Lapua River in the region of South Ostrobothnia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The mun ...

and Ilmajoki.

Relationship to mainstream politics

IKL leadership with Italian delegation 1933

IKL participated in parliamentary elections. In 1933 its election list was pooled with the National Coalition Party ''(Kokoomus)'', and got 14 seats out of 200. Kokoomus collapsed from 42 to 18 seats. After the collapse,

Juho Kusti Paasikivi Juho Kusti Paasikivi (; 27 November 1870 – 14 December 1956) was the seventh president of Finland (1946–1956). Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister ...

was elected chairman of ''Kokoomus.'' He converted his party to the voice of big business and as such had no interest in the direct action tactics of IKL, and thus weeded out the most outspoken IKL sympathizers from the party.Upton, p. 218 IKL came under increasing scrutiny from government and was subject to two laws designed to arrest its progress. In 1934 a law passed allowing the suppression of propaganda which brought government or constitution into contempt and this was used against the movement, whilst the following year a law banning political uniforms and private uniformed organisations came in, seriously affecting the ''Sinimustat'' in particular. IKL kept its 14 seats in the elections of 1936 but was weakened by the overwhelming victory for the coming social democrat-agrarian coalition, under Prime Minister Aimo Kaarlo Cajander that would replace in the spring of 1937 the centrist minority government of

Kyösti Kallio Kyösti Kallio (; 10 April 1873 – 19 December 1940) was a Finnish politician of the Agrarian League who served as the fourth president of Finland from 1937–1940; his presidency included leading the country through the Winter War. He was t ...

, which had, in turn, replaced the narrow right-wing minority government of

Toivo Mikael Kivimäki Toivo Mikael Kivimäki (5 June 1886 – 6 May 1968), ( J.D.), was a Finnish politician of the National Progressive Party who served as the head of the department of civil law at Helsinki University 1931–1956, Prime Minister of Finland ...

. The strong new government soon moved against the IKL, with

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...

, then Minister of the Interior, bringing legal proceedings against the movement late in 1938. However, the courts did not find sufficient grounds for banning IKL. Despite this the prosperity experienced under Cajander's government hit the IKL and in the 1939 elections they managed only eight seats. Kekkonen was one of two leading government opponents of the IKL who would later go on to serve as presidents of Finland, the other being

. According to docent André Swanström, IKL was by far the most popular party among Finnish Waffen SS recruits.

Final years

Hitler-jugend vierailulla Suomessa Sinimustien vieraana 7

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 ...

, and particularly the Moscow Peace, were seen by IKL and its sympathizers as the ultimate proof of the

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

government's failed foreign policy. During the year after the Winter War, Finland's foreign policy was drastically changed, by and large to correspond with that of IKL, and Annala was even included in the Cabinet in January 1941, when all but one parties of the parliament were represented. The price of this recognition was however an end to IKL attacks on the system and as such an effective end to the very reason it had support. After the initial enthusiasm of 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 ...

in 1941 waned during the first winter, IKL wasn't included in

Edwin Linkomies Edwin Johannes Hildegard Linkomies (22 December 1894 – 9 September 1963, until 1928 ''Edwin Flinck)'' was Prime Minister of Finland from March 1943 to August 1944, and one of the seven politicians sentenced to five and a half years in pris ...

' cabinet in spring 1943. In the aftermath of the

, IKL was banned, on the insistence of the Soviet Union, four days after the armistice between Finland and the

was signed 19 September 1944. The IKL initials returned to the far-right political scene in 1993 with the foundation of the '' Isänmaallinen Kansallis-Liitto'' by Matti Järviharju. The new movement died out by 1998.

Notable IKL supporters

Arne Somersalo Arne Sakari Somersalo (born 18 March 1891 in Tampere as Arne Sommer – died 17 August 1941 near Kiestinki, Soviet Union) was a Finnish officer and anti-communist activist. Somersalo was educated at the University of Helsinki before studying natu ...

, Commander of the Finnish Airforce 1920–26, IKL MP * Paavo Susitaival, Lt. Col., IKL MP *

Paavo Talvela Paavo Juho Talvela (born Paavo Juho Thorén 19 February 1897, died 30 September 1973) was a Finnish general of the infantry, Knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War ...

, General *

Rolf Nevanlinna Rolf Herman Nevanlinna (né Neovius; 22 October 1895 – 28 May 1980) was a Finnish mathematician who made significant contributions to complex analysis. Background Nevanlinna was born Rolf Herman Neovius, becoming Nevanlinna in 1906 when his fa ...

, Mathematician, Professor, Rector of 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 ...

Vilho Lampi Vilho Henrik Lampi (19 July 1898 – 17 March 1936) was a Finns, Finnish Painting, painter who is best known for his self-portraits and paintings of Liminka and the people who lived there. History Lampi was born in Oulu but lived in Liminka f ...

, painterVilho Lampi: Viimeiset vuodet ("Vilho Lampi: The Last Years")
Oulun Taidemuseo ulu Art Museum/ref> *

, clergyman, IKL MP. * Hilja Riipinen, the only women MP.

Election results

Parliament of Finland

References

Notes Bibliography * * Rees, Philip (1990) ''

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 r ...

'' *Upton, A. F. "Finland" in Woolf, S. J. (1981) ''Fascism in Europe'' London: Routledge Further reading * Vares, Vesa Yrjö (2020
"From allies to opponents. Conservatives facing fascism in Finland in the 1930s"

Scandinavian Journal of History The Scandinavian Journal of History is a peer-reviewed journal in English, published since 1976 under the auspices of the historical associations of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It aims to survey themes in recent Scandinavian h ...

v.46, n.2, pp. 224–247.

External links

* {{Authority control Finnish nationalism Defunct political parties in Finland Banned far-right parties Nationalist parties in Finland 1932 establishments in Finland Political parties established in 1932 1944 disestablishments in Finland Political parties disestablished in 1944 Fascism in Finland Fascist parties Anti-communist parties Anti-communist organisations in Finland