The Finnish People's Organisation (Finnish: , SKJ) (Swedish: , FFO) was a bilingual Nazi party founded by Jaeger Captain Arvi Kalsta. Supporters of the movement were also called Kalstaites after the leader. The inaugural meeting of the organization was held in March 1933 and was attended by about 500 members. SKJ published the magazines ''Herää Suomi'' ('Finland Awake'), ''Hakkorset'' and ''Hakaristi'' ('Swastika', editor Thorvald Oljemark). In addition to its own magazines, the organization had its own publishing house Vasara. The organization wore a brown uniform like the

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

of the German Nazi Party, and used the greeting "Finland Awake!" Kalsta was in correspondence with

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

and the German nazis funded the party. The party received some support among the Swedish-speaking population of

Uusimaa Uusimaa (; , ; both lit. 'new land') is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, alo ...

. The organization received only 2,733 votes in the

1933 Finnish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Finland between 1 and 3 July 1933.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p606 The Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in Parliament with 78 of the 200 s ...

, with Jaakko Seise receiving almost quarter of the votes. However, at its peak SKJ had 20,000 members. Due to Kalsta moving to

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

to run a hotel the party ceased its activities in 1936, but Kalsta resumed his Nazi career in 1940 by founding the Organisation of National Socialists. File:White Victory Parade.jpg, 15th anniversary of White Victory Parade, SKJ and IKL marching File:SKJ poster.jpg, SKJ poster: "Worker, free yourself from your oppressors!" File:Arvi kalsta skj.jpg, Captain Arvi Kalsta addressing an SKJ meeting File:Front page of Herää suomi.png, Front page of Herää Suomi File:SKJ campaign truck.jpg, SKJ campaign truck

Election results

Parliament of Finland

Notable Members

* Jäger-Major Onni Kohonen *Judge Kurt Herrmann * Valdemar SiitoinPohjola, Mike (toim.): Mitä Pekka Siitoin tarkoittaa? Savukeidas, 2015. ISBN 978-952-268-155-3 pp.79

Sources

*
online version

References

External links

The party program
(in Finnish) Defunct political parties in Finland Nationalist parties in Finland Nazi parties Political parties established in 1933 Nazism in Finland Banned far-right parties Anti-communist organisations in Finland {{Nazi-stub