The last time we read about Perussuomalaiset (PS)* Turku chapter chairperson Jyrki Åland was in January when he stated that Covid-19 deaths “would do a lot of good” in Varisuo, a neighborhood of Turku where 48% of its inhabitants don’t speak Finnish or Swedish as their mother tongue. In a blog posting Monday on the…
Tag: Nazi Germany
The story of the Finnish Air Force swastika is still not over
We wrote Wednesday that the Finnish Air Force quietly dropped the swastika as the symbol of the Finnish Air Force Command. But not so fast. The swastika continues to adorn the Air Force Academy. An article in DW of Germany asks how an anti-Semitism symbol like the swastika made its way to Finland. Writes the BBC: “The symbol will always be intrinsically…
Finland’s problematic ties with Nazi Germany and Finns who served in the SS
One of the matters that surprised me when I was writing for a number of publications from Finland like the Financial Times, was how its geopolitical isolation helped it to cover up some unpleasant facts about itself. Its isolation gave it a free hand to write history to avoid it answering unpleasant things like its alliance with Nazi Germany in World War 2.
Exposing white Finnish privilege #44: Defending Nazis’ rights to march is ok as long we agree on the common enemy
Jan Vapaavuori is the mayor of Helsinki who wrote the following on his Facebook wall below about Nazis marching in Helsinki on Independence Day:
Facebook Mohammad Javid: Germany in the 1930s, Finland today
Nazi Germany during the 1930s, Finland today. Thank you, Mohammad Javid for the heads-up! Some anti-immigration activists tell asylum seekers to leave the country. Sounds familiar?
What do Jim Crow, Nuremberg Laws and Finland’s Restricting Act of 1939 have in common?
All forms of intolerance have one factor in common: They are violent ways to disenfranchise and control groups through social exclusion. Jim Crow laws in the United States sought to ensure that blacks remain marginalized in the same way as the Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany took away all power from the Jews. In Finland, foreigners…
Arson attack against mosque in Sweden is another red light flashing in the roaring silence
A mosque in Sweden that was hit by arson on Christmas Day is the latest warning that we cannot stand idly to the ever-rising tide of Islamophobia and far-right violence griping Europe these days. Words are not regular bullets that kill instantly but are time bombs that can explode anywhere and anytime. The attack against the…
What will the April 2015 elections of Finland reveal about ourselves as a country?
It’s clear that the parliamentary elections of April 2015 in Finland will reveal a lot of matters about this country. In many respects it’s like strip tease joint where women or men, disguised as political parties, take off their clothes. Sexuality isn’t being shown in bare flesh but in political ideologies such as racism, whiteness,…
YLE in English: Finnish Sports Federation apologizes after 75 years to a Finnish-Jewish runner
As Finland races into the depths of the new century and distances itself from the Winter (1939-40) and especially from the Continuation War (1941-44), I’m certain that there will be more proof about our collusion with Nazi Germany. One such story appeared Friday, when YLE in English reported on the Finnish Sports Federation’s (SUL) apology…
The Jews of Finland
The Jewish side of our family was never discussed openly when I was young. If it was, the matter appeared as a fleeting question: Is it true that part of our family is Jewish? Read full column here on page 14. Silence always followed that question. In retrospect, our silence and answer revealed a lot about…