Studia Historica Septentrionalia 48
Kari Alenius, Anita Honkala & Sinikka Wunsch (toim.), Itämeren itälaidalla. Näkökulmia identiteetin ja yhteistyön historiaan. Pohjois-Suomen Historiallinen Yhdistys, Rovaniemi 2006, 206 pages

Summary:

Sinikka Wunsch, “Finland is not a Baltic State!”. The Baltic States in the Finnish newspapers in summer 1939 and 1940.

Itämeren itälaidalla. Studia Hisrtorica Septenrionalia 48 (2006), 45–60.

This article discusses the international standing of the Baltic States in the Finnish newspapers mainly in summer and autumn 1939 and during the so called Interim Peace in summer 1940.

During the first period the politic situation in Europe is advancing towards a war, which outbreaks on the 3rd of September. During the second the Great War is in progress and Finland has been at war with the Soviet Union in winter 1939–40. During the summer 1940 it was not yet known as the Winter War.

After the Munich Crisis of 1938 the weakening of the Soviet Union was greeted with pleasure in Finland. The press evaluated the threat of the Soviet Union to Finland and the Baltic States decreasing.

The real concern for the situation of the Baltic States emerged in newspapers in the beginning of June 1939. The foreign minister of the Soviet Union Vjatšeslav Molotov insisted on the Soviet Union the right to guarantee the safety of three Baltic States. The real sensation in Finland aroused when he made known that those three were Finland, Estonia and Latvia.

The Finnish press was outraged; Finland was not a Baltic but a Scandinavian state. The reason for the unanimous reaction of the press was based on concern for national security. Finland, of course, wanted to be a part of the less threatened Scandinavia instead of endangered Baltic. By this on the famous unanimity of the Winter War was on its way. The press gave all support to the politics of the Finnish government when opposing uncompromisingly the opinion of the Soviet Union about Finland as one of the Baltic States.

During the Interim Peace times of crisis still continued in summer 1940. Articles dealing with foreign states and foreign policy were censored, especially those dealing with the Soviet Union, Germany and Sweden.

Events in the Baltic were much more dramatic than a year before. The Soviet Union occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from June 14, to June 17. Yet, the tone of discussion among the printed media, concerning the acts of the Soviet Union, was much less critical because of censorship. As a whole the tone was defined by Finland’s own security in both summers.

In summer 1940 atmosphere in Finland was strained because it was scared that the Soviet Union could attack on Finland, too. Newspapers got the orders to handle events in the Baltic extremely carefully. That is why there were only few editorials about the subject during the whole summer. Those published condemned the occupations, anyway.

At this hour the Finnish press begun to follow the government’s orders also voluntarily, when the safety of Finland was at stake. After the Continuation War (1941–1944) the so called “self censorship” when dealing with the Soviet Union, become normal practice among the Finnish press. It remained as such until the collapse of the Soviet State in the early 1990’s.

Studia Historica Septentrionalia 48