Ajan Suunta - Misplaced Pages

Finnish newspaper

*Ajan Suunta* (Direction of Time)
Cover of the newspaper, 30 June 1939: "Strike now for the Fatherland!"
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Editor-in-chief	Arne Somersalo (1932–1935) Rauno Kallia (1935–1939) Niilo Vapaavuori (1940–1944)
Founded	1932 (1932)
Political alignment	Patriotic People's Movement
Language	Finnish language
Ceased publication	4 October 1944 (1944-10-04)
Country	Finland
Circulation	+30,000
Media of Finland List of newspapers

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 party. Ajan Suunta was preceded by the newspaper Ajan Sana (Word of Time) published from 1930 to 1932.

Content

Our faith and trust in the historical mission of the National Socialist Germany is unshakable. If it were to shake, then so would shake the foundation on which we stand, and we would deny the achievements and victories which we have fought with great sacrifices in loyal brotherhood-in-arms with the soldiers of the mighty German army.

Toivo Karanko's editorial in Ajan Suunta

The newspaper was aggressive in its style, referring to itself as a "fighting journal", "weapon in the combat against un-Finnish forces". This was especially true under Arne Somersalo, when the magazine got in trouble with censors multiple times. Ajan Suunta was also deeply hostile to Jews, published anti-Semitic caricatures and connected Judaism to everything the IKL stood against like Marxism, freemasonry and liberalism. Ajan Suunta in general praised Hitler, taking the side of the Nazi government, blaming the anti-Semitic measures and the Night of Broken Glass on the "Jewish parasites", noting the restrain shown by the Nazis. Ajan Suunta would also frequently refer to and quote the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Editor-in-chief Arne Somersalo even visited Hitler and Mussolini and gifted them Ostrobothnian knives.

In addition to strong antisemitism, Ajan Suunta was also anti-Swedish and anti-Russian. As the Jews in Finland mostly spoke either Russian or Swedish, the anti-Swedishness, Russophobia and antisemitism all complemented one another, leading Ajan Suunta to rail against "Swede-kikes" and "Russkie-loving Judeo-internationale". However, Ajan Suunta was not the most extreme newspaper published in Finland, for example the newspaper's competitors Hakaristi (Swastika) and Työrintama (Labor Front) continuously agitated for a "solution" to the Jewish Question, Työrintama publishing "humorous" cartoons of Jews digging their own graves. During the Continuation War the magazine reported ecstatically on the Finnish-German cooperation and brotherhood in arms.

Bannings

Ajan Suunta consistently caused problems for the authorities and censors both home and abroad. As IKL was close allies with the Estonian Vaps Movement, Ajan Suunta published critical articles about Konstantin Päts' Estonia. For example, the following was published in 1933: "Estonia's government and center parties have sold themselves to the Marxists." As a response, Ajan Suunta was banned in Estonia for two years. On 22 December 1936, Ajan Suunta announced that 18 Estonian politicians, including ministers and leading politicians, had submitted a highly critical memorandum to Prime Minister Konstantin Päts. Päts responded that if the memorandum was to be published, he would imprison all 18.

The newspaper was finally banned for good after the Moscow Armistice in 1944, a week and a half after the party itself. Pavel Orlov, a political adviser to the Allied Control Commission, had demanded that the Finnish government shut down the magazine immediately, and the newspaper's board was contacted. The printing presses were stopped voluntarily after the government warned that otherwise there might be force measures against the entire Finnish press.

References

^ Hanski Jari (2006). Juutalaisvastaisuus suomalaisissa aikakauslehdissä ja kirjallisuudessa 1918–1944. Diss. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto. ISBN 952-10-3015-1. online version
Aarni Virtanen: "Toimikaa, älkää odottako" – Vihtori Kosolan puheiden muutokset 1929–1936, s. 45. Jyväskylä studies in humanities 271. Jyväskylän yliopisto, Jyväskylä 2015.
AS 8.10.1943, "Tanskan juutalaisselkkaus"(pääkirjoitus)
^ Karhu, Sirpa Maaria (2014). Ajan Suunnan juutalaiskuva 1932–1944 (PDF) (MA). University of Jyväskylä.
"Isänmaallisen Kansanliikkeen kunniaosoitukset Mussolinille ja Hitlerille". AS. August 15, 1933
Soome leht seisukorrast Eestis. Võitlus, 15. August 1933, nr. 68, lk. 3.
Soome lapualaste leht ei pääse Eestisse. Vaba Maa, 17. April 1934, nr. 88, lk. 3.
Soome lehe uus laimuvalang. Uus Eesti, 23. December 1936, nr. 348, lk. 4.
Mikko Uola (1999). "Suomi sitoutuu hajottamaan...": Järjestöjen lakkauttaminen vuoden 1944 välirauhansopimuksen 21. artiklan perusteella. Helsinki: Suomen Historiallinen Seura. pp. 262–271. ISBN 951-710-119-8.

Archives

National Library digital archives of Ajan Suunta

v t e Far-right politics in Finland
Pre-1945 groups	Academic Karelia Society Blue Cross Blue-and-Blacks Finnish Realm Union Finnish-Socialist Workers' Party Finnish National Socialist Labor Organisation Front Soldier League Finnish People's Organisation Finnish Labor Front Labor Organisation of Brothers-in-Arms Lalli Alliance of Finland Lapua Movement Organisation of National Socialists National Socialists of Finland National Socialist Union of Finland National Trade Union Confederation of Finland NSDAP/AO Finnland Party of Finnish Labor Patriotic Citizens of Viitasaari Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic People's Party People's Community Society Rising Finland Stormers Vientirauha
Post-1945 groups	Atomwaffen Division Finland Blue-and-Black Movement Blue and White Front Finland – Fatherland Finns Party Finnish People First Finnish People's Blue-Whites For Independence Freedom Alliance Kohti Vapautta! National Democratic Party National Union Council Nordic Resistance Movement Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic Popular Front Power Belongs to the People Suomen Sisu Soldiers of Odin Turku Society for the Spiritual Sciences Truth Party (Finland)
Pre-1945 people	Reino Ala-Kulju Vilho Annala Torsten Aminoff Hjalmar von Bonsdorff Severin Dobrovolsky Kai Donner Johan Christian Fabritius Petter Forsström C. A. J. Gadolin Herman Gummerus Yrjö von Grönhagen Bertel Gripenberg Reidar Hedman Vilho Helanen Gunnar von Hertzen Carl-Gustaf Herlitz Kalevi Heikkinen Antti Isotalo Y. W. Jalander Karl Jansson Kustaa Jussila Kaarlo Kares Y. P. I. Kaila Hans Kalm Arvi Kalsta Rauno Kallia Toivo Karanko Edvard Karvonen Aarne Kauhanen Juho Kaveheimo Olavi Karpalo Yrjö Kivenoja Juhani Konkka Vihtori Kosola Jussi Leino Gunnar Lindqvist Arvi Malmivaara Jussi Muilu Iisakki Nikkola Vietti Nykänen Thorvald Oljemark Johannes Öhquist Unto Parvilahti Martti Pihkala Otto Piisinen Boris Popper Yrjö Raikas Niilo Rauvala Erkki Räikkönen Hilja Riipinen John Rosberg Yrjö Ruutu Yrjö Saarinen Antti Salamaa Bruno Salmiala Kaarlo Salovaara Jaakko Seise Elias Simojoki Teo Snellman Arne Somersalo Paavo Susitaival Paavo Talvela Eino Tuomivaara Örnulf Tigerstedt Jukka Tyrkkö Ensio Uoti Mauno Vannas Kurt Martti Wallenius Artturi Vuorimaa
Post-1945 people	James Hirvisaari Esa Henrik Holappa [fi] Juha Korhonen Juha Kärkkäinen Jouni Lanamäki Seppo Lehto Junes Lokka Olavi Mäenpää Pekka Siitoin Ano Turtiainen
Pre-1945 events	Assassination of Heikki Ritavuori Murder of Onni Happonen Murder of Erik Mättö [fi] Murder of Yrjö Holm [fi] Mäntsälä rebellion Peasant March Ståhlberg kidnapping Vaasa riot
Post-1945 events	Kursiivi printing house arson 1986 Oulu airplane hijacking attempt [fi] Jyväskylä library stabbing 2016 Helsinki Asema-aukio assault Assassination attempt of Pekka Kataja [fi] Kankaanpää terrorism arrests Lahti terrorism arrests [fi]
Other	21 Paths to the Kingdom of Darkness Ajan Suunta Finnish volunteers in the Waffen-SS Finnlands Lebensraum Kansallissosialisti Kustaa Vaasa Magneettimedia MV-media Siniristi Steelfest Pro-German resistance movement in Finland (Thoralf Kyrre, Lauri Törni, Arvid Ojasti, Claes Purjo)

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