Memory Today I&II – Finland

A Necessary Past: Remembering Solidarity and Resistance against Authoritarianism in Europe  (SolRem) Memory Forum I and II, Oulu, Finland, by Rauhankasvatusinstituutti

Overview

As a part of the intention for community outreach for this project, the Rauhankasvatusinstituutti in the SolRem project in Finland presented the findings of our research report 1 ‘Attitudes towards the collective memory of resistance against far-right regimes, groups or practices and specific narratives in collective memory’ and report 2 ‘Report on collective memory practices concerning the right-wing’ in relation to the history of the Finnish far right from the 1940s onwards. We targeted students aged 17-18 studying in general upper secondary education. By this stage in Finnish education, the students have studied general Finnish history as well as the first and second world wars. Therefore, they should have a satisfactory knowledge of the context of the history of the far right in Finland. 

The first Memory Forum was held at the Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun lukio (OSYK), which is known for its emphasis on liberal arts and the humanities. The second Memory Forum was organised for 1^st year International Baccalaureate students (2^nd year-students in the Finnish upper secondary school) for their standard level history studies. 

Memory Forum I OSYK 4.5.2023

Rauhankasvatusinstituutti in the SolRem project organised Memory Forum I in collaboration with the Oulun suomalaisen yhteiskoulun lukio (OSYK). Participants include the history teacher Ari Forstén (ari.forsten@eduouka.fi) and 25 students (aged 16-17) who were in their first and second year of general upper secondary education. A 45-minute lecture based on the research report 1 ‘Attitudes towards the collective memory of resistance against far-right regimes, groups or practices and specific narratives in collective memory’ in the history of the Finnish far right from the 1940s onwards by Loviisa Soini from RKI included a brief introduction of the project and continued with presentation of the findings and insights from the report of the history of the Finnish far right. The important themes of the project were highlighted, for example the memory politics of the far right in Finland and its way of manifesting in contemporary debates and discourses. The students had previously studied the history of the Second World War, and the origins and history of fascism in Germany and Italy. The students were also familiar with the main events and themes of Finnish history until 1945. 

After the lecture, we continued with participatory pedagogical elements in the Memory Forum. The participants were asked to find news or topics of conversation regarding the Finnish far right and how historical events can be evoked in the propaganda, rhetoric and the origins of far-right organisations in Finland today. The students presented their findings, and we discussed the debates and themes surrounding their topic for 45 minutes. The news articles that were presented by the students had following themes and topics: the 2023 parliamentary elections in Finland, the war in Ukraine, Nazism, swastikas, blue and black colour symbolism and freedom of speech. 

Memory Forum II Oulu Lyseo International Baccalaureate-line 15.05.2023

Rauhankasvatusinstituutti in the SolRem project organised Memory Forum II in collaboration with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in Oulun lyseon lukio. Participants include the history teacher Maury Johnson (maury.johnson@eduouka.fi) and 13 students (aged 16-17) who were in their first year of International Baccalaureate (equivalent to 2^nd year-students in the Finnish upper secondary education). Anu Railasto-Moran, SolRem project coordinator from RKI, presented a brief introduction of the project and a short discussion on aims of the SolRem project to raise awareness of the permeation of concepts, narratives and images associated with right-wing and how they “travel” across decades; how divisive political and social messages and narratives  grounded in history and in memory are reworked in Europe today, and to increase awareness on the history of resistance and solidarity against authoritarianism, which are less often talked about. Based on the SolRem aims, we discussed why it is important for EU to fund such projects. 

A 45-minute lecture by Loviisa Soini from RKI on the findings and insights from the report 2 ‘Report on collective memory practices concerning the right-wing’ in relation to the history of the Finnish far right from the 1940s onwards. The students had recently studied the history of German, Italian and Japanese expansion in the 1930s and 1940s. These topics are closely related to the history of the far right and they were able to establish some connections to Finnish history. We presented a summary of our findings for the report on the history of the Finnish far right, with emphasis on the use of memory in historical and contemporary far right rhetoric as well as historical continuity. The presentation covered the general history of the far right from the around the 1940s to the 1990s with some examples of current far right movements and issues.

Again, the lecture was followed by 30-minute student participation. The students were then asked to search for news about contemporary instances of the far right in Finland. Some examples topics in the news articles presented by the students included: the True Finns party in the current Finnish parliament, the Sinimusta-movement (a far-right movement reference to the ‘Blue and Black’ shirts), neo-Nazism and modern fascism (students’ links to news articles in the Mentimeter image below). The presentations and comments from the students sparked some conversations about freedom of speech; who decides what is the mainstream and legal; the terminological and practical differences between immigrants versus expats and the role of social media in the current political arena.