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Lauri Elias Simojoki (28 January 1899 – 25 January 1940) was a Finnish clergyman who became a leading figure in the country's far right movement.[1]
Elias Simojoki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 01.09.1933–31.08.1939 | |
| Constituency | Western Electoral District of Kuopio county |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lauri Elias Simelius 28 January 1899 |
| Died | 25 January 1940 (aged 40) |
| Cause of death | Killed in action |
| Citizenship |  Finland |
| Party | Patriotic People's Movement |
| Education | Honors Degree in Theology at University of Helsinki |
| Occupation | Priest |
Known for | Political activist |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Finland |
| Branch/service | Infantry |
Years of service | 1940 |
| Unit | JR 39 |
| Battles/wars | |
The son of a clergyman, Simojoki was born on 28 January 1899 in Rautio.[2] As a youth he saw service in the struggle for Finnish independence and then with the Forest Guerrillas in East Karelia.[2] During the Olonet expedition of 1919 he was captured at Ulvana bridge but managed to escape by diving headlong into the river. During his flight he made a vow to God that if he survived he would study theology — a promise he kept.[1]
A student in theology at the University of Helsinki, he was one of three students — along with Erkki Räikkönen and Reino Vähäkallio — who founded the Academic Karelia Society on 22 February 1922, a paramilitary activist organisation that came to dominate student life during the interwar period.[1] He served as chairman from 1922 to 1923 and secretary from 1923 to 1924.[2] He advocated the union of all Finnish people into a Greater Finland whilst in this post.[2] Strongly influenced by Russophobia, the student Simojoki addressed a rally on 'Kalevala Day' in 1923 with the slogan "In the name of Finland's lost honour and her coming greatness, death to the Ruskis."[3]
Simojoki was ordained as a minister in 1925 and he held the chaplaincy at Kiuruvesi from 1929 until his death.[2] He became involved with the Patriotic People's Movement and, in 1933, took command of their youth movement, Sinimustat (The Blue-and-Blacks), which looked for inspiration to similar movements amongst fascist parties in Germany and Italy.[2] The movement was banned in 1936 due to its involvement in revolutionary activity in Estonia, although Simojoki continued to serve as a leading member of the Patriotic People's Movement.[2] He was a Member of Parliament from 1933 to 1939. He founded a second youth group, Mustapaidat (the Black Shirts), in 1937, although this proved less successful.[2]
When the Winter War broke out in 1939, Simojoki enlisted as a chaplain in the Finnish Army.[2] He was killed in action on Koirinoja's ice in Impilahti, while putting down a wounded horse in no man's land. After the Finnish troops were unable to put down the horse from their positions, Simojoki skied to the horse and euthanized it with a pistol. Having done that, he was gunned down by a Soviet machine gun.[4]
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Elias Simojoki". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland (in Swedish). Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. urn:NBN:fi:sls-4881-1416928957487.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 359
- ↑ Christopher S. Browning, Constructivism, Narrative and Foreign Policy Analysis: A Case Study of Finland, Peter Lang, 2008, p. 129
- ↑ Virkkunen, Sakari (1975). Elias Simojoki – legenda jo eläessään. WSOY. p. 218. ISBN 951-0-06258-8.
External links
edit- "Elias Simojoki". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland (in Swedish). Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. urn:NBN:fi:sls-4881-1416928957487.