On
the 5th May, in the small town of Nivala, hundreds of citizens of
Finland gathered outside the Town's Church, including the country's
President, Sauli Niinstö and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä. They were
all there to celebrate the 100th anniversary of what has become known
as the Reconciliation Speech.
 |
| Part of the crowd at the Nivala Church, 5th May 2018. Source: Kaleva, Jukka-Pekka Moilanen |
The
Background
From
late January 1918 till May of that year, Finland was torn apart by a
vicious civil war that saw the country completely divided and
confused. With the collapse of the Russian Empire and the subsequent
Civil War raging their between various Red (Communist and Socialist
elements) against various White (Monarchists and Parliamentarians) ,
as well as smaller other groups, Finland saw itself free for the
first time in its existence but despite unifying to form a new
Finnish state, the country was engulfed by a political match for
power that soon broke into open warfare.
Even
though it was on the peripheral of the Eastern Front of the
First World War, it was still of value to both Russia and Germany,
who both put their influences into their respective sides and sent
various forms of aid. Despite this though, the war remained heavily
Finnish based.
On
the 8th April the Battle of Tampere was over and no longer would the
Reds hold the upper hand. From here it was retreat followed by
retreat, with small scatterings of holdouts that quickly collapsed,
for the Finnish Red forces. 5th May saw the final defeat of the
Finnish Red Forces (but not the end of the Finnish Civil War as there
were still several small Russian garrisons holding out in the
country) at Ahvenkoski and it was on this day that the
foundation for the unification of Finland was laid.
Kyösti
Kallio
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| President Kyösti Kallio at his desk. Source: National Board of Antiquities |
Born
on the 10th April 1873 in the farming town of Ylivieska, Kyösti
was brought up in a politically active and hard working family. He
was educated not only in his birth town but also in near by Raahe and
eventually moved to Oulu to study at the Lyseo (Secondary education).
It was here that he became influenced by the Young Finnish Party and
eventually became an active member of the organisation and its
protests against the Russification of Finland. At 31 years old he was
voted into the Diet of Finland which was remarkable for someone so
young, he wouldn't let his young age be tempered by older heads and
was known to be a very opinionated and vocal politician, especially
against policies that were detrimental to the Finnish state.
He
rose in political prominence, being voted into the first parliament
in 1907, being made agricultural minister in 1917, and during the
Civil War he was in hiding until the liberation of Helsinki, in which
he led the Senate of Helsinki.
After
the Civil War he held various positions within the newly independent
Finnish state, from Agricultural minister to President. He led the
country during the Winter War and thus signed the 1940 Moscow Peace
Treaty, in which he stated "May my hand, which is forced to sign
such a paper, wither." It would not be long after that his
prophesy came true, as due to failing health, his right arm became
paralysed. He suffered a stroke in August and his duties passed to
his Prime Minister, Risto Ryti. After a long struggle, he decided to
resign from office in November and wanted to retire to his farm in
Nivala. In December he attended a formal farewell ceremony at
Helsinki train station, where he suffered a heart attack and died
whilst the band played the Porilaisten marssi.
 |
| Taken as President Kallio goes to retirement. The farewell ceremony on the 19th Decemeber 1940 at Helsinki train station. Seconds after this photo was taken, he would suffer a heart attack that would claim his life. Source: Hugo Sundström, Wikimedia |
The
healing starts
Even
though the war was still in effect, it was in the final stage, and
almost all but the very South Eastern areas were in the hands of the
Whites, the process of healing a divided and broken Finland needed to
be started.
Kallio
had taken a train from Helsinki to Nivala, passing through the
devastated Finland (especially the heavily mauled city of Tampere).
It was here that he, acting as a senator, gave a message for peace
and reconciliation between Red and White. This wasn’t exactly an
easy message to deliver, the senate was still suspended (it would be
called again the next day, 6th May), martial law was still
in effect, thousands of reds and their supporters were in prison
camps and there was still violence in the streets (summary executions
was not unheard off).
So
what was the speech? That, in the words of President Niinistö, is a
great “irony of history that the speech was not saved in its
entirety for posterity”. To date there hasn’t been a single copy
of the speech found, nor do any Newspapers record it. However, what
has been quoted, and passed on to this day, is “We need to create a
Finland where there are no Reds and Whites but only Finns who love
their fatherland, citizens of the Republic of Finland who all feel
themselves to be members of society and who are at home here”.
These
words started the process to create an independent Finland, one
united together in a common cause of national identity and pride
above such petty divisions like politics. Some historians have
questioned the validity of this much repeated quote due to no copies
being saved, but Professor Kari Hokkanen believes it to be correct
albeit that Kallio didn’t have it in written form but freely spoke
it. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said at the ceremony, "Thousands
of people were killed in post-war altercations and prison camps
before the reconciliation policies began to be implemented in
earnest. Kallio preferred a policy of mercy over revenge,...This
integration effort reached its fulfillment years later, after Kallio
was elected president and named both the winners and losers of the
conflict to work side by side in the government,"
The
relevance today
With
the centenary of the Civil War, there is obvious discourse within
public and academic forums about the war. Most have been of a civil
disposition, with many books and articles being published taking a
more middle ground approach to the war, but some have pushed a more
extreme position, blaming one side or the other for the bloodshed.
 |
| President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Juha Sipilä were both present at the ceremony this year and urged all those in Finland to respect one another regardless of views. Source: Kaleva, Jukka-Pekka Moilanen |
President
Niinistö stated at the ceremony, "The events which took place a
hundred years ago are still of relevance for Finland today, and it is
not insignificant how we account for the past. Civil war is the worst
thing that can happen to a nation. Let it be a lesson to us to
remember and preserve our stability at a time of turmoil in various
parts of the world,". He would continue by pointing out today’s
issues, especially with regards to social media and internet forums
and the rise in antagonism, "I encourage you, ladies and
gentlemen, to take the responsibility. Nurturing democracy is an
invaluable tool in reconciling different points of view. This is a
good rule of thumb: even where there is diversity and people of
different backgrounds, convictions and goals, we have a right to
disagree. This is something we must be able to respect, however
differently we ourselves might think. This is what Kyösti Kallio
urged his fellow citizens to do, to seek reconciliation, in his
famous Nivala speech as well as consistently in his other actions.
Let's not forget it."
Sources
Sidenote
The title 'built upon this rock' was chosen not only because Kallio's speech was seen as the cornerstone for building a new Finland but also because Kallio translates to rock.
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