Vilho Helanen | |
|---|---|
 Vilho Helanen during the Continuation War | |
| Born | Vilho Veikko Päiviö Helanen 24 November 1899 |
| Died | 8 June 1952 (aged 52) |
| Citizenship | Finnish |
| Education | Ph. D. |
| Alma mater | University of Helsinki |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Known for | Political activist, author |
| Title | Chairman of the Academic Karelia Society |
| Term | 1927-1928; 1934-1935; 1935-1944 |
| Political party | National Progressive Party |
Vilho Veikko Päiviö Helanen (24 November 1899 – 8 June 1952) was a Finnish civil servant and politician.
Helanen was born in Oulu, and was a student as the University of Helsinki, where he gained an MA in 1923 and completed his doctorate in 1940.[1] From 1924 to 1926 he edited the student paper Ylioppilaslehti and around this time joined the Academic Karelia Society.[1] He served as chairman of the group from 1927 to 1928, from 1934 to 1935 and again from 1935 to 1944, helping to turn the Society against democracy.[1] Helanen visited Estonia in 1933 and was amazed at the high levels of popular support for the far right that he witnessed there, in contrast to Finland where it was a more marginal force.[2] As a result, he was involved in the coup attempt of the Vaps Movement in Estonia in 1935.[1]
Helanen was a major inspiration for the Patriotic People's Movement and a close friend of Elias Simojoki, although he did not join the group and instead became a vocal supporter of Adolf Hitler.[1] He formed his own group, Rising Finland, in 1940 which, despite his earlier radicalism, became associated with the mainstream National Progressive Party.[1] Helanen was one of the leaders of the Pro-German resistance movement in Finland.[3]
Rising to be head of the civil service during the Second World War, Helanen was arrested in 1948 for continuing to collaborate with the Nazis after Finland switched sides. On 6 May 1950, he was found guilty of treason and sentenced to six years in prison.[4] Helanen was pardoned on 3 March 1951. Following his release, he worked for Suomi-Filmi and also wrote a series of detective novels.[4] He died of a heart attack in the railway station at Frankfurt am Main, West Germany.
