Vilho Helanen
| Vilho Helanen | |
|---|---|
 Vilho Helanen during the Continuation War | |
| Born |
Vilho Veikko Päiviö Helanen November 24, 1899 Oulu |
| Died |
June 8, 1952 (aged 52) Frankfurt am Main |
| Citizenship | Finnish |
| Education | MA, Doctorate |
| 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, Oulu – 8 June 1952, Frankfurt am Main) was a Finnish civil servant and politician.
A student as the University of Helsinki 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 1927-8, from 1934-5 and again from 1935–44, 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, Nouseva Suomi, in 1940 which, despite his earlier radicalism, became associated with the mainstream National Progressive Party.[1]
Rising to be head of the civil service during the Second World War he was imprisoned after the war for treasonable offences.[3] Following his release he worked for Suomi-Filmi and also wrote a series of detective novels.[3] He died of a heart attack in the railway station of Frankfurt am Main, West Germany.