Paper short abstract:

Before WWII many in Finland dreamt of Greater Finland, with parts of Karelia. During the Continuation war 1941–1944 Finnish ethnologists were, after a long break, able to study Finno-Ugric areas on the Soviet side. What kind of research was funded, how was it communicated? What was the impact?

Paper long abstract:

In 1930s and during the Second World War there was a popular idea that Finland could – and should - (legitimately) expand further east and form Greater Finland due to the Finno-Ugric history of the region. During the war between Finland and Soviet Union in 1941–1944, a wealth of research was conducted on the Finno-Ugrians living east of the 1920 peace border. Ethnological research has rarely – if ever – been in such high demand as it was in Finland at that time. In my dissertation I’ll study the social influence of ethnology and ethnologists in Finland in 1930–1945.

Archive materials reveal what kind of research was funded by major foundations in Finland during that time. Newspaper materials show how the research was then communicated to the public. The archives also hold reports, field diaries and other documents that shed light on the experiences of the ethnologist working under war time circumstances.

Research supports decision-making and deepens understanding in society. It is not trivial what kind of research is granted funding and which aspects of research are communicated to people outside the research community. The analysis can also be of interest in present day’s (mis)information society. Even though the study focuses on the field of ethnology, the results can be interesting in observing the role of humanities, research and researchers in the society at large. Questions concerning scientific freedom and loyalties of the researchers are still just as pressing in today’s society as they were in the 1930s and 1940s.