Alfred Hugenberg is pictured above

Panu Höglund

An chuid is mó de na léitheoirí is dócha nach n-aithníonn siad ainm Alfred Hugenberg, ach amháin iad siúd a rinne staidéar ar an dóigh ar tháinig Tríú Reich na Gearmáine chun saoil. Gróintín mór gnó a bhí ann agus an-tionchar aige ar atmaisféar polaitiúil na tíre toisc go raibh impireacht iomlán nuachtán aige.

Deir lucht scríofa staire gur féidir gurb í an tacaíocht a thug nuachtáin an fhir seo dó a bhain amach an deachtóireacht do Hitler. San am chéanna is é a dtuiscint ar an scéal ná nach raibh Hugenberg báúil leis an gcuid is antoiscí de smaointí an deachtóra. Fear den tsean-uasaicme a bhí ann agus é barúlach go bhféadfadh a leithéidísean a n-úsáid féin a bhaint as Hitler nuair a bheadh an daonlathas curtha ar ceal aige.

Mar a thiontaigh an scéal amach bhí an mícheart ag Hugenberg riamh, nó ní bhfuair sé ach údarás tacair i gcóras an deachtóra. Nuair a chuir an Chomhghuaillíocht deireadh leis an deachtóireacht, cuireadh Hugenberg i mbraighdeanas ar dtús, ach ansin tháinig binse na mbreithiún ar an gconclúid nach raibh mo dhuine in aon neasacht do chumhacht cheart pholaitiúil sa Reich: mar sin d’éigiontaigh an chúirt é go huile is go hiomlán.

Ón mbliain 2006 anuas chuaigh antoiscigh na heite deise i gceann na Fionlainne ar a lán bealaí. Is léir gur cuid d’fhorbairt idirnáisiúnta é, ach is fiú an cheist a chur, conas a d’éirigh leo a leithéid de bhua a bhreith ar thraidisiúin pholaitiúla na tíre.

Is beag nár imigh na Daonlathaigh Shóisialta de dhroim na Fionlainne go hiomlán, nuair a chuaigh na ciníochaithe i bPáirtí na bhFíor-Fhionlannach lena gcuid féin a dhéanamh de. Cuid mhór de sheanlucht leanúna na nDaonlathach Sóisialta caitheann siad a vótaí leis na Fíor-Fhionlannaigh anois, rud a tháinig aniar aduaidh orainn go léir. Ní raibh teachtaireacht róbhunúil á reic ag na Fíor-Fhionlannaigh, agus ní raibh ina gcuid bolscaireachta frith-inimirce féin ach seoraí cainte a raibh blas an aistriúcháin ón mBéarla orthu. Tháinig siad ón taobh amuigh de shaol polaitíochta na Fionlainne, agus is deacair glacadh leis go raibh siad in ann an saol sin a fhorghabháil chomh sciobtha sin.

Is é an teoiric a bhí agamsa ar chúiseanna na forghabhála sin ná go raibh siad ag fáil tacaíochta gníomhaí ó ghróintíní na gcomhlachtaí nuachtán agus meán san Fhionlainn – go raibh Hugenberg beo beathaíoch, agus é ag cur faoi inár dtír-ne. Ba mhinic a chuir daoine i mo leith go raibh paranóia orm agus nach raibh mé ach ag cumadh teoiricí comhcheilge. De réir a chéile, áfach, thosaigh na teoiricí sin ag teacht isteach fíor. Thosaigh na comhlachtaí móra meán ag sacáil colúnaithe agus iriseoirí a raibh de cheann dána acu an Páirtí Fíor-Fhionlannach a lochtú nó ciníochas a aithint sa pháirtí.

Mar is eol do lucht na Gaeilge, is maith an scáthán í súil carad, agus más ceadmhach dom tagairt a dhéanamh don leagan Íoslainnise den tseanfhocal chéanna: is géar an tsúil í súil an chuairteora. An turas seo ba é an taighdeoir Meiriceánach Michael Haltzel cuairteoir na súile géire. Chuir sé síos do na meáin sa tír seo nach raibh siad ag tabhairt dhúshlán Timo Soini, cathaoirleach na bhFíor-Fhionlannach, ar aon nós. Ag cur ceiste ar Soini faoi chéapars na gciníochaithe sa pháirtí dóibh, a dúirt Haltzel, bíonn na meáin sásta leis an gcéad chur ó dhoras a fhaigheas siad ó Soini, agus is léir gur chuir meatacht na n-iriseoirí go mór mór le chomh gleoite is a d’éirigh leis na Fíor-Fhionlannaigh i dtoghchán i ndiaidh toghcháin.

Is í an cheist mhór nár chuir Haltzel riamh, an bhfuil an mheatacht seo bunaithe ar na horduithe a fuair na hiriseoirí ó Hugenberg éigin, nó an ea nach bhfuil ach eagla orthu faoina dtodhchaí phroifisiúnta. An dá chuid, b’fhéidir.

Scríbhneoir Gaeilge agus iar-cholúnaí Fionlainnise ón bhFionlainn é Panu Höglund

The majority of readers probably don’t recognise Alfred Hugenberg’s name, if they haven’t studied the way how the Third Reich came about in Germany. Hugenberg was a big business magnate who wielded an enormous influence on the political atmosphere of the country, as he counted among his ventures an empire of newspapers.

Historians say that it’s possible that Hitler could not have attained his dictatorship without the decisive support of Hugenberg’s papers. On the other hand, they suggest that Hugenberg did not sympathise with Hitler’s most extreme ideas. He was an old aristocrat who thought he and his ilk could freely exploit Hitler after the demise of democracy.

As things turned out, however, Hugenberg was wrong from the beginning, because he only was given bogus authority in the dictator’s realm. When the Allies brought down the dictatorship, Hugenberg was imprisoned to start with, but the tribunal came to the conclusion that he had not been anywhere near real political power in the Reich. He was thus completely exonerated and acquitted.

From the year 2006 onwards, right-wing extremists have in many ways taken possession of Finland. It is obviously part of an international development, but it is worth asking the question of how they could defeat the political traditions of the country in such a way.

The Social Democrats have all but disappeared from the political landscape since the members of the racist subculture joined and transformed the True Finns party. Much of the previous Social Democratic electorate now vote for the True Finns, something that came as a complete surprise to us all. The True Finns have not had a particularly original message, and even their anti-immigration rhetoric smacks of translation from English. They entered the political life of Finland from outside, and it is difficult to accept that they have been able to conquer said life so instantly.

My theory of the reasons behind that conquest has been that they were being actively supported by the press and media moguls in Finland – that Hugenberg was alive and well in my country. People often accused me of paranoid conspiracy theorising for this, but by and by, those theories started to come true. The media giant started to sack columnists and journalists who were daring enough to criticise the True Finns party or recognise racism in it.

As Irish speakers know, the eye of a friend is a good mirror, but I might be excused to quote the Icelandic version of the same old saw: the eye of a visitor is a keen eye. This time the visitor with the keen eye was the American researcher Michael Haltzel: he blamed the media in this country for not challenging Timo Soini, the leader of the True Finns, at all. If media dare ask Soini any questions regarding the capers of the racists in the party, said Haltzel, they are happy with the first evasive answer Soini gives them, and it is obvious that this spinelessness of the media has contributed to the repeated election triumphs of the True Finns.

The big question Haltzel never asked is whether this spinelessness is based on explicit orders given to the journalists by some Hugenberg, or if they are just afraid of losing their jobs. Not that the two things are mutually exclusive.

Panu Höglund is an Irish-language writer and a former Finnish-language columnist from Finland