| Přispěvatelé: |
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Theology, Doctoral Programme in Theology and Religous Studies, Helsingin yliopisto, teologinen tiedekunta, Kirkkohistoria, Teologian ja uskonnontutkimuksen tohtoriohjelma, Helsingfors universitet, teologiska fakulteten, Doktorandprogrammet i teologi och religionsforskning, Ekstrand, Sixten, Talonen, Jouko, Jalovaara, Ville |
| Popis: |
THE VOICES OF FREEDOM OF HUNGARY Kotimaa and Församlingsbladet as Sympathizers of the Hungarians throughout the Uprising in 1956 and the Restructuring of the Hungarian Lutheran Church in 1957–1958 The dissertation explores the writings of Kotimaa and Församlingsbladet about Hungarian Lutherans and political events in Hungary during the Hungarian Uprising of October–November 1956 and the subsequent debriefing period, which lasted at least till the end of 1958. The study is divided into two phases according to the most intense events in Hungary, the first being the uprising with its immediate aftermaths, and the second the events that soon were to follow. The latter period began in the pages of the newspapers in December 1957. Within a year the Communist state had accomplished those changes in the Hungarian Lutheran Church it endeavoured. Both of the newspapers expected Hungary to become a country of further political rights and of increased freedom of expression and religion. And they keenly kept eye, e.g. on the fate of a prominent Hungarian Lutheran dissident, Bishop Lajos Ordass. The dissertation consists of four articles. The core questions that link the articles together are how the papers Kotimaa and Församlingsbladet tackled Hungary and its Lutherans throughout the 1956 uprising and the 1957–1958 restructuring of the Church, and how they expressed their stance. Furthermore, the study analyzes how extensive this coverage was, and how it was influenced by the political conditions in Finland? For example, did the newspapers rather avoid topics and interpretations that might have turned out sensitive in the context of the Finnish official Foreign policy? Henceforth, the dissertation sheds light on the attitude of the newspapers to the changes in Hungary in relation to Finland’s Eastern policy. It is also essential to examine the intentions behind the articles: why did the papers write this way? Here, the question of what kind of conscious and unconscious standpoints are included in the newspaper articles is of great importance. Therefore, this dissertation includes a limited investigation of the Cold-War-era politics in both Hungary and Finland. Kotimaa was the most influential of all Finnish Ecclesiastical newspapers in the 1950s, and it functioned as a semi-official spokesperson for the Finnish Evangelical-Lutheran Church. Its political sphere of influence stretched far beyond the ecclesiastical environment; its readership and contributors included representatives from different sectors of society. The newspaper was published twice a week and had a circulation of around 50 000 issues. The other ecclesiastical newspaper, Församlingsbladet, appeared once a week. It was a similar publication for Finnish-Swedish public as Kotimaa was for Finnish-speakers. In relation to the Swedish-speaking population in Finland its circulation was as wide as was Kotimaa’s among Finnish-speaking readers. Församlingsbladet’s writings during the respective era are included in the analysis, thus enabling a comparison with Kotimaa. The newspapers reported on the events of the uprising up to date; they also exhorted people to help Hungary through various fundraising activities. The events in Hungary attracted a great deal of sympathy among the citizens, and a desire to help victims in Hungary and refugees who had left the country. An illustrative example of the impact of the news papers was the 1956 Sunday of Christ the King offering for Hungary. Both newspapers actively advertised it, and a record high amount of donations was gathered. Both newspapers followed the political and ecclesiastical circumstances in Hungary with great interest. As Lutheran newspapers, they were particularly interested in the country’s Lutherans, and closely monitored their situation. Compared to Kotimaa, the interest of Församlingsbladet in Hungary was based on diverse intentions and motivations. While both of the papers kept eye on Bishop Ordass, the Human Rights elements in Hungary, freedom of religion, and aiding Hungary, due to its earlier profile as an advocate of the Diocese of Porvoo and generally of a separate Finnish-Swedish identity Församlingsbladet did not show interest in Bishop Zoltán Túróczy, who was popular among Finnish-speakers and who had created close ties with the “körtit”, a pietistic Revivalist movement in Finland. Nor was Församlingsbladet inspired by the ideas of Finnish nationalist circles about Hungary as a kin nation. Thus, during the events in Hungary, Församlingsbladet was much more oriented in civil rights, freedom of thought, Lutheranism and minority issues. On the other hand, the status as a minority publication with scarce resources didn’t enable larger news coverage. The newspapers tended to support freedom of religion and freedom of thought in Hungary, and the country’s contacts with the West during the changing societal conditions. They employed the Cold-War-era rhetoric – the West was the “free world”. Despite the terminology, they also criticized the inaction of the “free West” in regards to Hungary. The Soviet armed invasion and the consequent demise of the uprising the newspapers reported with a cautious shock. The papers had domestic political objectives alike, e.g. Kotimaa equated the Hungarian Uprising with the Winter War experienced by Finns: the first catered yet for an example of the significance of the nation’s spiritual and political unity. Kotimaa was posted to its Hungarian readers literate in Finnish, and thus, the paper served as a news source and channel beyond the Iron Curtain. It transmitted such informa- tion from the West to Hungary that otherwise might have been censored. This role of Koti maa did not limit to its Finnish-speaking recipients, as it was further relayed in Hungarian by and among the ecclesiastical opposition. Hand-written summaries and oral communication of the information resembled the “samizdat”-phenomenon that later became more popular. Summaries of the Kotimaa articles were also compiled for Lutheran circles close to the Communist Hungary´s official institutions, the security authorities included. The multifaceted influence of Kotimaa in Hungary was therefore not limited to ecclesiastical opposition circles; also, Government’s stooges utilized the newspaper for their own purposes. The Government’s grip on the Lutheran church started to tighten from the end of November 1957 through December 1958. The altering situation attracted the interest of both Kotimaa and Församlingsbladet. This phase crystallized into the struggle of Bishop Lajos Ordass for the latitude of freedom of his Church. After the dismissal of Ordass at the end of June 1958, or no later than with the Night Frost crisis (Yöpakkaskriisi, from August 1958 till January 1959) in Finland, Kotimaa’s policy became more cautious. Församlingsbladet ceased to actively cover Hungary after the article on Ordass’ dismissal. The Editorials of both newspapers, and the Causeries of Kotimaa, abstained from overtly mentioning the Hungarian Lutheran Church; in leading articles, the ecclesiastical situation in Hungary was no further discussed. The removal of Ordass was implicitly relayed to the audience, without naming the bishop in question. Although the ecclesiastical situation in Hungary finished constellating the Editorials, on the eve of the Finnish Parliamentary Elections of Summer 1958 the leading articles of both newspapers did not hesitate to covertly remind the public of the country’s fate as a showcase of the Communist threat. Kotimaa continued its communication about Hungary covertly by publishing suitable excerpts and translated articles from other newspapers and magazines. These included very sharp stances which the newspaper had carefully selected to fit its own standpoints. As Hungary’s circumstances had changed, to better avoid censorship Kotimaa applied a more precautious policy – thus succeeding to maintain the role of an information provider. Keywords: Kotimaa, Församlingsbladet, censorship, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, Hungary, Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary, Hungarian Uprising of 1956, Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Lajos Ordass, Zoltán Túróczy Väitöskirja analysoi Kotimaan ja Församlingsbladetin (nykyinen Kyrkpressen) uutisointia, reaktioita ja kantoja Unkarista ja maan luterilaisista kansanousussa 1956 sekä Unkarin luterilaisen kirkon alistamisessa kommunistihallinnolle 1957–1958. Tutkimus keskittyy näin kahteen tapahtumien kannalta intensiivisimpään jaksoon. Kotimaa oli 1950-luvulla Suomen vaikutusvaltaisin kristillinen sanomalehti, eräänlainen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon puolivirallinen äänenkannattaja. Församlingsbladetia voidaan vastaavasti pitää Kotimaan kaltaisena julkaisuna suomenruotsalaisille. Lehdet odottivat Unkariin poliittisten oikeuksien sekä sanan- ja uskonnonvapauksien lisääntymistä. Ne seurasivat tiiviisti merkittäväksi toisinajattelijaksi nousseen unkarilaisen, luterilaisen piispan Lajos Ordassin kohtaloa. Väitöskirja koostuu neljästä artikkelista. Peruskysymys on, miten lehdet käsittelivät Unkaria ja sen luterilaisia tutkimuskautena. Miten laajaa aiheen käsittely oli? Miten Suomen poliittinen tilanne vaikutti siihen? Pyrittiinkö välttelemään ulkopoliittisesti aroiksi koettuja aiheita ja tulkintoja? Väitöskirja sisältää osin myös Suomen ja Unkarin kylmän sodan aikaisen politiikan tarkastelua. Kansannousun tapahtumista lehdet uutisoivat aikansa tekniikkaan nähden ajantasaisesti aktivoiden ihmisiä auttamaan erilaisten keräysten välityksellä. Tapahtumat herättivät kansalaisissa runsaasti myötätuntoa, ja kriisin uhreja haluttiin auttaa sekä Unkarissa että sieltä lähteneiden pakolaisten keskuudessa. Lehdet pyrkivät tukemaan kontakteja länteen Unkarin muuttuneessa tilanteessa. Ne käyttivät kylmän sodan aikaista lännen retoriikkaa: länsi oli niiden kielenkäytössä ”vapaa maailma”, mutta ne myös kritisoivat ”vapaan lännen” passiivisuutta Unkarin asiassa. Neuvostoliiton asevoimien maahantunkeutumisesta ja kansannousun kukistamisesta lehdet kertoivat järkytyksellä mutta varovaisesti. Kirjoituksilla oli myös sisäpoliittisia päämääriä. Kansannousua verrattiin talvisotaan: se oli osoitus kansan poliittisen ja hengellisen yhtenäisyyden tärkeydestä. Kotimaata lähetettiin Unkariin. Se toimi rautaesiripun takaisena uutisväylänä suomentaitoisille unkarilaisille. Viestintärooli ei rajoittunut heihin: lehtiä referoitiin kirkollisen opposition piirissä suullisesti ja kirjallisesti unkariksi, mikä muistutti samizdat-viestintää. Myös kommunistivallan myötäilijät välittivät lehden tietoja omiin tarkoitusperiinsä. Ordassin erottamisen jälkeen kesäkuussa 1958 ja viimeistään yöpakkaskriisin myötä molempien lehtien linja muuttui vähitellen varovaisemmaksi. Vaikkei Unkari enää noussut pääkirjoituksien varsinaiseksi aiheeksi, kummankaan lehden pääkirjoittajat eivät unohtaneet sen tarjoamaa esimerkkiä kommunismin uhasta kesän 1958 eduskuntavaalien alla. Unkarilaisten vapaushaaveiden rauettua molemmille lehdille olennaiseksi muodostui kommunismin patoaminen kotimaassa. |
