Martti Pihkala

Martti Aleksander Pihkala (until 1906 Gummerus, 18 January 1882 – 10 June 1966) was a National Coalition Party MP who became known as a Jäger activist, Ostrobothnia White Guard founder, in the 1920s and 1930s, leader of the strikebreaking organisation Vientirauha, also known as "Pihkala's Guard" and an influencer of the Lapua movement and the Patriotic People's Movement.

Life Martti Pihkala was born into the Gummerus family, known as the clergy family. His parents were provost Aleksanteri Gummerus and Alma Maria Nordlund. Martti Pihkala's brothers were Bishop Jaakko Gummerus of Tampere and Professors Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala and Rurik Pihkala. Pihkala's son was Professor of Agricultural Sciences KU Pihkala. He is also the grandfather of Bishop Juha Pihkala. The founder of the Gummerus publishing house, Kaarle Jaakko Gummerus, was the uncle of Martti Pihkala.

Jäger Movement, the White Guard and the Civil War

Pihkala was involved in Jäger recruitment. In 1917, he toured with his brother Lauri Pihkala in Central Finland and Southern Ostrobothnia to talk about the importance of establishing white guards. He was in the White guard headquarters organizing detachments which played a key role in the white terror that took place during the Civil War. It has been suggested that Pihkala also participated in the executions in the prison camps.

In April 1918, Pihkala published the book "What kind of Finland should we create?" In his book, he considered the supreme enemy of culture to be hedonism rather than the goal of the continuation of the family. He advocated forced sterilization and the isolation of those who had "wicked" lives from society as a means of breeding a superior Finnish race. Pihkala placed harmony between social classes as a counterbalance to moral decay and socialism.

Strikebreaking organisation Vientirauha After the Civil War, increased leftist activity was particularly evident on construction sites. The number of strikes increased and several of them became politicized. The interests of the Communists and the Soviet Union were seen as the reason for the strikes. In 1920, employers' organizations decided to set up a special organization focused on breaking strikes. Martti Pihkala came to lead this organization called Vientirauha. Vientirauha, known as the 'Pihkala Guard', had a maximum of 34,000 men, from which strike breakers could be assembled if necessary. Especially in Southern Ostrobothnia, Pihkala's organization was strong. Vihtori Kosola, the future frontman of the Lapua movement was an agent for the Vientirauha. The best known of the strikes broken by the organization was the year-long harbor strike that began in 1928. Vientirauha came to an end in 1940 with the January negotiations between employers' and workers' organizations during the Winter War called the Betrothal of January.

Lapua Movement and the path to membership of parliament The Lapua movement, which sought to completely ban communism and socialism, was born in part as a continuation of the work of the strike breaker organization. One of the key demands of the Lapua movement from the beginning was to secure peace at work for "patriotic workers". The nationwide network for Vientirauha played a key role in organizing the meetings leading to the birth of the Lapua movement. Pihkala was one of the key influencers of the Lapua movement and negotiated with Prime Minister Kyösti Kallio and President Lauri Kristian Relander in the role of liaison. His role in the negotiations and events leading to the formation of the Svinhufvud government was central. Before the most heated phase of the Lapua movement in June 1930, Pihkala asked about the willingness of Prime Minister Kyösti Kallio to become the leader of the Lapua movement and, in practice, the dictator of Finland. Pihkala was elected a National Coalition Party MP in the autumn of 1930 by votes of supporters of the Lapua movement. The book called for Finland to remain at war with Germany until the end and condemned all attempts at separate peace. The distribution of the Svinhufvud book was considered to be detrimental to Finland's peace-making. Pihkala was placed under house arrest for three years on a farm he owned in the Helsinki countryside in Rekola. Pihkala spent his last years away from politics, cultivating his farm.