It has been a hundred years since the Finnish Civil War and the Battle of Tampere, which ended at the beginning of April in 1918. In Tampere, there has been a great deal of talk this week about this topic. At the University of Tampere, Finnish president Sauli Niinistö gave a speech about reconciliation; at the Vapriikki Museum Centre, historian Teemu Keskisarja strongly criticized post-war actions like hasty executions and prison camps. At an event for non-fiction writers, journalist Hannu Koskela interviewed history researcher Tuomas Hoppu, who was the expert behind Vapriikki’s 1918 exhibition.
Hoppu said he was sorry that people have once again started to argue about the name of the war. From the very beginning, Finns have used many names, such as Civil War, Internal War, Liberation War, Revolution, Red Riot, and Class War. Academics have often used the phrase the 1918 War in Finland. Both Civil War and Internal War are also interpreted as neutral. The Liberation War was the name the Whites used, while the Reds use the Rebellion and the Revolution. The Liberation conveyed the idea of freedom from Russian dominance, while Revolution emphasized the workers’ struggle for power.
Especially in Tampere, the 1918 events continue to fuel a lively debate. These tragic events touched so many local families that we still need to obtain detailed, carefully researched information. However, the name issue should no longer be controversial: according to a recent survey, 75 percent of the respondents supported the use of a neutral name such as Civil War.