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The City of Helsinki enlarging it's
"living space" to the east

Original game plan

by Adolf Hitler, Munich, 1938

Let ut first look att the original game plan designed by Adolf Hitler.

In september 1938 Hitler met with British premier Chamberlain, French premier Daladier and Italian dictator Mussolini in Munich to negotiate a solution to the Sudetenland Crisis.

Adolf Hitler had stated time and again that he though Germany needed “lebensraum”, living space, in the east. Hitler started to expand Germany’s living space in Czechoslovakia, after the annectation of Austria.

As a result of the negotiations the Munich Agreement was made.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement) gives the following information:

The Munich Agreement was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland Crisis between the major powers of Europe after a conference held in Munich, Germany in 1938 and signed on September 29. The Sudetenland was an area of Czechoslovakia where ethnic Germans formed a majority of the population. The Sudetenland was of immense strategic importance to Czechoslovakia, as most of its border defences were situated there. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of Czechoslovakia and it ended up surrendering much of that state to Nazi Germany. It is considered by many as a major example of appeasement. Because Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference, the Munich Agreement is commonly called the Munich Dictate by Czechs and Slovaks. The phrase Munich betrayal is also frequently used, especially because of military alliances between Czechoslovakia and France and between France and Britain, that were not taken into account.

In essence Adolf Hitler asked for permission from England, France, and Italy, to take the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. And he got it.

When the British premier, Chamberlain, returned home from Munich he said:

“My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.”

After the Sudetenland Crisis Hitler also wanted direct land access to East Preussia (nowadays the Kaliningrad area), which at that time was separated from the the rest of Germany by Polish territory. Therefore Hitler wanted a part of Poland in order to get direct land access to East Preussia. When this was not obtainable by peaceful means Hitlers armed forces invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and the second World War begun.

City of Helsinki implementation of Hitlers plan

Since the fall of 2005 the government in Finland has been preparing a reform of the local municipal administration. From the beginning the government claimed that the capital, Helsinki, needed special measures. What these measures were, was not specified. What Helsinki wanted became clear on June 21, 2006.

On that day, the Helsinki city council held a meeting, were it was decided to ask the governments permission to incorporate certain parts of neighbouring municipalities to the city of Helsinki. The biggest part Helsinki wanted was an area of some 12300 acres from the municipality of Sipoo, east of Helsinki. Since the municipality of Sipoo is not directly neighbouring the city of Helsinki, the city also asked for some 490 acres of land from the city of Vantaa, which is situated between the city of Helsinki and the municipality of Sipoo, thus gaining a direct land access to the area Helsinki wanted to get from the municipality of Sipoo.

On June 21, 2006 it also became clear that the city of Helsinki had had secret talks with members of the Finnish government in order to obtain a favourable attitude towards this measure before the actual decisions in the government. These decisions remains yet to be made.

The municipality of Sipoo stand to loose 14% of it’s area and 19% of its population to the city of Helsinki.

This is the latest and most flagrant example of tendencies of municipal imperialism, that has occurred during the preparation of the municipal reform.

A muncipality that do not have a land border or land connection with the City of Helsinki is not safe from the towns municipal imperialism anymore. The Sipoo example shows, that if a necessary land connection does not exist, it will be created.

The city of Helsinki has acted much in the same way that Adolf Hitler did in Munich in September 1938. Helsinki has asked for permission from the government before the city council made the decision to ask for the land areas the city wanted.

But there is another resemblance to Adolf Hitlers actions.

Helsinki does not have direct land access to the land area the city want to take from the municipality of Sipoo. Therefore Helsinki also asks for a land area from the city of Vantaa, which is situated in between the city of Helsinki and the municipality of Sipoo. Like the way Hitler wanted direct land access between  East-Preussia and the rest of Germany.

According to law, what Helsinki wants from the municipality of Sipoo, might not be legal. But this is very much a questionable agenda. There have however been information in Finnish medias from legal experts questioning the legality of what the city of Helsinki have been doing.

The law states that transferring areas from one municipality to another is not legal if the transfer changes the population in either municipality with more than 5% or if the land area of either municipality changes with more than 10%.

It is however possible to make an area transfer regardless of the mentioned restrictions, if 
  • the area transfer promote the community services for the population in the area
  • the area transfer promote the life conditions for the people in the area
  • the area transfer promote the economical conditions in the area, or
  • the area transfer promote the involved municipalities possibilities to function effectively and economically.
The Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs, Hannes Manninen, has claimed that all these conditions mentioned above apply to the case. He has however not specified in which way this is the case.

It is very much how one wants to look at it. I find Manninens statements equally pathetic to Chamberlains statement of peace for our time in September 1938.

I think it is quite clear that the municipality of Sipoo stand to loose on all four accounts, if the city of Helsinki is granted what it wants. Any municipality loosing 14% of its area and 19% of its population would.

If one look back on what happened to Czechoslovakia after Munich-agreement of September 29, 1938,  Chamberlains hope for peace in his time came to an end as Nazi armies entered Prague and proceeded to occupy the remainder of Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. The eastern half of the country, Slovakia, became a separate pro-nazi state.

On July 21, 2006 it is reported on Finnish state radio news that Maija Anttila, chairman for the social democratic party group in the Helsinki City Council, wants to incorporate the whole municipality of Sipoo to the city of Helsinki.

It has taken only one month for a political leader in the city of Helsinki to carry on exactly as Adolf Hitler did with Czechoslovakia after the Munich agreement. Helsinki has not got it’s first part of Sipoo as this is written. Hitler did wait a bit longer, and he got what he wanted in the first phase, before he proceeded.

The Winter War

In late 1939 Josef Stalin wanted Finland to give up certain border areas "for the safety of Leningrad". Finnish negotiators were called to Moscow. Finland was prepared to some concessions, but not to all that the Sovjet Union wanted.

There is an anecdote from the negotiations. The Finns stated that Finland wanted to stay out of the ongoing conflict between the major powers and remain neutral. Stalin is said to have replied: You might not be asked.

Helsinki - it seems - has not asked very much from Sipoo before acting.

November 30, 1939 Sovjet troups crossed the border and the winter war begun. Finland held out until March 1940, when a peace treaty was signed ceding about 10% of Finland's territory, and 20% of its industrial capacity, to the Soviet Union. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War) Finland was however able to preserve independence.

When the armistice finally came on March 13, 1940, the Finns counted 25,000 dead, 55,000 wounded, and 450,000 homeless, a terrible price for a country of only four million people.

The city of Helsinki is acting towards the municipality of Sipoo like Stalin acted towards Finland in 1939.

Jan Vapaavuori

Chairman of Helsinki City Board is interviewed in a Finnish newspaper august 4, 2006.  He states that all major political parties in Finland are in favor of transferring land areas to the city of Helsinki. It would benefit the whole country, he says.

Really? I don't see how it would benefit the people of the municipality of Sipoo, many of which has moved there because they do not want to be habitants of the city of Helsinki. They have in a sence fled from Helsinki. In that sence they are already refugees. Do they have to flee again?

Vapaavuori does not tell in what way the deal would benefit the rest of the country. I don't think he can either, because it really does not. The only part that stands to benefit is the city of Helsinki.

With the same logic as Vapaavuori states that the transfer of land areas from Sipoo to Helsinki would benefit the whole country, he could also state that it would have benefitted the whole world if Adolf Hitler had won World War II!

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17)

The City of Helsinki should take care of their old people instead of coveting their neighbor's lands. Caretaking of old people in the City of Helsinki is one of the worst of all municipalities and cities in Finland. Knowledge courtesy of Finnish State television (August 3. 2006 The Eyewitness - Silminnäkijä program). It's really scaring when You hear old people wishing they would die before having to take more of the Citys care for old people.

Shame on You!!!

Want to tell the deciders in the City of Helsinki what You think? Here is a list of email addresses to members of  City Board and City Council.