LABOR ARCHIVES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R000300380018-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 12, 1999
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: December 17, 1946
• Content Type: IR

Approeed4For 12elease '199910910S GliseROPB2-004571:000300320016-4
COUNTRY Finland
SUBJECT Labor Arohi
ORIGIN
25)0P'6a
CENTRAL NTELLIGENCE GROUP
INTELLIGENCE REPORT
Document No.
0 CHANGE in
evie
S
25)(1)(6
DATE
INFO.
DIST.
PAGES 2
SUPPLEMENT
2506
25)(APaa
Although the Workers Educational Society of Finland as maintained a common ,
course of study for the Social Demooratic and Commurist Party groups -- no
doubt because of the Government support which both factions naturally wish
to avail themselves of -- both of these political parties carry on extensive
educational aotivities of their own. For example, the Communiete have estab-
lished their own school of journalism, one unit of which supplies Communist
organizations with propaganda material.
Another result of the split in the Finnish labor movement has been the establish-
ment of a new industrial academy. It is the so-called Sirola Academy, founded
in the fall of 1946, which follows a course far to the left of the original
industrial academy of Finland which has existed since the beginning of the 20th
Century. 070A so traditionally neutral a sphere as that of the library and
archives has been divided into two sections. This is understandable when one
considers that the old industrial archives were supported by the Social Demo-
cratio Party, and that the Communists have accumulated a considerable amount
of documents and printed matter) since their aotivities became legal?which
they prefer to keep in archives of their own.
The old lebor archives were already established in 1909, chiefly upon the
initiailW-717311-Ugo1a, a well-read mai with varied cultural interests.
Thus, Finland's archives are only a few years younger than the labor archives
established in Stockholm by Dr. Oscar Berge in 1905. The finniih and Swedish
institutions have kept alose oontaot with one another. Since the Finnish
archives have received a great amount of material from Stockholm and have been
unable to contribute very much, they have been the chief benefactors from this
association.
When Yrj8 Sirola, first archivist of Finland's Industrial Archives, left for
America, his duties were assumed by K. H. Wile who made a concerted effort to
form contacts with foreign cultural institutions and various other organisations.
As a result, the Finnish Industrial Archives contain a comprehensive collection
of foreign material dealing With the labor movements reports whioh correlate
and corroborate the protocols and reports of international and other labor
movements. Some of this material can be considered almost priceless, not only
in its relation to the history of the Finnish labor movement, but also in re.
gard to the history of the country as a whole. There are valuable materials,
for example, concerning the crucial years 1905-06, 1917-16, 193042, and
1939-44. There are now more then 50,000 volumes in the library division of
this institution and in addition a private collection of 7,000 volumes ha e been
purchased but not yet incorporated. There are some 200,000 documents also,
CLASSIFICATION WNW
FOIE PUBLIC REL.
TIAL
199910910
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Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R000300380018-2
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aa The Finnish Communist '.arty :;-rchives wore established in the spring of 1945,
six months after the ?arty vas able to resume its legal activities. The
se 'neral systeA is emnloyed As that used in the old archive's. Differences
exist, however, particularly in the materials ,reserved. 7hereas the old ar-
cives contain abundant -Laterial concernin7 the old revolutionqry move-lents
of Alssia, the not archives no doubt are superior there present day political
and socil life in the 1.:j1 are concerned. Furthermore, there is a Generous
re?rosentation of the theoretical literature now beim; distributed in the
TLere are, for example, numerous volumes of the works of
and Lenin. Another place where the new archives apparently are superior to
the eld is in its collection of Communist Underround literature. If one is
especially interested in the history of the Communist movement, the best
source of supply is no doubt to be found in the new archives.
C. Because of their recent establishum, the Comunist Archives are not very
co:aorehensive. The library division containing aeproximately 4000 volumes,
a document collection numbering about 6,000, and a pictorial collection of
more than 600 pieces as well as an attractive small collection of museum
exhibits make a good beginning, hoover,
7. Both labor archives Give a Good picture of a living cultural interest within
the Finnish labor movement.
1 0 i
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R000300380018-2