Hella Wuolijoki

Hella Wuolijoki
Hella Wuolijoki, 1946
Born	Ella Marie Murrik 22 July 1886 Ala, Helme Parish, Livonia, Russian Empire
Died	2 February 1954(1954-02-02) (aged 67) Helsinki, Finland
Pen name	Juhani Tervapää
Occupation	Author
Language	Finnish
Nationality	Finnish
Citizenship	Finnish
Spouse	Sulo Wuolijoki ​ ​ (m. 1908; div. 1923)​
Children	Vappu Tuomioja
Relatives	Salme Pekkala-Dutt (sister) Sakari Tuomioja (son-in-law) Erkki Tuomioja (grandson) Eino Pekkala (brother-in-law) R. Palme Dutt (brother-in-law)

Hella Wuolijoki (née Ella Marie Murrik; 22 July 1886 – 2 February 1954), also known by the pen name Juhani Tervapää, was an Estonian-born Finnish writer known for her Niskavuori series.

Early life

Hella Wuolijoki was born as Ella Marie Murrik in the hamlet of Ala in Helme Parish (now in Tõrva Parish), Valga County, Governorate of Livonia. She began her studies in Tartu, before moving to Helsinki in 1904. In 1908, she married Sulo Vuolijoki (1881-1957), a personal friend of Lenin. They divorced in 1923. Later, Hella Vuolijoki began spelling her surname with a W.

Career

Author

Wuolijoki wrote several books under the male pseudonym Juhani Tervapää that were characterised by strong female characters. The 1947 film The Farmer's Daughter was adapted from her 1937 play Juurakon Hulda, which she also wrote as Juhani Tervapää. She collaborated with Bertolt Brecht on the initial version of his Mr Puntila and his Man Matti.

Spy

In the 1920s and 1930s, Wuolijoki hosted a literary and political salon that discussed culture and promoted left-wing ideas. She had secret connections with the Soviet intelligence and security structures.

Finnish police suspected her of being an illegal resident spy, but there was no solid proof until 1943, when she was arrested for hiding Kerttu Nuorteva, a Soviet paratrooper spy on a mission to acquire information about the political sentiment and the German troops in Finland, and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was released in 1944, after the armistice that ended the Continuation War.

Post-war and death

Wuolijoki was a member of the Finnish Parliament and the head of the SKDL parliamentary group from 1946 to 1947. Wuolijoki also served as the director of the national broadcasting company, YLE, from 1945 to 1949.

Wuolijoki died in Helsinki in 1954, aged 67.

Personal life

Her younger sister, Salme Dutt, was an influential member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Salme was married firstly to politician Eino Pekkala and secondly to the fellow communist R. Palme Dutt. Wuolijoki was the grandmother of Erkki Tuomioja (b.1946), Finland's minister for foreign affairs between 2011 and 2015, through her daughter Vappu.

Works

• Juurakon Hulda (1937)
• Entäs nyt, Niskavuori? (1953)

Further reading

• Anneli Saro, "Dynamics of Crossing Borders. The Case of Hella Wuolijoki / Piiride ületamise dünaamika. Hella Wuolijoki juhtum"

External links

• Hella Wuolijoki in 375 humanists 9.1.2015, Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki