Hella Wuolijoki

Hella Wuolijoki
File:Hella Wuolijoki, the director-general of Finnish Broadcasting Company 1944 -1949..jpg Hella Wuolijoki, 1946
Born	Hella Ella Murrik July 22, 1886 Ala, Valga County, Helme Parish, Estonia
Died	Helsinki, Finland
Pen name	Juhani Tervapää
Occupation	Author
Language	Finnish
Nationality	Finnish
Ethnicity	Estonian
Citizenship	Finnish

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

Life and career

Wuolijoki was born in the hamlet of Ala in Valga County,^[et] Helme Parish, Estonia.

In 1908, she married Sulo Vuolijoki, a personal friend of Lenin. They divorced in 1923. Later, Wuolijoki spelled her name with a capital W.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Wuolijoki had a literary and political salon that discussed culture and promoted left-wing ideas. She had secret connections with the Soviet intelligence and security structures. The Finnish police suspected her of being an illegal resident spy, but there was no solid proof until 1943, when she was arrested for hiding a Soviet paratrooper spy Kerttu Nuorteva and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was released in 1944 after the ceasefire that ended the Continuation War.

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.

She died in Helsinki, Finland in 1954.

Wuolijoki wrote several books under the male pseudonym Juhani Tervapää, 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.

Family

Salme Dutt, an influential figure in the British Communist movement, was Wuolijoki's younger sister. Wuolijoki was the grandmother of Erkki Tuomioja, the Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2011.

External links

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