Aira Kemiläinen

Who was Aira Kemiläinen?

Aira Tellervo Kemiläinen was a Finnish historian who received her Ph.D. in 1957. In the 1950s and 1960s, Kemiläinen taught history at a number of different schools in Helsinki. In 1961 she became Associate Professor at University of Helsinki, and became Professor at University of Jyväskylä as well in 1971. She retired in 1986.

Aira Kemiläinen was for the most part engaged in the study of European history of ideas, which resulted in books like Auffassung über die Sendung des deutschen Volkes and Nationalism. Her other works include Suomalaiset, outo Pohjolan kansa, which discusses theories about the Finns and their national identity, and Finns in the shadows of the 'Aryans'.