HUM in English

HUM is an abbreviation of the original Finnish name of the Association, Holokaustin uhrien muisto ry (Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust).

The main event of HUM is the annual National Holocaust Commemoration event on/around January 27 in cooperation with the government of Finland. In our 2024 event the key note speaker was H.E. Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs. On November 6th we organize an event remembering the eight Jewish refugees who were deported to the hands of Nazis on Nov. 6, 1942.

The association was founded in 1993 as Yad Vashem Finnish Branch, but the name was changed in 2012 to describe better the mission of the association to the public. We still work together with Yad Vashem and under our wings there is ”Yad Vashem Alumni” for teachers, leaders and civil servants who have participated in Yad Vashem courses in Jerusalem.

The board of directors:

Chairman: Rev. Teemu Laajasalo, Bishop of the Lutheran Diocese of Helsinki (2025-)

Vice-chair: Mr. Risto Huvila, Chairman of the Federation of Finland-Israel Associations  (2018-) and an advisor of the Working Group Against Antisemitism in the Parliament of Finland (2022-).

Treasurer: Ms. Chana Swanström, A World Jewish Congress Lauder Fellow

Secretary: Mr. Ilkka Virtanen, journalist, former Editor-in-Chief of Readers’ Digest (Finnish Edition)

Other members: Mr. Markku Haranne, Dimitri Lindgren, Dr. Jussi Nuorteva, Ms. Kristina Paavela, Ms. Niina Väntänen, Mr. Harry Serlo, and  Ms. Miranda Vuolasranta.

Please contact hum@hum.fi