Harry Johannes Järv (1921 - 2009) was an anarcho-syndicalist translator, librarian, writer and veteran of World War II.
Life
Personal Life
He was born to a farming family in Western Finland, after graduating high school he worked on boats. He enlisted with the Finnish Army in 1939 as war with the USSR (now Russia) broke out, he led covert recon, sabotage and attack missions behind enemy lines. He was wounded by a landmine and spent the next year in a hospital in Stockholm and had his leg amputated. He was awarded three freedom crosses and two freedom medals, and was nominated to be a knight by four generals, which he rejected. He soon become a scholar and writer at a university, writing over 50 books and editing magazines. He was an avid fan of Franz Kafka and collected over 14,000 books.[1][2]
Radicalisation
He became radicalised by reading Peter Kropotkin's books as a teenager and the ideas of Niilo Wälläri while working at sea.[1]
Political Activities
During World War II, he ran his unit as a democratic militia, causing conflict with the chain of command due to his ideas of elected commanders and equality between troops. He also joined the anarcho-syndicalist union Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden in 1952.[1]
Death
He died at age 88 in 2009.[1]