In a pamphlet published with Jussi Leino in 1942, Finnish National Socialism, Snellman divided Finnish history into three periods. The first related to the Kalevala, the second to the Reformation, and the third to the national awakening. Snellman considered the third period to be the starting point of Finnish National Socialism, and SKT declared Johan Vilhelm Snellman (Teo's grandfather) to be the first Finnish National Socialist. According to Leino, the Hegelian influences of J. V. Snellman in particular laid the foundation for the idea. The early 1940s, according to Snellman, ushered in a new phase of “organic renewal,” which began with the experiences of the Winter War that created a new kind of civil society.Ekberg 1991, s. 181–184.
