Did Sweden fight in World War II? Pre-war period, Sweden during World War II, rule of the coalition government (1939–1945)

On the eve of the Second World War and at its beginning, the Scandinavian countries sought, as in the First World War, to adhere to a policy of neutrality. This foreign policy course found support among the population of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The working masses of these countries saw in the policy of neutrality an opportunity to avoid being drawn into an armed conflict of imperialist coalitions, which was deeply alien to their interests. The bourgeoisie hoped to use the conditions of neutrality to increase profits on military supplies and ship chartering.

The governments of Norway, Denmark and Sweden intended to regulate their relations with the states of the warring factions so that neither one nor the other could accuse them of being one-sided. Based on past experience, they counted on the success of such a political course. But the situation was different. If in 1914 - 1918. Since the Scandinavian countries found themselves on the sidelines of the main highways of the war, they have now become important objects of the policy and strategy of both imperialist coalitions. First of all, the Scandinavian countries and their neighboring Finland provided a convenient springboard for unleashing aggression against the USSR. At the same time, dominance in Scandinavia provided obvious advantages for one imperialist group in the fight against another, opened up the possibility of expanding the system of basing naval and air forces, and using the economic resources of the area, in particular Swedish iron ore and timber.

Already on September 4, 1939, the British War Cabinet discussed the issue of Norwegian neutrality and its significance, which it acquired at that time for the Western Allies (138). On September 19 and 29, W. Churchill demanded to blockade Narvik and lay minefields in Norwegian territorial waters to prevent the supply of Swedish iron ore to Germany.

The strategic pause in the actions of the Wehrmacht ground forces, which occurred in Europe after the end of the German-Polish War, and the fact that Germany, having captured Poland, did not continue its “natural” path to the east, increased the attention of the Western powers to the Scandinavian bridgehead. Their original plan, as noted, was to use this springboard to attack the Soviet Union and then draw Germany into a united campaign against the USSR. After Czechoslovakia and Poland, the Scandinavian countries thus became the next victim of the policies of the Western powers. “The allies,” writes the English historian A. Taylor, “turned their gaze to the north...” (139)

On October 31, 1939, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the British Armed Forces, on instructions from the Chamberlain government, devoted a meeting to discussing the issue of declaring war on the Soviet Union under the pretext of “protecting the Scandinavian countries from Soviet aggression.” At the very beginning of this discussion, they were forced to state that “there is no question of Russia being able to attack Norway and Sweden through Finland in the winter” (140). However, in its recommendation to the government, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff emphasized that any weakening of tension near the borders of the Soviet Union, including in the Scandinavian region, “will increasingly turn the West into the decisive front of the armed struggle” (141). In the minutes of the British War Cabinet there is an entry that “the spread of Bolshevism is a worse evil than the spread of Hitlerism, against which we entered the war. The danger, therefore, is that if we fail to move decisively against Russia, we risk losing the sympathy of neutral states, which will lead to serious military consequences" (142).

The plan to draw the Scandinavian countries into the war, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff of England believed, had “many advantages and could become decisive. It will certainly force the Germans to act immediately, force them to disperse their forces and get involved in hostilities not only in the land theater... This will be the most effective means of preventing the Germans from attacking on other fronts” (143). The Chief of the General Staff of the National Defense of France, General Gamelin, shared the same opinion. He was an ardent supporter of the landing of expeditionary forces in Narvik in order to somehow “pull” the Germans into Scandinavia, after which they would “forget about the western front - the most important for England and France” (144)

With the beginning of the Finnish-Soviet military conflict, the allied governments, according to the English Field Marshal A. Brooke, with “the passion of beast hunters” began to create a new front in Northern Europe (145).

The fascist leadership, like the Western allies, understood the strategic importance of the Scandinavian bridgehead, which, according to Hitler, “has become an area of interest of decisive importance for both warring parties” (146).

The capture of the Scandinavian bridgehead gave Germany the opportunity to strengthen the defense of the northern flank of the Reich and, in addition, made it possible to threaten the strategic reach of Great Britain from the east. True, this danger was somewhat reduced, since the range of most German aircraft, if they were based at Norwegian airfields, was insufficient to bomb England, and especially France.

When developing plans to seize the Scandinavian countries, Hitler's leadership took into account the possibility of basing their naval forces on the Norwegian coast. This, according to the fascist German command, had both positive and negative sides. “German occupation of Norwegian coastal bases,” Raeder reported on December 12, 1939, “will naturally cause strong British retaliation. As a result, serious naval battles will take place off the Norwegian coast, and the German navy is not ready to cope with such a task for a long time. In the event of the occupation of Norway, this will be one of the vulnerable places" (147). Despite this, Raeder insisted on capturing Norway.

The main significance of the Scandinavian bridgehead for the fascist command was determined by the prospect of a war against the USSR. From here it was most convenient to block sea routes from the Soviet Arctic. Back in 1937, the fascist magazine Deutsche Wehr emphasized that for the USSR, the sea route to Murmansk around Norway would be the only connection with the ocean in a future war, and protecting this route was extremely important for the USSR. Its violation in the Russian-German war, it was said further, is of great importance. This explained Germany's great interest in the northern Norwegian fiords, which could become strongholds for Germany's blockade of the sea route to Murmansk.

Despite pro-German sentiments among the public and some political forces, during the Second World War Sweden adhered to conditional neutrality, which, according to a number of well-known experts, was facilitated by the mutual interest of the parties involved in armed conflicts.

At the same time, the state of the so-called “non-intervention” can only be called conditional, thanks to the mediation activities of the Swedish leadership during armed conflicts, namely the conclusion with Nazi Germany of a number of trade and economic agreements for the supply of industrial raw materials and finished products for the needs of the war, as a rule, iron ore, ball bearings, electrical equipment , tools, pulp, and in some cases weapons and equipment.

In addition, Sweden granted Germany the right to transit armed forces through its territory to conduct military operations in the North. It should be noted that the German plans for the Swiss state were successfully implemented until 1943, a turning point in world history, which is interpreted with the beginning of the collapse of the German military machine (victory at Stalingrad and then Kursk).

Predicting the imminent destruction of Nazi Germany already in August 1943, Sweden banned the transit of the German army, weapons and equipment through its territory, trade with Germany was stopped in the fall of 1944, and diplomatic relations were broken in May 1945.

In turn, the Soviet Union positively assessed the conditional independence of its northern neighbors - this made it possible to focus on more important areas. Moreover, despite the actions of the Swedish side during the Finnish-Soviet war (several thousand Swedish volunteers participated in combat operations on the side of Finland), it was the Soviet leadership that came out in defense of Sweden at the time of the Germans’ aggressive activities in the North, sending a note to the German government in 1940 , which stated the desire to maintain Swedish neutrality.

In return for demonstrated loyalty, Sweden served as a diplomatic mediator between the warring parties.

Thus, thanks to a pragmatic policy of double standards, Sweden was able to endure the war period with relative ease, while maintaining socio-economic and political stability.
Raoul Wallenberg Moreover, during the war, having received huge profits from trade relations with Nazi Germany, this northern country was able to significantly strengthen its industrial potential and make a good deposit for the future.

At the same time, along with the seeming selfishness of the Swedish leadership, we must not forget about its assistance to the resistance movement in countries such as Denmark and Norway, as well as the work of the Swedish Red Cross in rescuing people from Scandinavia who were in German concentration camps.

Quite remarkable is the activity of a representative of the Swedish political elite, R. Wallenberg, who was able to save about 100 thousand Jews living in Hungary from extermination by the SS punitive units.
via

In September 1938, everything pointed to an approaching new war in Europe. On September 30, a message arrived that Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy had concluded the Munich Agreement. Czechoslovakia, with the permission of Great Britain and France, was occupied by Poland, Germany and Hungary. The world was silent. Many could not understand how former mortal ideological enemies could unite and start World War II.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (September 30, 1938).
Hitler had Czechoslovak military factories and significant reserves of weapons of the former Czechoslovak army at his disposal. Before the attack on the USSR, five of the 21 Wehrmacht tank divisions were equipped with tanks produced in Czechoslovakia.
In his famous speech at Skansen on August 27, 1939, Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson declared: “Our preparedness for war must be considered good.” He meant the economic side of preparing for war. Important raw materials were stockpiled. The main threat in Sweden was considered a possible blockade of the country, as happened during the First World War. On September 1, in connection with the outbreak of war between the former allies in the occupation of Czechoslovakia - Germany and Poland, the government published a declaration of neutrality. After the start of the “Strange War” between England/France and Germany, on September 3, another declaration of neutrality was issued.
“Strange War”, “Sitting War” (French Drôle de guerre, English Phoney War, German Sitzkrieg) - the period of World War II from September 3, 1939 to May 10, 1940 on the Western Front.
There was virtually no fighting between England/France and Germany, with the exception of military operations at sea. The warring parties fought only local battles on the Franco-German border. During the eight months of the Strange War, the losses in dead, wounded and missing amounted to only 2,000 people.
On May 10, 1940, Germany and Italy launched an attack on France. The balance of forces between the warring parties was approximately equal, but already on June 25, 1940, having lost 3% of the total number of troops of the anti-Hitler coalition killed, France surrendered. The fascist armed forces included 2,000 tanks and 150 warships, as well as other weapons of the 2 million French army.
The USSR used the non-aggression pact with Germany, signed a year after the Munich Agreement, to strengthen its position. Bases were established in the Baltic states. Representatives of Finland were also summoned to Moscow. The Soviet government, rightly believing that Finland would not resist the passage of fascist armies through its territory (the First and Second Soviet-Finnish Wars of 1918–1922) intending to attack the Soviet Union, began negotiations to remove the border from Leningrad. At the same time, Finland was offered to exchange the lands that it received from Russia in 1809–1812 for significantly larger territories in the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Both Gustav Mannerheim and Juho Kusti Paasikivi recognized these demands as justified, but at the insistence of Great Britain, France and the USA, Finland took the most uncompromising position. As a result, as USSR Foreign Minister Molotov said, the possibilities of negotiations were exhausted, and the matter of solving the problem was transferred to the military.
In Sweden this caused an internal political crisis. Foreign Minister Sandler was more decisive about helping Finland than other members of the government. Sandler was forced to resign. On December 13, a coalition government was formed, consisting of representatives of Social Democracy, the Right Party, the People's Party and the Peasant Union. Per Albin Hansson remained prime minister. Diplomat Christian Günther became Foreign Minister.
The “Winter War” in Finland deeply hurt the feelings of the Swedes. Under the slogan “Finland’s cause is our cause,” various types of assistance were organized for the Finns. From the 6-million-strong Sweden, the 12,000-strong Svenska frivilligkåren corps, consisting of former and active servicemen of the Swedish army, went to Finland. At the same time, the Swedish regime claimed that it was not a party to the conflict and maintained neutrality. Sweden provided significant loans to Finland. Weapons were sent to our eastern neighbor. The collection of funds and items produced good results.
The territory of Finland in different years.
Occupied by Finland
territory of the USSR
in 1941–1944.
On March 13, 1940, the Soviet-Finnish war ended. Despite the assistance provided by Sweden, Italy, France, the USA and those allegedly at war with each other - England and Germany, Finland lost part of the territory received from Russia in 1809-1812. The Finnish border was moved 130 kilometers away from Leningrad. Denmark and Norway, like Sweden, adhered to a policy of neutrality, but on April 9, 1940, Germany attacked them. Denmark was occupied in one day, and the Norwegians put up 2 months of resistance.
The Swedes did not help their Scandinavian neighbors. Sweden did not issue loans to Denmark and Norway, did not supply them with weapons, and Swedish volunteers did not fight in the anti-fascist Norwegian and Danish troops. Sweden transported German soldiers and weapons to Norway through its territory.
In 1941, the Swedish Volunteer Battalion/Svenska frivilligbataljonen was created, consisting of 900 Swedish Nazis. The battalion was part of the Finnish fascist army that captured the north-west of the USSR in 1941–1944. The Finns, as in the First and Second Soviet-Finnish Wars (1918–1922), hoped to capture Karelia and the entire Kola Peninsula. The Finnish-Swedish army took part in the siege of Leningrad and occupied most of Karelia, including its capital Petrozavodsk. In the occupied territories, dozens of concentration camps were built for the non-Finnish-speaking population of the USSR. 500 Swedish Nazis fought in the German armed forces. In its foreign policy, Sweden successfully adapted to the new balance of forces in Europe. It supplied Germany with iron ore, steel, weapons, machine tools, ships, bearings, timber, and other materials necessary for the German military industry. Swedish banks issued large loans to the Nazis. The government allowed the transport of German soldiers on Swedish railways to Finland and Norway. From September 1940 to August 1943, more than two million Nazi soldiers were transported.
Aftonbladet newspaper
dated June 22, 1941.
"European
liberation war."
The Swedish government urged the press to be careful in their assessments of events on the world stage, so as not to disrupt relations with its powerful neighbor to the south. Most of the media showed understanding of the problem and followed the rules of strict self-censorship.
On June 22, 1941, the most popular Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published a pro-fascist article entitled “European War of Liberation.” Some little-known newspapers refused to “break ranks” and published openly anti-Nazi articles. Publications containing articles that could irritate the Germans were destroyed or confiscated. This policy reached its peak in March 1942, when no fewer than 17 newspapers were seized because they contained articles about German torture of members of the Norwegian Resistance. In 1943, after the Nazis' major defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, the confiscation of newspapers ceased.
After Germany attacked Denmark and Norway, Sweden's contacts with the West were disrupted. The Germans and British laid minefields from the southern coast of Norway to the northern tip of Jutland. Sweden could not conduct free maritime trade. At the end of 1940, the government managed to reach an agreement with the Germans and British on limited shipping communications with Western countries through mined zones. This was the so-called guaranteed navigation. Thus, Sweden could import certain goods important to it and Nazi Germany, primarily oil, hides, leather, as well as such “luxury goods” as coffee.
In total, between 1939 and 1945, Sweden exported 58 million tons of iron ore, 60 thousand tons of bearings, 7 million tons of cellulose, 13 million m³ of lumber, 70 thousand tons of machinery and equipment. The largest consumer of Swedish goods in 1939–1944, as in the First World War, was Germany.
Despite the difficulties, Sweden was able to maintain a relatively high standard of living. It was estimated that real wages fell by only 10–15%. For certain populations, such as peasants, the blockade created the opportunity to raise prices for their products. They were up about 40%.
Many men, fit for military service by age, were regularly called up for retraining to receive military education and perform coast guard service “somewhere in Sweden.”
During the war, Sweden began to intensively import weapons from Germany. In 1936, many believed that 148 million crowns was too much for defense. In 1941–1942, the defense budget reached 1846 million, that is, more than ten times the original figure. There were heated discussions in the government about how to finance rapidly growing defense spending. Social Democrats believed that this burden should be borne by everyone in accordance with their income, that is, that the rich should pay proportionately more than ordinary workers. The right, in contrast, believed that everyone should pay an equal percentage of defense costs, subject to compensation for the poorest groups. The policies pursued by the coalition government can be seen as a compromise. Government subsidies were introduced for essential foodstuffs such as butter and milk to ensure that rising agricultural prices did not hit the poorest segments of the population too hard. Tax oppression also increased during the war. By 1943, the estimated value of taxes increased by 35%. Wartime administrative bodies were formed to distribute scarce goods. In fact, a kind of planned economy was introduced, on the basis of which all economic life was regulated. The liberal market economy has largely been abandoned.
In the final period of the war, the Swedish people, first of all, became interested in events in the neighboring northern countries. Sweden also followed developments in Denmark with unflagging interest. After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Swedish government became disillusioned with Nazi Germany and remembered neutrality. It was not until October 1943 that the government allowed the remaining Jews of Denmark to move to Sweden.
In the last year of the war, Sweden began to accept refugees from Germany and the Baltic states. The Soviet Union demanded in June 1945 that Sweden hand over all soldiers who arrived there in German military uniform. We were talking about two thousand soldiers. The overwhelming majority were Germans, but there were about a hundred Balts there. The government resolutely refused to extradite 30 thousand civilians who fled to Sweden (whom no one asked to extradite). As for the Baltic Nazis who arrived in the country in German uniforms, the government considered itself bound by the obligation given to the Allies even before the end of the war that this category of persons would be expelled to their places of residence. The government sought to establish trust with the Soviet Union after the war and feared that refusing to extradite war criminals would be viewed negatively. The prestige of the Soviet Union during this period was the highest, since the contribution of this state to the victory over Nazi Germany was the most significant. But public opinion in Sweden was against extraditing the Baltic Nazis. However, the Swedish government remained firm in its decision. At the beginning of 1946, scenes occurred that could not but excite the Swedish fascists: 145 Baltic states and 227 Germans who committed war crimes on the territory of the USSR were extradited to the Soviet Union. For many fascists, this fact became a shameful stain on the reputation of Sweden.
The remaining fascist soldiers, including Swedish ones, remained in Sweden and did not suffer any punishment for their crimes.
During the war, Sweden was the organizer of several humanitarian actions: in 1942, grain supplies to Greece, whose population was experiencing hunger. The Netherlands also received similar assistance. Folke Bernadotte, vice-president of the Swedish Red Cross, negotiated with Nazi leader G. Himmler at the end of the war for the release of Norwegian and Danish resistance members from German concentration camps. Gradually Himmler agreed to this. Those released were transported to Sweden on so-called “white buses”.
On May 7, 1945, a message arrived that Germany had capitulated. For Norway and Denmark, the war was a difficult ordeal. Sweden, thanks to its two-faced policy, managed to survive this time easily and profitably.
In Norway, the Nazis killed more than 10 thousand people, in Denmark - 5 thousand. During the war, many Swedish sailors died delivering goods to Nazi Germany. 250 Swedish ships were sunk, killing about 1,200 people.
Between 1938 and 1945, 12 thousand Swedes, 6 thousand Danes and 2 thousand Norwegians served in the fascist armed forces. The “neutral” Scandinavians fought mainly on the Eastern Front.
The war contributed to a certain leveling of class differences in Sweden. People from various social strata took part in long-term military retraining. During the war, national feelings were more strongly expressed, which contributed to a sense of unity.
Political life was generally calm. Sweden held elections three times during the war years: in 1940, 1942 and 1944 (local elections were held in 1942). The 1940 elections were a great success for the Social Democrats, who received about 54% of the vote, the highest ever seen in the history of Swedish Social Democracy.
Swedish neutrality
Sweden's collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II is one of the most controversial and controversial topics in Swedish history of the 20th century. Between 1938 and 1943, relations between Sweden and Germany developed favorably. The government, financiers and entrepreneurs sought rapprochement with Germany and did not condemn Hitler's actions. Sweden transported German Nazis along its railways to Norway and Finland. Until the end of 1943, the Swedes, at Hitler's request, did not accept Jewish refugees from Europe. Swedish Nazis fought on the side of Germany and Finland.
Until 1945, Sweden was Germany's main trading partner; many large Swedish companies collaborated with the fascist regimes of Germany and Finland. During World War II, Germany bought 60% of bearings and 25% of iron ore from Sweden. Considering that Swedish ore contained twice as much iron as ore mined in Germany, Czechoslovakia or France, it can be said that about 40% of German weapons were made from Swedish iron.
LKAB supplied the Nazis with iron and copper ore;
SKF and VKF - bearings (VKF is a branch of SKF in Germany);
Asea, Atlas, Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Ericsson, Husqvarna, Sandvik, Volvo – machinery and equipment;
Bofors - weapons and ammunition;
SCA, Swedish Match – pulp and paper products, tobacco products.
Sweden also re-exported goods from other countries to Germany. The cargo was delivered on Swedish and German ships under the protection of Swedish Navy ships.
Banks bought Nazi gold and issued loans to Germany (Central Bank of Sweden, SEB). Publishers of newspapers that expressed views that were likely to irritate Berlin were prosecuted, circulations were confiscated, or their transportation was banned.
Sweden was not a neutral country, since it supported one side of the military conflict and violated articles 4, 5, 9 and 11 of the Convention on the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in the Event of War on Land (1907).
Important events in the history of Sweden and the world
1918
Finnish army invades Russia (First Soviet-Finnish War, May 15, 1918–October 14, 1920).
1921
Finland begins the Second Soviet-Finnish War (November 6, 1921 – March 21, 1922).
1930
Founding of the Swedish National Socialist Party/Svenska nationalsocialistiska partiet (SNSP, October 1).
Founding of the fascist group New Swedish Movement/Nysvenska rörelsen (October 28).
1932
Swedish Nazis held their first public meeting. Nazi leader of the Swedish National Socialist Party Birger Furugård addressed six thousand people in Stockholm (January 22).
1933
The National Socialist Workers' Party/Nationalsocialistiska folkpartiet was founded. In 1938 the party was renamed the Swedish Socialist Assembly/Svensk socialistisk samling, dissolved in 1950 (January 15).
1934
Parliament passes a law on forced sterilization of mentally and physically disabled Swedish citizens. Canceled in 1975. Since the law was in effect, 58,500 women and 4,400 men have been sterilized (May 18).
1938
Great Britain and France allow Poland, Germany and Hungary to occupy Czechoslovakia (Munich Agreement, September 30).
The head of the State Office of Social Security, Siegfried Hansson, issues an order to the border guards requiring them to send back all Jewish refugees trying to enter the country (September).
Sweden, at Germany's insistence, begins marking all Jewish passports with a red "J" (October 15).
1939
King Gustav V of Sweden, during a visit to Berlin, awards Hermann Goering the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (February 2).
The Uppsala Students' Union demands that the government not accept Jewish doctors from Germany (February 17).
Lithuania signs a non-aggression pact with Germany (March 22).
Sweden recognized the fascist regime of Francisco Franco (March 31).
The Lund Student Union supported the demands of the Uppsala Student Union on 17 February (March).
The League of Nations rejected the Swedish and Finnish proposal to militarize the Åland Islands and upheld the 1921 Convention on the Demilitarization and Neutralization of the Åland Islands (27 May).
Latvia and Estonia concluded non-aggression pacts with Germany (June 7).
The USSR signs a non-aggression pact with Germany (August 23).
A war begins between former allies in the occupation of Czechoslovakia - Germany and Poland. Sweden, like other Nordic countries, declares its neutrality (September 1).
The Strange War begins between England/France and Germany (September 3).
The Polish government and high command flee the country (September 17).
War begins between Finland and the Soviet Union. Sweden sends a 12,000-strong Svenska frivilligkåren corps, consisting of former and active Swedish army personnel, to Finland (November 30).
1940
The Swedish Parliament passed a law introducing wartime censorship (January 8).
The State Information Department was founded, which monitors information posted in newspapers, books, radio and cinema (January 26).
Police conduct searches at the premises of communist organizations (February 10).
In Luleå, the house that housed the editorial office of the communist newspaper Norrskensflamman was set on fire. Five people died (March 3).
Peace is concluded between Finland and Russia (March 12).
A ban is introduced on the sale and transportation of communist newspapers (March 21).
German invasion of Denmark and Norway. King Christian X of Denmark signs the surrender (April 9).
Swedish Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson calls for restraint when criticizing Germany (April 13).
The government announced that German military personnel would be transported on Swedish railways (May 9).
The end of the Strange War. During the 8 months of the “war” the losses in dead, wounded and missing amounted to 2,000 people (May 10).
Invasion of France by Germany and Italy (May 10).
The last units of the Norwegian army capitulate, the king and government of Norway leave for Great Britain (June 10).
The acts of surrender of France to Germany (June 22) and Italy (June 24) were signed.
Sweden and Germany enter into an agreement which declares that Sweden will transport Hitler's soldiers and ammunition through its territory to Norway (July 6).
The transit of German troops through Swedish territory begins (September).
British bombers mistakenly drop three bombs on Malmo with no casualties (October 3).
Swedish ship Janus torpedoed, 4 killed (October 24).
Sweden and Germany sign the largest trade agreement in the history of cooperation (December 16).
1941
Germany, Italy and Romania begin war with the USSR. The Swedish press publishes approving pro-German articles. The National Organization of the Right (Moderate Coalition Party/Moderaterna) and the Foreign Minister propose banning the Swedish Communist Party (June 22).
Future US President Harry Truman (1945–1953) in an interview with the New York Times said: “If we see that Germany is winning the war, we should help Russia, if Russia wins, we should help Germany, and let them do what they can.” they kill each other more, although I don’t want to see Hitler as the winner under any circumstances” (June 24).
Finland invades the USSR for the third time in 24 years (June 25; First and Second Soviet-Finnish Wars 1918–1922). Sweden allows the transit of an 18,000-strong German division from Norway to Finland (June 25).
The formation of the Swedish Nazi battalion Svenska frivilligbataljonen begins (June 26).
The Swedish government decides to help fascist Finland (July 11).
The first group of Swedish Nazis from the Svenska frivilligbataljonen battalion arrived in Finland (July 24).
Three Swedish destroyers exploded in Horsefjarden Bay, killing 33 people. The cause of the incident remained unclear (September 17).
King Gustav V of Sweden congratulated Hitler on his victories on the Eastern Front (October).
Conclusion of a trade agreement with Germany (December 20).
1942
Ingvar Kamprad becomes a member of the fascist group New Swedish Movement/Nysvenska rörelsen (January).
Ingvar Kamprad joins the Nazi party Swedish Socialist Assembly/Svensk socialistisk samling (March 1).
The government seizes the circulation of 17 newspapers that published articles about torture carried out by the Germans in Norwegian prisons (March 13).
Due to increased copper exports to Germany, Sweden begins issuing iron coins (March 28).
The Swedish ship Ada Gorthon with a cargo of iron ore for Nazi Germany was sunk by a USSR submarine (June 22).
A Soviet submarine torpedoes the Swedish ship Luleå, which was transporting iron ore to Germany, killing 8 people. Swedish Navy patrol boats escorting 28 cargo ships dropped 26 depth charges. The boat was not damaged (July 11).
Soviet planes mistakenly drop bombs on the Swedish island of Öland, no one was hurt (July 24).
1943
A filtration camp for the 30,000 refugees who arrived in Sweden begins operating (January 5).
Victory of Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad (February 2).
Film actress and singer Tsara Leander returns to Sweden after 6 years of work in Germany. In Germany, she was required to accept German citizenship and give up most of her fees (March 4).
The Jewish Agency asks the Swedish government to help rescue 20,000 Jewish children from Poland, but is refused (March 5).
The submarine HMS Ulven sinks after being struck by mines, killing 33 people (15 April).
Nazi Ingvar Kamprad founds IKEA (July 15).
The government decides to stop the transit of German military personnel and military equipment to Norway. In three years, Sweden transported more than two million Nazi soldiers (August 15).
The British and American air forces dropped bombs on the VKF plant (a branch of the Swedish SKF ball bearing factory in Germany) in Schweinfurt, but failed to cause serious damage (August 17).
7,000 Danish Jews transported to Sweden (October).
A German fighter plane shoots down a Swedish SE-BAG courier plane, killing 13 (October 22).
A British plane dropped fifty bombs on the outskirts of Lund, but there were no casualties (November 18).
A Swedish trade delegation travels to the United States to discuss post-war Swedish-American relations (December 20).
The US and UK are demanding that Sweden stop exporting to Germany, warning that otherwise Allied bombers could "mistakenly" bomb the SKF plant in Gothenburg. The Swedes agreed to reduce exports (December).
1944
SKF reduces ball bearing supplies to Germany (April 13).
Two Swedish reconnaissance aircraft are shot down over the Baltic Sea (May 14).
German air courier transport between Norway and Finland via Sweden is prohibited (1 June).
SKF stops supplying ball bearings to Germany (16 October).
A US Air Force bomber crashes near Trollhättan (November 1).
The Gotland Company steamship Hansa is hit by a torpedo, killing 84 people (November 24).
1945
Sweden does not enter into a new trade agreement with Germany (January 11).
Vice-President of the Swedish Red Cross Folke Bernadotte met with Heinrich Himmler in Berlin to negotiate the release of Norwegians and Danes from German concentration camps (19 February).
Fascist Finland declares war on Nazi Germany (March 4).
The Swedish Red Cross sends 75 buses and trucks to Germany to transport Scandinavian prisoners from Nazi concentration camps (March 9).
The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided that, first of all, the Swedish Red Cross will evacuate citizens of Denmark and Norway from German concentration camps (March 26).
At the Nazi concentration camp Neuengamme, the Swedish Red Cross moves 2,000 sick and dying French, Russian and Polish prisoners from a hospital barrack to a regular one to make room for Danish and Norwegian prisoners who will be transported to Sweden (27–28 March).
The Swedish Red Cross takes over four hundred Danish Jews from Theresienstadt concentration camp (April 18).
Liberated prisoners of German concentration camps begin to be transported from Neuengamme (April 20).
About 3,000 women were taken from the Ravensbrück concentration camp (April 22–29).
The Joint Planning Staff of the British War Cabinet is developing a plan for an attack by Great Britain, the United States and parts of Hitler's army on the USSR. Churchill planned to start the Third World War on July 1, 1945. The USSR knew about the betrayal of the “allies” and took appropriate countermeasures (Operation “Unthinkable”, April–May).
In Lübeck Bay, British planes sank the German ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek, Deutschland, which were carrying concentration camp prisoners. More than 10,000 people died. According to one version, the prisoners were going to be transported to Sweden, according to another, the ships with prisoners were going to be sunk at sea (May 3).
Complete surrender of Germany (May 8).
The first liberated Nazi concentration camp prisoners arrive in Sweden. Several thousand Nazi troops flee to Sweden (May).
The US drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The number of deaths from bombings and radioactive contamination was more than 350 thousand people (August 6, 9).
The Soviet Union begins hostilities against Japan (August 9).
The USSR defeated the million-strong Kwantung Army of Japan (August).
End of World War II (September 2).
The United States is developing a war plan against the USSR - “Totality”. The Americans were going to drop atomic bombs on Baku, Gorky, Grozny, Irkutsk, Kazan, Kuibyshev, Leningrad, Magnitogorsk, Molotov, Moscow, Nizhny Tagil, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Stalinsk, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Chelyabinsk, Yaroslavl.
1946
Handing over to the Soviet Union 145 Baltic and 227 German Nazis who arrived in Sweden in German military uniform (January 27).
Great Britain and the United States begin the Cold War (Churchill's Fulton speech, March 5).
Swedish schools begin teaching English instead of German as the first foreign language (August 26).
1947
It is learned that during World War II, the Swedish security service Säpo collaborated with the Gestapo and sent German refugees back to Germany (January 31).
1949
Fascist Portugal joins NATO (April 4).
1950
At the initiative of Frédéric Joliot-Curie, the Standing Committee of the World Peace Congress in Stockholm adopted an appeal to the peoples of the world condemning the use of atomic weapons and demanding their prohibition. From March to November 1950, the appeal “On the ban on the use of atomic weapons” was signed by 273,470,566 people, of which 115,514,703 people in the USSR (almost the entire adult population of the country, March 19).
Dissolution of the Nazi Party Swedish Socialist Assembly/Svensk socialistisk samling (SSS, June).
1956
Nazi Nordic National Party/Nordiska rikspartiet (NRP) founded, dissolved 2009
1974
In Portugal, mutinous troops overthrow the fascist government (April 25).
1975
The law on forced sterilization of mentally and physically disabled Swedes, passed in 1934, is repealed. During the time the law was in effect, 62,900 people were sterilized.
Death of Francisco Franco, dismantling of the fascist regime in Spain begins (November 20).
1994
Founding of the Nazi party National Socialist Front (NSF, August 8).
1996
The World Jewish Congress is asking Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, France and Norway to investigate which authorities, banks and other organizations handled gold and other valuables held by Jews from Germany during World War II (December).
1997
Founding of the Nazi organization Swedish Resistance Movement/Svenska motståndsrörelsen (SMR, December).
1998
An interim report on cooperation between Swedish banks and Nazi Germany has been published. It turned out that during the Second World War, the accounts of the Central Bank of Sweden received 60 tons of gold from Germany and countries occupied by the Nazis. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) received 100 kilograms of Nazi gold. In 1949 and 1955, the Swedish State Bank returned 13 tons of gold stolen by the Nazis from the central banks of Belgium and the Netherlands. 649 accounts belonging to Holocaust victims were found in Swedish banks (July 9).
2008
The Nazi party National Socialist Front was renamed the Swedes Party (SvP, November 22).
2009
Dissolution of the Nazi Nordic National Party/Nordiska rikspartiet (December 31).
2014
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt attended a Nazi rally in Odessa (April 13). Sweden did not support the UN General Assembly resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism (November 21).
2015
The Swedish State Security Service/Säkerhetspolisen (Säpo) stated that at least 30 Swedish Nazis took or are taking part in punitive operations in the former Ukraine (January). The Nazi Swedes Party/Svenskarnas parti officially ceased its activities (May 10). The leader of the Nazi organization Swedish Resistance Movement/Svenska motståndsrörelsen Magnus Söderman is included in the list of officials who are prohibited from entering Russia (May).

"...In the very first days of the war, a German division was passed through the territory of Sweden for operations in Northern Finland. However, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Social Democrat P. A. Hansson, immediately promised the Swedish people that no more troops would be allowed through the territory of Sweden. one German division and that the country would in no way enter into a war against the USSR. And yet, through Sweden, the transit of German soldiers and military materials to Finland and Norway began; German transport ships transported troops there, taking refuge in Swedish territorial waters, and until the winter of 1942/ 43 they were accompanied by a convoy of Swedish naval forces. The Nazis secured the supply of Swedish goods on credit and their transportation mainly on Swedish ships..."

"...It was Swedish iron ore that was the best raw material for Hitler. After all, this ore contained 60 percent pure iron, while the ore received by the German military machine from other places contained only 30 percent iron. It is clear that the production of military equipment made of metal smelted from Swedish ore, it cost the treasury of the Third Reich much less.
In 1939, the same year when Nazi Germany unleashed World War II, it was supplied with 10.6 million tons of Swedish ore. After April 9, that is, when Germany had already conquered Denmark and Norway, ore supplies increased significantly. In 1941, 45 thousand tons of Swedish ore were supplied daily by sea for the needs of the German military industry. Little by little Sweden's trade with Nazi Germany grew and eventually accounted for 90 percent of all Swedish foreign trade. From 1940 to 1944, the Swedes sold more than 45 million tons of iron ore to the Nazis.
The Swedish port of Luleå was specially converted to supply iron ore to Germany through the Baltic waters. (And only Soviet submarines after June 22, 1941, at times caused great inconvenience to the Swedes, torpedoing Swedish transports in whose holds this ore was transported). Supplies of ore to Germany continued almost until the moment when the Third Reich had already begun, figuratively speaking, to give up the ghost. Suffice it to say that in 1944, when the outcome of the Second World War was no longer in doubt, the Germans received 7.5 million tons of iron ore from Sweden. Until August 1944, Sweden received Nazi gold through the banks of the same neutral Switzerland.

In other words, wrote Norschensflamman, “Swedish iron ore ensured the Germans’ success in the war. And this was a bitter fact for all Swedish anti-fascists.”
However, Swedish iron ore came to the Germans not only in the form of raw materials.
The world-famous SKF concern, which produced ball bearings, supplied these, not so, at first glance, tricky technical mechanisms to Germany. Ten percent of the ball bearings received by Germany came from Sweden, according to Norschensflamman. Anyone, even someone completely inexperienced in military affairs, understands what ball bearings mean for the production of military equipment. But without them, not a single tank will move, not a single submarine will go to sea! Note that Sweden, as Norschensflamman noted, produced bearings of “special quality and technical characteristics” that Germany could not obtain from anywhere else. In 1945, economist and economic advisor Per Jakobsson provided information that helped disrupt the supply of Swedish bearings to Japan.

Let's think: how many lives were cut short because formally neutral Sweden provided Nazi Germany with strategic and military products, without which the flywheel of the Nazi war mechanism would, of course, continue to spin, but certainly not at such a high speed as it was? The question of the “infringed” Swedish neutrality during the Second World War is not new; Russian Scandinavian historians and diplomats, who by their nature worked in the USSR Foreign Ministry in the Scandinavian direction, are well aware of this. But not even many of them are aware that in the autumn of 1941, that very cruel autumn, when the existence of the entire Soviet state was at stake (and therefore, as a consequence, the fate of the peoples inhabiting it), King Gustav V Adolf of Sweden sent Hitler a letter in which he wished “dear Reich Chancellor further success in the fight against Bolshevism”..."

Hermann Goering and Gustav V Adolf

1939-1940
8,260 Swedes took part in the Soviet-Finnish War.

1941-1944
900 Swedish Nazis participated in the occupation of the USSR as part of the Finnish army.

Wallenberg family
With great reluctance and awkwardness, the Wallenberg family remembers that during the war years the Wallenbergs took part in the financing and supply of iron ore to Hitler's Germany from Sweden (from 1940 to 1944, the Nazis received more than 45 million tons of ore), steel, ball bearings, electrical equipment, tools , pulp and other goods that were used in military production.

Many in Sweden still remember this and reproach the Wallenbergs for collaborating with the Nazis.

The Wallenberg family, through banking and industrial empires from major corporations and stakes in other large companies, controls a third of Sweden's GDP.
The family controls more than 130 companies.
The largest: ABB, Atlas Copco, AstraZeneca, Bergvik Skog, Electrolux, Ericsson, Husqvarna, Investor, Saab, SEB, SAS, SKF, Stora Enso. 36% of shares listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange belong to the Wallenbergs.

The Wallenberg-owned bank SEB received more than $4.5 million from the German Central Bank between May 1940 and June 1941 and acted as a purchasing agent (through intermediaries) for the German government in the purchase of bonds and securities in New York. .

In April 1941, Finance Minister Ernst Wigforss and SEB Bank President Jacob Wallenberg agreed to issue a loan to Germany for the construction of ships in Swedish shipyards, the Nazis received a very significant amount for those times - 40 million crowns, which corresponds to today's 830 millions of crowns.

Swedish historian and ambassador Christer Wahl Brooks, together with archivist Bo Hammarlund, proved the duality of the Swedish Ministry of Finance's policies during the Second World War. The head of this department, Ernst Wigforst, went down in history as an opponent of the passage of Nazi troops through Sweden during the attack on Norway. Val Brooks found out that Wigforst actively helped Nazi Germany with money, although he did it in Swedish interests.

As part of a routine check in the archives of the Ministry of Finance, Hammarlund found a document in the form of a letter dating from April 1941, reports the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. This letter was written by the director of the Swedish bank Skandinaviska Banken, Ernst Herslov, but was never officially registered.

The letter provides a summary of the conversation between the Minister of Finance and Herslov. Wigforst argued for the need to send Germany loans that would allow the Nazis to pay for the work of Swedish shipbuilders. “The minister made it clear that it would be desirable to provide loans,” Herslov wrote. In reality, the money was supposed to help Sweden increase exports to Nazi Germany. According to historians, the existence of such secret deals is a much more serious indication of assistance to the Nazis than the opening of borders for the free movement of Nazi troops.

The researcher was shocked that such important conversations from a state point of view were conducted one-on-one between the minister and the banker. By law, a decision to provide loans to a foreign country would have to be approved by the Swedish government. “One can understand why Wigforst avoided publicity in this matter,” writes Dagens Nyheter.

The text of the letter indicates that Wigforst managed to secure the allocation of loans.

Historians found confirmation of their hypothesis in the diaries of the head of the Swedish central bank, Ivar Rooh. He mentioned that his company allocated significant sums to ensure that Germany supplied Sweden with fewer products in response to iron ore and other raw materials exported from Scandinavia for the war industry.

According to Val Brooks and Hammarlund, the amount of bribes reached 40 million crowns.

The letter also indicates that in the spring of 1941 Germany continued to actively build ships in Sweden, although Stockholm officially declared its neutrality. A similar policy was pursued by Madrid, which helped with the basing of Nazi submarines and the placement of Berlin spies, but did not officially consider itself a belligerent.

Ingvar Feodor Kamprad(Swedish: Ingvar Feodor Kamprad) (born March 30, 1926) is an entrepreneur from Sweden. One of the richest people in the world, founder of IKEA, a chain of stores selling household goods.

In 1994, personal letters from Swedish fascist activist Per Engdahl were published. From them it became known that Kamprad joined his pro-Nazi group in 1942. At least until September 1945, he was actively raising money for the group and attracting new members. The timing of Kamprad's departure from the group is unknown, but he and Per Endahl remained friends until the early 1950s. After these facts became known, Kamprad said that he bitterly regretted this part of his life and considered it one of his biggest mistakes. After this, he wrote a letter of apology to all Jewish IKEA employees.

The founder of the Swedish furniture concern IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, was much more closely associated with the Nazi movement than was previously known. Thus, Kamprad was not only a member of the fascist movement “New Swedish Movement” / Nysvenska rörelsen, but also in the Nazi Lindholm Association / Lindholmsrörelse. This became known from a book by an employee of the Swedish television SVT - Elisabeth Åsbrink.

This book also publishes for the first time data that a case was opened against the 17-year-old Kamprad, already in 1943, by the Swedish Security Police Säpo, where he was held under the heading “Nazi.”

After the war, in the 50s, Kamprad continued to be friends with one of the leaders of the Swedish fascists, Per Engdahl. And just a year ago, in a conversation with Elisabeth Osbrink, he called Engdahl a “great man.”

Ingvar Kamprad's involvement in the Nazi movement in Sweden was known earlier, but this information had not been published before.

Ingvar Kamprad's spokesman, Per Heggenes, said that Kamprad had already repeatedly apologized and asked for forgiveness for his past Nazi views. He has repeatedly said that today he has no sympathy for the Nazis or Nazism.

“This whole story is 70 years old,” said Pär Heggenes, noting that Kamprad himself knew nothing about the fact that he was being monitored by the Security Police.

Historians question Sweden's neutrality during World War II

A number of studies commissioned by the Swedish government confirm assumptions that Sweden, which officially remained neutral during the Second World War, was ready to meet Nazi Germany halfway in many ways.

The revelation may add fuel to debate over the country's immigration policies and Sweden's decision not to join NATO.

Once powerful and warlike, Sweden last went to war 200 years ago. The Second World War was a serious test of Swedish neutrality. The prospect of an invasion by both fascist troops and allies seemed quite realistic at that time.

Until now, Sweden seemed to be quite pleased with itself. Yes, it supplied a significant amount of iron ore to Germany, allowed Nazi troops to pass unhindered through its territory and did not allow in Jews fleeing from the Germans.

However, at the same time, they allowed the Allies to develop an intelligence network on their territory, and at the end of the war they provided refuge to Jews from neighboring countries occupied by the Germans. They also developed an emergency plan to participate in the liberation of Denmark.

Thus, Swedes who married Germans had to provide evidence that their parents, as well as grandparents, did not have Jewish roots. Marriages between Germans and Swedish Jews were annulled.

By order of their German partners, German companies fired Jewish employees. Newspapers were ordered not to criticize Hitler and not to publish articles about the concentration camps or the occupation of Norway.

Cultural ties between Sweden and Nazi Germany remained very close.

Meanwhile, the Nazis' attitude towards the Swedes remains very vague. On the one hand, they were respected as "an exceptionally pure example of the Nordic race." On the other hand, the German leadership complained that modern Swedes had become too peace-loving and non-conflict, that is, they bore little resemblance to the ideal of the Aryan warrior.

Neighboring countries often accuse Sweden of taking an overly preachy tone when it comes to moral and ethical debates. Some attribute this to the country's Protestant heritage. Some see this as a throwback to Sweden's once "dominant" position. Still others believe that complacency is explained by the fact that Sweden has not been at war for a long time.

Whatever the real reason, it is likely that Swedes will now be more willing to moderate their tone and become more self-critical, and recognize that their past may not seem so blameless to other countries. An example of this is the recent controversy over Sweden's controversial human sterilization program.

According to the 1935 “racial hygiene” law, about 60 thousand Swedes were deprived of the opportunity to have children due to the fact that they did not have a sufficiently “Nordic” appearance, were born from parents of different races, or showed “signs of degeneration.”

In the 1920s, 30s and 40s. The idea of “racial hygiene” was extremely popular not only in Germany. Denmark, Norway, Canada, and 30 American states have implemented sterilization programs.

Marie Stopes, a pioneer of family planning in Britain, was a strong advocate of this idea: she argued that by encouraging working-class people to have fewer children and upper-class people to have more children, the gene pool of the Anglo-Saxon nation could be improved.

However, most European countries abandoned this idea after the war. The Swedish Institute of Racial Biology continued to operate until 1976.

It is also interesting that sterilization was advocated not only by far-right nationalists, but also by governments formed by Social Democrats.

Sweden received even more military orders after the outbreak of World War II. And mostly these were orders for Nazi Germany. Neutral Sweden became one of the main economic pillars of the national Reich. Suffice it to say that in 1943 alone, of the 10.8 million tons of iron ore mined, 10.3 million tons were sent to Germany from Sweden. Until now, few people know that one of the main tasks of the ships of the Soviet Navy that fought in the Baltic was There was not only a fight against fascist ships, but also the destruction of ships of neutral Sweden transporting cargo for the Nazis.

Well, how did the Nazis and the Swedes pay for the goods they received from them? Only by what they plundered in the territories they occupied and most of all - in Soviet occupied territories. The Germans had almost no other resources for settlements with Sweden. So, when they once again tell you about “Swedish happiness,” remember who paid for it for the Swedes and at whose expense.