How neutral Sweden really was during the Second World War?
Latest hand-picked WWII news.
Live Nazi-era mine washes ashore in Sweden
Bomb experts from the Swedish military have been called in to disarm what is believed to be a live, World War II-era German mine that washed ashore near Sundsvall in northern Sweden.
(thelocal.se)
IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad supported Nazi ideology after war
New book published in Sweden reveals that Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, supported Nazi ideology long after Holocaust. The Nazi past of Ingvar Kamprad was first revealed in the 1990s, but these Nazi ties were not a temporary "teenage confusion", as Kamprad had claimed in the past. In her book, "Och i Wienerwald står träden kvar", author Elisabeth Åsbrink writes that Kamprad was active in the far-Right "Nysvenska rörelsen" (New Swedish Movement) and for a while also was very active in the purely Nazi party "Svensk socialistisk samling" (Swedish Socialist Unity). Also, during the war, the Swedish secret police prepared a file on 17-year-old Kamprad and labeled him as a Nazi.
(ynetnews.com)
Father of Queen Silvia of Sweden was an early member of the Nazi Party, seized a company from Jews
Walter Sommerlath - father of Queen Silvia of Sweden - denied he had ever been a member of the Nazi party, while Queen Silvia stated that Wechsler & Hennig - a factory his father ran - produced toy trains and gasmasks. Now an investigative program has proved all that was lies: Sommerlath joined the Nazi Party on December 1st, 1934, seized the company from Jewish owners in 1939, and also produced tank parts and FLAK guns for Luftwaffe.
(germanherald.com)
Former Swedish Neo-Nazi leader Anders Högstrom admits Auschwitz sign theft
The former neo-Nazi leader Anders Högstrom, charged with having ordered the theft of the "Arbeit macht frei" sign from the Auschwitz concentration camp, has admitted the crime after claiming throughout the investigation that he is not guilty. The Swede gained a lower sentence in a plea bargain, and he will be serving his 2 years and 8 months imprisonment in Sweden.
(stockholmnews.com)
Mountain names in Sweden: 'Little Hitler', 'Crematorium', 'Swastika', 'Kristallnacht'
A collection of mountains with offensive names associated with the Hitler's Third Reich have sparked controversy in Sweden, but officials say there is nothing that can be done. It is both traditional and legal, with a long precedence, for the first climbers to declare their travel through a pass or to the top of a mountain to name it. But in Sweden, names like "Little Hitler", "Crematorium", "Swastika" and "Kristallnacht", all named by climbers 1987-2001, are beginning to get negative attention - even internationally.
(strattonpost.com)
Finnish war children do not want to fade into oblivion
The military history of Finland during World War II includes 3 wars: the Winter War (Nov. 1939-March 1940) and the Continuation War (June 1941-Sept. 1944) against the Soviet Union, and the Lapland War (Sept. 1944 to April 1945) against Nazi Germany. The Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland ended on March 13th, 1940, leaving Finns deeply scarred. 70,000-80,000 kids were sent from Finland to Sweden and Denmark to avoid the fighting and the Soviet bombing, and 40,000-70,000 children lost one or both parents. Recently 7 war children gathered together to discuss their WW2 experiences.
(hs.fi)
Swedes approved secret Nazi loan in 1941: report
New documents reveal that Swedish finance minister, Ernst Wigforss, approved secret Swedish bank credits to Nazi Germany in 1941. The documents were uncovered among the finance ministry archives. Historian and ambassador Krister Wahlbäck and archivist Bo Hammarlund reveal the existence of the documents, which indicate Wigforss' approval of loans to Hitler's Third Reich. The loans served to increase Swedish exports to Nazi Germany, of far greater importance, the pair argue, than opening the country's borders and train lines for the use of Wehrmacht movements. The loans totaled to 40 million kronor.
(thelocal.se)
Swedish teachers lack Holocaust facts - 70% fail a Holocaust history survey
A Swedish government agency says a majority of teachers in the country have a poor knowledge of the World War II Holocaust. The Living History Forum says 70% of teachers failed a Holocaust history questionnaire by the agency. Of 5,081 teachers who participated in the exercise, only two teachers answered all the questions correctly. "History teachers need to have all the facts, or you cannot explain the Holocaust's background properly and therefore would not be able to put it into context with other genocides going on today," says Johan Perwe.
(upi.com)
Sweden posts Raoul Wallenberg records online
Sweden has launched an online database with 1,000 documents on the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg, who saved 20,000 lives during WWII. He was arrested by Soviet troops in 1945 and is thought to have died in captivity. The Swedish Foreign Ministry's Wallenberg dossier holds over 10,000 pages of documents. It also has Soviet documents available after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, including a disputed report stating Wallenberg died in a Soviet prison in July 1947. The database is only available in Swedish. Missing are Wallenberg records from KGB archives that the Kremlin still refuses to release.
(eurojewcong.org)
Sweden's Lutheran church applied Nazi race laws (Article no longer available from the original source)
Sweden's Lutheran church applied Nazi race laws to stop Germans living in Sweden during World War II from marrying Jews. The Swedish state church applied German laws that forbade "Aryan" German citizens from marrying Jews, and stopped at least 5 such marriages from taking place. The church acted on the recommendation of the foreign ministry as Sweden, which was officially neutral, sought to appease Nazi Germany to stave off an invasion. Over 400 Swedes who married "Germans of so-called Aryan heritage" were forced to sign a written assurance that their parents or grandparents did not have Jewish roots.
(SA)