The importance of the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden) in the Second World War. Sweden in World War II
On the eve of the Second World War and at its beginning, the Scandinavian countries strove, as in the First World War, to adhere to a policy of neutrality. This foreign policy course was supported by 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 the armed struggle of the imperialist coalitions, which was profoundly alien to their interests. The bourgeoisie, on the other hand, hoped to use the conditions of neutrality to increase profits on military supplies and charter ships.
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 unilateral orientation. Based on the experience of the past, they counted on the success of such a policy. But the situation was different. If in 1914 - 1918. Since the Scandinavian countries were left out of the main war lines, now they have become important objects of the policy and strategy of both imperialist coalitions. First of all, the Scandinavian countries and their neighboring Finland were a convenient springboard for unleashing aggression against the USSR. At the same time, dominance in Scandinavia provided obvious advantages to one imperialist grouping in the struggle against another, opened up opportunities for expanding the system of basing naval and air forces, and using the economic resources of this region, in particular Swedish iron ore and timber.
As early as September 4, 1939, the British War Cabinet was discussing the question of Norwegian neutrality and its significance at that time for the Western Allies (138). On September 19 and 29, Winston Churchill demanded that Narvik be blocked and minefields be placed in Norwegian territorial waters in order to prevent the supply of Swedish iron ore to Germany.
Strategic pause in action ground forces Wehrmacht attack 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. Initially, their plan, as noted, was to use this bridgehead to attack the Soviet Union and then draw Germany into a joint campaign against the USSR. After Czechoslovakia and Poland, the Scandinavian countries became the next victim of the policy 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 the chiefs of staff of the British armed forces, on instructions from the Chamberlain government, devoted a meeting to discussing the question 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 can be no question of Russia being able to attack Norway and Sweden through Finland in the winter" (140) . However, in a recommendation to the government, the Joint Chiefs of Staff emphasized that any easing of tension near the borders Soviet Union, including in the Scandinavian region, “there will be more and more more 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 act 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, considered the chief of the Imperial General Staff of England, had “many advantages and could become decisive. It will certainly force the Germans to act immediately, force them to disperse their forces and engage in hostilities not only on the land theater ... This will be the most effective means of preventing the German offensive on other fronts ”(143) . The same opinion was shared by the chief of the general staff of the national defense of France, General Gamelin. He was a zealous supporter of the landing of expeditionary forces in Narvik in order to somehow "pull" the Germans into Scandinavia, after which they "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 British Field Marshal A. Brook, set about creating a new front in Northern Europe with "the excitement of the hunters of the beast" (145) .
The fascist leadership, like the Western allies, understood the strategic importance of the Scandinavian foothold, which, according to Hitler, "became a sphere of interest of decisive importance for both warring parties" (146) .
The capture of the Scandinavian bridgehead gave Germany the opportunity to strengthen the defenses of the northern flank of the Reich and, in addition, made it possible to create a threat to the strategic coverage of Great Britain from the east. True, this danger was somewhat reduced, since the range of most German aircraft, if they were based on Norwegian airfields, was insufficient to bombard England, and even more so France.
In developing plans for the capture of the Scandinavian countries, the Nazi leadership took into account the possibility of basing their naval forces on the Norwegian coast. This, according to the Nazi command, had both positive and negative sides. “The occupation of the Norwegian coastal bases by Germany,” Raeder reported on December 12, 1939, “naturally will provoke strong British responses. 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 to come. In the event of the occupation of Norway, this will be one of the vulnerabilities» (147) . Despite this, Raeder insisted on capturing Norway.
The main significance of the Scandinavian foothold 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. As early as 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 the protection of this route was extremely important for the USSR. Violation of it in the Russo-German war is, it was said later, of great importance. This explained the great interest of Germany in the northern Norwegian fiords, which could become strongholds for Germany's blockade of the sea route to Murmansk.
The countries proved able, like Sweden, to officially maintain this position throughout World War II; these were Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Vatican City, San Marino and Switzerland. The social democratic Swedish government made several concessions, sometimes violating neutrality in favor of both Germany and the Western Allies.
Cooperation of Sweden with opponents of the USSR
During the German attack on the USSR, Sweden allowed the Wehrmacht to use the Swedish railways to transport (June-July 1941) the German 163rd Infantry Division, along with howitzers, tanks, anti-aircraft guns and their ammunition from Norway to Finland. German soldiers traveling on leave from Norway and Germany were allowed to pass through Sweden. In total, during the Second World War, 12 thousand Swedes served in the armed forces of Nazi Germany.
Iron ore was sold by Sweden to Germany throughout the war. Since Swedish ore contained twice as much iron as ore mined in Germany, Czechoslovakia or France, about 40% of German weapons were made from Swedish iron.
Cooperation between Sweden and the USSR
In the last year of the war, Sweden received refugees from Germany and the Baltic states. In June 1945, the Soviet Union demanded the extradition of about two thousand soldiers who arrived in Sweden in German military uniforms. The bulk of them were Germans. The Swedish government refused to extradite them, as did the 30,000 civilians who fled into the country. However, at the beginning of 1946, 145 Baltic legionnaires and 227 Germans who had committed war crimes on the territory of the USSR were extradited to the Soviet Union. At the same time, most of the Nazi soldiers, including the Swedes, remained in the country and were not punished for their crimes.
Swedish cooperation with Western allies
Swedish military intelligence helped [ When?] train soldiers and refugees from Denmark and Norway in military affairs . The Allies in 1944 and 1945 used Swedish air bases. Sweden also became a haven for anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees from all over Europe. In 1943, hiding from the order to deport the Jewish population from Denmark to concentration camps, about 8,000 Jews fled to Sweden [ ] . Sweden also became a refuge for Norwegian Jews who fled from Nazi-occupied Norway.
Notes
Literature
In English
- Carlgren, W.M. Swedish foreign policy during the Second World War(London: E. Benn, 1977)
- Fritz, Martin. The Adaptable Nation: essays in Swedish economy during the Second World War(Göteborg: Ekonomisk-historiska inst., Univ.: 1982)
- Gilmour, John. Sweden, the Swastika, and Stalin: The Swedish Experience in the Second World War(2011) online
- Levine Paul A. "Swedish neutrality during the Second World War: tactical success or moral compromise?" in Wylie, Neville, European neutrals and non-belligerents during the Second World War(Cambridge University Press, 2002)
- Levine, Paul A. From indifference to activism: Swedish diplomacy and the Holocaust, 1938-1944(Uppsala: Univ.: 1996)
- Ludlow, Peter. "Britain and Northern Europe 1940-1945", Scandinavian Journal of History (1979) 4: 123-62
- Ross, John. Neutrality and International Sanctions. - New York: Praeger, 1989. - ISBN 978-0-275-93349-4.
- Scott, Carl-Gustaf (2002). "The Swedish Midsummer Crisis of 1941: The Crisis that Never Was". . 37 (3). OCLC.
- Wahlback, Krister. "Sweden: Secrecy and Neutrality", Journal of Contemporary History (1967) 2#1
- Ziemke, Earl F. (1960). "Command Decisions". United States. Dept. of the Army. Office of Military History. OCLC. |contribution= parameter omitted (English help)
in Swedish
- Adolfson, Mats. Bondeuppror och gatustrider: 1719–1932: . - Natur och culture; Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek, 2007. -
Sweden was one of the beneficiaries of the war, its beneficiary. Sweden managed to earn too much, but for these earnings, she helped to drag out the war in every possible way, helping Germany.
In fact, Sweden helped not only by selling iron ore and other resources to Germany. It did the following things
- carried out the transfer of German troops through its territory
- ensured the victory of Germany on the information front.
What's the matter? It's a violation of their neutral obligations.
No, she observed it when it came to the USSR and the allied countries.
The Swedes did not help their Scandinavian neighbors. Sweden did not issue loans to Denmark and Norway, did not supply them with weapons, Swedish volunteers did not fight in the anti-fascist Norwegian and Danish troops.
But Sweden transported German soldiers and weapons through its territory to Norway
IN international law the concept of "neutrality" comes from the Latin word neuter - neither one nor the other. In foreign policy, neutrality imposes broad and specific obligations on the state that declared it. Such a state should
--pursue a foreign policy characterized by non-participation in war between other powers
- rejection military aid warring states
- peacetime - non-entry into military blocs.
During the Second World War, Switzerland and Sweden declared their neutrality. Spain also declared itself a non-belligerent state. Nevertheless, Spain helped fascist Germany and Italy in the implementation of their plans. Portugal also declared neutrality. She broke it too.
Sweden also broke. The transfer of German troops from Norway and Denmark to Finland through the territory of Sweden was a unique phenomenon of the Second World War.
The transit of German troops and cargo was carried out along the railways and roads of Sweden, which in 1939, that is, from the very beginning of World War II, declared its non-participation in hostilities either on the side of the fascist coalition or on the side of the states of the anti-Hitler alliance.
After the occupation of Denmark and Norway by Germany, the situation in Sweden became much more complicated. Stockholm was visited by high-ranking representatives of the German leadership. Hitler, in personal correspondence with King Gustav V, demanded that Sweden provide Germany with the opportunity to transport German troops through Swedish territory.
Correspondence took place between Hitler and the king. Here is the king's first letter.
I have been informed by Admiral Tamm of a conversation you had with him recently in Berlin. In this connection, I learned that you asked him whether Sweden would decisively reject any English attempt to cross the Swedish frontier. In order to avoid any misinterpretation of this, I would like to solemnly declare to you, Herr Reich Chancellor, that Sweden will observe the strictest neutrality.
The corollary of this position is that Sweden is determined to protest without delay with all its forces against any violation of its neutrality, in particular any attempt at a military violation of the Swedish frontier, from whatever source. Finally, I would like to add that this application was transmitted to both England and France.
Gustav"
Message from Adolf Hitler to King Gustav V of Sweden
Your Majesty, I thank you for your letter of 19 April. I have noted with particular satisfaction your solemn declaration that Sweden in this war will maintain the strictest neutrality with all its forces and will object without delay to any violation of this neutrality, and in particular to any military attempt to cross its border.
As early as April 9, my Government gave the Swedish Government an assurance that Swedish territory would not be affected by the action imposed on Germany in the north. I would like to take this opportunity to repeat this assurance and solemnly declare that Germany will by all means respect the neutrality of Sweden.
I am aware that this position of the German government corresponds to the natural feeling of friendship between the German and Swedish peoples, I am also convinced that the Swedish decision on unconditional and armed neutrality in this war will serve the right interests of Sweden in the future - to the same extent as it was during the last months.
Recently, my government has made the Axis aware of official Norwegian documents which clearly demonstrate the Swedish will to neutrality and the consistency of this policy as clearly as they, on the contrary, provide evidence of the unilateral anti-German policy of the former Norwegian government. The previous Norwegian government had long counted on the landing of the Anglo-French armed forces and decided in this case to enter the war against Germany on the side of England and France. With this step, which, unfortunately, was supposed to lead to absolutely senseless and useless bloodshed and destruction in the north, the former Norwegian government took on a heavy guilt before history.
For Germany, in contrast to the Western Powers, had not even the slightest interest in expanding the theater of operations in Scandinavia. Germany came to the north not as an enemy, but solely for defense against the immediate Anglo-French invasion of the northern states. I can, Your Majesty, assure you that my government has irrefutable evidence in its hands of the Anglo-French plan to first isolate Germany from the Swedish ores and then attack her from the flank.
I have no doubt that the action, thanks to which we are in last moment outstripped the allies and are trying to prevent England and France from settling in Scandinavia - with its consequences it will be blessed to serve also the northern peoples. From this point of view, I also welcome the fact that your government has informed the British and French governments of its decision to oppose with all its might any attempt to violate Swedish neutrality.
In view of the clarity between our governments about the mutual position, you will certainly agree with me that, unfortunately, the nervousness recently caused in Sweden by the press there is absolutely unreasonable and that there is no reason to attribute exaggerated importance to individual incidents due to a simple misunderstanding from one side or the other.
It seems to me that it is more important to pay mutual attention to the necessary restructuring of economic and political issues in the Baltic Sea region, which has become necessary as a result of this development. Therefore, I instructed the Reich Foreign Minister to deal persistently with this problem, in which, naturally, Sweden is also interested. I believe that fundamentally new provisions should be worked out here, and already today it can be said that my government is generously ready to deal with these issues in the expectation that other participants will show the same understanding of German interests.
With deep respect,
Adolf Gitler"
Not without taking into account the situation that developed in relations between Nazi Germany and the countries of Northern Europe, the Swedish government in April 1940 made the first major concession to the Nazis.
The Germans were allowed
“transport through Sweden to the north of Norway, to Narvik, food, clothing, medical equipment and transport medical staff, as well as evacuate wounded German soldiers and officers from there.
Although the transit of military units and weapons was rejected, the permission received by Germany was not only of a “humane nature”, since hostilities were going on in the north of Norway
The first step in violating neutrality had been taken.
After the end of hostilities in Norway in June 1940, Germany presented Sweden with new demands. On June 15, the Swedish envoy in Berlin A. Rickert was invited to the German Foreign Minister I. Ribbentrop. The Germans demanded permission for the transit of military materials and "vacationers" by rail through Sweden to Narvik and back.
On June 18, the Swedish government discussed the German demands. Opening the meeting, P. A. Hansson drew attention to the fact that the adoption of these requirements means
"a clear departure from neutrality and will make further refusal in connection with possible new requirements more difficult"
During a cabinet meeting, which discussed Germany's demands for granting it the right to transit troops, a telegram from the Swedish Ambassador B. Prutz arrived from London to the Swedish Foreign Ministry stating that France had agreed to unconditional surrender. The message of the Swedish envoy tipped the scales in the discussion. The Swedish government decided to give a positive answer to the German request.
“After the hostilities in Norway ceased, those restrictions on transit to and from Norway that were caused by the war disappeared ... Permission was also granted for the transport of personnel of the German armed forces, primarily soldiers on vacation ...”
It was reported that passing "vacationers" were to be unarmed and that they would be controlled by the Swedes.
In the notes exchanged between Sweden and Germany on July 8, 1940, Sweden agreed to the transport of German "vacationers" on its railways from Kronsjo to Trelleborg and back, 500 people daily in each direction. In addition, a verbal agreement was reached on the transit of military units through Swedish territory between Sturlien and Narvik. Transit times were not specified.
As hostilities expanded in Central and Southern Europe, and especially after Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Sweden's foreign policy became more and more pro-German.
Neutrality, which in international law is completely clear boundaries actions in Sweden turned into a kind of non-participation of this country in hostilities, but in helping to achieve success in the war of one of the parties to the military conflict.
This was no longer neutrality, but at first hidden, and then open assistance to Germany.
On June 22, 1941, at 6:30 a.m., the Swedish government received a statement from the German Foreign Office stating that foreign planes might "by mistake" fly over Swedish territory.
At 08:30 on the same June 22, 1941, the German ambassador informed the Swedish Foreign Minister, Mr. Günther, of the new German demands. The Germans wanted to transfer 18 thousand soldiers and officers through the territory of Sweden from Norway to Finland.
The Swedish king Gustav V, in strict secrecy, agreed to give Germany the right to use Swedish territory. Members of the government did not yet know about this, but Soviet military intelligence did.
Swedish King Gustav V and Adolf Hitler on the cover of Time magazine
The leadership of the USSR learned about the agreements between the Swedish king and Hitler faster than the Swedish government
Information about the king's position was reported by the Thure agent, who knew the contents of Gustav V's letter to Hitler.
Considering the opinion of the king and other members of the Riksdag, Hansson and his supporters agreed to give Germany a positive answer to her demands. On June 25, 1941, at a closed meeting, both chambers of the Riksdag accepted Germany's demands. At ten o'clock in the evening, a government communique was announced on the radio.
That day was not without a diplomatic incident. German radio stations, a few hours before the announcement of the government announcement in Stockholm, broadcast that " Sweden took part with sympathy and active interest in the great struggle against Bolshevism.
"European War of Liberation". The Swedish press welcomed the German attack on the USSR
An extensive German intelligence network had access to important Swedish secrets. The activities of the German military intelligence residency in Sweden were led by Major Hans Wagner, who was appointed to this position by Admiral Canaris.
Wagner coordinated his actions with the head of the Swedish counterintelligence, Major Walter Lundqvist, who had previously been recruited by the head of one of the Abwehr counterintelligence groups, Colonel von Bentivenyi. They exchanged materials on the activities of Soviet intelligence in the Scandinavian countries and coordinated their actions.
……………………..
On the evening of June 25, 1941, the transit through Sweden of the so-called Engelbrecht division began. Troops were transported railway. Stations along the route were guarded by Swedish soldiers. The Germans received food and water at the Swedish stations.
The transfer of German troops across Swedish territory. Skane area.
Swedish territorial waters were also used by Germany to transport troops and war materials. This transit was less noticeable. But Soviet military intelligence also knew about him.
Swedish neutrality in 1941-1942 was far from true neutrality. In the second half of 1941 alone, the Germans were able to transfer 420 thousand tons of various cargoes through the territory of Sweden; in 1942, 1434 German "courier" aircraft crossed Swedish airspace in various directions
In the winter of 1941/42, the Swedish authorities sold 2,000 tents for 20 people to the Germans and put 300 trucks at their disposal for military transportation in northern Finland. Sweden also completed a German order for the supply of 45 fishing trawlers for their subsequent conversion into military boats.
Sweden also provided significant financial assistance Finland. The Finns were given a loan of 300 million crowns. During 1941, 10,000 tons of cast iron, about 35,000 tons of grain and flour, about 10,000 tons of potatoes, and a large number of other goods were delivered from Sweden to Finland.
Sweden, as an unofficial ally of Germany, also helped Finland
Such were the conditions under which a small group of Soviet military intelligence officers had to operate in Sweden in 1940-1942.
Despite exceptional difficulties, Colonel Nikitushev and his residency managed to obtain complete information about the deployment of German troops in Norway, send to the Center a significant number of reports on the state of various branches of the German military industry.
The scouts also prepared detailed reports on the state of the German northern ports, on the routes of German sea transports, on the German mining of their coastal waters in the Baltic Sea, on Swedish airfields used by German aircraft, and much more. The transit of German troops through Swedish territory was also under constant control.
Soviet intelligence knew about this and sent the following instructions:
“...Use all your possibilities for comprehensive reconnaissance of fascist Germany and, first of all, its armed forces, the actions of its army, the intentions and plans of its command, obtain information about the presence of German material and human resources in Finland, systematically monitor the transfer of large German formations to the front line.
Use "Vesta" to organize systematic monitoring of the redeployment and other activities of German troops in Norway and Denmark. Continue to record all German military transfers through Sweden and report them to the Center in a timely manner.
Consider also the nature and quantity of Swedish deliveries of strategic raw materials to Germany and Finland...
... I am sure that you and your staff, considering the decisive moment of the Patriotic War, will make every effort to fulfill the tasks assigned to you and fully meet all the requests that are presented to us by the High Command in the responsible area of \u200b\u200bour work.
I firmly shake hands and wish you success. Director".
The task of the chief of military intelligence was caused by two circumstances. Nikitushev has repeatedly reported to the Center that the Swedish government is violating its obligations of neutrality by allowing the transfer of German troops through its territory to Finland, which fought against the USSR on the side of Nazi Germany. The increase in the grouping of German troops in Finland posed a threat to the troops of the Soviet Karelian Front. Therefore, information about the state of the non-German-Finnish grouping was constantly of interest to the General Staff.
Hunt for Soviet intelligence
Like any country hostile to the USSR. Sweden began the fight against Soviet intelligence
In Sweden, German military intelligence was actively engaged in collecting information about the USSR, the USA and Great Britain.
The former Abwehr resident in Bucharest, forty-seven-year-old Major Hans Wagner, arrived in Stockholm at the end of 1940, developed a stormy activity. Fulfilling the task of Admiral Canaris, Wagner began his special work not with the recruitment of secondary agents, but with the cooperation of representatives of Swedish intelligence and counterintelligence. Wagner worked in Sweden under the name of Hans Schneider and served as an economist in the German embassy at the office of the military attache.
The purpose of such a narrowly focused interest of Wagner was explained simply: Canaris wanted, using Swedish counterintelligence, to block intelligence activities against Germany, which were carried out by Soviet and British intelligence officers in Stockholm.
Admiral Wilhelm Canaris established close cooperation with the Swedish authorities on joint operations aimed at eliminating anti-fascist reconnaissance groups.
Fulfilling the instructions of Canaris, Wagner distributed his efforts in two directions. The first is the organization of counteraction to British intelligence. The second direction, which was determined after the German attack on the USSR, was the neutralization of the activities of Soviet intelligence in Sweden.
In both the first and second cases, Wagner planned to carry out the tasks of Canaris by proxy, that is, with the help of agents of the Swedish counterintelligence. The idea was bold and quite real: the Swedish king Gustav V and influential members of the Swedish government adhered to a pro-German orientation. Canaris was aware of this. And this was not a secret for Major Wagner, who, after two years of work in Sweden, was awarded the military rank of "colonel".
In late 1940-early 1942, Wagner focused his main efforts on neutralizing the activities of the British naval attaché, Captain Henry Denham, who was friends with the head of the Joint Intelligence Bureau of the Swedish High Command, Colonel Bjornstern
Apparently, Wagner became aware that the Swedish colonel was passing to the British intelligence officer copies of the reports of the Swedish military attaches in Germany and France, reports of secret agents, staff forecasts and assessments, and other materials.
In 1942, the Swedish counterintelligence dealt a serious blow to the residency of the Soviet military intelligence. The source "Karl" was arrested, who was passing valuable information to the Soviet resident Nikitushev. In August 1943, the Akma radio operator was arrested.
Nikolai Ivanovich Nikitushev led the intelligence of the USSR in Sweden, he had to fight not only with the Germans, but also with the Swedes
According to German counterintelligence, Soviet illegal radio stations were still on the air in Switzerland and Sweden. The radio interception posts of the German radio counterintelligence recorded the work of illegal radio operators, but since they operated on the territories of neutral states, it was possible to establish their locations and arrest them only with the knowledge of the official authorities of Switzerland and Sweden and with the help of the criminal police of these states.
Apparently, in the spring of 1943, during the preparation of Operation Citadel, the Germans held talks with representatives of the Swedish authorities and forced them to take specific measures against illegal radio operators. It is known that similar negotiations were held with representatives of the Swiss authorities. At the invitation of SS Brigadeführer Walter Schellenberg, who led the operations of German foreign political intelligence, in the summer of 1943, Swiss police commissioner Maurer visited Berlin.
He was asked to get acquainted with the dossier on three illegal radio transmitters operating from the territory of Switzerland. Then Schellenberg told Maurer that the further activity of these radio operators jeopardizes German-Swiss relations and demanded that measures be taken to stop the work of these radio operators from Swiss territory.
In the summer of 1943 in Stockholm, the mysterious radio transmitter continued to go on the air. The agents of the Swedish criminal police did not know for whom this radio operator worked - for Soviet or British intelligence.
However, this was not the main thing. It was important to arrest and destroy the one who regularly got in touch with either London or Moscow. Political obligations to fascist Germany were not subject to moral assessment.
The Swedish criminal police, in cooperation with the division of the direction finding service, began a search for an illegal radio transmitter that went on the air in one of the districts of Stockholm.
A targeted hunt for an unknown radio operator continued for several weeks. Gradually, the district was established, then the street and the house where the unknown intelligence officer settled.
On September 9, the Swiss political police, also using direction finders, tracked down and arrested radio operators Edmond and Olga Hamel and Marguerite Bolli in Geneva. Radio operators were part of the residency of Shandor Rado. After such a blow, the Dora residency ceased to exist.
In the secret struggle waged against each other by intelligence and counterintelligence, there are no compromises. The strongest wins. So it was, is and will be. The German counterintelligence operation, directed against Soviet intelligence officers, was actively and effectively deployed on the territories of neutral states - Switzerland and Sweden.
Nikitushev's report to the Center on August 16 stated that Signe Elida Erikson was a radio operator of the illegal residency of the Soviet military intelligence. She was listed at the Center under the pseudonym "Akma". Her arrest was a big surprise for Nikitushev.
There is little information about the agent "Akma". Born in Sweden on January 3, 1911, she was a "home seamstress" by profession. Her life, like most Swedes, was determined by the rationing system, on the basis of which the population of this Scandinavian country was provided with food during the war years.
Georg Erikson, Signe's husband, Toure, was born on April 23, 1919. He was not connected with his wife's intelligence work. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that he helped her, at least he was aware that she was a radio operator and conducts radio communications with the Soviet Intelligence Center.
Signe was a member of the Swedish Communist Party. At the direction of the Comintern, in 1941 she was trained in radio operator courses and was transferred to the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army.
Taking into account the peculiarities of relations between the people of small Sweden, where many people know each other, the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army decided to use Signe to provide radio communications for an illegal group led by the intelligence officer "Admiral".
The Admiral's residency was engaged in collecting information about Nazi Germany and its troops stationed in the Scandinavian countries.
"...1. Inform the “Admiral” about the arrest of “Akma”.
3. Urgently provide all the details of the case related to the arrest of “Akma”, with conclusions about how serious the decoding of “Admiral” as a result of the arrest of “Akma”. Director".
"Colmar" - an employee of the Soviet trade mission of Sweden, Yakov Nikolayevich Knyazev, was forced to return to Moscow. He was not a member of Soviet military intelligence, but he helped the Akasto resident to keep in touch with Akma.
Resident "Admiral" never met with "Akma" and did not know about its existence. The information that he and his sources obtained about fascist Germany was transmitted to Akma in such a way that the resident and the radio operator did not have personal contacts. Therefore, all the efforts of the Swedish police agents to understand how Akma received materials for radiograms to the Center were unsuccessful ...
Military intelligence officer Vladimir Arsenievich Stashevsky ("Admiral")
The joint efforts of the Swedish authorities and German agents were aimed at eliminating his reconnaissance group.
Akma was sentenced by a Swedish court to two and a half years in prison.
After the Akma trial, Swedish newspapers stopped publishing articles about Russian espionage in the Scandinavian Peninsula. But this lull was temporary. On December 14, 1944, all the Stockholm evening papers printed an official statement as follows:
“The criminal police in Stockholm detained on charges of espionage a former Russian citizen Vladimir Stashevsky and two Swedish citizens - navigator Viktor Buk and another person whose name is not published, as this can greatly affect the health of his family, and, moreover, in the mental he is so unstable that we can talk about his release ... "
On December 15, 1944, more detailed reports about the detention of Russian spies appeared in the newspapers AT, Afton Bladet, Dagens Nyukheter and others. The head of the criminal police, Lundqvist, told reporters that the detained Vladimir Stashevsky
“is a tsarist-Russian spy”, and his accomplice Viktor Buk was a navigator on “a number of Swedish ships assigned to the ports of Stockholm, Gothenburg, Landskrup, Solvesborg and Trelleborg. He delivered information to Stashevsky about the situation in Germany, about Swedish shipping to Germany and fortifications on the Baltic coast. Stashevsky transmitted this information to the Soviet resident ... "
In those days, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet wrote:
“The discovery of a new spy center in Stockholm, headed by a former Russian naval attache, is one of the facts that reminds our people that they cannot yet quietly move on to discussing post-war problems, in the hope that the danger has already passed. According to the police, the Staszewski story is one of the most serious cases of espionage in Sweden that took place during this year.
The espionage was directed against Sweden. The activities of the detainees included both the sale of Swedish military secrets to a foreign power, and espionage of merchant ships, including shipping in the Baltic Sea. The discovery of this case should once again encourage the Swedish public, despite being neutrally war-weary, not to turn a blind eye, to be vigilant against the many mysterious individuals who carry out their underground criminal activities in Sweden.
It is worth noting here that there are no facts that the work of Soviet intelligence somehow harmed the interests of Sweden. But that didn't bother anyone.
“An analysis of the case of the Stashevsky spy group has begun. The case is pending in the city court. All members of the group are quite old people. Stashevsky is a very small, dry old man with a Hitler mustache, but not without smartness. When the judges offered him a chair, he replied that he was fine, and continued to stand ... "
Stashevsky during the trial did not sit down on the chair offered to him by the judges. Apparently, the Swedish journalist did not guess that the former officer of the Imperial Navy tsarist Russia did not consider himself guilty and could not accept the kind offer of the judges to sit in the dock.
He was firmly convinced that
“that his activity in collecting information about fascist Germany and the supply of Swedish industrial goods to the ports of the Third Reich is not a crime against Sweden. Stashevsky was engaged in intelligence activities against Nazi Germany, which was an enemy not only of the Soviet Union, but of all European countries. Sweden was one of them, "despite the neutral war-weariness".
In the same 1933, a representative of the Soviet military intelligence "Rudolf" met Stashevsky and invited him to stay in Sweden. Military intelligence was in dire need of qualified personnel.
After Hitler and the National Socialists came to power in Germany, this issue was of considerable interest to Soviet military intelligence.
Fulfilling the task of the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army, "Admiral" created a reconnaissance group in Stockholm. In the event that Sweden entered the war against the USSR on the side of Hitler, she was supposed to obtain information about the military-political relations and trade and economic relations of Germany with the Scandinavian countries.
In 1940-1942 "Admiral" worked in the Swedish film industry as a translator of inscriptions on Russian films. He was fluent in German, French, English and Swedish. Describing personal and business qualities Stashevsky, Lieutenant Colonel N. Nikitushev reported to the Center:
“Stashevsky is very careful in his work. Carefully selects people who may have useful information or connections. He is quite reliable himself. As a well-trained militarily specialist, he provides valuable information on military issues. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was transferred to an independent connection with the Center.
When fascist Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the Admiral reconnaissance group set to work. It included the sources "Barbo", "Ture" and "August". The radio operator of this group was "Akma".
As a result, the Nazi counter-intelligence got on their trail and they were arrested.
Stashevsky was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison. During the investigation and trial, Vladimir Arsenyevich did not admit his guilt and did not disclose his affiliation with Soviet intelligence. The accusation of collecting information about the armed forces of Sweden remained unproven.
"Admiral" really did not collect information about Sweden. During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet military intelligence was almost not interested in such information. The task of the "Admiral" was to study the situation of countries fascist bloc and the position of the Finnish troops at the front in Karelia.
After the announcement of the verdict, the former captain of the 1st rank of the Russian imperial fleet was serving his sentence in a prison in the city of Falun. Stashevsky did not regret what happened to him. While in prison, he wrote to his wife: “I am Russian, I am a military man, I am a patriot. So I did what I did. Russian military, men understand my actions ... "
While in prison, Vladimir Arsenievich gave Russian language lessons to some prisoners, and to two Swedes, who studied in absentia at an engineering institute, in higher mathematics.
Stashevsky was released from prison when the Second World War had already ended. There is undoubtedly his contribution to the victory of the Red Army over Nazi Germany.
Secret cooperation between representatives of the German and Swedish counterintelligence services created serious obstacles for the activities of Soviet military intelligence officers who were engaged in obtaining information about Nazi Germany and its armed forces in Sweden.
The Potsdam Archive stores reports of Nazi agents from Sweden, a list of German immigrants, handed over by the Gestapo to the Swedish security service with a request to inform them of their location in Sweden, correspondence between Gestapo chief G. Müller and chief of the Stockholm branch of the security service W. Lundqvist.
Gestapo leader Heinrich Müller received full cooperation from the Swedish authorities
The victims of this cooperation were Soviet intelligence officers and anti-fascists who fled Germany.
The Swedes sent the required lists, addresses, summary interrogation protocols. The Gestapo also received information from Swedish counterintelligence about the activities of official Soviet representatives in Stockholm.
At the same time, the Swedish government refused to extend state loans to Germany, although private Swedish firms were not prohibited from doing so. Neutrality was violated again
Diplomats of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain demanded that the Swedish government stop the German transit.
Undoubtedly, all these factors forced the Hansson government to terminate the agreement with Germany on the transit of "vacationers".
On July 29, 1943, the Swedish envoy in Berlin, A. Rickert, handed over to the German government a note in which Sweden announced the termination of transit on the Swedish railways.
Operation "German transit" was successfully completed. During its conduct, Akma was arrested. The second blow to the residency was delivered by the Swedes on August 23, 1943. Nikitushev reported to the Center: “ The Swedish authorities offered Colmar to leave the country immediately...”
Rescue of the Nazis
Parliament passed a law on forced sterilization of mentally and physically handicapped citizens of Sweden. Canceled in 1975. During the period of the law, 58,500 women and 4,400 men were sterilized
In the period from 1938 to 1945, 12 thousand Swedes, 6 thousand Danes and 2 thousand Norwegians served in the fascist armed forces. "Neutral" Scandinavians fought mainly on the Eastern Front.
List of dead Swedish Nazis.
Pages from a book published by the Swedish Nazi Party
"Swedish Socialist Assembly".
Sweden's cooperation with Nazi Germany during World War II is one of the hottest and most 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 crimes.
Sweden transported German Nazis on its railroads to Norway and Finland. Until the end of 1943, the Swedes, at the request of Hitler, did not accept Jewish refugees from Europe. The Swedish Nazis fought on the side of Germany and Finland.
Already in 1947, another terrible circumstance would become known. It became known that during the Second World War, the Swedish security service Säpo collaborated with the Gestapo and sent German anti-fascist refugees back to Germany.
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 extradite all the soldiers who arrived there in German military uniforms. It was about two thousand soldiers. The vast majority were Germans, but there were about a hundred Balts. The government categorically refused to extradite 30,000 civilians who fled to Sweden (whom no one asked for extradition).
With regard to the Baltic Nazis who arrived in the country in German uniforms, the government considered itself bound by an obligation given to the Allies before the end of the war that this category of persons would be deported to their places of residence. The Swedish regime was keen to establish a relationship of trust with the Soviet Union after the war and was afraid that the refusal to extradite war criminals would be perceived 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 the extradition of 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 Balts and 227 Germans who had 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 rest of the fascist soldiers, including the 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 deliveries to Greece, whose population was experiencing hunger. The Netherlands also received similar assistance. Folke Bernadotte, vice-president of the Swedish Red Cross, at the end of the war negotiated with Nazi leader G. Himmler for the release of Norwegian and Danish members of the Resistance from German concentration camps.
Himmler gradually agreed to this. The released were transported to Sweden on the so-called "white buses".
Sweden did not send humanitarian aid to the USSR either during the war or after.
At the end of March 1945, in the Neuengamme Nazi concentration camp, the Swedish Red Cross moved 2,000 sick and dying French, Russian and Polish prisoners from the hospital barracks to a regular one to make room for Danish and Norwegian prisoners who were taken to Sweden.
On May 9, 1945, a message arrived that Germany had surrendered. Sweden, thanks to its two-faced policy, managed to survive this time easily and profitably.
The war contributed to a certain leveling of class differences in Sweden. People of various social strata participated in lengthy military retraining. During the war years, national feelings were more pronounced, which contributed to a sense of unity.
Political life was generally calm. Elections were held three times during the war years in Sweden: 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 most ever seen in the history of Swedish Social Democracy.
So what did Sweden do?
- assisted Germany and its allies with strategic resources
- carried out the transfer of German troops through its territory
- conducted propaganda directed against the USSR
--together with the Nazi counter-intelligence fought against the Soviet intelligence and anti-fascists
- contributed to the Holocaust by keeping Jews away
- contributed to the killing of anti-fascists, sending them into the hands of the Gestapo
That's what neutrality is...
In general, Sweden emerged victorious in the war - it shied away from responsibility for promoting Nazism and enriched itself in the war, it was this bloody money that became the basis for the Swedish economic "miracle"
wars, coalition rule
governments
/248/ In his famous speech at Skansen on August 27, 1939, Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson declared: "Our readiness for war must be considered good." He meant economic side of preparations 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 Germany and Poland, the government published a declaration of neutrality. Already after the outbreak of war between England / France and Germany, on September 3, another declaration of neutrality was issued.
The Soviet Union used the non-aggression pact with Germany to strengthen its positions. Bases were established in the Baltic states. Representatives of Finland were also summoned to Moscow, but the parties failed to reach any agreement, and the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939.
In Sweden, this caused an internal political crisis. Foreign Minister Sandler was more determined to help Finland than other members of the government. Sandler was forced to resign. Dec 13- /249/ A coalition government was formed, consisting of representatives of the Social Democracy, the Right Party, the People's Party and the Peasants' Union. Per Albin Hansson remained prime minister. Diplomat Christian Günther became Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The "Winter War" in Finland deeply hurt the feelings of the Swedish people. Under the slogan "Finnish's cause is our cause", various kinds of assistance to the Finns were organized. The Swedish government provided Finland with significant loans. Eastern neighbor weapons were sent. The collection of funds and things gave good results. A volunteer corps was created, which by the end of the war numbered 12 thousand people. The solidarity movement also demanded that regular troops be sent to Finland, but the government refused to do so. The Volunteer Corps did not participate in serious operations, but freed the Finnish army from guard duty in the vast border regions of Northern Finland.
On March 13, 1940, the war between Finland and the Soviet Union ended. Finland managed to maintain its independence, but it lost a significant part of its territories. Less than a month later, on April 9, the next blow was dealt to the Nordic countries: Germany attacked Denmark and Norway. Denmark was occupied in one day, and the Norwegians resisted. The German troops in northern Norway found themselves in a particularly difficult situation. The Germans demanded from Sweden permission to transport weapons to their formations in the north, but the Swedish government refused them. After the end of the war in Norway, it admitted, however, that the Germans sent their soldiers to rest or re-form using the Swedish railways. This transit lasted until 1943.
In 1940-1941, Sweden was under heavy pressure from Germany. In its foreign policy, Sweden tried to adapt to the new balance of power in Europe. It provided Germany with all sorts of privileges. The biggest concession was made in June 1941, when a fully armed German division was let through the Swedish railroad from Norway to Finland. (See section Swedish policy of concessions during the Second World War.)
The government urged the Swedish press to be careful in their assessments of events on the world stage so as not to disturb relations /250/ with a powerful neighbor to the south. Most of the funds mass media showed understanding of the problem and followed the rules of strict self-censorship. But some newspapers refused to "keep the ranks" and published overtly anti-Nazi articles. The most famous in this sense were the Gothenburgs Handels-o Sjöfartstedning, published by Torgnu Segerstedt, and the weekly Trots Alt, published by the writer, social democrat Thure Nerman. Publications containing articles that could irritate the Germans were destroyed or confiscated. This policy reached its peak in March 1942, when at least 17 newspapers were confiscated because they contained articles about the torture of members of the Norwegian Resistance by the Germans. In 1943, when military luck turned against the Germans, the confiscation of newspapers ceased. Restrictions on freedom of speech have been heavily criticized. After the war, in 1949, under the new legislation on freedom of the press, the provision for freedom of expression was strengthened. However, there were groups of the population who wanted a rapprochement between Sweden and Germany, as they believed that the latter would emerge victorious from the war. The indulgences that were made to the Germans did not seem to be some kind of “concessions”, but only a natural adaptation to the future winner. Even if we take into account that the number of Nazis in Sweden was small, during the period of Germany's victories there was a trend that was friendly towards this country. The violence perpetrated by the Germans in Denmark and Norway did not allow these sentiments to be advertised, made public.
After Germany attacked Denmark and Norway, Sweden's contacts with the West were broken. The Germans laid minefields from the southern coast of Norway to the northern tip of Jutland. Sweden could not conduct free maritime trade. It became dependent on imports from Germany: coal and coke were imported as energy carriers, artificial fertilizers for agriculture and raw materials for industry. In exchange, she supplied Germany with large quantities of iron ore, bearings, and timber. The government managed at the end of 1940 to force the Germans and the British to agree to a limited shipping connection with Western countries through mined areas. This was the so-called guaranteed shipping. Thus, Sweden could import certain goods important to it, primarily oil, hides, leather, as well as such "luxury items" as coffee.
The reduction in foreign trade had negative consequences for the Swedish economy. To curb inflation, in 1942 /251/
prices were frozen wage. Despite the difficulties, the country was able to maintain a relatively high level life. It was calculated that real wages fell by 10-15%. For certain 
groups of the population, such as peasants, the blockade created the opportunity to raise prices for their products. They are up about 40%.
Many men fit for military service were regularly called up for retraining to receive military education and serve as coast guards "somewhere in Sweden". Despite the tedious work, retraining for many it was a distraction from everyday life. A sense of camaraderie, shared experiences forced, even after a number of years, to recall these events with a nostalgic feeling.
During the war, Sweden began to arm intensively. In 1936, many thought that 148 million crowns was too much for defense. In 1941-1942, the defense budget reached 1846 million, that is, it exceeded the original figure by more than ten times. There were heated discussions in the government about how to finance the rapidly growing defense spending. The Social Democrats believed that everyone should bear this burden in accordance with their income, that is, that the rich should pay proportionately more than ordinary workers. The right, by contrast, believed that everyone should pay an equal percentage of defense costs, provided that the poorest groups were compensated. The policy pursued by the coalition government can be seen as a compromise. Critical foodstuffs such as butter and milk were subject to state /252/
a subsidy to ensure that rising agricultural prices do not hit the poorest segments of the population too hard. The tax burden also intensified during the war. By 1943 
year, the estimated amount 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 been largely abandoned.
In the final period of the war, the Swedish people were primarily interested in events in the neighboring Nordic countries. The Swedes deeply resented the German terrorist regime in Norway and the attempts by the Norwegian Nazi leader Vidkun Quisling to force Norwegians into submission to Nazism. Sweden also followed with unflagging interest the developments in Denmark. Thanks to cooperation between Danish politicians and the Swedish government, practically the entire Jewish population of Denmark was able to move to Sweden in October 1943. Thus, it avoided deportation to concentration camps and extermination. Since 1943, Danes and Norwegians who moved to Sweden received military education in specially organized camps. It was believed that at the end of the war they should take part in hostilities to liberate their countries and restore order there. In February 1945, the Norwegian government, which was in London, expressed the wish that the Swedish army would also be ready to enter Norway to disarm the Germans. Since the autumn of 1942, the Swedish Defense Headquarters has been developing plans for the invasion of both Norway and Denmark. But the government, as before, was cautious. It was believed that there was an opportunity for a peaceful end to the German occupation in Norway and Denmark. Swedish intervention would then be superfluous. And so it happened. Day- /253/ Indeed, German troops capitulated two days before the end of the war in Europe.
In the last year of the war, refugees from Germany and the Baltics poured into Sweden. The Soviet Union demanded in June 1945 that Sweden extradite all the soldiers who arrived there. in German military uniform. It was about two thousand soldiers. The vast majority were Germans, but there were about a hundred Balts. The government resolutely refused to issue 30,000 civilians, fled to Sweden. As for the Balts, who arrived in the country in German uniforms, the government considered itself bound by an obligation given to the Allies even before the end of the war, that this category of persons would be deported to their places of residence. The government was eager to establish a relationship of trust with the Soviet Union after the war and was afraid that a refusal would be perceived 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 the extradition of the Balts. They were afraid that these people would be severely punished in the Soviet Union. However, the government remained firm in its decision. At the end of 1946, scenes occurred that could not but excite: 145 people from the Baltic states were extradited Soviet authorities. For many, this fact has become a shameful stain on the reputation of Sweden as a humane nation.
During the war, Sweden was the organizer of several humanitarian actions: in 1942 - grain deliveries to Greece, whose population was experiencing hunger. The Netherlands also received similar assistance. An important contribution to the salvation of Jews from Nazi persecution was made in 1944 in Hungary by the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Folke Bernadotte, vice-chairman of the Swedish Red Cross, at the end of the war negotiated with the Nazi leader G. Himmler for the release of Norwegian and Danish members of the Resistance from German concentration camps. Himmler gradually agreed to this. The released were transported to Sweden on the so-called "white buses". Later, other prisoners were taken out on these buses, receiving asylum in Sweden.
On May 7, 1945, a message arrived that Germany had surrendered. The war in Europe is over. “It feels like the endless nightmare is finally over,” the prime minister said in a radio speech. For the northern neighbors, the war turned out to be a severe test. Sweden, thanks to its cautious policy, managed very easily /254/ get through this time. Finland lost 80 thousand people. Of those who were 20-25 years old at the beginning of the war, 10% died. At the end of the war, 50,000 children were left without fathers in Finland. Norway lost 10 thousand people during the war. Most of them were sailors on merchant ships. During the war, many Swedish sailors also died.
The war contributed to a certain leveling of class differences in Sweden. People of various social strata participated in lengthy military retraining. During the war years, national feelings were more pronounced, which contributed to a sense of unity.
The war led to freer forms of communication between the sexes. Conservative circles opposed this. A sharp discussion unfolded on the issue of the so-called "harm from the dance floors." It was believed that thanks to them, alcohol abuse and sexual promiscuity are encouraged.
Political life was generally calm. Elections were held three times during the war years in Sweden: 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 most ever seen in the history of Swedish Social Democracy. It was said that the people voted for Per Albin Hansson because, in the opinion of many, he saved Sweden from the war. A significant reason that Sweden did not participate in hostilities was that Germany, after the occupation of Denmark and Norway, had no motives for attacking Sweden. This country was of interest to Germany, primarily as a supplier of iron ore.
"... 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, the Social Democrat P. A. Hansson, immediately promised the Swedish people that no more would be passed through the territory of Sweden one German division and that the country would in no way enter the war against the USSR.Nevertheless, through Sweden, the transit of German soldiers and military materials to Finland and Norway unfolded; German transport ships transported troops there, hiding in the territorial waters of Sweden, and until the winter of 1942 / 43 they were accompanied by a convoy of the Swedish naval forces. The Nazis achieved 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 obtained by the German military machine from other places contained only 30 percent iron. It is clear that the production of military equipment from metal smelted from Swedish ore was much cheaper for the treasury of the Third Reich.
In 1939, the same year when Nazi Germany unleashed the Second World War, 10.6 million tons of Swedish ore were delivered to it. After April 9, that is, when Germany had already conquered Denmark and Norway, the supply of ore increased significantly. In 1941, 45,000 tons of Swedish ore were supplied daily by sea for the needs of the German military industry. little by little Swedish trade with Nazi Germany increased 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 waters of the Baltic. (And only Soviet submarines after June 22, 1941 at times caused the Swedes great inconvenience, torpedoing Swedish transports, in the holds of which this ore was transported). The supply of ore to Germany continued almost until the moment when the Third Reich had already begun, figuratively speaking, to expire. 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, the Norschensflammann wrote, “Swedish iron ore ensured the Germans success in the war. And that was a bitter fact for all Swedish anti-fascists.”
However, the 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, cunning technical mechanisms to Germany. Ten percent of ball bearings received by Germany came from Sweden, according to Norschensflammann. Anyone, even a person completely inexperienced in military affairs, understands what ball bearings mean for the production of military equipment. Why, without them, not a single tank will move from its place, not a single submarine will go to sea! Note that Sweden, as noted by Norschensflammann, produced bearings of "special quality and technical characteristics" that Germany could not get anywhere else. In 1945, the economist and economic adviser 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 fascist Germany with strategic and military products, without which the flywheel of the Nazi military mechanism would, of course, continue to spin, but certainly not as fast 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 the nature of their activities 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, consequently, the fate of the peoples inhabiting it), King Gustav V Adolf of Sweden sent Hitler a letter in which he wished "the dear Reich Chancellor further success in the fight against Bolshevism"..."
Hermann Göring and Gustav V Adolf
1939-1940
8260 Swedes participated 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 embarrassment, the Wallenberg family recalls that during the war years, the Wallenbergs took part in financing and supplying iron ore to Nazi 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 the largest corporations, 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. The Wallenbergs own 36% of the shares listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
Wallenberg-owned bank SEB, between May 1940 and June 1941, received more than $4.5 million from the German Central Bank and acted as a purchasing agent (through intermediaries) for the German government in buying 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 million crowns.
Swedish historian and ambassador Christer Wahl Brooks, together with archivist Bo Hammarlund, proved the duality of the policy of the Swedish Ministry of Finance 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. Wahl Brooks found out that Wigforst actively helped Nazi Germany with money, although he did it in the 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, according to 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 contains a summary of the conversation between the finance minister 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 make loans available,” Herslov wrote. In fact, the money was supposed to help Sweden increase exports to Nazi Germany. According to historians, the existence of such secret deals is much more serious evidence 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 the state point of view were conducted tete-a-tete between the minister and the banker. By law, the decision to grant loans to a foreign state would have to be approved by the Swedish government. “You can understand why Wigforst avoided publicity in this case,” writes Dagens Nyheter.
In the text of the letter there is an indication that Wigforst managed to secure the allocation of loans.
Historians have found confirmation of their hypothesis in the diaries of the head of the Swedish central bank, Ivar Rooch. He mentioned that his company allocated significant sums to ensure that Germany supplied Sweden with less products in response to iron ore and other raw materials for the war industry exported from Scandinavia.
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 officially Stockholm 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 Theodore 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, the personal letters of the Swedish fascist activist Per Engdahl were published. From them it became known that Kamprad joined his pro-Nazi group in 1942. Until at least September 1945, he actively raised money for the group and attracted new members. The timing of Kamprad's departure from the group is unknown, but he and Per Endal remained friends until the early 1950s. After these facts became known, Kamprad said that he bitterly regrets this part of his life and considers this one of his biggest mistakes. After that, 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. So, Kamprad was not only in the fascist movement "New Swedish Movement" / Nysvenska rörelsen, but also in the Nazi association of Lindholm / Lindholmsrörelse. This became known from the book of the employee of the Swedish television SVT - Elisabeth Åsbrink / Elisabeth Åsbrink.
This book also publishes for the first time data that the 17-year-old Kamprad, already in 1943, was filed with the Swedish Security Police Säpo, where he was held under the heading "Nazi".
Already after the war, in the 50s, Kamprad continued to be friends with one of the leaders of the Swedish fascists, Per Engdahl / Per Engdahl. And just a year ago, in a conversation with Elisabeth Osbrink, he called Engdahl "a great man."
The involvement of Ingvar Kamprad in the Nazi movement in Sweden was known before, but this information was not previously published.
The representative of Ingvar Kamprad - Per Heggenes said that Kamprad has repeatedly apologized and asked for forgiveness for his past Nazi views. He repeatedly said that today he does not feel any sympathy for the Nazis and Nazism.
"It's all 70 years old," Per Heggenes said, noting that Kamprad himself knew nothing about 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 the assumption that Sweden, which officially remained neutral during the Second World War, was ready in many ways to meet Nazi Germany halfway.
The revelation could add fuel to the debate over the country's immigration policy and Sweden's decision not to join NATO.
Once powerful and warlike, Sweden last fought in a war 200 years ago. World War II was a serious test of Swedish neutrality. The prospect of an invasion, both by the fascist troops and the allies, then seemed quite realistic.
So far, Sweden seemed to be quite pleased with itself. Yes, it supplied a significant amount of iron ore to Germany, allowed Nazi troops to pass freely through its territory and did not let Jews who fled from the Germans into it.
However, at the same time they allowed the Allies to deploy an intelligence network on their territory, and at the end of the war they provided shelter 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 the German partners, German companies fired Jewish employees. Newspapers were ordered not to criticize Hitler, nor to publish articles about the concentration camps and the occupation of Norway.
Cultural ties between Sweden and Nazi Germany remained very close.
Meanwhile, the attitude of the Nazis 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 the modern Swedes had become too peaceful and non-conflict, that is, they did not look much like the ideal of an Aryan warrior.
Neighboring countries often accuse Sweden of adopting an overly didactic tone when it comes to moral and ethical disputes. 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 due to the fact that Sweden has not been at war for a long time.
Whatever true reason, it is likely that now the Swedes will show more willingness to moderate their tone and become more self-critical, and also recognize that their past may not seem so pure to other countries. An example of this is the recent controversy over the controversial Swedish human sterilization program.
According to the 1935 "racial hygiene" law, about 60,000 Swedes were deprived of the opportunity to have children because they did not have enough "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 US states have adopted sterilization programs.
Marie Stopes, the pioneer of family planning in Britain, was a vocal advocate of this idea: she argued that by encouraging working-class people to have fewer children and more from the upper classes, the gene pool of the Anglo-Saxon nation could be improved.
However, most European countries abandoned this idea after the war. The Swedish Institute for Racial Biology continued to operate until 1976.
It is also interesting that sterilization was advocated not only by extreme right-wing nationalists, but also by governments formed by social democrats.
Sweden received even more military orders after the outbreak of World War II. And basically these were orders for Nazi Germany. Neutral Sweden became one of the main economic pillars of the national Reich. Suffice it to say that only in 1943, out of 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 Navy of the Soviet Union that fought in the Baltic, there was not only a fight against fascist ships, but also the destruction of the ships of neutral Sweden, carrying cargo for the Nazis.
Well, what did the Nazis pay with the Swedes for the goods received from them? Only by the fact that they looted in the territories they occupied and most of all - in the Soviet occupied territories. The Germans had almost no other resources for settlements with Sweden. So, when you are once again told about "Swedish happiness", remember who and at whose expense the Swedes paid for it.
