SwedesatWarWillingWarriorsofaNeutralNation,1914–1945

LarsGyllenhaalLennartWestberg

TranslationbyCarlGustavFinstrom

TheAberjonaPressBedford,Pennsylvania

©2014

Contents

ForewordPreface:FarfromNeutrality

CrucialEventsinNordicHistory,1914–19451.BeforetheFirstWorldWar:VarangiansandOther

Forerunners2.InPersianService,1911–1916:TheShah’sSwedish

Gendarmes3.IntheServiceoftheKaiser,1914–1918:“Germany’s

Victory—Sweden’sFuture”4.IntheServiceoftheEntenteandtheUnitedStates,

1914–1918:“UntiltheEnd”5.AtWarinFormerCzaristRussia,1917–1922:Inthe

RuinsofanEmpire6.InEthiopianService,1934–1936:FortheLionof

Judah7.InSpanishService,1936–1939:TheFirstClashofthe

Titans8.WiththeWesternAllies,1939–1945:“AMoralDuty”9.InFinland’sService,1939–1945:Finland’sCauseWas

Theirs10.IntheServiceoftheThirdReich,1939–1945:TowardthePrecipicewiththeWaffen-SSand

Wehrmacht11.InSovietService,1939–1945:Stalin’sSwedish

Soldiers12.AftertheSecondWorldWar:SequelsandSuccessors

13.FinalReflectionsListofAbbreviations

EndnotesSources

AbouttheAuthorsCopyright

In1916 the followingwordsabout Swedes in foreignuniformswerewritten—very much in the spirit of the times—by the Swedish Count, diplomat, andglobetrotterCarlBirgerMörnerafMorlanda:

[Swedish]newspapermenandpoliticianshavebeencordiallytreatedbyEntenteandGermansalike.ThatsofewSwedishmilitarymenhavebeenabletogettothebattlegroundsisnofaultoftheirs.NeverthelesstherearerightnowSwedishmenfightingonbothsides.Wehavealwaysbeensoinclinedastoshowsolidaritytowardspeoplethathavebeenhospitabletowardsus.TheSwedishstudentsandotherSwedesinFrancewhohaveeagerlyvolunteeredforthetrenchesarejustashonorableastheSwedesinGermanywhohavedonelikewise.

ForewordA surprising number of Swedes participated in war during the decisive yearsfrom 1914 to 1945. Were these people adventurers or ruthless fanatics?Unsuspecting idealists?Self-sacrificing peoplewith a profound sense of duty?Socialmisfits?Orjustwearyoflife?

HerewemeetSwedeswhofoughtforPersia,theGermanKaiser,France,theSpanish Republic, Ethiopia, the United States, the Soviet Union, the ThirdReich, andmany other states. The two largest groupswere the volunteers forFinland, who have been the most studied, and the so-called “War Sailors,”Swedish seamen who worked for the Allies during WWII, who are almostunknown.Over the last twentyyears theauthors,LarsGyllenhaalandLennartWestberg,have investigatedall thesegroupsandhaveestablished thenumbersineach; theyhavealsofound thenamesandsometimes thepersonaldetailsofmany of those involved. A good number of these are described in detail andsomespeakforthemselvesthroughquotationsfromletters,diaries,orreports.SwedesatWar isabookpackedfulloffactsandhumandrama,stories that

causeonetoreflect.One’scuriosityisstimulated—thereisafulllistofsourcesinthebibliographyforthosewhowishtoresearchfurther.Simultaneously,itisaseriousbookwhichpresentsthefactssoberlyandrefrainsfrompreaching.

The greatest interest is probably aroused by those Swedes who fought forHitlerandStalin.ThoseSwedesareamongthe losersof the twentiethcentury.They can, in today’s world, easily be judged as narrow-minded, fanatical, ormorallydefective.Themanyhorrible crimesofHitler andStalinwarrant suchjudgments.TheinvolvementoftheseparticularSwedesmust,however,beseeninthecontextoftheprevailingknowledgeandspiritofthetime.Theconvictionswhich moved them were widespread in leading circles across Europe. Theseideasincludedthenotionof“mightisright,”the“degenerationofdemocracy,”thejustificationofrevolution,andtheneedfor“livingspace”aswellas“racialhygiene.”

Youthful enthusiasts who believed that it was possible to turn around thestructureofsocietiesand let thembegovernedbypeoplewithnewand“moremodern”conceptswerefoundinallcountries.Theybelievedthatinduecoursenew technology and large-scale production would result in universal bliss,provided that bourgeois prejudices were permanently removed, by drasticmeans,ifnecessary.

InthissortofperspectiveLenin,Mussolini,Hitler,andStalinwereseeninadifferent light from today. Many saw them as the leaders with the mostsuccessfullabormovements.Theywerenotshunnedfortakingthemostdrasticactions to imposeaclasslesssociety,at firstunder the leadershipofanelite,a“vanguard”: the Party of the State. They were ready to evict royalty, thearistocracy, the church, the bourgeoisie, and topple the bureaucracy. Theindustrialworker,thefarmer,andotherphysicallaborers,atlast,wouldbecomethebedrockofsociety.InRussia,theidealwas“SovietMan,”andinGermany,“theAryan.”

Initially,a fairnumberofyoungSwedesweredrawnby thesenewpoliticalappeals. That both Communists andNazis were of the opinion that the smallcountries must be taken over by larger ones was seen by some as more of apromisethanathreat.SomeSwedeswereevenreadytoresorttoarmedactiontohastenthedawnofthenewera,ortofightpoliticalopponents.Asweshallsee,however,substantiallymoreSwedesactedtodefendwesterndemocracyandthefreedomofthesmallnations,whileyetotherswerejustaccidentallysweptawayinthemaelstromofwarinEurope.

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Traditionallytheprofessionalsoldier,fromprivatetoofficer,seldomquestionedfor which flag he fought. Many preferred to fight for those who were mostsuccessfulandpaidthebest.Theoathofloyaltywasoftenmadetothechiefoftheregiment,whiletheoathtotheflagwasmadetotheregimentalbanner.Thedramatic developments in thought that were behind the North AmericanRevolutionaryWar, theFrenchRevolution, and the rise of nationalism causedthispracticalviewofwarandtheroleoftheindividualsoldiertodisappear.Thehead of state and the national flag became more important than the unit’smilitary leaders or the unit’s banner. The fatherland or an ideology—such asfreedom,equality,brotherhood—weremadesupreme.Oneshouldalsokeep inmind that initially therewas only a subtle difference between nationalism andsubversive activities.The revolution against the “Establishment”went forwardhandinhandwithnationalism.Thisperiodestablishedaseriesofnewmotivestogotowar.

To become a fully trained officer was fairly simple when the wars werenumerousandlong.Manyaspiringofficersfoundwarintheirowncountry,andthus did not need to look for opportunities abroad.At times, however, it was

necessary to travel across Europe and attempt to be accepted as volunteerofficersinaforeignforceembroiledincombat.Tobesure,itwascustomarythatonedidnotfightagainstone’sowncountry,butasidefromthat,itwasdeemedalmost irrelevant which army one fought with, and against whom. The mainthing was learning the trade. Those who earned their spurs in foreign armiescould then find secure appointments in their own army. Combat experiencegainedabroadprovidedcredibility to serveSwedenwell,both in timesofwarandpeace.

Around1800theprocessofbecominganofficerchanged.Therewasanewrequirementforformalprofessionaltraining.Acadetwasnowtrainedatoneofthenewnationalcadetschoolsandgainedfurtherpromotionthroughserviceinhisunit.Furthertrainingwaspossiblebothathomeandoverseas,occasionallyatforeignmilitaryschools,andoccasionallythroughvolunteerwarservicewithaforeign army or navy. In this way valuable experience was transferred fromongoingwarstoone’sownmilitaryorganization.

Thepaceof technologicaldevelopment increasedata tremendousrate fromthemiddleof the1800swith the advent of steampower; trains; thepropeller;armor plate; repeating rifles; the telegraph; telephone and radio; the gasolineengine; long-range artillery; aircraft; and tracked vehicles. Those states notactually involvedinwarhadtofollowthesedevelopmentsclosely,soSwedishofficerswere sent out to thewars as observers.Thepossibilities to coordinatefirepower, maneuver, and protection were constantly changing. Conclusionsreachedatthedrawingboardsandontheexercisefieldshadtobeverifiedonthebattlefieldandthenadjusted.

Around1900thevolunteerswhostreamedtothesideof theBoers inSouthAfricaweredifferent.TheycamenottolearnaprofessionortoreporthometotheGeneralStaff,but theycameprimarily to fight for theunderdogBoer sideagainst the colonial power,GreatBritain. The Finns,who fourteen years laterwenttowaronthesideoftheGermans,didcometolearntheprofessionofarms—but mainly to later be able to apply those skills to fight for Finland’sindependencefromRussia—anendeavorinwhichtheysucceeded.

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The physical drama of the human stories presented in this book is easy tocapture,while the innermotivationsof those involvedareharder topaint.Thesituationsdescribedinthisbookaremany-facetedandtheparticipants’motives

are accordingly sometimes simple, sometimes complex. The authors leave thereaders to interpret the fundamental inducements and motivating forces forthemselves.

A select few lifedramas aredescribed ingreaterdetail.We learnmorenotonly about the combat experiences of these individuals, but also about theirpersonalmotives,sooftenthereadermayviewproblemsfromdifferentangles.Asaresult,hopefullyonefindsthattheoutlookandcolorschangejustaswhenoneturnsaprism.ThisbookbringstolightsomeveryunusualSwedesindeed,such as Otto von Rosen, pioneer in biological warfare; and Nils Rosén, whoduringtheSecondWorldWarsurvived600daysasaGermantankofficerontheEasternFront.AnotheramazingfateisthatofUlfChristiernsson,thefirstpilotin the RAF to meet a German jet aircraft, the Messerschmitt 262. The mostadventuresome of them all is probably a young man from Stockholm, IvarHallström, later known as Ivor Thord-Gray. In his diverse career he was aMexicanrevolutionary,aBritishlieutenantcolonel,andaRussianandAmericangeneral.

Inmyownopinion,Iseehowcombinationsofseveralfactors—suchasinnerconvictions, a sense of duty, dissatisfaction, a desire for adventure, and purechance—motivatedmanySwedishmen,anda fewwomen, to seekaction inachaoticeraratherthansitbackpassively.

Considering the spirit of the timeandourmillennium-old cultural tieswithGermany, I find it surprising thatonly an infinitesimally fewSwedishcitizenswent out to fight on the German side. There were only about seventy suchSwedesintheFirstWorldWar,abouttenintheSpanishCivilWar,and200intheSecondWorldWar!WhysofewSwedescomparedtothenumberofDutch,Belgians,Swiss,andNorwegiansinGermanservice?ThereweremorethantentimesasmanySwedesintheSecondWorldWarwhoriskedtheir livesfor thedemocraciesratherthanthedictators.WhatdoesthatsayaboutSwedenandtheSwedesatthattime?Hereissomethingtothinkaboutandstudyfurther!

For our own moral comfort we need winners and losers to praise andcondemn.Perhaps there is something especially remarkable about theSwedes,because we consider ourselves among the winners of the twentieth century,without actuallyhaving riskedanything.Onehopes that thosewho, from theirarmchairs, like to pin labels on otherswill feel a twinge of uncertaintywhenconfrontedbythestoriestoldinthisbook.

Warshavenotbecomefewersince1945,buttheyhavebecomedifferent.Theperceptionofwarhas also changed.Howhas this affected theparticipation in

wars of Swedish citizens? I am here thinking not of participation in militarypeacekeeping forces under the United Nations, the European Union, or theOrganizationforSecurityandCooperationinEurope(OSCE).Canonedaretohopeforafollow-uptothisbook,chartingthoseSwedeswhoduringthesecondhalf of the 1900s fought in foreign armies?An example: duringmy time as amilitaryadvisorwiththeOSCEinViennafrom1992to1996,IsawindividualSwedeswhotraveledasprivatepersonstotheBalkansfor“VacationWar.”Whowerethey?Whatdidtheywantandwhatdidtheydo?

—EinarLythBrigadier-General(ret),SwedishArmy

MemberoftheSwedishRoyalAcademyofWarSciences

Preface:FarfromNeutralitySwedesatWarchallengestheprevailingimageofmodernSwedenasapeacefuland neutral nation. It is a yet little known fact, even in Sweden, thatapproximately 15,000 Swedish citizens, either of their own freewill or underobligation,becamesoldiersforotherstatesduringtheepochoftheworldwars.

Wedescribeaswellthecontributionsofafurther8,000Swedishcitizenswhoservedasseamenfor theAlliesduringtheperiodfrom1939to1945.Manyofthese sailors counted as members of the armed forces of one of the AlliedPowers.

We touch also on the thousands of soldiers who were called Swedes, andoftenregardedthemselvesasSwedish,butwerenotSwedishcitizens(thousandsofthemhadbeenSwedishsubjects).IntheUSArmedForcesalonethereweresome50,000suchpersonsinWWI,andabout200,000inWWII.SoldiersborninSweden or of Swedish stock took part in theUS struggle fromday one, atPearlHarbor.Captain“JohnMiller,”immortalizedbyTomHanksinthemotionpicture “Saving Private Ryan,” was in real life performed by Captain RalphGoranson,thesonofaSwedishimmigrant.HeledtheutterlyrealCompanyC,2ndRangersall thewayfromOmahaBeachtoCzechoslovakia.Hisbrother intheMarineswasnotasfortunateandwaskilledinactiononIwoJima.Likewise,themostsuccessfulUSfighterpilotinhistory,RichardBong,wasthesonofaSwedishimmigrant.

Former Swedish citizens and their children can hardly have influencedSwedish society, in particular, the Armed Forces of Sweden, as much asSwedish citizens who participated in wars and then returned to Sweden. Ourhypothesis,however,isthattheymusthaveinfluencedSwedishopiniontosomedegree.

Hopefullyourbookwillalsohighlightsomeoftheconnectionsbetweentheworld wars and the conflicts in between them. An astonishing number ofindividualSwedesparticipated in twoor even threeof thewarsbetween1914and1945.Andanumberof theseSwedishwarveteranscame to influence theSwedishArmedForces.

To cover all categories of Swedes in foreignwar service in the same bookprovides the opportunity for comparisons. Further on we will therefore relatesomeparallelsanddifferencesbetweenthegroups.

We hope that this English-language edition of our book will benefit those

with a general interest in the world wars; historians and buffs specialized inforeignvolunteermovements;andthosewithSwedishroots,whichintheUnitedStatesofAmericaalonetotalssomefivemillionpeople.

Inaddition,webelievethatmanyoftheexperienceswedescribehavenotlosttheir validity for themilitaryprofessional of today.This especially is the casewith experiences of leadership in combat and of service inmultinational unitssuchastheInterbrigadesandtheWaffen-SS.

TheexperiencesofSwedishwarveteranshavebeencommunicatedwithintheSwedish Armed Forces primarily by way of lectures. Nils Rosén, Senior andJunior, for example, during a total period of forty years, lectured within theSwedish defense establishment on their experiences of leadership in combatwithintheGermanArmy.AlargenumberofbiographiesandsomeunithistorieshavealsogiveninformationontheSwedishexperiencesintheworldwars.Weareawareofonlytwoearlierstudies,however,withtheambitiontocollectandcomparedifferentSwedishwarparticipants.1

In the first placewe describe theSwedes in foreign armies, air forces, andnavalunits,butwealsomentionseveralSwedesinoperationalgroupsofforeignstate intelligence and security organizations such as the American OSS, theSoviet NKVD, and the German Gestapo. Our reasoning to include them isbecause already during the FirstWorldWar “theater of war” became hard todefine given the introduction of the airplane and the submarine. The SpanishCivil War (1936–1939) saw the introduction of “modern” ranger-andcommando-type units that, just like the newmachines ofwar, could attack orsurveytargetsfarfromthefrontlines.Theunitsthatcarriedoutthesenewkindof intelligenceandsabotageoperations—aswellas theorganizations thatweretohuntthemdown—didnotalwaysconsistoftraditionalsoldiersandtheywerenot always in uniform. They were still very much participants in the wars,however,andsoareincludedinthisbook.

About ten thousand Swedish citizens voluntarily served within the FinnishArmed Forces from 1939 to 1944, and they constitute the largest group ofgenuine war volunteers who went out from Sweden in modern history. TheiractivitiesarealreadywelldocumentedinSwedish,however,andweforeseethatEnglish-languagebooksdealingspecificallywiththemwillbepublishedin thenearfuture.WehavesomewhatexpandedthesectionontheminthisUSeditionofourbook,butthisbookstillconcentratesontheother,lesserknown,groupsofSwedes that fought during the world wars and interwar years. Above all wewould like to see that the Swedish contribution to the Allied cause not be

forgotten. As these words are written, the relatively small number of Swedeswhowore a German uniform inWWII—notmore than 200 individuals—stillovershadowthe9,000SwedeswhoservedinAlliedconvoysandmilitaryunits.Certainly,farfromallthe8,000Swedesintheconvoyswouldhavevolunteeredto fight as infantrymen had they not been sailors.Many sailorswere genuinevolunteersontheAlliedside, though,andthiscategoryaside,morethan1,000SwedishcitizensjoinedNorwegian,US,andBritishground,airandnavalunits.Wealsoknowthatseveralthousandmorevolunteeredtodoso,butwerejustnotgiventheopportunitytoserve.WebelievethattheselatterfiguresspeakagreatdealaboutwhereSweden’saffiliationsandsympathiestrulylayduringWWII.

Few readerswill associate the title of the bookwith Swedeswho died fortheirownlandduringtheworldwars.WithSwedenitselfnotatwar—howcouldanyonehavedied for it?Nevertheless, during theSecondWorldWar alone atleast2,282SwedesgavetheirlivesguardinganddefendingtheSwedishborders,maintainingSwedish foreign trade,andworking inSweden’sdefense industry.Over 1,500 of thosewho diedwere seamen and 782were Swedishmilitary.2They were killed because of accidents, mines, and deliberate shootings fromforeign aircraft, and torpedoes from foreign submarines.3 In addition to thesefatalities therewere 15,000military victims of non-fatal but serious accidentsandanunknownnumberofcivilianvictimsofwar-relatedincidents.4

Formally speaking, the many thousand Swedes who died or were injuredduring thewartimemobilization and readiness periodhadnot actually been atwar.SwedenhasquiteremarkablynotbeenatwarsinceNapoleonictimes!Atahuman level, however, we find it hard tomaintain that they were not at war.Hopefully,otherauthorswillhereby feelchallenged to furtherstudySweden’swartimereadinessperiod.

AcknowledgmentsSomeoftheindividualsdescribedinthisbookaredescribedonmanydifferentpageswhile thousands are not evennamed.Thosewho are looking for namesotherthanthoseinthisbook,wesuggestyoumakeuseofthesourcesgiveninthe footnotes and bibliography. In some cases the persons we interviewedrequestedanonymity,andwehavechosentorespecttheirwishes.

Eventhoughintheendofthebookwethankthosewhohavehelpedussincewebeganthisprojectprojectin1986,wewishheretoespeciallythankseveralpeople. Both of us jointly thank Brigadier General, Swedish Army (retired)Einar Lyth andColonelUSArmy (retired) Carl Gustav Finstrom, for sharingtheir broad and deep knowledge and in Colonel Finstrom’s case also for thetranslation of our book; archivist Per Clason of Krigsarkivet (the SwedishMilitary Archives) for all his help, as well as editors Lena Amurén and AnnLewenhauptofHistoriskaMediafortheirpersonalpatience.ThisUSeditionofourbookwouldneverhaveseenthelightofdaywithouttheimmenseeffortsandencouragement of the late editor in chief of The Aberjona Press, LieutenantColonel,USArmy(retired)KeithBonn,andhisstrongandlovingwife,PatriciaBonn,theneweditorinchiefofTheAberjonaPress.

Lars Gyllenhaal wishes to specially thank Andreas Holmberg for muchinformationontheSwedesintheRAF;LieutenantColonelStellanBojerudforhisreviewoftheSpanishchapter;archivistIvanKlaessonfordocumentsontheperiod 1900 to 1918;LarsBjörklund for his special contribution;Nicolas vonSchmidt-LaussitzandCarlGustafand IngerGyllenhaal forall their supportaswell as the librarians in Rosvik, Luleå, and Piteå. Lennart Westberg isparticularly grateful to Professor Stig Ekman for his sound advice and forsharinghisextensiveknowledge;ProfessorOlleHägerforhiscriticallinguisticoverviewandvaluableinsights;DistinguishedProfessorEmeritusPaulR.Sellinat University of California, Los Angeles, for his warm support and valuableadvice,aswellasProfessorGeraldFlemingandSeniorProsecutorDr.AdalbertRückerlforvaluableinformationontheSSandtheHolocaust.FurtherLennartwishestothankDr.MatthewKott,Dr.TerjeEmberland,BerntRougthvedtandSigurdSörlieattheHolocaustCenterinOsloforvaluableseminardiscussions.Finally, he wants to thank journalist Anders Moverare, who providedencouragementattherightmoment.

Theauthorswishtothankallwhopermittedustointerviewthemforthebook

or provided uswith documents (their names are among the sources).We alsowish to thank the following for their advice, suggestions, photographs and/orsupport: Åke Adolfsson; Per Ahlander; Bo Arvidsson; Robert Ingvar Bakker;KarlHenrikBergh;RolfBergström;CeciliaBjörkman;HenningBlock; J.W.andRobertaBradbury;GeirBrenden;HansBrusewitz; Theodor vonDufving;Åke J. Ek; Sven Ekdahl; Derrick Ekström; Lennart Ekström; Frode Faeröy;Mary Farron; Lars and Stefan Folke; Tore Forsberg; Helén Forslund; RolandFridh; Magnus Gartrup; Carl-Fredrik Geust; Bob and Nancy Goranson; StigGrundberg;TobiasGrundberg;TorstenGrundberg;HermanGyllenhaal;HenrikGyllenram;GunillaHammarland;BertilHansson; JostHerholz;BillHoffland;OttoHolm;GustafHyltén; StigHäggkvist; Anders Isaksson; Pawel Jaworski;TorbjörnJohansson;MaunoJokipii;UlfJonsson;HarryJärv;AndersJohansson;Kurt Karlsson; Petter Kjellander; Alexander I. Kruglov; Henrik Lagus; LasseLarsson;Maud Leuhusen; Bengt Lindgren; Lars P. Lindroth; Svante Löfgren;Brita Lönnbergh; Daniel Löwenhamn; TomasMalmlöf; YanMann; ChristianandMihaelaMindris;AxelMolin;JohnP.Moore;MartinMånsson;FolkeNattoch Dag; Ulf Norman; Jan Nyberg; Tommy Natedal; Ludwig Nestler; HansWernerNeulen;OlleNilsson;SamNilsson;AndersNordström;ElmarNyman;BjörnOlsen;ZuzanaPivcová; Ingrid Pratt (neeNordgren);Tore Pryser;MarcRikmenspoel; Ane Dalen Ringheim; Robert Rogers; Nils Rosén, Jr.; StaffanRunestam;BengtRur;ÅkeSandin;Knut Sivertsen;Niclas Sennerteg; PatriciaK.Sladek;DagStiernspetz;UlfSundberg;HåkanSvensson;MaxSjöberg;ClaesThorén;EgilUlateig;FritzUlrich;WolfgangVenghaus;ThureWadenholt;Brorand Laura Wallström; Bernd Wegner; Marcus Wendel; Sivert Wester; BjörnWestlie;LarsWestman;DavidWirmark;KarinWollin;WilhelmZimmermann;KjellÅgrenandHansÖström.LastbutnotleastwethankPatriciaK.SladekandAnita and Richard Londgren of the American-Scandinavian Center atCalifornianLutheranUniversity atThousandOaks;Adaie J.Klein andNancySaul at the SimonWiesenthalCentre in LosAngeles; the staff of theUSAirForce Art Program at the Pentagon and the staff at the former US BerlinDocumentCenter.

These praiseworthy contributions in noway affect the responsibility of theauthorsforthecontentsofthebook.

—LarsGyllenhaalandLennartWestbergRosvikandSundsvall,Sweden

CrucialEventsinNordicHistory,1941–1945

The reader not well-acquainted with the history of the Nordic countries ofEurope, that is,Denmark,Finland, Iceland,NorwayandSweden,will find thefollowingtimelinehelpfultofollowtheactionsofthosedescribedinthisbook.

28July1914

The outbreak of World War I. The independent Nordic countries choose aneutral stance towards thismomentousevent (at that timeFinlandwasnotyetindependent).Despitetheirneutrality,however,theNorwegiangovernmentgoestogreat lengthstoaccommodateGreatBritain.DuringthecourseofWWI,theNordic countries are able to remain outside the war with the exception ofFinland,whichuntillate1917wasapartoftheRussianEmpire.

6December1917

The Finnish declaration of independence is adopted on this date by theParliamentofFinland.ItdeclaresFinlandanindependentandsovereignstate—freefromRussia.

27January1918

The outbreak of theWar of 1918 in Finland, also known as the FinnishCivilWar. It is a conflict both betweenFinnishWhite andRed forces and betweenFinnishWhiteandRussianforcesthatends15May1918withaWhitevictory.

1September1939

The outbreak of WorldWar II. The Nordic countries again choose a neutralstance.

30November1939

TheSovietUnioninvadesFinlandandthustheWinterWarbreaksout.

13March1940

The abrupt end of the Winter War. The Soviet Union is not successful inconqueringFinland,gainingonlythreeslicesofFinnishterritory.Finlandretainsitssovereigntyandgainsmuchinternationalgoodwill.

9April1940

GermanyinvadesDenmarkandNorwayandwithinsomedayshastotalcontroloverDenmarkandwithintwomonthsovermostofNorway.Aconsiderablepartof theNorwegianArmedForcesandespecially theNorwegianMerchantFleetjoinstheAllies.

22June1941

GermanyinvadestheSovietUnionandGermancombatunitsareallowedbytheFinnishgovernmenttoenterFinland.

25June1941

TheSovietUnionpunishesFinlandwith air raids and theFinnishgovernmentthenissuesastatementthatitisagainatwarwiththeSovietUnion.Thisistheoutbreak of the Continuation War/Soviet-Finnish War that will last until 19September1944.

28September1944

Theoutbreakof theLaplandWarbetweenFinlandandGermany, thatends25April1945withthecompletewithdrawalofallGermanforcesfromFinland.

8May1945

TheofficialendoftheGermanoccupationofDenmarkandNorway.

1.BeforetheFirstWorldWar:VarangiansandOtherForerunners

InVikingtimestherewereScandinavianwarriors,Varangians,intheByzantinelifeguard. Since that time Swedes have served in many other foreign armedforces.Theyhavedonesoforeconomicgainaswellasforthesakeofmilitaryexperience,toescapeboredom,andevensomethroughforcedenrollment.Withthecomingofthe1800spoliticalideasbecameanimportantfactor.

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From the tenth century until the thirteenth century warriors from theScandinavian lands traveled toMiklagård, theViking name for theByzantinecityofConstantinople,today’sTurkishIstanbul.TheywantedtobeVarangiansand be enrolled into the prestigious Väringjalid (the Varangian guard).1Scandinavians,withtheirexoticweapons,wereseenasthebestguaranteeforthesecurity of theByzantine leadership.2 InPersia (Iran) between1910 and1920and inEthiopiaandSpainduring the1930s,Swedescame tobe seenwith thesamegreattrustandconfidenceastheVarangianshadbeen.BeforewereportonthetwentiethcenturyVarangians,however,weneedtogiveanoverviewoftheirpredecessorsduringthepreviousthreecenturies.

Upto1814,thelasttimeSwedenasanationwasatwar,Swedesinthearmedforcesofforeignstateswerenotanunknownphenomena,butbecauseSweden’sown military was more active in that period, there were fewer Swedes whojoinedthemilitaryofotherstates.Inthosedaysitwasnecessarytooccasionallyresort to the enrollment of thousands of German, Scottish, Irish, and SwissmercenariestoreinforcetheSwedishArmy.Paradoxicallyenough,evenatthistime,SwedishunitscouldbehiredoutbytheSwedishRegenttoforeignprincesduringalullintheSwedishcampaigns!

A rather exotic example of aSwedewhohimself chose to serve in foreignuniformduringSweden’sGreatPowerepoch isNilsMatssonKiöping,who in1650went into the service of thePersianShah and took part in his campaignagainstAfghanistan.3

During the following century over 400 Swedish officers fought under theFrenchflag.InthebeginningtheyweremainlySwedishprisonersofwarwhoin

accordancewith thecustomof the timewereoffered tochangeprisoner statusforwarservice.LateryoungSwedishofficerscamevoluntarilytoFrancetojoinaSwedish-ledregimentthere,thatfrom1742wascalled“RoyalSuédois”(RoyalSwedish).AtthattimeFranceledtheworldinmilitarytheoryandtheregimentalso offered ample opportunities for practicing the art ofwar.4 Royal SuédoisparticipatedinthebattleatGibraltarin1782,thatstrangelyenough,waspartoftheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.

TwoRoyalSuédoiscolonelswereevenmoreinvolvedinthewarthatledtothe foundation of the United States of America. Colonel Curt von Stedingkdistinguished himself in close combat during the invasion of the CaribbeanislandofGrenadain1779.TheColonelandCountAxelvonFersenfoughtfrom1780 to 1782 on the American side in the staff of French General deRochambeau.5The count thenmarchedover1,000kilometerswith theFrenchforcesinAmerica.InOctober1781hetookpartinthecaptureofYorktown.AsGeneraldeRochambeau’spersonal interpreterheworkedwithGeneralGeorgeWashington on three occasions. Today, however, he is more famous for hisrelationship with French Queen Marie Antoinette. Both von Fersen and vonStedingk were honored by General Washington himself with the hereditaryOrderoftheCincinnati.6

Some 250Swedish colleagues of the two colonels fought on theAmericansideinFrench,Dutch,andlocaluniforms,toagreatextentoutofsympathyfortheAmericanrebelsintheirconflictwiththeBritishEmpire.7

GeorgvonDöbeln,futureSwedishnationalhero,wasalsoonhiswaytotheAmericanRevolutionaryWar,buttheshiphesailedwithchangeditsdestinationenrouteandsailedofftoAsia.HethushadtocontenthimselfwithfightingtheBritish in India!8 During this same period at least 2,000 Swedes served asofficers and crewwithin the Royal Navy of Britain and the BritishMerchantFleet.ItwasnotasaresultofgreatsympathyforthepoliticsoftheBritishthatledtheSwedestotheseships,however,butratherthepayaswellasprofessionalinterest.9

The new category of Swedes in foreign war service—the ideologicallymotivated—appearedmost clearly in the twoDanish-Germanwars of 1848 to1850and1864whenuniversitystudentsenteredthebattlefieldunderidealism’sbanner. In thewar fought from1848 to1850 some260Swedes foughton theside ofDenmark.Barely halfwere careermilitary. In the secondphase of theclash, in 1864, almost twice as many Swedes served, and only one-fourth of

themweremilitarymen.Not a single Swede is known to have fought on theGermansideinthesewars.

During the Danish-German wars there was a craze for Scandinavia, called“Scandinavianism,” centered around Scandinavian history and unity. It was adeciding factor formany Swedes to sign up. This romantic idea of history isreflectedveryclearly in themedal thatwasstruck in1850for formerSwedishvolunteers.IthadaVikingmotifonboththefrontandbacksideofthemedal.Inthesecondof theDanish-Germanwars theSwedishandNorwegianvolunteerswereassembledintoaspecialunitcalledStrövkåren(Wanderingcorps).OneoftheCorps’ twocompanieswas ledby the future,very influential,Chiefof theSwedishGeneralStaff,HugoRaab.10A remnantof the strongScandinavianistspirit of the mid-nineteenth century can be heard in the Swedish nationalAnthem words “I want to live, I want to die in Norden” (Norden beingsynonymous with the Nordic countries, that is, Scandinavia plus Finland andIceland).

Even more Swedes participated in the Civil War in America. Over 3,500served in theUnionArmywhile several hundredwerewith theConfederates.Thesestatistics,however,oughttobeseeninthelightofthefactthatalmostallwere Swedish immigrants and many of them were offered rather impressivesums for enlistment.11 Forty Swedish officers, sergeants, and cadets did leaveSweden after the start of the war to join the military forces of the NorthernStates, though, among them a captain with the Dalarna Regiment, Ernst vonVegesack.12Hewasmuchappreciatedon theUSsideof theAtlanticandwasmadeabrigadiergeneralthere(aswasfellowSwedeCharlesStohlbrand).Afterhaving become an Americanmilitary hero at Antietam and Gettysburg, ErnstvonVegesackreturnedtoSwedenandbecamechiefofamilitarydistrict.13

TheSwedishCaptain/AmericanColonel,ErnstvonVegesack,atAntietam,leadinghis20thNewYorkVolunteerRegiment,ina1862magazineillustration.Inreallifeheissaidtohaveflowntheregimentalcolors,nottheStarsandStripes.HeendedhismilitaryserviceintheUnitedStatesasabrigadiergeneral

andreturnedtoSweden,finallycommandingamilitarydistrictthere.(Harper’sWeekly)

The southern states also had two Swedish-American brigadier generals.Roger “Old Flintlock”Hansonwas aConfederate brigadier of Swedish stock.Hanson commanded the 1st Kentucky Orphan Brigade and was mortallywoundedonthelastdayofthebattleofStone’sRiver(Murfreesboro).CharlesDahlgrenraisedthe3dBrigade,ArmyofMississippi,byhisownmeans.Whenthewarendedhisslavesweretakenfromhimandsetfreeandhewasnotabletoretainhisplantation.Thingswentalotbetterforhisbrother,RearAdmiralJohnDahlgren,whochosetofightfortheoppositeside!14

ThetotalnumberofSwedeskilledinactionduringtheAmericanCivilWarisnot known. Three of them are forever honored in Sweden, however, at theMilitaryAcademyChapel in theKarlbergCastle, because theyhad completedtrainingatthatinstitution.

TheFranco-PrussianWarof1870–71attractedagroupofSwedestosignupforFrance.Theirtotalnumberhasnotbeenascertained,buttheywereperhapsa

dozenortwo.WhatisknownaboutthemisthatseveralofthemwereveteransoftheDanish-Germanwarof1864andatleastthreeofthemwerecareerofficers.Only a single Swedish volunteer on the German (Prussian) side has beenidentified.15

In thenextwarwithSwedishparticipation therewere twonewphenomenawhich we rather associate with the epoch of the World Wars: concentrationcampsandcommandotroops.Bothoftheseinnovationssawthelightofdaynotin Europe during WWII, but four decades earlier in South Africa. In thebeginningofOctober1899,immediatelyafterthestartoftheso-calledBoerWarinSouthAfricabetweenGreatBritainand the twoBoerRepublics,agroupofScandinavian guest workers, seamen, and immigrants in Pretoria decided toorganizeacommonfreecorpsagainsttheBritish.16ThisinitiativewasledbyaSwedishrailwayengineer,ChristerUggla.Atotalof113menjoined,ofwhichforty-five were Swedes, twenty-four Danes, eighteen Finns, thirteenNorwegians, and thirteen “others.” Johannes Flygare, the son of amissionary,wasappointedcaptainoftheunit.Eventhoughhewasacivilian,hehadsomewar experience from the Zulu War. His deputy was First Lieutenant ErikStålbergfromSundsvall, theonlySwedeontheBoersidewithpropermilitaryleadershiptraining—hewasaSwedishfirstsergeant.17

The Corps was organized like most Boer units; as mounted infantry. TheTransvaalGovernmentsuppliedox-drawnbaggagetrains,provisions,weapons,andammunition.Theparticipantswerepromisedcitizenshipandsomeformofpaymentintheeventofvictory.LieutenantStålberggotaweektoteachthementhe essentials of military life. The majority of the Scandinavians had noexperiencewithweaponsoreveninhorsemanship.

TheScandinavianCorpscarriedoutsabotageagainsttherailroadlinesandon24 October hastily moved to storm the fortified city of Mafeking, where thedefensewasledbyColonelRobertBaden-Powell,laterthefounderofthescoutmovement. The attack failed because of the lack of combat experience, andbecause of the machine guns of the British. Shortly thereafter, however, theScandinavianvolunteerswereabletoseizeaBritishforwardpositionoutsidethecity,buttheywereunabletoexploitthissuccess.

AttheendofNovember1899theCorpswassenttothesouthtogetherwithotherBoertroopstostopabrigadeofBritishelitetroops—ScottishRegiments—on the way to relieve the besieged city of Kimberley. The Boers positionedthemselves along the high ground called Magersfontein, to block the Britishadvance.Intheeveningof10DecembermostoftheScandinavianswereplaced

a kilometer from the high ground in order to guard themain defensive forcefrom a surprise attack.When theBoerGeneral PietCronjé got information atthreeo’clockinthemorningthattheBritishwereonthemarchdirectlytowardshisposition,heorderedallhisforwardguardpoststobedrawnback.Theworddidnot reach theScandinavians, however, and the resultwas aminormodernThermopylae.

Despite an overwhelming superiority of forces and a monopoly on themachinegunsittooktheBritishseveralhourstotaketheScandinavianposition.There they found twowhowere notwounded, nineteen dead, and twenty-twowoundedofwhomathirdweredying.InfrontoftheScandinavianpositionlay279deadandwoundedBritish,mainlyScots.TheBritishfounditveryhardtobelievethattheScandinavianshadsofewmen.Infact,theyhadhadonlysevenmore,whohadsucceededinfightingthroughtothemainposition.18

TheremarkablestandoftheScandinavianswastheresultofanerror.Hadtheorder to retreat reached them they would presumably not have stood theirground, but this small battle contributed to stopping theBritish advance.Thatthisdidnotchangetheoutcomeofthewarwasconsideredwhollyunimportant,atleastinSweden.AherocultarosearoundtheCorps.TheSwedishnewspaper,Social-Demokraten, commented on the official Boer report about theMagersfontein front, “War is a calamity, wicked, but it would be foolishhypocrisy to not confess that we read with joy the lines…that deal with ourNordic countrymen.” Even The Times of London respectfully described theenemyScandinavianCorps.19

Oneofabout tenSwedeson theother, that is,British, sideduring theBoerWarwascareerofficerErlandMossberg.CompletelyinthespiritofthetimesitwasMossbergwhotooktheinitiativetoerectamonumentfortheScandinavianCorps—his former enemies—at the place where their greatest action tookplace.20 The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet supported the project. A seven-meter-high granite Old Norse Memorial Stone (Menhir) was presented by aFinnishcompanyanddecoratedwitharuniformornament,anengravedvalkyrie.Foursmaller stoneswereplacedaround thepillar.Thenamesof the fallenarelistedonthewarriorshields.Thestonestandstheretothisday,onthehillcalledMagersfontein.

TheBoerWar,with theScandinavianThermopylae as a climax, captivatedthe Swedes and the action blended an admiration for “Swedish war bravado”withabroadEuropeanenthusiasmfortheBoers,ananti-Britishsentiment,andasenseofNordicunity.ButthemostsignificantaspectoftheScandinavianCorps

isthatnotasingleSwedishprofessionalofficer(notevenaformerone)joinedtheBoers. TheCorpswasmade up of Swedish civilians (albeit one a reserveofficer)whowere sympathetic towardsBoerNationalism.Moreover, Swedishwomen,forthefirsttime,appearedinforeignwarservice.ThreeSouthAfricanWar Participant medals were given to Swedish nurses who belonged to theScandinavianAmbulance.TheambulancefollowedtheScandinavianCorpsandwasvirtuallypartofit.Theambulancepersonnelwerenotonlyfiredupon,butalsotakenprisonerbytheBritish.

The contrast between the Swedish officers in the Royal Suédois and theamateursof theScandinavianCorpsisgreat,butbothcametohavesuccessorsduringWorldWarIandII.

2.InPersianService,1911–1916:TheShah’sSwedishGendarmes

Swedenyethasmen,whocandieasheroes.Inourtroubledtimesthisoughttobeagreatconsolationforus,andchallengeustomakeourselvesprepared,perhapssoon,tofightanddiewithhonor.…

—Militärnyheter[MilitaryNews],25April1914

Swedish officers amazed the world by building up a respectable paramilitaryforce in Persia in less than two years. The Swedes in Persian service becamedivided, however, with the outbreak of the First World War. Many of themswitchedtofightingforGermanyandagainsttheRussianArmy.SeveraloftheSwedishPersiaveteranscontinuedontonewwars.

*****

OverthecenturiesPersia,calledIransince1935,constitutedagreatdealoftheMiddleEast.EvenmenfromsuchdistantlandsasSwedenwerewillingtotravelthere toparticipate inwars.NilsMatsonKiöpingcame to thecountry in1650andofferedhismilitaryskills totheShah—Emperor—AbbasII.AfterKiöpinghad taken part in the Shah’s campaign against Afghanistan he returned toSwedenandwrotethefirsteyewitnessaccountinSwedishaboutPersia.1

TheGyllenrambrothersfollowedinKiöping’sfootstepsonehundredyearslaterandservedunderShahIsmailIII:GustavGyllenramasacolonelintheLifeGuardsandhisbrother,Daniel,asaquartermastergeneral.Duringthe1800satleast ten Swedes served in the Persian Army, the most spectacular being aformer Swedish Army medic from Linköping, Conrad Fagergren, who firstservedasadoctorintheRussianArmyintheCaucasus,butwascapturedbytheTurkishArmy.After a brief stint as a doctor in that army he switched to thePersianCavalryin1847.HeendedupasaPersiancolonel.2

“TheGreatGame”The interests ofLondon andSaintPetersburg (then capital ofRussia) collided

duringthenineteenthcenturyinPersia,Afghanistan,andTibet. In thatcenturytheRussianEmpiremoveditsborderstothesouthandabsorbedmuchofCentralAsia.That signaled to theBritish that theRussianswereon theirway towardsthe Indian Ocean to fulfill the dreams of Peter the Great. British journalistschristened the ensuing Russian-British conflict to gain influence over thecountriesbetweenBritishIndiaandRussianCentralAsia“theGreatGame.”Theintrigueandespionageofthis“game”inspiredRudyardKiplingtowritethefirstspynovelever,Kim,in1901.

The reason that Swedes came into thePersian arenawas that “the players”(that is,RussiaandBritain)hadreachedwhatachessplayercallsadraw.Onemight also say that things had gone a bit too well for both the British andRussian agents in Persia. They had succeeded in corrupting the alreadyweakPersianstatepowerstosuchadegreethatthePersiangovernmentwasabouttoloseall control.As farasPersianmilitaryandsecurity forceswereconcerned,whatwasleftwaslittlemorethantheatrical.Theyhadnotreallyfunctionedorbeen modernized for years, as the top leaders withheld the pay from theirsubordinates for their own use. On the caravan routes highway robberyflourished.

In the year 1910 the British Government demanded that Persia establishcontrol on her roads in threemonths, and if not, aBritish-Indian forcewouldtake charge of the problem at Persia’s expense. The PersianGovernmentwasallowedtoaskaEuropeanstate,approvedbybothGreatBritainandRussia,ifitwouldbewillingtolendagroupofofficerstocreateamoderngendarmerieinPersia. Italy declined the offer, butSweden answered in the affirmative in thespring of 1911.Thismay seempretty strange becauseSwedendid not have agendarmerieof itsown!Thecommander selected for theSwedish forcewasacaptainoftheNorthSkåneInfantryRegiment,HaraldHjalmarson.

“ThewelcomingtoastinQazvin.”Thephotographwastakenin1914,whenGeneralHjalmarson(right)stilllookedhealthy.EricCarlberg(center)returnedtoPersiaafterthewarasamarketingagentforSwedishbusinessfirms.EricFrick(left)latertransferredtotheGermansinTurkey.Thenameoftheservantinthe

backgroundwasAbbas.(Krigsarkivet)

ThereareanumberofreasonswhySwedenwasasked.TheGreatPowers,ortheotherstateswithinterestsintheregion,couldnotbeconsidered.Swedenwasseenashavingamodernandwelltrainedofficercorps.Thenegativeattitudeofthe Swedish officers towards Russia was seen as a plus from a Persianperspective. The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs also believed that theinternationalfameofoneparticularSwedishofficerwasafactorintheselectionofSweden.TheofficerinquestionwasWilhelmUnander,afirstlieutenantfromtheVästerbottenInfantryRegiment.HehadrecentlydistinguishedhimselfintheorganizationofsecurityforcesinthetroublesomeBalkans.3Unander’sdeftworkinAlbaniaandMacedoniahadprobablycometothenoticeoftheleadershipinPersiabywayofConstantinople.

The Swedish government hoped that loaning officers to Persiawould opendoorsforSwedishbusinessmenandthat thePersianexperiencewouldincreasethecompetenceoftheSwedishofficers.SwedenmightnotbeabletoavoidthenextgreatwarinEuropeandsocouldusesomepracticalexperienceofwar.

The person chosen to lead the Swedish instructors in Persia, CaptainHjalmarson,hadnopracticalexperiencewiththeworkofthegendarmerie—butthatwasnotseenasveryserious.Hjalmarsonand theBalkansexpertUnanderknew each other from their service in France, where Hjalmarson was able tostudythehistoryoftheFrenchGendarmerieintheNationalLibraryinParis.For

severaldayshealsoquestionedaGeneralof theItalianGendarmerieabouthisexperienceinestablishingagendarmerieintheOttomanEmpire(Turkey).4

Incidentally,thereisanAmericanconnectiontoCaptainHaraldHjalmarson.His father,HjalmarAndersson [sic],wasa respectedpersonality,beingoneoftheSwedishofficerswhovolunteeredfortheUSArmyintheCivilWarandwashighlydecoratedforbraveryinbattlesinFloridaandNorthCarolina.

Captain Hjalmarson needed no marketing skills to recruit colleagues forservice in distant Persia. As soon as the Swedish press began to write thatSwedish officerswould have the possibility to get released for service “in theland of fairy tales,” Hjalmarson received a stream of letters from officers inSwedenwhowantedto“tryout theirwings.”TheknowledgeinSwedenaboutconditionsinPersiawasverylimitedindeed,aswasanyseriousinterest in thecurrentaffairsofPersia.Itwasratheraninterestingainingpracticalexperiencethat caused the officers in small Swedish garrison towns like Skövde andMalmköping to pick up a pen and write their applications. One must alsorememberthattheEuropeanspiritofthetimesjustbeforetheFirstWorldWarwasmarkedbytheideaofheroworshipandnationalisticmilitarism.

TherecertainlywerealsoeconomicandprestigemotivesforseekingserviceinPersia.ASwedishfirst lieutenanthadanannualsalaryofa littleover2,900crownsin1911,but inPersiaitwouldbetwiceasmuch.AcaptaininSwedenearned 5,300 crowns a month and was offered 12,800 crowns a month forservice in Persia.5With respect to rank one would be appointed at least tworankshigherthanwhatoneheldinSweden.SwedishcaptainsstraightawaywerepromotedtolieutenantcolonelsinPersia,butasforCaptainHjalmarsonhewasappointedimmediatelytotherankofgeneral.

The Swedish officers who were selected for service in Persia signed acontract and pledged their loyalty to Ahmed Shah, but they did not have tochange theircitizenship.6Thishadan important legalconsequence—theywerenotsubjecttoPersianlaw.Atotalofthirty-eightSwedestraveledouttobuildupthe Persian Gendarmerie Gouvernementale (the official French name,abbreviated GG). Most were officers but also there were also sergeants andtechnicians. Inaddition, fiveSwedishpolicemensignedup to train thePersianPolice Corps (PPC). The GG was a mobile and heavily-armed formationorganized in a military manner and the PPC were policemen. After severalSwedishofficerwivesmovedthere,theSwedishcolonyinPersiastoodatoversixtypersons.

Rightfromthestart theforcesetupbytheSwedeswasplannedtobemore

than justagendarmerie,as isapparent fromtheirsixteenartillerypiecesandadozenGermanmachineguns.ThePersian roadsystemwas tobemadesecureandinaddition,manyPersianshoped—theywouldgettheirownmodernarmy.

Swedishinstructorsinwhitetropicalhelmets(atleftandright)trainingartillerymenofthePersianGendarmerie.(Riksarkivet)

TheGGwasequippedwithMauserriflesandcavalrysabersofthesametypeusedintheSwedishArmy.Thecommunicationsbetweenthewidely-spread-outgarrisons were attended to by the Swedish firm L. M. Ericsson. GymnasticequipmentwasalsofromSweden.Swedishindustrywasnotabletoexportmuchmore to Persia, however. Not even the Gendarmerie’s Swedish-inspired blueuniformcouldbeimportedfromSweden.ItwasRussiathatplacedahalttothat—allEuropeangoodsthatwereshippedhadtopassthroughRussia.7

The Swedish officers in Persia had to simultaneously: create a militaryinstitution; learn the country’s customs and way of doing things; conduct“moppingupoperations”alongtheroads;and,inaddition,escorttheShah.

InApril1914itwas timefor theannualmilitaryreviewinTeheran.Wouldthewell-drilledRussian guard force provide the parade’s high point, as usual,now that the completely new Swedish-trained troop would also participate?CuriousPersians ringed theparade field, aswell as the foreigndiplomatswhowaitedattentively.Theappearanceofthenewforceindicatedthat“herewehavesomething totally new,” which was verified during the demonstrations by theRussianandthe“Swedish”troops.Noannouncementhadbeenmadethattherewould be a competition between them, but an Italian diplomat wrote later toRome, “The viewers had the impression that they were witnesses to a

comparisonofpower.”8Certainly theRussianCossackswere impressive circushorsemen,butmore

impressivewastheSwedish-leddemonstrationofinfantry,cavalry,andengineertroops.Itbroughtastormofapplause.BoththepublicandtheShahwereclearlythrilled over what they had just seen. The British military attaché carefullystudiednotonlytheshow,healsolaterinspectedthetroopsduringtheirtrainingandreportedtoLondon,“TheSwedeshave,despitegreatdifficulties,createdaveryeffectiveforce.Everythingindicatesthattheofficershavelaidthebasisforalong-termestablishmentthatischaracterizedbyeffectivenessandhonesty.”9

Italian and Russian diplomats in Persia described theGG as an essentiallymilitaryforcethatcouldbeusedformoredemandingmissionsthanroadpatrols.

HowdidtheSwedesaccomplishthisinlessthantwoyears?ThefewPersianswho could speak a foreign language spoke either Turkish or French. ManySwedishofficerschosetolearnthebasicsofPersianratherthanuseFrenchasacommon language. The language barriers and other hardships were partiallycompensated by most pleasant living quarters. The six Swedish regimentalchiefs—whoinSwedenwerecaptains—livedinaprincelymanner.

Before their arrival inPersia, theSwedeshadnot expected that theywouldassociatewithotherthanthePersianelitesandWesternEuropeans,butdespitethecompetitionwiththeearliermentionedCossackunit, it turnedoutthattheyenjoyeddiningandassociatingwiththecultivatedRussianofficercorps.

One of the very few non-Swedish eyewitness descriptions of the Swede’strainingmethodswaswrittenbytheGermanmilitaryattachéinTeheran,Baronvon Friesen-Miltitz. In his report to Berlin he gave the following not-so-complimentaryimpressions:

TheGendarmerieperformquitewellundercertainSwedishofficerswhoknowhowtohandlethePersiantroops.Unfortunately,therearealsosomeofficerswhohavenounderstandingoftheirmen,andoftenstrikethemandshownoappreciationfortheirinnateweaknesses.10

During 1914 the Swedish-led Gendarmerie overshadowed the Russian“Consulate Guard” around Teheran. “The Guard” was of no petty size—aCossackbrigadeof2,800men—butatthattimetheSwedishofficershad6,000men in their six regiments with 1,800 horses and, more importantly, hadmanagedtotrain120localofficerstoahighdegreeofmodernprofessionalism.TheBritishalsohada“ConsulateGuard” insouthernPersia in the formofan

Anglo-Indianregiment,the39thCentralIndiaHorse.11TheGGheadquartersandthreeGGregimentswerelocatedinthenorth,the

Russian sphere of influence in Persia; three regiments in themiddle area, theneutralzone;andnoneatall in theBritishzone. In thespringof1914theGGcontrolledalmost1,700kilometersofthePersianroadnetwork,andhadopenedtheruinedtraderoutebetweenPersiaandtheCaspianSea.ThemainroleoftheGGwastopatroltheroads,butitalsowasinvolved,withdespoticpower,asamobilecourtandexecutionpatrol.Highwayrobbersandrebelliousfactionswereseldomleftalive.

Amererumorthatacertaingrouphadappearedinanareacouldsufficefororderstobeissuedtopreventively“neutralize.”SeveralpassagesfromthebookEn av de svenske (One of the Swedes) (1919), show how many Swedishobserversinthosetimesviewedthesebloodyoperations:

Andthesemen,whosehomewasthedesert,andwhoseprotectionwasjusttheflutteringcanvasofatent,underwhichstatuesqueanddarkwomenwetnursedtheircountry’sdarkbrownfuture,thesemenconstantlycarriedwithinthemaburningdesireforacquiringsomeoneelse’shomeandbelongings.Theheavy-ladencaravansthattraveledfromthecoastinwardtothelandwithpricelessvaluablesinEuropeancargo,wereparticularlyattractive.

SotheyassembledingroupsofthousandsandrodearoundPersiainrovinggangsofrobbers.ItwastheserobbergangsthattheGendarmerie,ledandorganizedbyafewSwedes,hadthemissiontorenderharmless.…

TheBaluchistannativesbegantoassembleoutsidethetown,drawnbythenoisyandparticularlylivelyconversation.Thesquadrondrewnear.Itseemedthatthegreatnumericalinferiorityofthegendarmeriehadledthenativestoprepareanattack.Thetacticalviewsofthenativesatthispointwereapparentlyverydisparate.Aftersomeeagerandloudlyvoiceddiscussion,though,thesignificantenemyforcespreadouttomeetthenowdismountedgendarmeriesquadron.…

Theterrorandshockcausedbythetwomachinegunsunexpectedlypartakinginthefightwasunbelievable.Theretreattowardsthetowntookonlyafractionofthetimethatwasneededtomoveintheoppositedirection.TheBaluchistannativeshadneverbeforeencounteredsuchunkindweapons,andafflictedbyaterriblenoisetheypreparedtoselltheirlivesdearly.12

Sweden—FutureWorldGendarme?The reputation of the Swedish gendarmes spread by the European press. TheSwedishgovernmentsoonafterreceivedrequeststodispatchSwedishofficerstoAlbania and Syria. No matter how agreeable these queries were for thegovernment officials it was decided that the Swedish military—or was it theworldsituation?—wouldnotallowSwedishofficerstobesenttomorethanoneplace at a time. Also any talk about the Balkans must wait until the Persianmission was completed. This did not deter the German newspaperDeutscheTageszeitunginJuly1913toforeseethatSwedenwouldonedaybethe“world’sgendarme.”13

Six months later one could read an entire page about the Swedish officercorps in Persia in the London Times. Under the title, “Policing Persia—TheWorkof theSwedishGendarmerie,” thenewspaperpraised thecompetenceofthe Swedes and stated that theirwork had significantly improved the securitysituationinthecountry.ThepaperevenclaimedthattheSwedishachievementswereofimportanceforthelong-termdevelopmentoftheentirecountry.14

TheTimesexaggeratedtheresults—ithadnotbecomeallthatsafeandsecureinPersia—butthearticlecontributedtotheenlargementoftheGGin1914,andtheforcereachedastrengthofover9,000menby1915.ThisirritatedTeheran’sRussian diplomats and the Russian government, who in the Swedish-PersianGendarmerie sawaBritishmovewithin “theGreatGame” toweakenRussianinfluenceovernorthernPersia.

ThearticleintheLondonTimeswasrepeatedinthePekingTimes,andasaresultinFebruary1914theadvisorstotheChinesepresidentaskedtheSwedishlegationinPekingforhelpintherecruitmentofSwedishofficerstobuildanewChinesegendarmerie.15TheyactuallygotGeneralHjalmarsontoagree,withtheapproval of the Swedish government, to travel to Peking. The World War,however, caused this plan to be shelved. It is nevertheless likely that theChinese, justas thePersians,sawtheSwedesasnotonlygoodorganizers,butalso—andperhapsmoreimportant—awaytoavoidtheinfluenceofoneoftheGreatPowers.

Russia’sthenlargestdailynewspaper,NovojeVremja,hadadifferentattitudetowardsthe“SwedishPersians”andchargedGeneralHjalmarsonwithcountlesserrors because he lacked an understanding of Oriental conditions. The mostconcrete charge was that he had “shot to death a great number of innocentpeople.”16Theattitudeofthenewspaperwasinlinewiththewarningsexpressed

byRussiannationalistcirclesthattheSwedesinPersiaposedapotentialmilitarythreat. The Russian nationalists believed that many of the Swedes were pro-German—something that later was shown to be correct.17 The charge ofinnocent victims was in all likelihood also correct. The Persian-SwedishGendarmerie were not police constables of some idyllic Swedish village.General Hjalmarson may have studied the Italian and French Gendarmerieintensively, but both he and his officers reacted in a instinctive manneraccording towhat they trulywere, army officers in combat. TheGG came toresemble theSwedishArmymore thananythingelse.And in thesamewayaswhenRussianorBritish Imperial soldiersoperated in foreign lands thereweresurely many innocent people who were killed when the Swedish-led patrolsattacked“banditvillages.”AccordingtothelastChiefof theGendarmerie,PerNyström,theSwedessoughttominimize“theOrientalscrueltyanddisdainforthepainofothers,”buttodaytoestablishthedegreeofhumanityoftheSwedesand compare it to the conduct of Russian andBritish colleagues is not easilydone.18

TheSuperintendentandtheAmazonThe first Swedish officer in Persia to be killed in combatwas, oddly enough,alsotheonlyonewithpreviouscombatexperience.ThemissionthatledtohisdeathbeganwhentheGendarmeriedecidedtoactagainstatribethathadbeenidentifiedasbearing themain responsibility forhighway robbery in southwestPersia.The leadership of theGendarmerie chose to position one hundredmenwithinthetribalchieftain’smainbase,thecityofKazerun.Itwasnoeasytasktotry to control this tribe and their city because the tribal leader (local governoraccordingtoanIraniansource)NasserDivanwasinagoodrelationshipwiththegovernorgeneralofthedistrict.DivandidnotwanttohaveanygendarmesinhiscityandgotacrowdtosurroundandthreatentheGendarmerie’sbase.

Thegendarme force inKazerun sentoff adesperateplea for support to thenextGendarmerie base in Shiraz. It seems that only a single Swede could bespared from Shiraz to “strengthen” Kazerun: Harald Lundberg. He was notofficer, in fact,butaciviliansuperintendent fromtheSwedishcityofKarlstadwhofoundhimselfinPersiatoconstructabase.

Onecouldn’tsimplyrideintoKazerun.NasserDivanhadsetupaformidabledefensivepositioninastrategicpassjustoutsidethecity,butLundbergandhisfiftysoldierswereable tostormthepositionandacouplemorebehind.Alongthe town perimeter there was a last, impressive, defensive position. Thesuperintendent brought in mountain artillery and was soon able to enter thetown.ArrestingorkillingNasserDivanwasdifferent, though,becausehewastoowellconnectedtopersonallysuffer.ThepunishmentchosenforDivanwasto do penance—a pilgrimage trip to Mecca. For Harald Lundberg’s part, hisaction resulted in his receiving the Swedish medal “For Valor in the Field,”normally only given in wartime (that is, with Sweden officially at war).19LundbergandfourotherSwedishofficersoftheGGwerethelasttoreceivethismedalduringthe1900s.20

MajorOscarOhlson,afirstlieutenantfromtheGotlandArtilleryCorps,wasordered to takeover the commandof theGGbase inKazerun and insure thatNasser Divan would not cause any problems before his pilgrimage. OscarOhlson, accompanied by his wife, Helena, moved into the city’s base. ThereasonthathegotthismissionwasbecausehewasthemostexperiencedSwedein Persia—he had been on the British side during the Boer War, with theDundonald Cavalry, and according to his colleague Eric Carlberg, he was an

“especially capable field officer, daring, with strong nerves, powerful androbust.”21

EricCarlbergandGunnarKällström(inthefront)standingwithPersiancolleaguesandtroops.(Riksarkivet)

Ohlson quickly had to showwhat hewasmade of, asNasserDivan forgotabout his pilgrimage and attacked the gendarmeswith newly-arrivedwarriors.TheGG forcemanaged to reclaim all parts of the town, however, except theneighborhoodwhereDivan lived.Ohlson concluded that the bestway to takefullcontroloverKazerunwasbyhavingsomeone,underthecoverofdarkness,place explosives to the building where Nasser Divan lived. The Swede hadstudied the construction of the house and determined that it was best if hehimselfwentforwardwiththebombandignitethefuse.Ohlsonwasdiscoveredright next to the objective, however, and shot in the head. A Persian officerrushedbackto thebaseandreported that themajorhadbeenkilled, informingamong others, themajor’s wife, Helena.With the hope that her husbandwasperhapsonlywoundedandwithsomemilitaryexperienceherself—shewasnotonly an officer’s wife, she was the daughter of a colonel—she chose to takecommandandheldNasserDivan’smenatbayforfourdays!22Duringthesiegeshewroteinhernotebook:

Allinallatthismoment,twelveo’clocknoononthefirstofMarch1914,wehavesevendead,oneofthemanofficer,andsixteenwounded.Threehorseshavealsohadtogivetheirlives.Thegreatestdifficultyis

transportationoffoodtotheforceintheparkarea.Thegendarmesliveonfigsandbread,bakedherebothdayandnight.Fortunatelytheyhadalargequantityofflourandwheatinthestorehouse.Themainshortfall,duetotheneedtokeepthebreadovenfiredup,isinfirewood.Itisnecessarytocutupallkindofthingstokeeptheovenfiredup.Thehorsesmusteatleaves.Inordertoreachtheforceinthegardenwithfoodandammunitionthemensometimeshavetocrawl,sometimesdashtothem.Theworstthingisthattheyarerunninglowonammunition.Well,they’vebeenshootinglikecrazyaroundhereandthebulletshavebeenwhistlingnon-stopforthreedays.Ifmoreammunitiondoesnotarriveonecannotpredicttheoutcome.23

HelenaOhlsonsurvived thesiege, returned toSweden,andgotaPersianaswell as aBritishmedal for heroism for her forceful handling of the events inKazerun.Hernephew,FaleF:sonBurman,visitedtheareain1949whenhewastheSwedishmilitaryattachétoIran.24HefoundthegraveofherfallenhusbandinsidethegarrisongroundsofShirazandwassurprisedthatitwassolargeandwellmaintained.“Certainlyithadbeensprucedupbecauseofmyvisit,amongother things, with flower pots around the edge of the grave, but the fixedornamentsweretastefulandbeautiful,andcertainlynotnew.”Engravedonthemonument, inbothSwedishandPersian,weredetailsgivingOhlson’sdatesofbirthanddeath,aswellasdetailsabouthowhedied.

InApril 1914BorisMöller, amajor in theGG, shot to death the “BrigandLeader” Abbas Khan, whose body shortly after was pictured in the SwedishnewspaperHvar8Dag.WhentheMajorCountErikLewenhauptattempted toarresttheremainderofAbbasKhan’sgroupthecountwasshotandkilled.TheSwedishnewspaperMilitärnyheter filled the entire first pagewith the storyofLewenhaupt’s death. Under the title “yet another comrade who has found ahero’sdeath!”thearticleread:

AshorttimeagoOscarOhlsonfellandnowErikLewenhaupt,twobravecomrades,whohavefallenwithinbarelyamonth’stimeinaforeignlandfightingtogiveinnerpeacetoaforeignpeople!Deathisindeedharshtowardsourcomrades.Yetinthepainfullossesonegainsrichnessinthememories.TheyshowusthatSwedenyethasmenwhocandieasheroes.Inourtroubledtimesthisoughttobeagreatconsolationforus,andchallengeustomakeourselvespreparedand,perhapssoon,towithhonorfightanddieforthegreatestmissionofawarrior:thedefenseofthe

fatherland’sfreedomandhonor.Toyou,youbravecomrade,youdashingHussar,whofellonforeign

soil,gointhesedays,warmfeelingsofgratitude,forwhatyouwereasacomrade,andforthehonoryoubroughtovertheSwedishmilitary!OntheplaqueinKarlberg’schapelwherethereareinscribedthenamesofthosewhohave“falleninarmiesofotherlands,”shallyournamesnowbeinscribedingold,forfollowinggenerationstoknowhowaSwedishwarriorcandie,whenheisoftherightstock.25

Thefallof1914wasmarkedbytheoutbreakoftheWorldWar—andlocallyaGermancharmoffensivetowardstheSwedesinPersianservice.TheGermanlegation in Teheran did its best to interest and entertain the officers of the“GermanicTribe.”AresultofthiseffortwasloudtoastsbySwedishofficersfortheGermanKaiserinthehotelsofTeheran.26Theseandmanyotherindicatorscaused both the British and Russian diplomats to warn London and SaintPetersburg about the Swedes. They looked like they could change theiremployer. And who, by the way, actually was their employer? Before theSwedesarrivedinPersiathemajorityofthemprobablybelievedtheywouldbeemployedbythePersianstate.Well,oncetheygotthere,itbecameclearthattheindependenceof thePersianauthoritieswasminimal; that theBritishwere theoneswhoheldthepursestrings,andthattheRussiandiplomatsinTeheranonlybegrudgingly accepted the presence of the Swedes and on occasion actuallyworkedagainstthem.WhytheRussians,inthemain,allowedtheestablishmentofthePersianGendarmerieGouvernementaleisstillanopenquestion.27WhatisclearisthatwiththeoutbreakoftheWorldWarasortofColdWarbrokeoutinTeheran,betweentheSwedes,theBritish,andtheRussians.

DespitetheoutbreakofwartheSwedishgovernmentdelayedthedecisiontorecall theofficers, andGendarmerieMajorGustafEdwall, in theendof1914,began to negotiate on behalf of the Swedish officers with the Germanrepresentative in Persia—as the Russian press soon warned—to allow theGendarmerie,inclusiveoftheSwedes,tobetakenoverintoGermanservice.28

Then came the firstwartimeChristmas in Persia.Despite severe logistical,geographic,and religioushindrances, theSwedes inPersiawereable toobtainboth Christmas ham and a Christmas tree. The Swedish newspaper SvenskaDagbladetreportedthattheofficers,“inaccordancewitholdNordiccustom,hadlaid their hands on the forehead of a pig while making a solemn oath.” OnChristmasDaytheyenjoyedanotherratherun-Islamictradition,todipbreadin

the frothyhamsauce left in thepotused tocook theham(inSwedish,dopp igrytan)atthehomeofMajorEricFrick.

A New Year’s message from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign AffairsreachedPersia,orderingallprofessionalofficerstoreturntotheirSwedishunits,with reserve officers to follow not more than six months later. TheMinistryreferred to the passage about force majeure in the officers’ contracts.Professional officers, with General Hjalmarson in the lead, traveled homeobediently in February 1915. As soon as they had done so, however, theremaining sixteen reserve officers and four sergeants chose to alter totally themission of the Swedish contingent in Persia and signed a contract with thePrussianArmy.ThecontractwastopsecretuntilthePersiangovernmentwoulddeclarewaragainstRussiaandGreatBritain,butboththeinvolvedGermansandSwedes were confident that within only a few weeks the Shah would alignhimselfwithGermany.TheShahthenwouldbesentanamplereward,GermanweaponryandacombinedGerman-Ottoman“LiberationArmy”thatwouldenterfrom adjacent Mesopotamia, today called Iraq, at that time still part of theOttomanEmpire(Turkey).

Forthe“GermanicCause”Very few Swedish authors have even mentioned the German phase in thePersian-Swedishgendarmerie’shistory.Thefirstbooktoamplycoverthisphasewasreleasedonly in2002,DieschwedischenOffiziere inPersien (Germanfor“TheSwedishofficersinPersia”).Theauthor,MarkusIneichen,workedinthe1990sasaSwissRedCrossdelegateandUNcivilservant in theMiddleEast.He became interested in the firstmodern peacekeepingmission in the region.ThefirstphaseoftheSwedishpresenceinPersiacanbeconsideredassuch.

IneichenhasmadeuseofSwedish,British,German,Russian,andevensomePersiansourcesandsucceededinuntangling“thegreatrowamongtheSwedishPersians,”as theconflictwascalled in theSwedishpressat the time.ManyoftheSwedeswhohadenlistedwiththeGermanschargedtheirformercolleague,PerNyström,with “treason against theGermanic cause in theEast.”Nyströmretorted that his antagonists had sold the GG—created with “a great deal ofSwedishblood”—forthesakeofsomemoney.29

Thepro-GermanSwedesrepliedthat,foronething,NyströmhadoncebeenjustasmuchafriendofGermanyastheywere,andNyströmwastheonewhohad wrecked things by changing sides and not following the Persian people

whentheydemandedindependencefromGreatBritainandRussia.FurthermoreNyströmwasa traitorwhohadpermitted the imprisonmentofoneofhisown,MajorNilsÅngman.

The comprehensive research in the German archives done by MarkusIneichenshowthatPerNyström’snamewasindeedonalistof thosewhohadgone over to serve the Germans, but the document is not signed by himpersonally, but in his name by another Swede, Gustaf Edwall, who first tookover the gendarmerie from Hjalmarson. It is therefore hard to ascertain ifNyströmactuallychangedsidesorifhehadonlybeenenrolledbyothersforthe“GermanicCause.”30IneichenbelievesthatNyströmchangedsides.

Undoubtedly, Nyström warned the British and Russians that the Germans,with thehelpof theSwedes inPersianservice,wouldcarryoutacoupagainsttheRussianConsulateGuard, theCossacks, inNovember1915.The ideawiththecoupwastoprovokeaconflictthatwouldgettheShahtodeclarewaragainstRussiaandGreatBritain.WhenthisplanbecameknowntheRussiansmobilizedandmarchedtoTeheran,butbydoingso theShahwas influencedprecisely inthedirectiondesiredbytheGermans.HewaspreventedbyRussianandBritishdiplomats, however, from leaving Teheran to build a new, pro-Germangovernment.Intheconfusion,Edwall,theChiefoftheGendarmerie,showedhishandwhenhedideverythinghecouldtomaketheShahleaveTeheran.EdwallwasthereforedismissedandNyströmtookover.

Still, in late November 1915 a much-delayed small German-OttomanExpeditionaryCorpsarrivedinPersia.AmongitsofficerswasaSwedishformernon-commissionedofficer(NCO)of theGG,MartinEkström,nowinPrussianuniform.GunnarKällströmandhisregimentjoinedtheGerman-OttomanCorpsand was accompanied by his fearless wife, Elsa, as well as a dozen moreSwedes. This multinational corps then succeeded in seizing Mousallah, astrategic fortification in western Persia. This success could not be capitalizedupon,however.ThepromisedGerman-Ottomanreinforcementsnevercame.TheSwedeswithdrewtoBaghdadandfromtheresomevolunteeredtoserveontheGermanwestern frontwhileotherschose to travelhome toSweden.The freshSwedishOberleutnant (second lieutenant) Hjalmar Pravitz performed quite afeat for Germany on the road between Baghdad and Kut-al-Amara. PravitzmanagedtosaveaGermantreasurechestcontainingfivemillionGermanmarksfrom falling intoBritish hands. For this actionPravitzwas decoratedwith theIronCross,2dClass.31

GunnarandElsaKällströmbytheirresidenceinQazvin,Persia.Thepurposeofthesymbolinthebackgroundhasnotbeenestablished.Itcertainlylookslikeasuncross,popularamongGermanicand

fascistgroups.AfterserviceinthePersianGendarmerieGunnarKällströmjoinedtheGermansinPersia,andElsadidherbesttoassistherhusbandinhisnewcapacity.(Riksarkivet)

The Persians returned to British-Russian control and London’s dominationoverthecountrybecamemoreovert.TheGGwasreplacedinthemainbyanewBritish unit: the South Persia Rifles. As a British scholar wrote several yearslater, the previous control method of bringing Swedes to Persia had been “amistakethatcostusdearly.”32

It should be added thatBritish author StephanieCronin has challenged theprevailingviewinSwedenoftheSwedishofficersinPersia:

TheSwedesneitherspokenorunderstoodPersianandreliedcompletelyontheirIranian[Persian]subordinatesfortheirlocalknowledgeandintelligence.ItalsoseemsthatincommittingtheGendarmerietothenationalistcauseitwastheIranian[Persian]officerswhotookthelead.33

ASwedishWarrior-MotherinBaghdad

MartinEkström,GunnarKällström,andtenotherSwedesremainedinPersiainNovember1915andjoinedtheGermansinthewaragainst theRussiansintheMiddleEast.Theirviewwasthattheyfollowedthe“partyofpublicopinion”inPersia,whileotherssawthemsimplyaspro-Germanadventurers.34Intheeyesof Per Nyström their decision was influenced mostly by the better pay andprospectofacareerinGermanservice.

Martin Ekström’s experience of German war service in Persia has beendocumentedintwobooks,buthisclosestfriend,GunnarKällström,islesswellknown despite the fact that he turned over a whole regiment to the Germanside.35Probablywewouldhave learnedmoreabouthim ifhe—andseveralofhiscolleagues—hadnotbecomeillanddiedshortlyafterhisreturntoSweden.Hiswife,Elsa, inanunpublishedmanuscriptdescribesboth theearly timesofpartyingandluxury,andthelatertimesofstruggle.SheportrayshermemoriesofthoseeventsvividlyandprovidesaveryclearpictureofthenationalisticandromanticizedviewofwartypicalamongtheSwedesinPersia.And,asweshallsee,ElsaKällströmwasnotamereobserveroftheevents.

ElsaKällströmdescribedhertimeinPersiaasthehighpointofherlife,“Despitehardships,shortagesoffoodandwater,difficultiesofallkinds,itwasfun,everythingeasy,everythingwonderful.”(Riksarkivet)

GunnarKällströmwasa lieutenantwith theNorrlandArtilleryRegiment inthe spring of 1914, when he signed up for duty in Persia. His fiancée, Elsa,followedhimsomemonthslater.TheyrendezvousedinBaku,Azerbaijan(thenpart of Russia), where they got married. They crossed the Caspian Sea on aRussianpaddlesteamerandthenbyhorseandwagontraveledfourmoredays,toQazvininPersiawhereGunnar’sunit,the5thGGRegiment,wasbased.

WithinmeIcanstillpicturethescenewhenwearrivedandstoodinfrontofthecitygate,waitingtobeletin:camelcaravansinfrontofthecitywall,thegatesofopaqueglassinvividcolorsthatwereilluminatedbythelightoftherisingsun,thesparklinghoarfrostontheground,andthePersiansunquicklyrisinginthesky,makingtheairwarmandlovely.Afairylanditwasatthattime,andInevercanneverescapethefeelingofsuddenlylivinginthetimesoftheOldTestament.ThemightyElbrusMountainchainwasalsofantasticallybeautiful,stretchingupthroughthelandfromtheCaucasus—barrenmountainsides,steadilyshiftinginalltheopalescentcolors,andwithsnowontheridges.Atthefootofthehighestpoint,6,000-meter-tallDemavend,liesTeheran,andourQazvin,whichisnotconsideredtobeespeciallyhigh,asitislocatedataboutthesamelevelasthepeakoftheSwedishmountain,Åreskutan.Accordingly,onehadsnowymountainsononeside,desertontheother,andanunexpectedwealthofflowers,particularlyofrosesthathavemadethegardensofPersiafamous.

Welivedinanoldwonderfulpalace—fullofmarbleandmosaics—rightinthecenterofaverylargepark,wheremyhusband,whowasanaccomplishedhorseman,immediatelybuiltanopenairridingringofSwedishdimensions.QazvinwastheRussianheadquartersinPersia,withaGuardsRegiment,aRegimentoftheLine,andaCossackRegiment.TheCossacksamazedushighlybyholdingregularservices,Protestantarmystyle,whichtheyexplainedcamefromtheirregimentallineagefromMazepa,andthereligiousservicesofhisally—ourKingKarl[Charles]XIIandhis“Karoliner.”TheallywasourKingKarl[Charles]XIIandhis“Karoliner,”orsoldiers.TheyspokewithgreatprideofKarlXIIandvieweduslikesomekindofnaturalfriendsandbrothers.LifeinQazvinwasnormallypeacefulandquiet,atleastrelatively.36

Elsa often returned to the Swedish king Karl XII (Charles XII) in herthoughts.Shewrotefranklythatshehadthreeherofiguresinherlife:

AlexandertheGreat,KarlXII,andmyhusband.AndmyhusbandalwayscarriedacopyofKarolinerna[anepicnovelaboutthesoldiersofKarlXII],inhispocketandusedeveryopportunitytoreadappropriatesectionsfromthebooktothePersians.

Uptotheendof1915Elsawasabletospendagooddealofherlifeonthebackofahorse.OneweekeverymonthshewasinTeheran,“partlysothatmyhusbandcouldgiveareportandpartlysowecouldparticipateintheveryhecticsocial life there, but we always gave a sigh of relief when we returned toQazvin.”

Elsadescribedhow the atmosphere changedbecauseof theoutbreakof theFirstWorldWar:

WiththepassageoftimetheunrestwiththeRussiantroopsincreased.Skirmishesoccurredbetweenourwatchpostsandtheirsoldiers,andourfriendsinQazvinsuddenlywereforbiddentoassociatewithus—anorderthattheybynomeansfollowed.Theywould,withthedangerofbeingcourt-martialled,comehoppinginthroughourFrenchwindowswearingblackmasksandlongblackcloaks,tosocializehappilywithusuntillateintothenight.Yetonewasontenterhooks,weighingeachword.Itwasjustnotasbefore.Thatfeelingwassimplyintheair.

Theconflictamong theSwedes inPersiadidnotbotherElsa.Shedefendedherhusband’sdecision to join theGermansbyexplaining that itwasallabout“the Persian Patriots—the Freedom Fighters of the Time,” who wanted toliberatethemselvesfrom“theRussian-Englishyoke.”

TheSpanishandAmericanlegationsinTeheranofferedtotakeinElsawhenthegreatdisturbancesbrokeoutinNovember1915:

MyhusbandandIdidnotwanttobeseparatedatall,andbecausehehadastrongconfidenceinmynon-existentnerves,gotmetomakeaformalpromisetoneverbeintheway,takegoodcareofmyself,andtoalwaysbereadytomarchtenminutesaftertheordertodepartwasgiven.SowedrankthelastbottleofchampagneinthefellowshipoftheSwedishPoliceChiefSjöberg,andleftQazvinandourhome,whichwasseizedbytheRussianswithallthecontents.

After three days the Källström couple came to Hamadan where GunnarKällströmwentintocombatagainsttheCossacks.Elsadidnottakepartherself

therebut,afterthevictoryhadbeenwon,sheclimbedtheMousallah,anaturalfortification,andsawtheRussians—someofwhomsherecognizedfromQazvin—astheymarchedpastandlaiddowntheirweaponsandflagsfortheSwedish-Persian victors.Gunnar then rode awaywhileElsa remained inHamadan andmadeherself“usefulby tendingto thefield telephonesandcodedtelegramstoall thecomradesinallcornersoftheland, toassoonaspossiblejoinus.”Themorningafter,GunnarrangfromaguardpostandaskedElsatoleavethecity,because theRussiansweremarchingon itwith reinforcements.Heendedwith“we’llmeetagain,ifnotsoon,theninSiberia,orValhalla.”

SeveralwithdrawalbattlesandfootmarcheslaterElsaandGunnarKällströmmetthedistressedorganizeroftheunsuccessfulinvasionofPersia.ElsasawinhimaGermancounterparttotheBriton,T.E.Lawrence:

ToDovlettabadcamealsotheGermanmilitaryattaché,CountKanitz,whoseemedtiredandnervous,understandablyso,becauseuponhimrestedagreatresponsibility.Theweaponsandammunition,bywhichheinGermany’sandTurkey’snamepromisedtosupportthePersianmovement,nevercame.JustaswithLawrenceofArabiawhoalsowasdeceivedbyhisgovernment,evensowasthechivalrousandsympatheticKanitzbyhissuperiors.Alsoforhimtheburdenbecametooheavyintheend,andinJanuary1916hetookhisownlife.DuringtheweekinDovlettabadmyhusband,with600soldiers,attackedtheRussiansandbeatthemalso,buton14DecembertheRussianstookHamadan,andtherewaswildpanic.

WelltothefrontinMesopotamia’smaincityElsagavebirthon9May1916toadaughterwhowasgiventhenameBaghdagull(Baghdadrose).

NurseryforSwedishWarriorsWhat remained of the Gendarmerie in April 1916 was renamed Amnieh—aconstabularythathadexistedinthe1800s,anddeclined.ItwastheBritishSouthPersiaRifles,however,whotookovertheroleofthegendarmes.ThreeorfourSwedishreserveofficersandtwoSwedishpoliceinstructorsremainedinPersiauntil 1924,when all foreign citizens in Persian servicewere dismissed.37 Theofficer’s school established by the Swedes survived a further ten years.38 TheSwedishpoliceworkinPersiabecamethemostlonglastingandisthebasisforthemodernpoliceorganizationinIran.39

Persia got a “strong man” in the form of Reza Khan during the 1920s, apreviousmember of theCossackBrigadewho, after he ejected aweakSovietmilitary expedition from the land, appointed himself Shah. He cemented hispowerbybuildingupastrongarmy,wherehemadeuseofmanyofficerswhohadbeentrainedbytheSwedes.

Persia served as a nursery for a line of persons within the phenomena ofSwedes in foreign armies. Already before the disestablishment of theGendarmerie all except four of the then-remaining Swedish officers hadtransferred to German or Ottoman service. Two years after Persia, HaraldHjalmarsonwasmadeamajorgeneralinFinland.MartinEkström,afterhisstintin the German Army, became a lauded military hero in the Baltic States.Politically hewas not as successful—his “party,” theNational SocialistBlock(NSB),diedoutevenbeforetheSecondWorldWarbegan.TheSwedish-Persiaveteran longest inGerman servicewasNilsÅngman.After hisWWIGermanservicehebecameamemberoftheGermanSA,thebrown-shirtedarmyoftheGerman Nazi Party. During WWII Ångman joined the Luftwaffe, where heattainedtherankoflieutenantcolonel(fordetails,seethechapteronSwedesinthe service of the Third Reich). The romantic but tough Elsa Källström wasstrongly engaged in support for theSwedishvolunteers forFinlandduring theSecondWorldWar.40

ThestepfromreservesecondlieutenantinanorthernSwedishtowntocommandofaregimentinPersiawasgeographicallylong,butwentswiftlyforNilsÅngman.AmongthePersiandecorationsthathe

receivedwastheOrderoftheSunandLionofthe4thClass.[Hvar8Dag(H8D)]

Lastbutnot least,mentionshouldbemadeofPersiaveteranCarlPetersén.Heprobablygothis jobasChiefof theC-Bureau, theSecretSwedishMilitaryIntelligenceAgency,largelybecauseofhiswartimeexperience,whichbeganinPersia. On the way home to Sweden while in Ottoman (Turkish) service hewitnessedthecatastrophicBritishlandingsatGallipoli.41PetersénwastheChiefoftheC-Bureaufromitsinceptionin1940untilitwasshutdownin1946.42

3.IntheServiceoftheKaiser,1914–1918:“Germany’sVictory—

Sweden’sFuture”ImustadmitthatI,atmanytimes,boastedaboutOldSweden,andusuallysaidthattheidealarmywouldbe“ofGermanicstock,withGermantrooptrainingandSwedishofficertraining.”

—NilsRosén,Sr.SwedishArtilleryOfficerintheGermanArmy

From neutral but then largely German-friendly Sweden some seventy men,mainlyofficers,volunteeredforGermanwarservice.TheseSwedes fought forGermany inFrance,Belgium,Russia, Italy, theBalticStates,Persia,Palestine,alongtheSuezCanalandtheBosporus.SeveralofthemcontinuedtoworkforGermanyafterthefalloftheGermanEmpire.

*****

The Empire that was born in conjunction with the German triumph in theFranco-Prussian War of 1870–71 developed quickly: industrially, militarily,culturally, socially, and scientifically.After thatwar a long and strongFrenchinfluenceonSwedenwasfollowedbyanequallystrongGermaninfluence.“Itisafairassumptionthatagreatmajorityofthemostwell-educatedinSwedenwerepro-German,”saidSwedishWWIhistorianNils-OlofFranzén.1AdmirationforGermany couldbe found all over theSwedishpolitical field; for example, theSwedish labor movement looked up to the well-organized Social DemocraticPartyofGermany.

Advocates for a Swedish military alliance with the Kaiser’s Germany,however, never received an encouraging response. Swedish Liberal PartymembersandSocialDemocratsgenerallyhadacoolattitudetowardsGermany’smilitary. A neutral stance in a European war thus had broad support withSwedishpublicopinion.Aftertheoutbreakofworldwarin1914,Swedishpro-Germanactivistsdidappear,butonlyfromtheupperclasses.Whatissignificantisthatmanyoftheseactivistswereprofessionalorreserveofficers.

Swedish officers in general admired themodern and efficient Germanwarmachine. The Swedish officer corps had close professional relationships withGermanyandthereweremanybloodtiesaswell,throughmarriage.Itisratherilluminating that seventeenoutof the twenty-fiveSwedish regimentalmarcheshave either German or Austrian origins. Swedish uniforms were based onPrussianpatterns,agoodexampleofthatbeingthePickelhaube(spikedhelmet),whichin2008isstillevidentintheSwedishuniformssystemwornbytheRoyalPalaceGuard.

In Europe there were two major power blocks in 1914: the so called“Entente”andthe“CentralPowers.”TheEntentewasmadeupofFrance,RussiaandGreatBritainandlatertheUSA(which,however,formallydidnotjointheEntente) and Italy. The German Empire and the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary constituted the Central Powers, which were joined by the OttomanEmpire (Turkey) and Bulgaria. The interests of Austria-Hungary and RussiacollidedintheBalkans.InJune1914SerbiannationalistsassassinatedAustrianCrown Prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo.Austria-Hungary used the event to place far reaching demands on Serbia anddeclaredwarshortlythereafteragainstthatcountry.GermanysupportedAustria-Hungary,andduetothecomprehensivealliancesystemmanymorestateswereautomaticallydrawnintotheconflict.

Germany’splanwasfirsttocrushFranceinaquickcampaign,andthenturnto theeast against the slowlymobilizingRussia.WhenGermanydeclaredwaron France and Russia, the German Army invaded France on 2 August 1914through Luxemburg and Belgium. The German violation of neutral Belgianterritory resulted inGreatBritain declaringwar againstGermanyon5August1914. The German Army’s advance towards Paris was stopped in September1914bythe“MiracleoftheMarne.”

TheresultwasthatabloodyandprolongedtrenchwarfarewasopenedontheWesternFrontforthenextfouryears.Despiterepeatedmassiveattacksbybothsides with enormous losses, the front moved only a few kilometers in eitherdirection and stretched from the French-Swiss border to the Belgian AtlanticCoast.Thenewdevelopmentsinweapontechnologies,suchasthemachinegunandheavyartillery,frozethefrontinawaythegeneralsdidnotexpect.2

The Scandinavian states declared their neutrality in the Great War on 3August 1914, but research has shown that the Swedish foreignminister,KnutWallenberg, very early on in the process, promised the German Empire “abenevolent neutrality.”3 This, in combination with the Swedish court’s pro-

Germanattitude,ledtoGermanoverturesin1915togetSwedenmoreactivelyengagedin thewaragainst theRussians.SwedenwaspromisedafuturewheretheywouldbethedominantpowerinanewNordicEmpire,whichwouldevenincludeFinlandandtheBalticStates.4AsimilarofferwasmadebyGermanyinthesummerof1941,butbothtimestheofferswererejected.5

JustasintheSecondWorldWar,however,therewereSwedeswhosoughttojointheGermanarmedforcesintheperiodfrom1914to1918.ManyoftheatleastseventySwedeswerecareerorreserveofficers.6Inaddition,aboutadozenSwedes served with the forces of the Ottoman (that is, Turkish) and Austro-HungarianEmpires,whowerealliedwithGermany.

OlofLiljewalchfromStockholmasaGermanfirstlieutenantandartilleryofficerontheWesternFrontin1917withtheregiment“PrinzregentLuitpoldvonBayern.”BeforetheFirstWorldWarLiljewalchwasarenownedSwedishexplorerinSouthAmerica.Hediedin1923inanairplanecrashintheNetherlands.

[DeutschesSoldatenjarbuch(DSJ)]

CelebritySwedesandWWITwo of themostwell known Swedes of the periodwere strongly engaged insupport of the German armed forces. One of them was Victoria, Queen ofSweden,who even had her ownGerman regiment on theWestern Front. Theother was Sven Hedin, the internationally renowned explorer and SwedishAcademymember.For decadesHedin’s name—both inSweden and abroad—wassynonymouswithexcitingscientificexpeditionsinAsia.

QueenVictoriaofSwedenintheuniformofaGermanhonorarycolonel.DuringWWIshewroteto“mybrave[German]fusiliers”thatshehopedtheywouldaccomplish“new,glorious,featsofarms.”Shehadastronginfluenceonherhusband,KingGustafV,infavorofGermany.Inhisdiaryon6August1914,theSocialDemocratErikPalmstiernastated,“WemustnotletusbeinfluencedbytheHohenzollernladyinthe

Palace,orbythemilitary,whoaremadlypro-German.”(Armémuseum)

SvenHedinviewedtheFrenchandBritishwartimealliancewiththeRussiansagainstGermanyasabizarremisalliance.InhisviewitwouldbeablessingforWestern culture if Russia could be defeated once and for all. According toHedin, Sweden should joinGermany to fight against “the barbarians from theeast.”7

FromSeptembertoNovember1914SvenHedinmadeatripasajournalisttotheGermanWesternFront.Hedinwrotean801-pagebookabout this tripwithhis own photos and drawings, calledFrom the Front in theWest, released in1915inGermanin59,779copies,afterwhichafurther596,000copies(!)wereprinted for the German soldiers in the trenches. Hedin wanted most of all toinfluence Swedish opinion towards a more pro-German direction. After thereleaseof thebookHedinwasexpelledasamemberof theRoyalGeographicSociety in London because his “activities identified him as allied with theenemies of the King of England.” France demanded the return of Hedin’sprestigiousCommodorerankoftheLegionofHonor.8DuringtheperiodMarchtoAugust1915hestayedattheGermanEasternFrontasaguestoftheGermanGeneralStaffandtheresultwasa964-pagebest-sellingbookentitledTheWarAgainstRussia.

FamousSwedishexplorerandGermany-supporterSvenHedinonavisittotheTurkish-GermanFrontinPalestine(Gaza),August1916.Hediniswearingawhitetropicalhelmet(secondfromleft).WithhimareGermanaviationpersonnel,includingFirstLieutenantHenrySchumburgfromStockholm(secondfrom

right).(ErnstBahrke/HansWernerNeulen)

InhisbooksHedinmixednaiveglorificationwithrealistic reportage. In theCarpathianson theEasternFrontSvenHedinwandered in trencheswhere“thedead laid so tightly together thatone couldnotproceed furtherbecauseof thebodies.…”Intheevening,however,Hedinoftendinedat“splendid”dinnersatvarious German officer’smesses, surrounded by sons of the Kaiser, generals,and grand dukes. The German officers of different ranks were described by

Hedin regularly as “noble and proud,” “smart,” “brave” and the soldiers as“practical.” The meeting with Kaiser Wilhelm became an unforgettableexperience.AfterawittyresponsebyHedintheKaiserlaughed“soheartilythathisshoulderswereshaking.”

Sweden’s Queen Victoria, Queen Consort to Gustaf V, was the honorarycolonelof aGerman regiment thatwas sent to theWesternFront.Asearly as1908 she had been named honorary Chief of this Prussian Infantry unit inStettin; the Füsilier Regiment “Königin Victoria von Schweden” (QueenVictoriaofSwedenFusilierRegiment).Victoriawasbornas thedaughterofaGerman grand duke and was strongly influenced by the German militarytradition.Theregimentwasestablishedalreadyin1720,inSwedishPomeraniaasalifeGuardregiment,withtheSwedishQueenUlrikaEleonoraastheformalregimentalcommander. In1815SwedishPomeraniawasceded toPrussia,andtheregimentwastransferredintacttothePrussianArmy.9

ThesoldiersoftheregimentworetheSwedishnationalcoatofarms,thethreecrowns,ontheirshoulderstraps.InthetrenchesofWWItheyreceivedanumberoffinegiftsfromtheirqueenandinreturnsentheracrownartfullymadefromgrenadeshrapnelandbullets.Thequeenrespondedwarmlytothegift.Althoughshe herself never fired a shot in anger she did in fact sense something of therealityofwarbyexperiencingaFrenchbombingraidwhilevisitinghermotherinKarlsruhe.

TheSwedishprofileofthe34thFusilierRegiment“KöniginVictoriavonSchweden”wasapparentbythethreeSwedishcrownsontheregimentalshoulderstraps.(Armémuseum)

Twenty-two Swedish citizens served in Königin Victoria during the FirstWorldWar.10AlfredOlofssonfromVästerbottenwasoneofthem.Hecametothe regiment only inMay1917, butmanaged to fight as a lieutenantwith theregiment in Picardy, Flanders, andAlsace before leavingGerman service andjoining the SwedishBrigade in Finland.11Another Swedewas a student fromKalmar, Sven Sonesson. Although he was badly wounded by all imaginableweapons,hesurvived,butwasfinallycapturedbytheFrenchatNoyon.DuringtheSecondWorldWarSonessonwasareserveofficerwiththeSwedishKalmarRegimentandworetheIronCrossonhisSwedishArmytunic.Helettherebenodoubt,however,aboutwherehisultimateloyaltylay,“Itishighlyprobablethatsome of my old war comrades will be on the German side in an attack onGotland,andknowthatSvenSonessonmightstandthere.Thenshall theyalsoknow that Svenwill fight as a flaming devil to stop them from landing.”12AthirdSwedeinKöniginVictoriawasthecareerofficerErikReichenberg.Afterhis return fromGermany in1919hiswarservicewasmostlyheldagainsthimandheattainedmajor’srankonlyuponhisretirement.Hediedin1980attheageof 88 years, as the last one of the Swedes who served in the German ArmyduringWWI.13

MajorErikReichenberg,thelastsurvivingWWIveteranontheGermanside.Heservedwiththe“Victoria”Regiment.HerephotographedinhisSwedishArmyuniformwithFinnishandGerman

decorations.Reichenbergdiedin1980.(Reichenbergfamilyarchive)

FromtheWesternFronttothe“Asienkorps”On 19 August 1914, just two weeks after the start of the war in France, aSwedish officer died in combat on the Western Front, Achates von Platen,formerlyanofficerwiththeCrownPrince’sHussarRegimentinSkåne(Scania).ByJanuary1908vonPlatenhadalreadybegunhisserviceasanaspiringofficerwiththePrussianDragoonRegiment12“vonArnim.”Thebrotherofthefallenofficer, Curt von Platen, also joined the Germans, was wounded twice andreceivedtheIronCrossFirstClass.AfterhisdischargefromGermanservicein1919heemigratedtoCanada,wherehediedin1977.

Knut Stålhandske, a career officer with the Swedish Army Service Corps,became a captain in the German artillery in 1916, and served on both theWesternandEasternFronts.Hewaspromotedtomajorandtookcommandofamortarbattalionin1917,lateradvancingtocommandtheArtilleryRegiment20.Hewasdecoratedwith the IronCrossofbothclasses.Stålhandske returned toStockholm in 1920 and became a reserve captain in the Boden ArtilleryRegiment.HediedinStockholmin1952.14

A number of Swedish doctors also served the Central Powers. JohnReenstiernaservedasavolunteerdoctoratthemilitaryhospitalsinBreslau(nowWroclaw), Vienna, and Constantinople between September 1915 and March1917.HisserviceevenrenderedhimanIronCrossandtheOttomanequivalent,the “IronCrescent.”Reenstierna laterbecameaprofessor at theworld famousKarolinskaHospitalinStockholm.

SwedishofficersfoughtnotonlyintheclayofFlandersandthesteppesoftheUkraine,butalsoin theheatandsandof thebiblical landsof theMiddleEast.NilsdeMaré, the sonof the regimental commander for theSmålandsHussarsand a lieutenant in the same regiment, was part of the previously describedGendarmerie (GG) officerswho transferred to theGermanArmy in 1915 and1916.HethereattainedtherankofRittmeister (cavalrycaptain)andwasinairreconnaissance in Flanders, which he survived. After the fall of the GermanKaiserhewasreleasedandreturnedtoanestate,Altmannsdorf,inSilesia.Nilsde Maré returned to Sweden in 1945 and died in Uppsala in 1953. His son,Thorgny de Maré, died ten years earlier, in combat near Lake Ladoga as anofficercadetintheWehrmacht.

NilsÅngmanafterhavingenduredBritishandRussiancaptivityandafterhavingjoinedthe16thPrussianHussars.InGermanserviceheearnedtheIronCrossofbothclasses.AfterWWIÅngmansettleddowninGermany,becameadentistandjoinedHitler’sBrownshirts,theSA,wherehebecameasergeantmajor.

(ForhisWWIIservice,seetheThirdReichchapter.)(Krigsarkivet)

Nils Ångman, a reserve officer with the Norrland Dragoon Regiment inUmeå, was also a GG officer from 1913 to 1915. Ångman received acommissionasaGermanlieutenant,fightingaroundAbdachin1915andagainstArab tribes allied to Britain.When the Swedish Security Service interrogatedNils Ångman in the fall of 1945 about his time in Germany, and even hisGermanserviceinPersia,hesaid:

TheGendarmerieundercommandoftheSwedishofficershadenteredcombatonthesideofthenationalists.TheyhadsoughttosupportGermanyandgetweaponsfromthatland,whentheSwedishofficersjoinedtheGermanArmyasofficers.ÅngmanheldtherankofOberleutnant.TheyhadPersianuniforms.ÅngmanwascapturedbytheRussiansin1916andhadescapedtoreturntoSweden.15

When the peace agreement was signed Ångman was released from theGermanArmywiththerankofaRittmeister(captain)withthePrussianHussarRegiment16.HemaintainedhisstrongcommitmentforGermanyandstudiedinBerlintobecomeadentistin1920.AfterHitlercametopowerheservedintheWehrmachtasamajorandfinallyasalieutenantcolonel.Wewillthereforemeethimagain,laterinthebook.

Ångman’scolleague,KnutKillander fromStockholm,advanced to the rankof captain and for a while was temporarily appointed as commandant in theMesopotamian (Iraqi) city of Mosul. Killander’s unit, “Flankenschutz Ost”(Flank defense east)was designed to provide defense in support of a plannedGerman-OttomanrecaptureofBaghdad,whichhadfalleninto thehandsof theBritish“MesopotamianCorps”inMarch1917.

KnutKillanderfromStockholmasanofficerwiththeArtilleryRegiment“Grossherzog”inKarlsruhe,inthefallof1918.KillanderfoughtinGermanserviceonthePersian-Mesopotamianfrontfrom1916to1917.

(LarsKillander)

Since1789GermanofficershadservedasinstructorsandcommandersintheOttoman (Turkish) Army. In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire joined theGermansideintheFirstWorldWar.InordertothreatentheBritishSuezCanal,theGermanhigh command inBerlin sent amilitaryunit toPalestine in 1917,calledAsienkorps (AsianCorps).16Theultimateaimwas todisturb theBritishColonialEmpire in theMiddleEastand interruptcommunicationsbetweentheWesternPowersandRussia.

InApril1916theGermanssentanaviationunit toGazainordertosupportthe German-Ottoman offensive against the British in the Suez. The aviationsquadron was called Fliegerabteilung 300‚ “Pascha.” The unit soon becameacquainted with the special desert conditions of great temperature differencesanda shortageofwater.17SvenHedinvisitedPalestine inAugustof1916.Atthe Pascha airbase near El Arish in northern Sinai, Hedinmet a countryman,Henry Schumburg, from Stockholm. Hedin has described the meeting withSchumburg in his book, To Jerusalem (1917). Schumburg held the rank ofOberleutnant (first lieutenant) at the time, andwas second in commandof thesquadron.Paschawasmadeupwithtenaircraftandpilotswithgroundpersonnel

of about one hundred men. Henry Schumburg’s squadron was specialized inphotoreconnaissanceovertheBritishforcespositionsalongtheSuezCanal.

During1916PaschasupportedtheinconsequentialTurkish-Germanoffensiveagainst Suez. The Turks and Germans retreated quickly from the Britishcounteroffensive. Schumburg’s aviation unit during 1917 was very inferiorcomparedtotheBritishcounterpartunitsintheSinai.ThedaysoftheKaiser’sGermanyintheMiddleEastwerenumberedasaresultoftheArabinsurrectionagainst theTurks,gainsmadebyLawrenceofArabia,and theBritishGeneralAllenby’scaptureofJerusaleminDecember1917.WithRommel,“TheDesertFox,” the German military would return to the region twenty-five years laterwithanewally,Italy.

SeveralGermanpilotsreturnedtoPalestine,suchasHenrySchumburg,whobecameanofficerin1934inHermannGöring’sregeneratedLuftwaffe.

SeveralGermanpilotsinPalestinelaterjoinedHermannGöring’sregeneratedLuftwaffe, suchasHenrySchumburg, in1934.During theSecondWorldWarSchumburg advanced to the rank of Oberst (colonel) and served as thecommanderofaLuftwaffeairbase,wherehewascalledderalteSchwede(theoldSwede).HereturnedtoSwedenin1946.18

StigAnkarcronawasbornin1889inTorsviParishinthecountyofUppsala.He joined theGermanNavyandeventuallybecame the commanderof a ship.AlthoughtheshipwasTurkish,ithadaGermancrew.In1916FirstLieutenantAnkarcronawasgrantedtheTurkishLiakatMedalwithSwordsbytheTurkishSultanin1916.Theawarddescribinghisactionsstates,“insteadofcapitulatinghe entered in combatwith amuch stronger enemy force.”The following yearAnkarcrona was killed in action at Constantinople, the embodiment of atwentieth-centuryVäring,ormodernViking.19

StigAnkarcronainGermannavaluniformwearingbothhisGermanIronCross2ndClassandTurkishIronCrescent.IntheChurchofEdbyUpplandsVäsbythereisamemorialtoAnkarcrona,whowaskilledin

actionin1917.(H8D)

TheArchbishop’sSonInorder tobetterunderstand theSwedes in thewar service for theKaiserandtheirmotivationitisappropriatetolookcloseratthefateofsomeofindividualsinvolved.ThemostremarkableoneinhistimewasprobablySvenSöderblom,atthetimeanofficerwiththeUpplandRegiment,butmoreimportantly,thesonofinternationally renownNathan Söderblom,Archbishop of Sweden. SöderblomjuniorchosetovolunteerforPrussianArtilleryRegiment4inFebruary1917.Arelative of Sven Söderblom described Sven’s motive for entering Germanservice:

Iamconfidentthatitwasalustforadventurethatattractedmyuncle,butNathanSöderblomalsostatedinanotewrittenin1923thatitwastheRussianmilitarysuccessesduringthesummerof1916nearBukovinathatgotSven,likemanyotherSwedishmilitarymen,todecidetovolunteeronthesideofGermanyintheWorldWar.TheysawadangerintheeventofaGermandefeatinthewar,adangerforSweden,thatRussiawouldbe

abletothreatenSweden’ssecuritywithoutanyhindrances.20

For Nathan Söderblom, his son’s war service became a difficult test, bothpersonallyandastheArchbishopofaneutralcountry.PartsoftheSwedishpressaccusedtheArchbishopofsendingouthisson“totheleadingcenterinEuropeofnationalisthateand loftyarrogance.”21Such remarksensured that the son’sGerman war service became known also in Great Britain and France. In theshadow of the Peace of Versailles, Nathan Söderblom participated in aninternational ecumenical conference held in the Netherlands in 1919. At thattimeheproposed ayet larger ecumenicalmeeting, aworld conference, but hemet coolness andmistrust from thehigh churchdignitaries fromGreatBritainandFrance.Thereason:hisson’sGermanwarservice.

Sven Söderblom returned to his former position as an officer with theUpplandRegimentaftertheendofthewar,butresignedin1921.HeemigratedtotheUnitedStatesin1923andlivedinSanFranciscouptohisdeathin1976.

TheArtilleryExpertNilsRosénOne of Sven Söderblom’s Swedish officer comrades in the Prussian ArtilleryRegiment4isofevengreaterinteresttoday.Afterfifty-onemonthsofserviceasa German artilleryman at the front, Nils Rosén, Senior from Stockholm waswithout a doubt Sweden’s most experienced artilleryman in 1918. RosénparticipatedontheGermansidefromthefirstautumnofthewaruntil thelast.Before 1914 he had been a lieutenantwith the SveaArtilleryRegiment,A 1.Both his regiment and his family hadmany bonds of friendship and contactswithGermany.AgoodfriendofRosén’sfatherwastheGermanAdmiralGeorgvonMüller,whohadgonetoschoolinStockholmandasachildplayedwiththechildren of the Rosén family. Nils Rosén’s choice of sides in theWar of theGreatPowerswasobvious:

IwastotallyconvincedthatGermanywasforcedintotheFirstWorldWaragainstitswillandonthatIhaveneverhadanyreasontoquestion.Tobehonest,though,Imustadmitthatthenaturallustforadventureplayedarole.SeveralyearsearlierIhadappliedforthePersianGendarmerie,butnothingcameofit.22

Theway towartimeGermanywasnot straight as an arrow forNilsRosén,however. “We take no foreigners”was the reaction of theGerman legation in

Stockholmtohisinitialapplication.ThenwhenRosénmetanoldfriend,GeorgvonMüller,whoatthattimewasanadjutanttoKaiserWilhelm,hisrequestwasheard and inNovember 1914Rosénwas advised that he could join the FieldArtillery Regiment “Prinzregent Luitpold von Bayern” as a first lieutenant.DuringhistrainjourneytotheWesternFrontRosénmetacaptainwithcombatexperience.ThecaptainshookhisheadwhenheheardthattheSwedehadjoinedofhisownfreewill.

Rosén’sregimentwasinpositionneartheFrenchcityofLille.Rosénquicklygained the confidence of the Germans. New Year’s Eve 1914 he was madetemporary battery commander and he got his own battery in June 1915.ChristenedSchwedenbatterie(Swedenbattery),itbecamewellknownforahighrateoffire.InthefollowingyearRosénwaspromotedtoHauptmannandbeforethe war was over had served as a battalion commander with up to twentyartillerypiecesunderhiscommand.

SwedishChristmasEve1916ontheWesternFrontnearBouchhavesnes.BatteryCommanderNilsRosén,Sr.,fromStockholmsitsinabunkerusedasafiredirectioncenter.HisGermanbatman,Liebert,isstanding

tohisright.(NilsRosén,Jr.)

During the battle of the SommeRosénwas involved in the first-ever largetankattack,whenBritish tanksswept inand took three townsandcausednearpanicintheGermaninfantry.

Duringquietperiodsat thefront thecombatactivitywasreplacedbyreportwritingforthewarbureaucracy.Rosén,inaninterviewin1964,drylynotedthat

“Whenthebloodisnotflowinginwar,theinkflows.”23Through the mediation of Axel Rappe, the Swedish activist on behalf of

Finland,NilsRosén secured70,000 rifles for theFinnish liberationmovement(FinnishWhiteArmy)fromGeneralLudendorffintheGermanHeadquarters.24BetweenAprilandJune1918RosénwasthusinFinnishserviceasChiefoftheWesternArmyArtillery and as the liaison officer between thatArmy and theGermantroopsinHämeenlinna.HereturnedinAugust1918tohisGermanuniton theWestern Front, experienced the armistice in November 1918, and wasdemobilizedinJanuary1919.

Duringthe1920sNilsRosénwasbusycompilingandanalyzinghismemoriesfromthefront.Amongotherthings,hediscussedhowsoldiershandledfear:

Itisawell-knownfactthatonecanbeafraidbutnotshowfear.Themainthingisthestrugglebetweenphysicalfearandmorale.Ibelievethatnotoneinathousandhasnotfeltthisphysicalfearwhenallhellbreaksloose.IneverycaseImustunfortunatelypermitmyselftolistentotheother999.Oneoftheregiment’sbravestofficersbecameacombataviatorafterhecouldnolongertolerateartilleryfire.25

During the 1920s and 1930s Rosén regularly held lectures at the SwedishMilitaryAcademyandtheArtilleryandEngineerSchoolsinStockholm,amongotherthings,onleadershipandofficerdevelopmentinwar.Rosén’sthemewas“howdoyougetthetroopstofollowyouincombat?”Healsolecturedformanyyears on these subjects with most of the regiments in Sweden, at differentcourses andbeforemilitary societies.His analysis of his ownwar experiencesreachedmanygenerationsofSwedishofficersandnon-commissionedofficers.

Rosén did not have a blind admiration for the German officer corps. HecriticallycomparedtheSwedishandGermanofficercorps,butalsoconsideredtheirdifferentsocialconditionsandenvironment:

[T]heexperiencefromGermanycannotbedirectlyappliedtoofficerleadershipdevelopmentinSweden.…TheGermanDefenseForces[had]aspecialandhonoredpositioninthecountry.Thestrictselectionproceduresfortheofficers,theirspecialcodeofhonor,theuniformrequirementsevenoffduty,markedthespecialpositionandcharacteristicsandultimatelyproduced“thePrussianofficer,”withbothshortcomingsandadvantages.26

NilsRosénwasactiveinthebusinessworldafterWWIandwiththeoutbreak

of WWII was called in for duty as a reserve major with the Svea ArtilleryRegiment and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was dismissedfromtheArmyin1952anddiedinStockholmin1966.

BuriedAliveattheSommeClaesvonRosenwasborn inStockholmin1885andin1912wasappointedalieutenant,justlikeNilsRosénintheSveaArtilleryRegiment,A1.Heappliedfor German war service in 1915 and was trained in Mecklenburg where hebecameanofficerwiththeHolsteinFieldArtilleryRegiment24.HetraveledinMay 1916 to the Western Front at Vouziers in Champagne. That GermanregimentbeforetheoutbreakofwarhadmanycontactswiththeA1RegimentinSweden. A Swedish officer was viewed as a respected—not a foreign—colleague.

Claes vonRosenwas one of a few Swedish officerswhowrote down andpublishedanaccountofhiswarmemories.Inhismemoirs,Detstoraäventyret(Thegreatadventure),onefindsablendoftypicallyheroicpassagesofthetimesandsomehighlyrealisticimpressions.27Hewroteaboutoneespeciallytraumaticepisode:

IwasonceinsuchasituationwhereIwasburiedaliveinaverylargeandcrowdedroomwithonlyoneentrance.ItwasduringtheSommeoffensive.Weweresixteenmendownthere,halfofthemwounded.Adirecthitofalargecaliberartilleryround,probablya28-centimetershell,hadcausedtheonlyentrancetocollapse.

Twomenlosttheirmindsduringthesehours.Onebecameviolentandhadtobebound.Theotherroaredwithlaughterhysterically,tookoffhisjacketandshirtandbeganslowlyandquietlytoeathisownarminthegladbeliefthatitwassomedeliciousmeat.He,too,hadtobebound.Thewoundedgroanedandcomplained.Thedeliriouslaughterandyellingoftheinsanesoldierswereahorribleaccompanimenttoourtroubledthoughts.

Theairsoonbecameworseandworse.Thepulsehammered,theheadachedasthoughitwouldexplode.Inourdeepesthopelessnesswesuddenlyheardthesoundofspadesworkingforourrescue.Wedidnotthinkthatthefirstdullsoundwasforrealanddarednottobelieveit.Whenthelonged-forrescuecameandthefreshairstreamedin,itwastoomuchforourpoorlungsandwebecamedizzy.Daysandweekslaterourlungsstillfeltlikehorriblewounds.Ibelievethatamongallthehorrorsweexperiencedtheworstthingwasthemanyhourswewaited,withouthope.

Thememoryofthishauntsmestillinmydreams.…

ClaesvonRosenwentontodescribethenightmarishcharacterofaninfantryattack:

Whenthenightendedourmostforwardlinewasfilledwithmenfullyequippedfortheattack,withfixedbayonets,ammunitionbeltsfilled,knivesreadyforaction,wirecutterstocutthroughthebarbedwire,andafewspecially-trainedmenwithhandgrenades.Weofficerscheckedourpistols.IhadalargeBrowningandabreastpocketfilledwithloosebulletsandasparemagazine.IhadasignalpistoljammedintomyjacketandsecuredwithabeltsothatIwouldnotdropit.

Ourartilleryfireshiftedforwardandnowwebeganourassault.Thestretchbetweenthefirsttrenchandthatoftheenemywasacloudwallofsmokeandeverincreasingdefensivefirefromtheenemy.Icouldnotunderstandhowwecouldcontinuetheassault,butwereinspiredanddrivenbyasinglethought:forward!Forward!Withaloudcryof“hurrah!”weclamberedoverthepartiallyclearedandcut-upbarbed-wirebarrierintotheenemy’sposition,wherethebattlecontinuedmantoman.

Bayonetsandriflebuttswenttowork.ThebestpictureIamabletogiveofthisclosecombatperformanceisincomparisonwiththeearlydevelopmentofmovingpictures.Itislightningflashesandglimmer,glimpsesofshadowyfigures,forasecondamancanseesomethingintheblindingglaringillumination,andthenextmomentnothing.Tothissceneisaddedtheorchestraprovidebythedinofartilleryfire,thethunderousclapofartilleryshellsandcaseshot,theclatterandwhistlingofmachine-gunfire,thewhineofriflebullets,andtheshortyelpofpistolfire,thescreamsofthewoundedandthegroansofthedying.

TheexperienceofkillinginclosecombatisdescribedbyvonRosenthus:

Thataction,whichfortheuninitiatedseemssohorrible,isouttheresoobviousandnatural.One’sactionisdrivenbyanirresistibleprimitiveandnaturaldesireforself-preservation.Thesemenfallagainstmetotakemylife.Iquicklyraisemyhandwithadeadlyweapon,severalpressingswiththefingersandtheshadowyfigurestotterandfall.

Everythinginsuchabattlehappenssounbelievablyfast.IrememberawildsceneofclosecombatbattleduringtheBattleoftheSomme.Itwentonhalfthenightandcontinuedwiththesamefrenzyallmorning.When

theenemyagainstormed,Igrabbedmyknifeinthehandtodefendmyselftothefullest.Atthatpointanenemy,agiantfigure,threwahandgrenadeatus.Truthfully,IdidnotknowthatIhadtheknifeinmyhanduntilIrealizedthatithadgoneintothehilt.InthesamemomentIwashithard,probablybyariflebutt,onthejawsothatIlostconsciousness.Friendandfoerushedforwardoverus,thosewholaidthere,andtrampledusdownintotheclay.WhenIawakenedthefighthadgonepastus.ThemanIstabbedlaidrightnexttome.HewasaNegro.Hiscorpselookedsoghastlyandthememoryofthiseventoftenhauntsme.

In 1916 Claes von Rosen became a battery commander in Champagne.DuringtheviolentbattleontheSommeheparticipatedinunbrokencombatforfour months from July until November 1916. The bloody losses with vonRosen’sbatteryalonereached130soldiersandfourofficers.InFebruary1917vonRosenmovedhisbatterytoNeuvillenexttoChemin-des-Dames.Duringtheheavy fighting in April 1917, the French heavy artillery annihilated thirtyGerman batteries in only severalweekswith its precision and firepower.VonRosen stated soberly that the French precise fire direction over the radiowassuperiortotheGermans.

InNovember 1917 vonRosenwasmoved to the front in Italy nearUdine,Pordenone,andFeltre.

InMarch1918vonRosenparticipatedinthefightingatHartmannswillerkopfinAlsace,inAprilnearCurchy,LaFonchette(todaycalledFonches-Fonchette),andAmiens.Heestablishedanacquaintancewithtankweapons:

Colossalandpowerfultankattackshitusalmostdaily.Totherightandleftthelightinfantryregimentbrokethroughtheenemynowandthenandcausedgeneralconfusionandbewilderment.

InSeptembervonRosen’sadjacentregimentlost600menbecauseofthenewtanksandthefollowinginfantry.InabloodbathcausedbytheenemytanksnearHaricourton26SeptemberallofvonRosen’sofficerswerekilled.Hesufferedfromanervousbreakdownandcollapsed.Hewas takentoahospital inBerlinwithheartproblemsinNovember1918.

ClaesvonRosenassociatedhimself, likemanyotherGermanofficers,withthe“stabbedintheback”legend.Itbecameacherishedmyththattheundefeatedand honor-rich German Army had been betrayed by politicians and socialrevolutionaries in Berlin who concluded an unworthy peace for Germany in

1918:

Weweredefeatednotbyarmedmight,butthroughthenefariousandtreacherousrevolution.

Thepoor,harassed,andwoefulGermanyhas,withthispeace,beendeprivedofhermerchantfleetandNavy,greatareasoflandandallhercolonies,transportationmeanswithinthecountryandtheweaponstomaintaininnerorderwithintheland.Inshort,Germanyhasbeentotallyplunderedanddeprivedofallthemeanstorebuild,anddespitethis,nowmustpayunprecedentedwardamages.

ForboththenewGermanRepublicandforthegovernmentelectedtoleadit,vonRosenhadonlycontempt.AfteramilitaryparadeinBerlinon9December1919hewrote:

AttheBrandenbergGateaplatformwassetupfromwheretheMessrs.Ebert,Barth,andScheidemanngreetedthetroops.Ebertgavealongspeechtoourcommander,GeneralDassel.WehadbeentakenoutofthefieldafterwedisavowedouroathofloyaltytoWilhelmII,KingofPrussiaandtheGermanEmpire’sKaiser,andnowwereturnedfrommanyyears’wartobemetinBerlinbyaMr.FritzEbert!Mythoughtsduringthisceremonywentbacktoallourfallencomrades.IthoughtIsawthemasmuteaccuserswalkinginthemiddleofourcolumnandIbelievedIheardthethunderousringingofthedeathbellsforourvictory-richGermanmilitaryfuneralprocession.

AfterhewasdismissedfromtheGermanArmyinJanuary1919vonRosenmarriedhisGerman fiancée fromLübeck, “After I receivedmydischarge,mywife and I went to Sweden, to my beloved fatherland. Here we waitedexpectantly and hoped for the time when my wife’s fatherland, that land wefoughtfor,wouldberestoredinpowerandhonor.”

Claes von Rosen returned to the SveaArtillery Regiment as a captain. Hetookadischargein1931anddiedinStockholmin1959.

SwedeversusSwedeLieutenantCarlBelfragefromtheBohusRegimentreceivedhisdischargefromthe Swedish Army in June 1915. Following this he went into German warservice as a lieutenantwith the Prussian InfantryRegiment 162 fromLübeck.BelfragewasquicklyacceptedinhisGermanbattalion,advancedtocaptain,andfinallyasthecommanderofthebattalion.HewasdecoratedwiththeIronCrossofbothclassesandparticipatedincombatontheWesternFrontuntiltheendofthewar.Writings inBelfrage’s surviving dairy from the period 1915 to 1918werepublishedin2002underthetitleVanvettetpåvästfronten(MadhouseoftheWesternFront).28

CarlBelfragefromGothenburgwasinGermanservicefrom1916to1920andlateranofficerinSwedenwiththeBohusregiment.Hewasphotographedonthewesternfrontin1916asaGermancaptainandwears

theIronCrossSecondandFirstClass.(BengtBelfrage)

InBelfrage’scompany,aNorwegianvolunteer,LyderRamstad,describeshiswarmemoriesfromaSwedishandNorwegianpointofview.Hecoversauniqueepisodeduringapatrolinthenoman’slandnearYpresin1916:

BoththeEnglishmenandweconductedfrequentpatrols.Onenightwewereonlyafewmetersfromamutedconversation.Mypatrolcomradetookmebythearmandwhispered,“ThatsoundsjustlikewhenyouandIaretalkingwithoneanother.”Itwascorrect,theconversationwascarriedoutinringingSwedish!WecrawledaroundBelfrage’sout-of-breathcountrymenandcriedout,“handsup!”whereuponouroppositionsurrendered.TheirsurprisewasgreatwhenwespokewiththeminNorwegian.Whenwereturnedtoourlines,andBelfragespokewiththeminSwedish,theirfacialexpressionswerepriceless.TheywerethreeSwedishseamenwhohadbeeninductedintoBritishwarservice.BelfragesaidhewouldtrytohelpthemgethometoSweden.29

CarlBelfrage returned toSweden inDecember 1918.He became a captainwith the Bohus Regiment but had to stay now and then at a mental hospitalbecauseofillnessfromhiswarexperiences.HediedinUddevallain1940.

BiologicalWarfarePioneerSabotageraidsabovethePolarCircle,agruesomeworld’srecord,andairbattlesover thebiblical lands—all thiswentwith thecareerofBaronOttovonRosenfromStockholm.Hebelonged toanofficer’s familyandwasbornatKarlbergCastle, the home of the Swedish Military Academy—the oldest militaryacademyintheworld.Thatwasin1884andtwentyyearslaterhewasback,asacadetwiththeRoyalSveaLifeGuards.

In September 1909 von Rosen left the army with the rank of a firstlieutenant.30Hewas then hired as the vice director of the Strengberg factory,whichwaslocatedinwhatwasatthetimestillRussianFinland,andstayedthereuntil1915.31HealsojoinedtheundergroundFinnishindependencemovement.32InAugust1916hetookuptrainingwiththePrussianGuardsEngineerBattalionlocated outside of Berlin.33 Bearing in mind the unit’s character, and themissionsvonRosenlaterwouldreceive,thefocusofthetrainingwasprobablyontheuseofexplosives.

HowandwhyvonRosenmadethejumpfromaciviliancareerinFinlandtoGermanmilitary service isnot explained in thevarious sourcedocuments, butthehistoryof theFinnish independencemovementgivesus the answer.WhenSwedenrefusedtotrainFinnishyouthforanarmedrebellionagainstRussia,theFinns turned to Germany who, for selfish reasons, supported variousindependencemovementsinImperialRussia.

Themission thengiven tovonRosencouldhavehardlycomeaboutunlessGermany had already resorted to using gas, that is, chemical warfare. TwoFrench-AfricandivisionsatYpresinBelgiumweretotallysurprisedbythefirstever successful gas attack.34 The impact of the attack was greater thanexpected.35Whenonehadalreadyusedgas,whynotgo furtheraheadand trybiologicalwarfare—inaremoteplace?

Inthefallof1916thePrussianGeneralStaffsentvonRosentotheSwedish-FinnishborderregionofTorneValley.36Accordingtothefamilychronicleandother sources, vonRosen and a small group of soldiers somehow reached theRussianKolaPeninsulaandblewuppartoftherailwaytoMurmansk,aswellasanammunitiondepot.BackinSwedenattheendofNovember1916,vonRosenfellowSwedesRaoulGraafandHalvdanSterky,andaSwedish-speakingFinn.[Note:ASwedishspeakingFinnisaninhabitantofFinland,butwhosemother

tongueisSwedish.EstoniaandUkrainealsohaveSwedish-speakingminorities;inthisbookwewillrefertothesepeopleasSwedishFinns,SwedishEstonians,and so on.] Emil Jokela-Sjöholm, were caught by a derelict farm with twoheavily-loaded sleds.37 The sled cargo consisted of canned goods marked“SwedishMeat.”Whenthelocalsheriffwantedtoopenoneofthecanshewasinformedthatthey,infact,containedexplosives.ThegroupwasthenorderedbySheriffBaudintohaultheconfiscatedcargotothepolicestationintheSwedishbordertownofKaresuando,where,curiouslyenough,thesaboteursweresimplyreleased!

Duringthefollowingmonth“thevonRosenband”arrivedintheNorwegiantownofKautokeinoto“hunt”inthesurroundingarea.38“Allthetimetheyhadplenty of money and denied themselves nothing,” the press reported. Thestandingremarkofthemenwas“Germanywillpaythebill!”andRaoufGraafisreportedtohaveadded,“Germany’svictoryinthewarisSweden’sfuture.”39

The press wrote that the purpose of the group “had been to carry outespionage for Germany, and at the same time attempt to damage Russianammunition and weapons transports.”40 There were, indeed, many transportsfrom the Arctic Norwegian harbor of Skibotn to the Russian-Finnish town ofTornio, on the Gulf of Bothnia. Norway permitted this traffic with Britishweapons and other supplies, in clear violation of all neutrality. Thousands ofhorses and hundreds of reindeerwere involved in this precursor of theWWIIlend-leasetraffic.41

ThechiefofpoliceintheNorwegiantownofKarasjokwassuspiciousoftheheavilyequippedmenthatarrivedinhisdistrictinthemiddleofJanuary1917.Themenhadnopassports,buthadexplosives,rifles,detailedmapsofFinland,alargequantityofcash,acamera,thehighlyunusualpoisoncurare,andtwolargecasesfilledwithsugarlumps.42Thelatterwereanalyzedandfoundtocontainasmallbutverydangerousbiologicalsubstance,bacillusanthracis,encapsulatedin glass coated with sugar. The GermanGeneral Staff had come to the pointwhere theywereprepared tousebiologicalwarfare to stop theBritishhelp toRussia.

TheRussianWarMinistry forwardingagenton theFinnish-Swedishborderstatedthattosomeextentthebiologicalweaponswerealsoactuallyputtouse.ForwardingagentGeorgLindwrotethat“thehorsessufferedfromlungplague,whichwascausedby sugar lumpscontaminatedwithbacteria.…Thirtyof theyoungest, strongest, and best horses died.…The same thing happened on the

Finnish side where several hundred horses died.”43 This claim is furtherstrengthenedbysomewordsinvonRosen’sconfiscateddiary.

Limitedas itwas,however, thebiologicalattackdidnot significantlydelaythetransportsfromSkibotntoRussia.

BaronvonRosenjustifiedhisactivitiestotheNorwegianpoliceasaneffortto help Finland gain independence from Russia.44 He and his group werearrested,nevertheless,andsent toOslo,chargedwithsabotageandintelligenceactivities.45Afteronlythreeweeksinprison,however,vonRosenwasdeportedtoSwedenuponrequestfromtheSwedishMinistryforForeignAffairs.

OttovonRosenafterhis1917arrestinNorway.HeisinthehuntingclotheswornduringsabotageoperationsinnorthernScandinavia.(TrondheimPoliceMuseum)

Eighty years after this remarkable incident two of the deadly sugar lumpswere rediscovered in the dusty storage shelves of the Trondheim PoliceMuseum. Itwas a very carefulmuseumcuratorwhomade sure that the sugarlumpswere transferred to theNorwegianDefenseDepartmentMicrobiologicalLaboratory, and after analysis, sent to a special chemical facility in PortonDown,GreatBritain,toberenderedharmless.Itwasfoundthatthebacteriahadsurvived after eighty years in the museum, a new world record for bacillus

anthracis!AfterthedeportationtoSwedenOttovonRosenwascalledbacktoBerlinto

takecommandofanewlyestablishedOttoman(Turkish)AirForcefighterunitcalled“KaptenKeiper.”Theunit’smissionwas todefend theDardanelles, thegatewaytotheBlackSeaandConstantinople.OttovonRosenmusthaveservedwith great distinction there, because he was awarded the Order of the IronCrescentandtheCommanderinChiefEnverPascha’sHonoraryDagger.

Intheyear1919Germanywasadefeatednationbutstillwasembroiledinanumberofsmaller foreignconflictsand inseveralareas therewascivilwar. ItbeganinJanuarywiththeso-called“SpartacusInsurrection”inBerlinwhereinjust a few days all-out war raged between socialist militias and the GuardsCavalry Rifle Division. In February von Rosen joined one of the many newGermananti-socialistmilitias.Hebecamethecommanderofabicyclemountedrifle companywith theFreeCorpsRifleGuards and experienced a number ofbattlesinLatvianCourland.

Germany signed the Versailles Treaty on 28 June 1919. Otto von RosenendedhisserviceasaHauptmannandworetheIronCrossofboththeFirstandSecondClass,aswellasaBalticdecoration.

BetweentheWorldWarsvonRosenlivedinPolandandintheFreeStateofDanzig before returning to Sweden in 1939. He died in 1963 in the town ofBreared in theProvince ofHalland.The vonRosen family chronicle gave thefollowingfinalcharacterization:

Hewastosomedegreeamercenary,restless,thirstyforexperiences,butwellpreparedforactionandbrave.Especiallyduringhisfirstactionagainstthe[Murmansk]railroad,hedemonstratedspecialleadershipabilitiesandconsideration,aswellasatoughnessandabilitytoendurehardshipsanddeprivations.Anidealist!46

What forces drove Otto von Rosen into German service, even afterGermany’s defeat in theWorldWar? The family’s German-Baltic roots weretwohundredyears in thepast,butmaystillhaveplayeda role inhisdecisionmaking.AforefatherandnamesakewasaknightinLatvia,duringthefourteenthcentury. A later forefather and namesake left the Swedish Army in theseventeenth century and became amajor general in the service of Saxony. AthirdforefatherwiththesamenamefoughtinFinlandduringtheRussianwarof1741–43.47

BaronvonRosen’swarserviceisnotjustaSwedishcuriosity.Duringmany

decades there have been unconfirmed reports ofGermanbiologicalwarfare intheFirstWorldWar.48ThankstothecomprehensiveresearchdonebyMuseumCuratorKnutSivertsenon the last remaining contaminated sugar lumps it cannowbestatedwithoutadoubtthatGermanywasthefirststateinthetwentiethcenturytoconductbiologicalwarfare,andthisbywayofaSwedishofficer.

RoyalPrussianJägerBattalion27OttovonRosen’ssoldiersduringtheraidsinnorthernScandinaviahadreceivedtrainingwithaGermanunit thathasaveryspecialsignificancefortheFinnishnation:theRoyalPrussianJägerBattalion27.AtleastsixSwedishcitizensandmorethan500SwedishFinnsservedinthisunit inWWI.Despitethefactthatthe unit was disestablished upon its return to Finland, a number of the unitmemberswereabletogreatlyinfluenceFinland’sfuture.

TheFinnshadasenseofnationalconsciousnessalreadyduringthe600-yearperiod of Swedish hegemony over Finland that ended in 1814. This sense ofidentity strengthened significantly during the following epoch ofRussian rule.Initially theRussiansweresympathetic towards theFinns,but towards theendofthe1800sthatchanged.ThenewRussianpolicywasopposedtoanincreasingFinnish cultural awareness and sought to impose Russian political and socialstructures on Finland. After some disturbances in 1905 there was animprovement in the relationshipbetween the regimeof theCzarandhisGreatPrincipality of Finland, but with the outbreak of theWorldWar the RussianattitudetowardsFinlandagainsharpened.

In November 1914 Finnish students and other nationalistically inclinedactivistsgatheredtodiscusshowFinnishyouthcouldobtainmilitarytrainingsothat theycould takepart inacomingfightfor independence.Forseveralyearsthe Russians had refrained from conscripting Finland’s young men. Afterfruitless inquiries aboutmilitary training inSwedenandDenmark the studentsturned to Germany, which had a direct interest in supporting anti-Russianresistancemovements.

In February 1915 the first 185 students arrived at the German base inLockstedter Lager outside Hamburg. Their chief instructor and later firstbattalion commander was Major Maximilian Bayer, who before the war hadbeentheheadoftheGermanscoutmovement.49 Inanattempttokeeptherealpurposeofthetrainingsecret,theNordicguestswereactuallydressedupinBoyScoutuniformsandtheentirefirstcoursewascarriedoutunderthetitle“Scout

Course!”50 The first “scouts” were mainly students, especially Swedishspeaking,andmorethanhalfofthefirstgroupofvolunteers,sixty-fourpercent,hadSwedishastheirmothertongue.51

The Boy Scout uniforms were later switched for the common GermaninfantryuniformandfinallytotheJägeruniform.Inthebeginningthebattalionwas equipped with so-called Beutewaffen, captured Russian weapons. On 15August1915KaiserWilhelmdirectedthattheFinnishtrainingunitbeexpandedtoareinforcedbattalionwithatotalnumber1,897men.52

Inconflictwith theoriginalagreementandviewsof theFinns, thebattalionwassenttotheCourlandfrontinLatviainMay1916.Itremainedthereformorethanayearwithoutseeingaction.TheninFebruary1918thewell-trainedtroopsreturnedhometo takepart in theFinnishWarof1918.During theboat trip toFinland the officially neutral Swedish authorities permitted the lighthouses,turnedoffduringthewarforsecurityreasons,tobetemporarilyturnedon.53

The boat landed at Vaasa where Finland’s commander in chief, GeneralGustafMannerheim,met the troopson26Februaryandplaced themunderhiscommand.InthespeechMannerheimgavetothebattalionatthemarketsquareinthecoastaltownofVaasa,hesaid,“Finland’syoungarmynowbeingtrainedseesyouasinstructorsandfutureleaders.Agreatandhonorabletaskawaitsyou:thecreationofanarmythatcangiveFinlandherfreedom,greatandpowerful.”At the same occasion the special march music, called the “Jäger March,”composedbyJeanSibeliusin1917,wasperformedforthefirsttime.54

BaronGustafMannerheimtwiceCommander-in-ChiefoftheFinnishArmedForces,PresidentofFinland,andarguablythegreatestSwedishFinninhistory.HestartedhismilitarycareerintheRussianArmy,

fightinginboththeRusso-JapaneseWarandWWI.Inthelatter,heservedasacavalrycommanderagainstAustro-Hungarianforces.In1917hecommandedthe6thCavalryCorpsandendedhisRussiancareerasalieutenantgeneral.Heisuniqueinmanyrespects,suchasreceivingthetitleMarshalofFinlandandinbeingtheonlypersonwhoreceivedmilitarydecorationsfrombothsidesinbothWorldWarIandII;forexample,hereceivedtheGrandCrossoftheFrenchLegionofHonorin1939andin1942theGermanKnight’sCrossoftheIronCross.ThisillustrationshowshewasevencommemoratedwithaUSstamp

uponhisdeathin1951.(LG)

More than one-fourth of the battalion were Swedish Finns.55 This highproportioncanbeexplainedbecauseSwedishspeakersgenerallydominatedtheFinnishacademicworldatthattime,fromwhichthenationalistJägermovementhadsprung.

InadditiontothemanySwedishFinnstherewereatleastsixSwedishcitizensintheJägerBattalion27.ThemostexperiencedwasErikHallström,aforestryofficerfromthecityofUmeå,innorthernSweden.Hehadbegunasaprivateinthe German Army on the Western Front, in Swedish Queen Victoria’s ownGermanregiment.Injusttwoyearshewaspromotedtolieutenantandcompanycommander.LaterheservedunderPersia-veteranGeneralHaraldHjalmarsonintheFinnishWarof1918.56

FiveSwedesinthemostSwedishunitoftheWWIGermanArmy,the34thFusilierRegiment“QueenVictoriaofSweden.”Fromlefttoright:unidentified,1stLieutenantJosefsson,1stLieutenantErik

Hallström,1stLieutenantFriman,andNCOGöstaBlock.Thephotowasprobablytakenin1917ontheWesternFront.(HjalmarBlock)

The nobleman Gösta af Geijerstam from Stockholm and Alfred OlofssonfromVästerbottenwere twootherSwedishcitizens inJägerBattalion27.ThelatterjoinedthebattalioninMay1917andfoughtinitsranksinLatvia.57JohanGieschke,KarlGunnarElfgren,andErikMagnusIsaksson-AidanpääwerealsoSwedishcitizensinthebattalion.

AfterFinland’sindependencetherewasaninternalpowerstrugglewithintheFinnishmilitarybetweentheyoungofficerswhoweretrainedinJägerBattalion27 and older officerswho had received their training in the czar’s army.Thisstruggle ended as theyoungGerman trainedofficers succeeded in takingovertheleadingpositionsintheFinnishmilitaryin1926.58

AnotunimportantpartofFinland’sactionsduringfrom1939to1945canbeexplainedbyJägerBattalion27.DuringtheSecondWorldWarninetypercentof the theFinnishgeneralswereveteransof thisGermanunit. In total fiftyofthembecamegenerals.59

After thehardWinterWarin1940theFinnishgovernmentwasanxiousforGermanprotectionagainstStalinandthereforeproposedthatitwouldcontributea volunteer battalion for the German Army, just as it did in the First WorldWar.60TheresponsetothisproposalcamenotfromtheGermanArmy,butfromHimmler’s SS.61 With some hesitation the Finnish Government approved thecreationofanheirtoJägerBattalion27withintheWaffen-SS.ThisunitbecameknownsimplyasTheFinnishVolunteerBattalionandwashandedover to theSS-Division“Wiking.”Jäger Battalion 27 was in conjunction with the purely German “Baltic

Division,”whichwas decisive inGeneralMannerheim’s victory in thewar of1918.TheJägersthereafterbecamethecoreoftheFinnishofficercorps.

In 2002 a permanent exhibit on Jäger Battalion 27 was opened at the oldLockstedter Lager by the northernGerman town ofHohenlockstedt.OnmorethanoneoccasiontheannualFinnishdelegationtoHohenlockstedthascertifiedthat “there is hardly another place in the world that has such a central andimportant role inFinnishhistoryasHohenlockstedt.”62To thisday,during thegreat state parades in Finland, the flag of Jäger Battalion 27 is carried as thesecondflagintheprocession.

WithGilbertHamiltonintheUkraineThemostfamousSwedishWWIvolunteerforGermanywasGilbertHamilton,stillwell-knownamongSwedesbecauseoneof themostpopularpipe tobaccoproducts in Sweden is still his “Hamilton’sBlend.”Hewas born in 1869 andgraduated from the Swedish Army Cadet School at Karlberg in 1891 withaverage grades. One biographer noted that from Hamilton’s record in officertraining,onewouldnothaveexpecteda successfulmilitarycareer.Hamilton’sinclinationwasnotforstudies,butrathertoemployhisprofessionalknowledgeonthebattlefield.Hehadastrongdesireforadventure.HetriedtoparticipateintheGreek-TurkishWarin1897,thenintheBoerWarandfinallyintheRusso-JapaneseWar,buttonoavail!

Attheoutbreakof theFirstWorldWarHamilton, thenaforty-five-year-oldcavalrycaptainintheSwedishArmyMountedLifeGuards,decidedtojointheGermanArmy.Inhismemoirs,IFält(Inaction),hedescribeshisfeelingson27October 1914, the day that he learned from the German military attaché inStockholmthathehadbeenallowedtojointhePrussianArmyasanofficer:

MyheartskippedseveralbeatswithjoyandpridethatInowfinallycouldfightinawarandseriouslygettoknowmyprofession,andontopofthat,inthebestandmostproudarmyintheworld.Alreadysurroundedbyenemies,itdisplayedthespiritwhichgovernedit.Iknewthatthefightwouldbehard,butthatonlyincreasedmydesireforaction.63

HamiltonsawcombatasadismountedcavalrymanontheEasternFront,firstatPosenandlaterintheCarpathianMountains,asasquadroncommander.FromNovember1915untilthebeginningof1918HamiltonwasthecommanderofabattalionontheborderbetweenBelarusandUkraine.Duringthespringof1918HamiltonfoughtfortheWhitesagainsttheRedsinFinland.

GilbertHamiltonsmokinghispipeduringcombatoperationsinGalicia,spring1915.OnGermany’seasternfronthereceivedapackagefromSwedencontainingdifferenttobaccosheblendedtohistaste.Later,in

Sweden,thisblendgainedahugepopularityas“CountHamilton’sBlend.”HamiltonsoldthetrademarktotheSwedishstatetobaccomonopoly,whichsoldtheblendtothepublic.Itisstillthemostpopularpipe

tobaccoinSweden(50percentmarketshare).(Hamiltonfamilyarchives)

In the summer of 1918 Hamilton was made commander of the PrussianCuirassierRegiment3“GrafWrangel,”whichwasatthetimeinsouthUkraine.

ByChristmas 1918 theGreatWarwas over and the regimentwas ordered tomarchtoKönigsberg(nowKaliningrad),theregiment’shometown.Thismeantamarch of over one thousand kilometers—easier said than done. The politicalsituation that confronted the regimentwas extreme and illustrated thepoliticalchaoswhichragedinmanyareasin1918.

Theregimenthadbeenplacedin theareabetweenKievandPoltavaeastoftheDnieperRiver.ThestraightwayhomewasthroughKiev,wheretherewasacivilwarunderwaybetweenseveralgroups:RedRussians,WhiteRussians,andcompeting Ukrainian independence factions of different political shades ofWhite andRed.On top of that,GreatBritain andFrancewere taking steps tointervene in the Russian CivilWar on the side of theWhite Russians in theBlackSeaareaandfromtheremovetocontrolOdessaandtheCrimea.

Thesituationbecameevenmorecomplicatedin1918becauseGermanywasan ally of the PeoplesRepublic of theUkraine against theRussianBolsheviktroops:GermanywantedtomaketheUkraineaGermanvassalstateandoccupyOdessaand theCrimea toestablishnaval supremacyover theBlackSea.BothWhiteandRedRussianswereunitedtopreventtheUkrainefrombreakingfreefrom theRussianEmpire.TheUkrainians, therefore,worked for independencebothinthatareathathadbeenpartofthecollapsingRussianEmpireandtheareathatbelongedtoalreadycollapsedAustrianEmpire.Theyproclaimed,therefore,an East Ukrainian Peoples Republic with the capital in Kiev and a WestUkrainianPeoplesRepublicwithacapitalinLviv[alsoknownasLwów,Lvov,and Lemberg, but Lviv is used in this text for clarity]. At the same time thePolishrevoltedagainsttheGermans,Austrians,andRussians,andevenmanagedto find time to fight theUkrainians.Theyattempted to takeweapons from theretiring German troops in order to defend themselves from the advancingRussianBolsheviks.Inaddition,theLithuanianswantedtobefreefromboththeRussiansandPoles.

AvolunteerintheWWIAustro-HungarianArmynineteen-year-oldSwedishSecondLieutenantGöstaMelinthenjoinedthePolishLegionsin1918,fightingwiththemagainsttheSoviets.HetookpartintheattackonLemberg,20/21November1918,forwhichhereceivedtheLembergFreedomCross.Onhis

GermanhelmetheappearstohaveaPolisheagle.(H8D)

Revolutionary “soldier councils” were established within most Germanmilitaryunitsin1918.TheGermanunitsontheEasternFrontcameunderadualcommand,consistingoftheGermanhighcommandinKievandarevolutionarysoldier’scouncil.InthatchaoticsituationsomeGermanunitsmutiniedorbeganmarchinghomeontheirownaccord.OtherGermanunitshuddledinstationaryrailroad cars and refused to leave them. Gilbert Hamilton opposed using railtransport andwas able to lead both his own regiment and remnants of othersright through the Russian-Ukrainian-Polish chaos by way of Kiev to Brest-Litovsk. The trip was a nightmare with many armed attacks on the regimentfromparamilitarygroupsandbandits.

On 20 February 1919 Hamilton and his regiment finally arrived inKönigsberg,wheretheoccupantsofthecitythoughttheirregimenthadbeenlostontheEasternFront.Theregimentputonaparademarchthroughthecityandwere greeted by jubilant masses. Hamilton was richly decorated for hisachievementtobringtheregimenthomeundersuchextremeconditions.

GilbertHamiltonreturnedtoSwedenin1920andwasappointedcommander

oftheSmålandsHussarRegimentinthecityofEksjö.Between1929and1941Hamiltonservedseveralweekseveryyearasadjutant toexiledGermanKaiserWilhelm.

AdolfHitlerappointedGilbertHamiltonanhonorarygeneral intheGermanArmy on 25 August 1939. Hamilton was at the time the only foreigner tobecame thesubject for suchanhonor.Hamilton’sappointment tookplace inaspecial ceremony in Berlin on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the GermanvictoryovertheRussiansatTannenbergin1914,exactlyoneweekbeforeHitlerbeganhisinvasionofPoland,presumablyaprettybusyweek.64

Hamiltondidnotbelong to thosewhosuddenlywokeupandchanged theirviewofGermanyaftertheoccupationofDenmarkandNorwayin1940.Thisisclear from the old swordsman’s statement to the German press in December1940,“Itisapityforamantobetoooldtojointhefightatthefront.”65

Hitler’sonlySwedishgeneral,the“TobaccoCount,”MajorGeneralGilbertHamilton,GermanArmyReserve,in1940.Awardsinclude:theAustrianMilitaryServiceCross,theFinnishFreedomCrossof1918,

andtheIronCrossoftheFirstandSecondClass.(A.Möllman)

PhotographfromtheceremonyattheBerlinarmoryin1923.Inthefrontrow,fourthfromtheleft,isNilsRosén,Sr.;OlofLiljewalchisholdingtheflag;totherightofhimisGeneralHansvonSeecktandGilbert

Hamilton.(NilsRosén,Jr.)

EquallytroublingcommentswererecordedbytheSwedishSecurityPoliceinatelephonewiretapofHamilton.ThiswasclearfromatelephoneconversationHamiltonmadewithaGermanfriendon21June1940, justaweekafterParisfelltotheGermans.Hamiltonmadethefollowingstatementonthewiretappedtelephone,“HopefullyitwillgowellforGermanyinthesetriumphantdays.Itiswonderful!ToobadIcouldnottakepartmyself!”Sadly,thedossieronGilbertHamilton assembled by the Säkerhetspolisen (Säpo, the Swedish SecurityPolice)wasdestroyedin1962.66

ShortlybeforethestartoftheGermaninvasionoftheSovietUnionin1941,Operation BARBAROSSA in 1941, it is believed, and quite certain, thatHamilton was working for the German High Command, Oberkommando derWehrmacht,asanexpertonconditionsinRussia.67

Hamilton died in 1947 at the family estate,Hedensberg, in the province ofVästmanland,attheageof78.CountGilbertHamilton,atruechildofhistimes,is seen today mainly as a harmless decoration in his operetta-style uniform,rememberedashelooksdownonhismoderncountrymenfromthetobacconist’sshelves.HispersonalblendoftobaccoisstillsoldalloverSweden.

ABondofBloodAtaceremonyinBerlinin1913theChiefoftheGermanArmy,GeneralHansvonSeeckt,made a speech to a groupofSwedishofficers.Theplacewas theBerlinZeughaus,anoldarsenalfromthe1700sthatsince1923hadbeenusedasamilitarymuseum.The reason for thehigh-level speechwas the transferof aSwedish flag inmemoryof theSwedishvolunteerswhoserved in theGermanmilitary from 1914 to 1918. General Seeckt’s speech contained the followingpassage:

InthishallIwelcomeSweden’soldflag.Itisintherightplace,amongbrothers.Yourownspeakerputitwell;itheardthecry:“Brothersinneed!Peopleinneed!”ThiscryresonatedthroughouttheworldwhenGermanywentincombatforitsexistenceagainstaworldofenemies.TheechowassilentandonlyfromSwedenwasheardthecomradelyvoiceoffriendship.…Youcametoredeemandrenewtheoldcommonbondofweaponsandblood.Youfoughtwithusfaithfullytothehonorableend.68

TwentyyearslaterwhenGermanyagainfoughtinaglobalwar,theZeughauswasdestroyedbyalliedbombersandthemuseumcollectionwaslost,includingtheSwedishflag.

DespitethefactthatsympathyforGermanywasmorewidespreadinSwedenduringtheFirstWorldWarthantheSecond,notevenahundredSwedesactuallyjoined the Kaiser’s army. The reason was probably that neither Sweden norGermanyencouragedtherecruitingofSwedestotheGermanArmy.

Of the approximately seventy Swedes who joined the German Army, halfcamefromnobility,andmostoftherestcamefromupper-middleclassfamilies.IncontrasttotheSwedishofficerswhofoughtinFinlandin1918,onlyafewoftheex-GermanfightersgotsignificantmilitaryappointmentsaftertheirreturntoSweden.TothebestofourknowledgeonlyeightSwedeswerekilledinactionfortheCentralPowers—seveninGermanserviceandoneintheserviceoftheOttomanEmpire.69

MarcusGrundbergasafirstlieutenantandcompanycommanderinthePrussianInfantryRegiment“vonderGoltz”inFlanders.TheonlySwedishcareerofficerduringWWItobeKIAinGermanservice,hewaskilled13April1918bymachine-gunfireduringaninfantryassault.HeisburiedinaGermanmilitary

cemeterybyArmentieres,France,andcommemoratedinthechapelofKarlbergcastle,Stockholm.(TorstenGrundberg)

Inrecentyears, theFirstWorldWaris increasinglyseenasonlyasthefirstact in a three-act drama, in which the Cold War was the third. Certaincomponents of the First World War have also increased the interest in thisconflict lately. The German General Staff’s imperialistic designs andmonopolizationof thepoliticalprocess, forexample, resulted in thepolitics inGermanybecomingmilitarizedandthemilitarybecomingpoliticized.

HalfadozenSwedishWWIveteranscontinuedfightinginGermanuniformafter1918.TheyjoinedvariousFreikorps(FreeCorps),takingpartincrushingthe Spartacist uprising in Berlin, in various Baltic battles, and against Polishunitsalongthebrand-newPolish-Germanborder.

AfterWWIahandfulofSwedesjoinedreactionaryGermanfreecorpsunits.ChristofferFreidenfeldt(secondfromright)withfellowFreikorpsfightersinfrontofanErhardtarmoredcar.Thephotowastakenin1919inBerlinafterthecommunistSpartakus-rebellionhadbeencrushedbytheGermangovernment

withthehelpofFreikorps.In1917and1918FreidenfeldthadbeenafirstlieutenantintheGermanFusilierRegiment“PrinzHeinrichvonPreussen.”HewearsaPrussiandeath’sheadandthecufftitleof

KommandoderKampfwagen-Abteilungen.(HansBrusewitz)

Two unique phenomena appeared in 1918–19: the Stosstruppen and theFreikorps.In1918,Germany’smilitarydictator,GeneralErichvonLudendorff,employedentirelynewtacticsforinfantryassaultbycreatingelitebatallionstospearheadthetraditionalandpreviouslyineffectivemassinfantryattacks.Thesecrackformations,Stosstruppen(“shocktroops”),trainedtomoveinsmallgroupsacrossthebattlefield,wererecruitedamongstthefittestandmostintelligentmenand officers. Theywere specially armed andwore green uniformswith silverfacings.ManysportedtheinfamousTotenkopf(“Death’sHead”)symbol,whichbecame the badge for someFreikorps and later the symbol ofHimmler’s SS.The soldiers in the Stosstruppen developed a unique esprit de corps based ontheirelitestatus.

The first Freikorps were established by the German Social Democraticgovernment in 1918 to protect them from attempts by the revolutionary

communist SpartacusMovement to seize power in Berlin. After crushing thecommunists, the Freikorps, with their paramilitary political violence, showedthemselves equally hostile to the government as the extremists they had justdestroyed.“Amiserablesocialistrabble”asoneFreikorps leaderdescribedthelegitimategovernmentinBerlin.Theseforcesnowbecame“thebreedinggroundforanewelitethatglorifiedwarandwasaristocraticinspiritbutdemocraticinsocialorigins”(NigelJones).Theirmentalitywasamixtureofsuper-patriotism,nihilism,hostilitytothepoliticalleftandanappreciationforthe“socialequalityofthefightingmenfromthetrenches”(andthereforealawonlytothemselves).They were also anti-parliamentary, anti-Semitic and willing to build a newworld,butalsotosmashtheold,corruptbourgeoisone.

TherewastobeaclearlineofdevelopmentbetweentheStosstruppenoftheGermanImperialArmyandtheFreikorpsmovement.TheNaziswouldinmanyways look upon both phenomena as their immediate precursors. The Germandefeat in WWI was the catalyst for these extreme forces, and the Freikorpsbecameasignificantfactorforthegrowthofright-wingextremismininter-warGermany, providing a nucleus aroundwhich the SA and the SS formed. Thisdevelopment reached its culmination during WWII with the Waffen-SS, theethosofwhichharkenedbacktotheFreikorpsera.

Quitefittingly,oneoftheveryfirstSwedishfascistpartyleaderswasKonradHallgren(1891–1962),adecoratedvolunteerandRittmeister(captainofcavalry)in the German Army 1915–1918, who then joined one of the most famousFreikorps, the “IronDivision.”Hallgren took part in the almost forgotten buthistoricallyimportantbattlesofthe“IronDivision”intheBalticregionsin1919,capturingtheLatviancapitalofRigafromtheBolshevikson22May1919.

KonradHallgrenasavolunteer1916intheGermanCuirassierRegiment2.Hallgrenlaterservedasanofficerinthe“IronDivision,”aFreikorpsintheBalticregions,fightingboththeBolsheviksandLatvian

governmentforcesin1919.(GöteHallgren)

In the Baltic countries, the Freikorps saw themselves as the heirs of theknights of the medieval Teutonic Order and as protectors ofWestern cultureagainst theSlavicandBolshevik threats.Here, in theseancientBalticGermancolonies,withthehatedandtreacherousBerlingovernmentoutofsight,politicalplans were also drawn up by the Freikorps leaders and the Baltic barons toestablishanEasternempireoftheirown,twentyyearsbeforeHimmlerandtheSSwouldplanthesame.AfterhisreturntoSwedenviaBerlinin1920,Hallgrenbecame a co-founder of the Sveriges Fascistiska Folkparti (“Swedish FascistPeople’sParty”)in1928.

ChristerJäderlundvolunteeredintheKaiser’sArmyin1918.Avicar’ssonfromViby,heparticipatedinthefiercebattlesattheSommeandAisnein1918,thenspentayearasaBritishPOW.AfterWWIhewasaclerkandsailorinHamburg.From1928to1943hewasareporterinBerlinforSwedishnewspapers.In

1943hewasexpelledbytheNazis.HewroteseveralbooksonGermany,andduringWWIIwasanagentofSwedishMilitaryIntelligence.(AnnchenJäderlund)

Thepoliticalupheavalsduringthecataclysmicyears1918–19were thusnotonly thecrucible for fascism inGermany,but also for theNordic countries aswell. Indeed, recent research, for example in Norway, has indicated strongmutualconnectionsbetweenNordic fascismandGermanNazism—particularlywithHimmler’sSS—longbeforeHitler’sascenttopowerin1933.

4.IntheServiceoftheEntenteandtheUnitedStates,1914–1918:“Until

theEnd”ThirtyBritishtanksrumbledforwardtosupportandpreparetheway.Intheirwakewefollowed.

—BerntJohansson,SwedishvolunteerintheUSArmy

ThousandsofSwedeswereconscriptedbytheUSArmedForcestofightintheinferno of the First World War Western Front. Many had immigrated to theUnitedStatestoavoidconscription.TherewerenotthatmanySwedesinBritish,French,andCzaristRussianuniformsduring“theGreatWar,”butsuchSwedesmostdefinitelyexisted,andfoughttothedeathatbothVerdunandtheSomme.

Mauritz“Moje”HolmwasborninFellingsbro,Närke,in1895andcametotheUnitedStatesasateenager.HejoinedtheUSArmywhentheUnitedStatesenteredthewar.HefoughtatVerdunandreturnedto

Swedenafterdemobilizationandestablishedanationwidewholesalemovement.ThephotographshowsHolminhisAmericanuniformandisasouvenirdiplomaofhisservice.(MaxSjöbergarchive)

PerhapsthelastSwedetodieofhisWWIwounds,EricPetersonwasborninForsheda,SmålandasErikPettersson.HeemigratedtoAmericaandinmid-1918volunteeredfortheAmericanExpeditionaryCorps.WoundedinOctober1918whilesavingwoundedcomradesunderGermanfire,hewasdecoratedforvalor

byPresidentWoodrowWilson.HediedofhiswarwoundsinOregonin1943(!).(DavidWirmark)

*****

In1914bothBritishandFrenchexpertsonScandinaviasaidthatSwedenwouldprobably be an ally of Germany.1 For well-informed Frenchmen it musttherefore have been quite unexpected to see the Swedish flag among the warvolunteers who gathered in central Paris on 21 August 1914.2 There were adozenSwedesandahandfulofotherScandinavians thatassembled in frontofthe Les Invalides seeking to enter Frenchmilitary service, alongwith a largenumber of other foreigners. Elow Nilson from Gustavsberg wrote about themotleyvolunteers:

TheRussiansarethemostnumerous,nearlyfivethousand,mostlydrawnfromthelargeRussiancolonyspreadoutoverallofFrance.Therearealsovolunteersfromneutralstates,Scandinavians,Americans,Greeks,andItalians.Theconfusionoflanguagesisgreat,buttheenthusiasmforthecommoncauseisgreater.3

ElowNilsonfromGustavsbergintheuniformoftheFrenchForeignLegion.Thephotographwasprobablytakenatthetimeofhisentryintoserviceinthefallof1914.Nilsonwaskilledin1916,butinthefollowingyearhisnotesfromthefrontwerepublishedunderthetitleSwedishHeroesattheFront.(ElowNilson)

The assembled foreign volunteers then marched to the Saint-Lazare trainstation.Nilsondescribedthemarchas“literallyastrolldownapathcoveredbyrosepetals,asadmirersfromwindowsalongthewaycastmassesofflowersonusaswepassedby.”

OntheinducementsanotheranonymousSwedishvolunteerwrote:

Thereare,ofcourse,manythingsthatworktogethertoleadtosuchadecision.Onereasonformewasthatitwasaprotest—aprotestagainstthose[Swedes]who,whentheyrealizedthatwarwasactuallyhere,werefrightenedoutoftheirsenses,andrushedtoSweden.Someofthesecountrymenhadevenhadtheirnamespublishedonalistestablishingvolunteercorps,butthensuddenlyforgoteverythingthatwecanthankFranceandherculturefor.Itwasaprotestagainstsorecklesslyabandoningthecityandthecountrywhichhadbeensogenerous[towardsus].4

TherewasneveravolunteermovementinSwedenfortheFrenchcause,butbetween thirtyandfortySwedishcitizensdid join theFrenchmilitarybetween1914and1918.Inthemiddleofthewartwenty-fourofthemcametobecalled“theSwedishVolunteerCorps.”OfthefewsourcesonthemwefindthatmostofthemhadbeenlivinginPariswhenthewarbrokeoutandwereeitherlaborers,“adventurers,”orartists.ThemostwellknownofthelatterwasthepainterandsculptorIvanLönnberg.5

The Swedes were assigned to different sections within the French ForeignLegion, such as the “American Corps.” Their forerunners, the Swedishvolunteers forFrance in theFranco-PrussianWarof1870–71,baroneor two,alsohadbeenassignedtolaLégion,nottheregularFrenchArmy.

ElowNilsondescribesthepreparationfordutyinthefrontlinesinhis1917book,Svenskahjältarvid fronten (Swedishheroesat the front). Itconsistedoftwoweeksoftrainingfocusingmainlyonmarchingandrifledrill.Theuniformsfor that year, 1914, were very different from the more practical ones thatdominatedthesceneattheendofthewar:

Wewereoutfittedwithnewuniformsfromtoptotoe,theregulationoldFrenchuniformswithredtrousers,aredcap,andalongdarkbluejacket.Itwasauniformthatwasfineinpeacetime,butwasabsolutelyuselessinwar.Nobodythoughtaboutthatatthetime,though,asweprancedaboutlikebrilliantlyfeatheredroosters,admiringourneweleganceandgaudycolorsineverypossibleplace,fromthekitchensaucepantoshopwindowsalongthestreet,andlastbutnotleast,intheglancesfrompassingteenagegirls!

SothenIamaFrenchsoldierandamemberofthelegendaryForeignLegion.Mynumberis43949.6

In 1915 the Swedish Consulate in Paris put together a list of the fourteenthen-knownSwedishLegionnaires on theWestern Front. They belonged to laLégion’sFirstandSecondRegimentsandwereonaveragethirtyyearsold.7

MembersoftheSwedishVolunteerCorpswithintheFrenchForeignLegion.NilsPersson(withthemachinegun),EdgardMeissner,ElowNilson,OlofBremer,andIvanLönnberg.(ElowNilson)

ElowNilsonsoonexperiencedtherealityofmodernwarfare.HewrotehowduringonedayinafortnearVerduninMarch1916,“Artilleryshellsfellonandaroundusnon-stopfortenhours,firedfromfortytofiftyartillerypieceseveryminute.To describe the effect is totally impossible.”A strong group cohesionand a desire to accomplish something heroic helped him preserve his burningdesire to serveFrance and its army.Germanyas a threat and enemy seems tohave played a lesser role in his motivation. Bravery. Honor. Heroes. Thosewords had a central meaning in Nilson’s writings. After more than a year incombathereflected:

Throughmymindpassesthereviewofthecolorguard.Iseemethenasoneof20,000soldiersatpresentarmsastheflagoftheCityofToulonishandedovertousbyadelegationwiththetown’smayorinthelead.Inashortandpatrioticspeechheexhortsustoalwayshonorandneverdesertthatflag,apromisethatwegaveandevennowmaintain.AfterthattheflagwentwithustotheFrontandwasalwaysclosetous.Theflaggaveusnewcourageduringthefirsthardyear,markedbyacoldwinterandstarvation.TheflagfollowedusduringtheattackatSoissonsandBerry-au-Bac.ItledusinthebattleofArrasandduringthetakingofNeuville-Saint-Vaast,wheretheenemyusedweaponssuchaspetroleumand

flaminggases,wherebytheflagbearerwasburnedtodeathandeventheflagcaughtfire,butwassavedatthelastminute.Stillyoucanseethattheedgesaresinged.ItfollowedustoCraonelle,wheretheflagbearer,hitbyanenemybullet,anddying,handedittoacomradeandwhispered,“safeguardmyhonorrichflag!”8

OnanotheroccasionNilsonwaswithamajorwhoselastwordswere“VivelaFrance!”Nilsoncommented“howenviabletohavesuchanhonorabledeath!”9

A less enthusiastic Swedish volunteer wrote in 1915 to his friend, AlwynSanden, about how he understood the Swedish newspaper articles on thewarthathadbeensenttohimattheFront:

InowandthenreadSwedishnewspapersandnewsclippingsthataresenttome.OtherwiseIwouldfindithardtobelieve,whatyouhavetoldme,thatthereisalongingforwarbackhome.Arethepeoplecompletelycrazy?Theyhavenoideaaboutwar,modernwar,becauseiftheydid,andhadanycommonsense,theywouldpraytoGod,toallgoodpowers,tobesparedfromthismisery.Ihaveseenit—andbynomeansregrettingthatIcamehere—andsay:ifIcouldspeakwithmypeople,speaktooneandall,paintthewarinpictures,showwhatitreallyislike,Iwouldgladlyspendyearsexplaining.Years!Noonewillbeabletogetmetobelievethatwarisennoblingforthenationorrace.Certainlyoneseeshereactivitiesthatarebeautifulandoccasionallyunquestionablyunselfish,heroic,self-sacrificing—Ibynomeansdenythat—butthatisswallowedupcompletely,itdisappears,iswashedoverbyallthebottomlessrawbestialitythatwarasIhaveseenitcanbringforth.TheRaceisregenerated[bywar]!Ridiculous!10

Inthespringof1916theFrenchassembled“thedescendantsoftheVikings,”asElowNilsoncalled them,andassigned themasagroup to fight in the firstbattle of the Somme,where the attack gained only ten kilometers at a humancostof195,000Frenchmen,418,000British,and650,000Germans.

ElowNilson’s bookwas based on notes hemade in the trenches. The lastlineshewrotebeforehewaskilledinAugust1916were:

HereonthebattlefieldoftheSomme,Swedishbloodhasbeenshed.Hereonthefieldsomewhereonecanfindone,perhapstwo,smallwoodencrosses,bearingthenamesoftwounselfishSwedeswhoshedtheirblood

forFrance.OneoftheseheroeswasRagnarBenzen,Legionnaire,whoalreadyhadseendeathupclosethousandsoftimes,undaunted,bothhereintheWorldWarandduringhundredsofsmallbattlesinthecolonies.IntenyearstimehadhebelongedtotheForeignLegionandonhischestwereproudlydisplayedfivecolonialmedalshonoringhispartinthecampaignsinMorocco,Tonkin[inIndo-China],Algeria,Madagascar,andMartinique.InallofthesecampaignshefoughtagainstinsurrectionsandaddedhonortothereputationofSweden.

TheotheronewasIvarSvenssonfromGothenburg,avolunteerfromdayone.Hewasayouthwholeftagreatemptinessinoursoulswhenhedied.WehadthepleasureofgettingtoknoweachotherandIvaluedhimasafriendandcomrade.Braveincombat,aclosefriendindanger—thoseofuswhosurvivedsayabouthim.

Bothfellon2JuneduringthecaptureofthevillageofBellay.Benzenwasstruckbytwobulletsinthehead,Svensson,however,wasneverfound—hejustvanished.

Probablyhisfatewastobeblowntopiecesbyashellthatspreadhisashestothewinds.Oftheprevioustwenty-four-strongSwedishvolunteercorps,onlyelevenmenremainatthefront,butwearereadytofight“jusqu’aubout,”untiltheend,whichisourmotto.11

IntheSwedishChurchinParisonefindsamarbleplaquewiththenamesofthesixteenSwedishLegionnaireswhowerekilledinactionfrom1914to1918.Theplaquealsoreads,“MortspourlaFrance”(diedforFrance)alongsidetheSwedishnationalemblemofthreecrowns.12

As far aswe know therewere only twoSwedes in Frenchmilitary servicefrom1914to1918outsidelaLégion.AviationinnovatorHugoSundstedtfromÖrebrowasinvitedbytheFrenchgovernmenttobeatestpilot.Hetestedover300aircraftfortheFrench,British,andItalianmilitaryforwhichhewasamplydecorated. According to one source the painter and Légion volunteer IvanLönnbergwasable transfer from theFrenchForeignLegion to theFrenchAirForce.AhandfulofSwedishcitizensservedintheotherFrench-speakingarmy,theBelgianArmy,duringWWI,but fewdetails areknownabout themexceptthattheyservedintheBelgianCongo.13

In addition a dozen Swedes are known to have served in French militaryhospitals,mostlyinRedCrossuniform.Oneoftheseisofspecialinterest,AxelMunthe,ashewasthegreat loveandpersonaldoctorof theSwedishQueen—

whoclearlysupportedGermanyduringWWI!(Seepreviouschapter.)The French victory in the First World War led to an increase in formal

exchanges of military personnel between Sweden and France. Groups ofSwedishofficersweresenttovariousFrenchunits.14MathsHolmström,amajorintheCoastArtillery,wasappointedtoserveintheFrenchArmyfrom1920to1921.Helikeditsowellthatafterhisone-yeartourwasoverhetookaleaveofabsencefromtheSwedishArmytoparticipatewiththeFrenchcolonialtroopsinMoroccoincombatagainstaninsurrection.Holmströmwasgivencommandofabattery in the 9th African Field Artillery Division and was even awarded theOrderoftheFrenchLegionofHonorforhisservicesforFrance.15

TheInvoluntaryArmyThousands of immigrant Swedes and Swedish descendants were drafted byUncleSamformilitaryserviceinEuropein1917and1918.ManyhadbeenbornandraisedinSwedenandweremuchmoreSwedishthanAmerican.Acommonmotive for Swedish emigration to theUS beforeWWI had been to avoid themilitary.

Swedish-AmericansduringtheFirstWorldWarareoneofthelargest,butatthe same time, least studied categories of Swedes atwar. Some of thesemenhavewrittentheirmemoirs,anditisgenerallyknownthattheyweremany—butacomprehensiveoverview is lacking.Typicalof thesources isUlfBeijbom’s,book,Amerika,Amerika!inwhichhesays,“Anunknownnumber[ofSwedes],mostlikelyseveralthousand,diedinthetrenches.”(p.245)Weknowthattheywerenotassembledinaspecial,Swedishunit,butwerespreadoutacrossallthedifferentmilitaryunits.Itisstillpeculiarhowverylittleweknowaboutthem.

AdrianÖsterlund(above),borninthevillageofÖverklinteninVästerbottenin1887.HeemigratedtotheUnitedStatesin1906.Hewasoneofapproximately1,500SwedishimmigrantsandSwedish-Americans

whodiedinWWI.(Sven-ErikÖsterlund)

Some information on the fate of these men is found in theUtrikesdepartementet (UD, Swedish Foreign Ministry) archives. Many of theconscriptedSwedessentletterstotheUDseekinghelptoavoidmilitaryservice,orgetreleasedfromtheunittowhichtheyhadalreadybeenassigned.TwoUDdocumentsmention2,000moreor lessSwedishpersonsseekingtobereleasedfromAmericanconscription.16

In1917theUnitedStatesenactedanewconscriptionlawthatappliedeventothose who had just begun the citizenship process to be called up formilitaryservice.Thelawdidnotcoverthosewhohadnotstartedthecitizenshipprocess.Thatfinepointwas“forgotten”bymanySelectiveServiceoffices,however,andthey obligated for military service even Swedes who did not plan to becomeAmericancitizens.

OneofthosewhowrotetotheSwedishlegationinWashingtonandaskedforhelp was Gotthard Carlson. Using a mixture of Swedish and English, withmisspelledwords in both languages (withmost Swedishwords translated intoEnglish to be legible to all), Carlson wrote the following letter from CampFunston,anarmytrainingcampinKansas:

Hereitisnotfun.Andrightnowitisraininghere,sorightnowisithereverymuddy.Ihavebeenwaitingheretobe“exemted”[sic].Andwaitingtobestill.Ihaveseenmyfirstpäper[sic,hemeanspaper]andthengotwordthatIwillbeexemted[sic]intwovickor[sic,“weeks”]andthatwasavicka[sic,“week”]agosinceIsawthepäper[sic]butIhavenotheardanythingbutIstillhavefaithremainingtobeexemted[sic],andsomustIbe,becausesomewarriorIdonotwanttobe.17

ItoughttobepointedoutthatfarfromallSwedesinAmericahadbecomeasAmericanized asGotthardCarlson.There probably are thousands of postcardsfromsoldiers in the “AmericanExpeditionaryForce,France” inSwedishdeskdrawers,writteninperfectSwedish,suchasthisonefromJohnStockhouse.Hewrites in goodSwedish andbeginswith thewords, “DearestMom—Got yourletterseveraldaysagoandwassoglad.…”18

SwedesintheUnitedStatesstartedwithabadreputationin1917,markedascowards, largely because of 138 Swedish socialists who were arrested inRockford,inJune1917forrefusingtobedrafted.Thisincidentbecameaclubinthe hands of those who hated immigrants in the continuing debate onimmigration.19AfterRockfordSwedeswereoftenchargedwithseekingtoavoid

thewar,butconsideringhowmanySwedish-Americanshadimmigrated—manyto avoid conscription—the percentage of Swedes who sought to avoid USmilitaryservicewashardlyastaggeringone.

An immigrant from the Swedish island of Öland, Einar Eklöf, enlistedvoluntarilyintheUSArmyin1916becausehewasunemployed.Duringthefallof1917hewassentwithhisdivisionasoneofthetwofirsttoarriveinFrance.Eklöfbelongedtothe23dInfantryRegimentofthe2dDivision.HewroteofhistimeinFlanderstotheauthorAndersJohansson:

InFlanderswelearnedtrenchwarfare.WewereinthemiddlewithEnglishmenonourleftflankandFrenchmenonourright.WeaskedtheFrenchmenhowweshouldhandleourselves.“IfyouleavetheGermansinpeacetheywillleaveusinpeacetoo.”Atnightwestoodallreadyforaction,butduringthedaywedidnothavemanyonwatch.WecouldseehowtheGermansmovedaboutintheirparalleltrenchesandhunglaundryonthebarbedwirebarriers.

Onedayalieutenantsaidtoourplatoon,“Shallwereallyletthemtodothat?”Soatthatpointseveraloftheboysbegantofiresnipershots.Thatshouldnothavebeendone,though,becausefromthenonwewerenotleftinpeace.

Themaintrencheswereverydeep.Onthebottomofthetrenchwoodenplankshadbeenlaidtohelpusmovearound.Infrontofthetrenchwasanearthenwall.Wemadesmallholesandnotchesinthewall,sowecouldavoidexposingourheads.AtthatpointtheGermansbegantofireartilleryatus.Theywouldsometimesscoreadirecthitinourtrenchsothatmudspewedoutlikewaterfromaspring,butnoneofuswaseverhit.

Soweweremovedtoadefensiveposition,andstayedthereforseveralweeksholdingtheline.WhentheGermansbegantheoffensivetowardsPariswewerequicklymovedtothemostforwardlineastheFrenchmenweremovingback.ItwassaidthattherewasanopenmutinyamongtheFrenchtroops.Theirdisciplinewaspoor.Theymarchednotasaunitbutpell-mell.Mostseemedtobeexhaustedandmanywereseverelywounded.Weaskedthosewemethowitwasatthefront.Allthatweheardfromthemwas“Finielaguerre,beaucouplesboches”[sic](incorrectFrenchimplying“ThewarisoverbecausetherearetoomanyGermans”).20

TherewasindeedwidespreadunrestandpuremutinyamongtheFrenchunits.Ononeoccasionin1917overone-halfoftheFrenchArmyprotestedagainstthe

differenceintreatmentshowntoofficersandenlistedmen.Eklöf’sregimentwasoneofthoseinthatcriticalsituationthatblockedtheGermanadvanceonParis.

TheFirstWorldWarwasnotonlyabout trenchandartillerywarfare.BerntJohansson was also a genuine volunteer in the US Army, coming from theSwedishprovinceofSmåland.Hetookpartinasuccessfuloffensivewithanewkindofwarmachine,thetank:

Nowcametheordertomoveforwardwithourentireforce.Howshallitbepossibletogoforwardthroughtheterribleincomingfire?AboutthirtyBritishtanksrumbledforwardtosupportandpreparethewayfortheinfantry.Wefollowedintheirwake.…TheBritisharmoredvehicleswentforwardalongaonekilometerfront,androlledovertrenches,shellcraters,trees,andbarbedwirebarriers;nothingwasthoughttohindertheiradvance,butattheMeuseRiverwewereforcedtohalt.21

Asa rule, theSwedish-Americans in theWWIUSArmywerenot genuinevolunteers, nor did they have any previous experience of war. The biggestexception to that rule must be Emil Holmdahl, born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in1883. He was fifteen years old when he enlisted in the US Army during theSpanish-American War in 1898. He then served in the Philippines. Afterdischarge, he joined Lee Christmas in Honduras. He proceeded toMexico in1909andthereservedinthe“Rurale,”butHolmdahlchangedallegianceatleasttwicewhileinMexico.In1916HolmdahlwasaguidewithPershing’sPunitiveExpedition.IntheUSArmyinFrancehesawfierceactionasacaptain.In1926,whileonaprospecting trip toMexico,hewasarrested fordesecratingPanchoVilla’stomb.22

AnotherexceptionalSwedeintheWWIUSArmywasundoubtedlyJ.HugoAronson. He was from Gällstad in Västergötland and arrived in the US as atwentyyearoldwithoutmoneyoraneducationpasttheeighthgrade.Hedidn’tspeakEnglisheither.AfterhiswarserviceinFrance,however,helivedthegreatAmerican dream and eventually served as governor of Montana for twoconsecutiveterms.

StatisticsshowthatnearlyfourpercentoftheAmericanpopulationwasintheArmedForcesduringtheFirstWorldWar.Atotalof3.8millionUScitizensandresidents were mobilized.23 Swedes were inductedmost probably nomore orless than other ethnic groups.One can estimate, therefore that at least 20,000personsborninSwedenweredraftedbytheUSArmy.Inaddition,about30,000

USWWIsoldiersweremoreorlessofSwedishancestry.24The 2,000 letters and petitions sent to the Swedish legation inWashington

seeking exemption from American military duty gives an indication of howmanySwedishcitizensweredrafted.TureSchönberg,aSwedishjournalistintheUnited States during the First World War, wrote in a letter to the SwedishForeignMinistry about howeven thoseSwedeswhohad just arrived receiveddraftnoticesandthat“alargenumber”ofthesedidn’tbothertotrytoavoidthedraftbecause theyhadheard thatSwedishauthoritiescoulddonothing tohelpthemout.SchönbergstatedfurtherthattheSwedishambassadorinWashingtonhad told him that the Swedish ForeignMinistry did “not want him to irritateAmericanauthoritiesabouttheirgreatdisrespectforSwedishcitizenship.”25

At war’s end there were so many American officers of Swedish origin inParisthattheywereprovidedwiththeirown“SwedishClub”on58bis,RuedelaChausseed’Autin.AccordingtotheStarsandStripes(25October1918)theclub furnished “goodmeals at a very lowprice andhas a file ofSwedish andothernewspapers.”

Ifusingthetotalfigureof50,000SwedishcitizensandSwedish-AmericansinUS military service in WWI, and calculating with average US losses, some1,500 of thesemenwere killed in action, ofwhich some600must have beenborn in Sweden.26 That number, that is, some 600 Swedish lives, can becompared to the eight Swedes who died in GermanWWI service. (For thosereadersinterestedofresearchingsomeofthesefatesitcanbementionedthattheAmerican WWI draft archives can be studied via Internet, for example, atwww.ancestry.com.)

Inaddition,SwedishsailorsworkedintheconvoysbetweentheUnitedStatesandEurope,justastheylaterdidduringtheSecondWorldWar.Sadly,though,wedonotevenknow,evenroughly,howmanythesemenwere,butitisknownthatthey,too,receivedWarParticipantMedals.27

BritishImperialVikingsPlans for threeScandinavianvolunteerunitsweredrawnup in theoutskirtsofthe British Empire during the First World War, but only two of them wererealized.

Up to the 1930s Canada and South Africa were the foremost lands in thesphere of theBritish Empire. In both countries ideaswere hatched during theFirstWorldWarforaScandinavianvolunteerunit.“TheScandinavianCorps”asitwascalledinthebeginningbySouthAfrica,waschangedshortlythereafterto“the Viking Regiment.” It began with an announcement in the South Africanpress.Accordingtotheorganizersatotalof600menwouldberecruited.Soonafter, thirty-six women were sent out onto the streets of Johannesburg withcollectionforms toget funds insupportof the regiment.Withinashort timeanumber of important Scandinavian institutions officially distanced themselvesfrom the organizers and tough questions were raised in the press about theeffortstoraisemoneyfortheregiment.Asitturnedoutallthemoneytakeninwaswentto“administration.”“TheVikingRegiment”wasthusneverorganized,butitdidgetagreatdealofpublicityintheSouthAfricanpress.28

“The question iswhetherCanadawill be governed fromOttawa orBerlin”wroteSvenskaCanadaTidningen(TheSwedishCanadaNewspaper)inJanuary1916andpromotedaspecialunitforCanadianSwedesandotherScandinavians.Two weeks later the newspaper reported the plans made by “well knownSwedishCanadians” for a “ScandinavianRegiment” had been rejected by theauthorities.OntheotherhandacertainLieutenantA.G.Fonseca,“whowasofSpanishextraction,”gotapproval tobuildregimentmadeupofScandinavians,andwasmade a lieutenant colonel in the process.Thewhole thing developedintoawarofwordsinthepresswhereallthenewspapersbutonecametorejectFonseca’sbattalion.On22February1916 theSvenskaCanadaTidningenwasable to report, “Now theScandinavianBattalion is a reality—avictory for thepress”andaweeklaterreportedthattherecruitingwasinfullswing.29

DespitethetroubledstarttwoScandinavianbattalionswereformed:the197thInfantry Battalion “Vikings of Canada” and the 223d Canadian-ScandinavianOverseasBattalion.

After they were organized they were sent to the Canadian ExpeditionaryForce (CEF) in France. Only three Swedes in the “Vikings of Canada” areknownbyname.Theoneweknow themost about is the farmer JonÖstlund,

calledJohnAstlund,fromVemdalenintheProvinceofJämtland.Hebecameillanddiedon theway to the front.Onhis registration form it states thathehadcompleted his obligatory military service in Sweden and joined the CanadianArmyvoluntarily.30

Theshoulderpatchofthe197thdisplayedacarefullyformedVikingshipandastreamerwiththetext“VikingsofCanada.”The223d’sshoulderpatchshowedaVikingwithahornedhelmetoverabackgroundofamapleleafandunderneaththewords“CanadianScandinavians.”

Information on the hundreds of CanadianWorldWar I soldiers who wereborninSwedenislocatedontheInternet-basedpersonnelarchivesfortheCEF(www.collectionscanada.ca).

InBritishKenya therewere anumberofScandinavian farmerswhoduringthewar signed up for theBritish and joinedLordDelamere’sReconnaissanceCorps.TheauthorKarenBlixen’s(famousforOutofAfrica)Swedishhusband,Bror von Blixen-Finecke, was made an officer in this corps during the war.Kenya,however,wasnotthemostremoteplaceforSwedestoenlistforBritain—theysigneduporweredraftedfortheBritishcauseasfarawayasinAustraliaand New Zealand. Several hundred Swedes who had emigrated to Australiasignedup to return toEurope inuniform in1914.They foughtatGallipoli, inFrance,Egypt,andPalestine.Asfarasisknown,however,theywerespreadoutand never formed any Swedish or Scandinavian unit. Even more exotic wasperhaps the Swedish volunteer in a British-led multinational corps in HongKong,China!31

TherewereatleasttwentySwedesintheregularBritishArmy.Asmentionedin chapter three, a Swedish officer in German service by chance met threeSwedish sailors who had enlisted in the British Army. A document in theSwedishForeignMinistry archivesmentions aSwedewhoquickly leftBritishservice,EricGrönberg.Hehad“mistakenly”joinedtheBritish,butthroughthemediation of Swedish diplomats was able to leave the British Army in themiddle of the war. His father had stressed the necessity for him to return tocomply with his conscription in the Swedish Army. When Grönberg wasreleasedbytheDurhamLightInfantryhewasaccompaniedbyanotherSwede,a“J.Rosén.”32

Through his volunteer service for the British in the Boer War, SvenRidderborgfromLundbecameanofficerinnotonebuttwoprestigiousBritishregiments. He was appointed first lieutenant in the 1st Guards DragoonRegiment. In 1914 hewasmade a captain and squadron commanderwith the

LancashireHussarRegiment.He left thisunusual career in1916 forunknownreasons.33 GeorgWesterberg fromGothenburg was killed the same year as avolunteer officer in theBritishRoyal FieldArtillery in France. The followingyearanotherGothenburgerdiedforBritain,nineteen-year-oldEskilStrömwall.34

AformerSwedishnavalofficerintheReservesbythenameofAxelPoignantwas living in Harrogate, England, working as a physiotherapist, whenWorldWar I broke out. He joined the British Army’sWest Yorkshire Regiment inSeptember 1914, became a naturalized British citizen and was in Decemberappointedcaptain.In1917AxelPoignantattainedtherankofmajor.InthesameyearhewaswoundedinactioninFranceandawardedtheMilitaryCross(MC).After sick-leave and Senior Officers’ School he was appointed lieutenant-colonelinDecember1918,andsenttotheArcticfrontofArkhangelskinNorthRussia.HewasthereuponawardedtheOrderof theBritishEmpire(OBE)andtheRussianOrderofSaintVladimir4thClasswithSwords.Hewasdemobilizedin 1920 and returned to live in Sweden. His commander at Senior Officers’Schoolcharacterizedhimas“veryconscientiousandagood influence.Manoftheworld.Smartinappearance.”35

IvorThord-Grayparticipatedinanamazingnumberofconflicts.HewasborninStockholmasIvarThordHallström.Hisbrother,Gustaf,wastheorganizerofseveralvolunteercorpsandappears inotherchaptersof thisbook.Thord-Graywas destined to become both aRussian andAmerican general, but itwas theBritishArmythatmadehimanofficer,eventhoughwellafterWWIheheldonto his Swedish citizenship. It is a great challenge to give a comprehensiveoverviewof the lifeofThord-Graybecausehewas involved invirtuallyeveryconflictduringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,andmoreoverwasagiftedethnologistandresearcherof languages.36At theageof forty-two, longbeforehiscareerwasover,hewrotethefollowingcurriculumvitae:

Thepossessorofthedocument,MajorGeneraloftheRussianArmyandColoneloftheBritishArmyIVORTHORD-GRAY,wasborninStockholmofSwedishparentsandwasraisedinSweden.

GeneralGrayparticipatedinBritishserviceinthecampaignsin[SouthAfrican]BechuanalandandPondolandin1897;intheBoerWarof1899–1902;inoperationsinDamaraandZululandin1906;appointedCavalryCaptainintheBritishArmyin1906;servedinTonkinin1909;inTripoliin1911;inChinain1912;wasChiefofStaffintheFirstMexicanArmyin1913–1914;participatedinBritishserviceontheEuropeanWesternFront

in1914–1917;wasappointedMajoroftheBritishArmyon28October1914,andthenLieutenantColonelon18June1915;organizedandcommandedthe11th[Battalionofthe]NorthumberlandFusiliersRegimentaswellasthe25thLondonRegimentin1916–1917;wasonsickleavefromthefrontinthefallof1917;organizedandcommandedtheBritish-AmericanBrigadeinthe“TheodoreRoosevelt”VolunteerDivisionin1917;servedintheDepartmentofInformationoftheCanadianExpeditionaryCorpsinthefallof1918;wastransferred[toRussianWhiteForces]attherequestoftheKolchakgovernmentinFebruary1919andmadeDeputyCommanderoftheFirstSiberianAssaultDivision,andparticipatedinbattlesattheRussianfrontuntil15September1919,whenhewaswoundedbytworifleshots;promotedtoMajorGeneralon29November1919.

GeneralGraywillshortlydepartforAmericaandEuropetoreceivespecialelectrical[sic!]medicaltreatmentforhiswounds.

GeneralGrayistherecipientofthefollowingRussianOrders:

1.SaintAnnaOrder,FirstClasswithSwords(theGreatCross).2.SaintAnnaOrder,SecondClasswithSwords(Commodore).3.SaintVladimirOrder,3dClasswithSwords(Commodore).4.SaintVladimirOrder,4thClasswithSwordsandRibbon.5.SaintStanislavOrder,2dClasswithSwords(Commodore).37

Fora foreigncitizen tobegrantedmembershipofaprestigiousBritishunitsuch as the Northumberland Fusiliers was an accomplishment in itself. For aforeigner to be promoted to lieutenant colonel with such a unit was virtuallyimpossible.Itis,therefore,hardlysurprisingthatThord-GraymanagedtofinishhismilitarycareerasanAmericanmajorgeneralduringWWII.

AfterhehadcommandedbothBritishandCanadiantroopsontheWesternFrontIvorThord-GraywentovertotheWhiteRussianArmyinSiberiaandfinishedhisservicethereasaRussianMajorGeneral.Inthisphotographfrom1920heisshowninhisRussianuniformwithBritishandRussianordersandmedals.

(BengtRinaldo)

ItwouldbehardtobelieveinThord-Gray’slonglistofexploitsifitwasnotfor the archive he leftwhere the above information is verified by documents,letters,andphotographs.38

*****

MoreSwedesintheWWIBritishArmyarementionedinanarticlepublished9January 1918 in Stockholms Dagblad. Sadly, only their family names arementioned:Barnekow,Buhrén,Ehrenborg,Grey,Kreuger,Lundgren,vonOtter,andWaldenström.

Swedish diplomats and businessmen residing inGreat Britain duringWWIdemonstrated their sympathy for Britain by building the Swedish Hospital inLondonin1916.Thereputationofthegoodcaretherespreadquickly;thus,soonafterthehospitalwasopened,itwasforofficersonly.39

MattiasThomassonBuskasfromGammelsvenskby,literally“OldSwedishTown,”intheUkraine.Hesurvivedthewarbysprinklingsaltonhisbattlewounds.(OveBuskas)

SwedesFightingfortheCzarofRussiaIn1914CzaristRussiahadnotone,butthree(orevenfour)minoritiesthatspokeSwedish as theirmother’s tongue—about 340,000Swedish speakers!ThevastmajorityofthesewereSwedishFinns,butinadditiontherewereatthetimestillthousands of Swedish speakers in Estonia and about 600 in Ukraine, inGammalsvenskby (“Old SwedeVillage”).40 There was also an influential andgrowing number of “Swedish Russians” (Swedes and Swedish Finns) in theRussiancapital. In theyear1900therewereabout6,000moreor lessSwedishpersonslivingthere.

Asfarastheauthorsknowthereisnoin-depthstudyoftheSwedishFinnsorSwedish Estonians in Russian military service during the First World War.SwedishFinnsinRussianuniformsshouldhavebeenfewinnumberbecauseallyoung men in Finland were exempt from Russian conscription (instead theywereobligedtopayahighertax).Notverysurprisingly,anattempttocreateaFinnish volunteer unit forRussia during theFirstWorldWar failed, but therestillweresomeSwedishFinnsintheWWImilitaryoftheCzar—thosewhohadsought theRussianArmyprior toWWIforacareer.Amongthem,clearly, the

CzaristCavalryGeneralandlaterPresidentofFinlandGustafMannerheimisinaclassbyhimself.

ThepeopleofGammalsvenskbyinUkrainewerethedescendantsofSwedishEstonianswhohadbeenforcedtocolonizesouthernUkraineduringthereignofCatherine the Great. They were at first exempted from Russian militaryconscription. That was changed by the end of the 1800s, however, andconsequently130menwere inductedfromGammalsvenskbyforservice in theCzar’s military during the First World War.41 Swedish and German ethnicgroupswithinRussiawerethenallsenttotheCaucasustobattleTurkey.Therewas fear that they might desert if forced to fight against the Germans orAustrians.Aftercomplaints,though,someoftheSwedeswerepermittedtoserveinGalicia,locatedintoday’sPolandandUkraine.

The aviation exploits of Lieutenant Harold Matson were mentioned in aRussiannewspaperin1916asanexampleofoutstandingbraveryintheserviceof the Czar. In spite of battle wounds Lieutenant Matson had delivered vitalaerial reconnaissance data. It has not been possible to ascertain, however,whetherMatsonwaspartofoneoftheSwedishethnicminoritiesoftheRussianEmpireoraSwedishcitizenwhohadvolunteeredtojointheCzaristairforce.42

5.AtWarinFormerCzaristRussia,1917–1922:IntheRuinsofanEmpire

Iwasgoingtoenlistinthearmyoftheworkingclassandtakepartintheworldrevolution,becauseworldrevolutionwasinevitableafterthebloodbathoftheWorldWar.Iftheworkingclasswouldnotwininallcountriesanewworldwarwouldfollowthefirstone.

—EmilNordén,RedArmyvolunteer

IntheruinsoftheoncesomightyandstableRussianEmpireadozendifferentarmed conflicts took place between 1917 and 1922. About 1,500 Swedishcitizens involved themselves in one or more of these conflicts—mainly inFinlandandtheBalticStates—withunitsthatwerebothAnti-RussianandAnti-Communist.Swedishvolunteers,however,couldalsobefoundamongRussianWhiteandRedForces.

*****

TheRussianFebruaryRevolutionof1917promisedself-determinationformanyparts of theRussianEmpire thatwerenot ethnicallyRussian. InFinland, thenstillpartoftheRussianEmpire,therewereeffortstoreplacethelossoflawandorderbyformingvigilantegroups,atfirstquitecivilandunpolitical.Ageneralelection was held in Finland in October 1917 and the result was a weakconservative government. The vigilantes then transformed into “Red” and“White” militias called “Red Guards” and “Protection Corps.” A significantnumberof“Whites”wereSwedishFinns,whereastherewerefewSwedishFinnsamongthe“Reds.”

On 7 November 1917 the largest faction of Russian Communists, theBolsheviks, seizedoverall commandof theRussian revolution through a coupthatwaslaterlabeledas“theOctoberRevolution.”Incidentally,aSwedishFinnbythenameofNikolayAdolfErikssonwasthecaptainoftheAurora,theshipthat became legendary for having fired the opening shot of the BolshevikRevolution.Eriksson,however,didnotorderthefiring,ashewasnotentirelyinagreementwiththeBolsheviks.1

The so-called “October Revolution” greatly affected the strong socialist

minority in Finland. Thus, when the new Finnish conservative governmentproclaimed the independence of Finland on 6December 1917 the atmospherethroughoutFinlandwasrazorsharp.

Finland’sRedGuardsobtainedweaponsfromthe40,000Russiantroopsthatwere still stationed in Finland. These troops were partially under Sovietcommand. Sunday 27 January 1918 the Red Guards took control over manytowns in southern Finland. On the very same day the Protection Corps underGeneral Gustaf Mannerheim began to disarm the Russian, nominally Soviet,militaryincentralFinland.Thecorpshadjustbeengiventhestatusasthelawfularmy of the Finnish government. To the government’s great fortune the war-wearyRussiantroopsgavelittleresistancetoMannerheim’sforcesandgaveuptheirweapons.

The following day Red Guards entered central Helsinki with the moralsupportofBolshevikleaderVladimirLenin,butwithoutanysignificantmilitarysupport fromhim.Thepropagandaof theWhiteForcesneverthelessportrayedSovietRussia (the official name of the Soviet state until it became the SovietUnion in 1922) to be in control of the Finnish Red Guards. Consequently,accordingtotheWhiteForces,whatresultedwasnotacivilwarbutratherawarfor independence. The last commander of the Swedish Volunteer Brigade forFinland,HaraldHjalmarsonwentastepfurtherandwrotethatthewarwasjustanother round in the “centuries old struggle in the North against the AsiaticbarbariansintheformofRussia.”2

The Swedish government desired a free and independent Finland. Swedenwasamongthefirstcountries torecognize the independenceofFinland,but tointervene on one side inwhatwas perceived chiefly as a civilwar—thatwassomething else. In addition, the Swedish Social Democrats, who at the timegovernedSwedentogetherwiththeLiberalParty,couldhardlysupportmilitaryactionagainsttheirbrotherpartyinFinland.

ThecollapseofRussiaandsubsequentcivilwaraswellastheassociatedwarin Finland in 1918 are subjects that in Finland andRussia until very recentlyevokedstrongsentimentsandoftenwereavoided.TheverynatureofthewarinFinland is still problematic.Whether it is called theWarof Independence, theFraternal War, the Finnish Civil War, or War of 1918 all signal underlyingmessages. The last name is of course the most colorless and thus neutral,however, in recent years “the Finnish Civil War” has lost some of its leftistconnotation.

Guiltforthemassmurderandotheroutrageousactionsperpetratedprimarily

bytheWhiteForces(mainlyaftertheactualwarwasover),butalsobytheRedGuards,becameacollectivetraumafortheFinnsafterthewar.Manyquestionsabout thewarwere seen as so distressing that theywhere left at that and notresolved. Thus itwas not until 1998 that the research project “WarDeaths inFinland,1914–1922”wasbegun.Oftheapproximately38,000deathsidentifiedby the researchers, some 35,000 died in the 1918 war and in the periodimmediatelythereafter.3

TheSwedishBrigadeAlargepartoftheSwedishmiddleclassandvirtuallyallmembersoftheupperclass did not approve of the cautious statements on Finland uttered by theSwedish government in early 1918. These groupswanted Sweden to bemoreactive and openly support the Finnish government and its White Army, butappeals from different interest groups did little to change the position of theSwedishgovernment.

From theFinnishgovernment cameaconcrete request formilitarily trainedpersonnel and weapons from Sweden. This appeal was received with greatsympathy in the Swedish officers’ messes. Certain regimental officer corpsapplied, almost to a man, to be allowed to join the Finns.4 The Swedishgovernment reacted to this, too, but only in secret and by permittingMannerheim to acquireweapons via Sweden.5 The Swedish state had alreadyturnedablindeyeatsupportfortheFinnishJägeractivitiesandpresenceinthecountry(seetheearliersectionaboutthePrussianJägerBattalion27).

Weaponscouldbeshippedinsecret,buttodispatchagovernmentfundedandraisedSwedishexpeditionarycorpsforFinlandwasamuchmoreseriousmatter.Thatwouldoffend far toomanyvoters.Therefore theSwedishmilitaryper sewouldnotbeengagedinFinland.

The government, however, would not prevent Swedes with civilianprofessions from volunteering forMannerheim’s army and, in fact, allowed asmall number of career officers to take a leave of absence, albeit withoutguarantees that they could return to their former positions in the Swedishmilitary.

The Swedish non-governmental association Finlands vänner (Friends ofFinland)wasestablishedon2February1918 to lead the recruitmenteffort formilitaryvolunteers.On10Februarytheassociationformallydecidedtoorganizeaunitofmilitarily trainedSwedes.Given the large initial interest they thoughtthattheycouldorganizeavolunteerbrigadeconsistingofthreebattalions.

SoldiersfromtheSwedishBrigadeinFinlandworemotleyuniformsbutalsoprominentwhite-blue-yellowarmbandstoshowtheywereSwedishvolunteers.(Krigsarkivet)

Asort of recruitment officewas opened inStockholm inFebruary1918. Itwasnotatruerecruitmentoffice,butasclosetooneaspermissible.Theofficeprovided information on how the volunteers could travel to Finland and whotheyshouldcontact there.Theywere thenprovidedmoneyfor the tripandforappropriate outdoor clothing.6 In just about no time therewere branch officesthroughoutthecountry.Oneofthemostimportantorganizersbehindeverythingwas the archeologistGustafHallström.Hewas interrogated by the police, butfound not to have directly broken any laws as the volunteers he had recruitedfirstsignedamilitaryservicecontractuponarrivalinFinland.ThiswasnotthelasttimeGustafHallströmwouldorganizeaSwedishvolunteermovement.

The recruitment propaganda was met with many problems right from thestart. The Social Democratic press was thoroughly opposed to the volunteermovement. It was then decided that all recruitment and the associatedorganizationmustoperateoutsideofSweden.Mostprobably,itwasthemeagrenationalmedia coverage of themovement that resulted inmore than forty-six

percentof themembersof theSwedishBrigadecoming fromStockholm,onlyfourpercentfromMalmö,andlessthanonepercentfromtheprovincesinthefarnorth.

Thethreelargestprofessionalcategoriesinthebrigadewereofficepersonnel,students,andcareermilitary.7Thenumberofvolunteerswhoactuallyjoinedthebrigade in the field during the war was about 900.8 Another two hundredattempted to join, but for a variety of reasons could not join. In practice thebrigadeseldomconsistedofmorethan450men.

Thefirstvolunteersarrivedon2March1918 in theFinnishborder townofTornio.From there theycontinued toOulu,whichhadbeenchosenasadepotforvolunteers.Thebrigadecametoconsistof:

2riflecompanies1machine-guncompany1engineerdetachment1skidetachment1medicalsquad1militaryorchestra(!)

Theequipmentandweaponsturnedoutnottobeasimpressiveasonewouldhavethoughtfromthelist.Inthebeginningriflesweretheonlyweaponsissued,oftenofRussianorJapaneseorigin.9

An artillery captain in the reserve, Hjalmar Frisell, was selected as thecommander of the brigade. He did not seem to place much regard onadministration and field oriented training. He thus was not exactly an idealchoicetostartuptheunit.10

On 26March the SwedishBrigade—actually not even a battalion strong—was ordered to join the government force thatwas about to attack the city ofTampere,thekeycityinthewar.Asearlyas28MarchtheSwedishBrigadewasbeing used to fill a gap between two attacking combat groups. During anadvance through a valley theSwedes received fire that caused heavy losses—fourteen killed and twenty-four wounded—nevertheless, the unit seized itsobjective.

InthefinalattackonTampereon3Aprilthebrigadewasgivenacentralrole.Here,too,werethelossesheavy—twelvekilledandthirty-onewounded.

On 13 April 1918 Harald Hjalmarson took over the brigade. Opinions onHjalmarson differ. His alcohol abuse was widely known and was probably

connectedtothemalariahecontractedwhileservinginthePersianGendarmerie.In spite of his drinkingHjalmarsonwas described asmuchmore professionalthan Frisell, as well as considerate of his men, but it is also known that hepersonallyexecutedfourRedGuardsoldiers.11Thefourmenhadjustfailedinambushing him—but that did not detract his responsibility for their deaths—whichhealsorealizedhimselfsoonenough,asonecansurmisefromhissuicidea year later. His unit was probably responsible for several similar and moregraveincidents.

Duringthefinaldaysofthewarmorevolunteersarrived,sothatthebrigadewas500strongforaparade inHelsinki.Thevery lastceremony involving thebrigadewasatafullypackedStockholmStadiumon30May1918.KingGustafVhadwanted toparticipate,butwaspreventedby the leadingpoliticians.Thefollowingday theKingwanted toawardHaraldHjalmarsonwith theOrderoftheSword,buttheceremonyfortheplannedeventwascancelledbecauseofthedirectinterventionofthelaterPrimeMinisterHjalmarBranting.12

Inthefollowingyearsmanybrigadeveteranswereboycottedordiscriminatedagainst atmostworkplaces.They thereforeorganized an interest group, calledSvenska Nationalla Skyddskåren (Swedish National Protection Corps) thatbecameprimarilyastrikebreakerorganization.13

Atotaloffortymembersof thebrigadewerekilledinactionandfiftywerewounded.14 Among those soldiers who fell during the final assault againstTamperewasayounghistorianbythenameofOlofPalme,theuncleofthelaterSwedishPrimeMinisterwiththesamename.TheelderPalmehadalsobeenoneof the most involved in organizing the brigade, and was described as having“with [the sacrifice of] his own life demonstrated his passionate belief inFinland’s and Sweden’s common cause.”15 According to Olof (the elder)Palme’s grandson, his grandfather was “an ultra-conservative politicaladventurerwhodetesteddemocracy.”16

The brigade’s military actions on the field received high marks, officially.Somemembersofthebrigadeclaimedtobeasortofelitetroops—butitshouldbe remembered that the Swedish Brigade had access to a disproportionatenumberwhohadreceivedNCOandofficertraining.TheFinnishunitsthattheywerecompared towerenewly formedandvery fewof theFinnshad receivedanyprewarmilitarytraining.

Theheroicandarchaictonethatcharacterizesthebrigade’sownpublicationsisevidentinthemarchofthebrigade:

Forwardintothestorm,onwardintothethunderForwardwiththesoundofthecombattrumpet,Againsttheviolence,hate,threat,scornWewentwiththeroyalbiddingoftheheartAgainstthosewhothreatenFinland’sfreedomAndcloseSwedishrankstodayTomeetblowwithblowandletThescytheofdeathreap!LetusgiveSwedenanewsong,Forwardtobattleasinthepast.

Andshouldwedieonabloodypath,OurreputationshallprintournamesOnvictoryflagsfornewtimes,Anddeathwillbesweetforus.Yes,ouractionswillchallengeFuturegenerationstopassionandbraveryTodaretheirownlives,theirblood,WhenvulturesseekpreyForward,forwardtoeternalhonor:Godiswithusinamomentsuchasnow.17

Nearly three hundred Swedes served in Finland in addition to those in thebrigade. They were mainly officers and could be found in Finnish staffs andunits.ItislikelythatthemostvaluableSwedishmilitarycontributioninthewarwasmadebytheseindividuals,NolessthannineSwedishofficerswerefoundinthe top leadership of the government troops—among them threewho becameinfluential Swedish generals: Archibald Douglas, Ernst Linder, and AxelRappe.18 The latter worked out a fortification plan for the main “gate toFinland,”theKarelianIsthmus,thatbecamethefirstproperdefenseplanforthenewstate.Finlandhadfewofherownofficerswithhighermilitaryeducation,sothe SwedishGeneral Staff officers played a very important role, according toanalystsbothat thetimeandtoday.19Moreover, theycreatedabrotherhoodinarmsbetweenMannerheim,hisclosestFinnishco-workers,andthetopechelonoftheSwedishofficercorps.Thisbondwasofimportanceforsecuritypolicyupuntil the officers in question retired from active duty, for themost part someyearsafterWorldWarII.

ThemanySwedishFinnsandsixSwedishcitizenswhoservedintheGerman

JägerbattalionthatbecamethefoundationofthefirstFinnishofficercorpsarecoveredinchapterthree.

In1918Finlandhadnomilitaryaircraftandonlysixmenqualifiedaspilots.ForthatreasonthesmallSwedishaviationcontributiontoFinlandin1918wasofgreatvalue.On6March1918thefirstaircraft,aThulinD-type,wasdeliveredtoFinland,andsince then, thatdatehasbeencelebratedas thebirthdayof theFinnishAirForce.OnthesiteinthecityofVaasawheretheflyingmachinewasdeliveredamonumentwaserectedandisstillstanding.TheaircraftwasnamedAeroplaneNumberOne“CountvonRosen”inhonorofCountEricvonRosen,its private donor. A further three aircraft were shipped and loaned both fromprivate individuals in Sweden and the Swedish Air Force. The number ofvolunteer Swedish aviation personnel reached twenty-three, of which elevenwerepilots.20

TheSwedishBrigadeduringthevictoryparadeinHelsinkion16May1918.InfrontisMajorAllanWinge.DuringtheSecondWorldWarWingeopenedthefirstrecruitmentofficeforFinlandinSweden.(Gustaf

Hallströmarchive)

In Finland there are two memorials for the Swedish Brigade: one at theentrancetotheKalevankangasCemeteryinTampereandoneatthecemeteryinVaasa. InSwedennomonumentswere erected for this controversial unit until

1997.21In 1918 a highly critical account of the brigade was published under the

tellingtitleofSvartabrigaden(Theblackbrigade),writtenbyoneoftheleadingSwedishsocialistwriters,TureNerman.

TherearefewmodernsourcesonthesubjectinSwedish.TheexceptionsareMagnus Juhlin’s study on the Swedish staff officers and the SwedishBrigadeandatranslatedFinnishbook,VägentillTammerfors[ThewaytoTammerfors(Tampere)](1998).SwedesinFinnish(andEstonian)militaryservicefrom1918to1919arealsocoveredinthe2004FinnishgovernmentpublicationNordenochkrigen i Finland och Balticum 1918–1919 (The nordic states and the war inFinlandandtheBalticstates,1918–1919).ThislatterbookwasproducedbytheOffice of the Finnish Prime Minister as part of the project “War Deaths inFinland,1914–1922.”

IntheArmiesoftheBalticStatesOn30November1917 theprovisionalnationalassemblyofLatviaproclaimedtheirindependence.Lithuaniaproclaimeditsindependenceon16February1918and Estonia eight days later. Swedish sympathy for these countries cannot becomparedtothatforFinland,butneverthelessseveralhundredSwedeswenttofightintheBalticStatesandtherewereplanstosendseveralthousandmore.

The Swedes in Estonian war service in 1918 got a verymixed reputation.Manyof themwerepureadventurersandsomeof themwereguiltyofmurderandtheft.ThereasonwhythecatastrophicSwedishCorpsforEstoniacouldbeestablished lies in the fact that the initialSwedish involvement inEstoniawasmostsuccessful.OneofthemostcapableSwedesfromthefightinginPersiaandFinland,MartinEkström,convincedtheEstonianmilitaryleadershiptoconductalargeraidandattacktheenemyfromtherear.MajorEkströmsucceededaboveallexpectations—whenhisforceof330FinnsandSwedeslandednotfarfromNarva it createdpanicamong theReds.22Theepisode isaclear illustrationofhowafairlysmallunitcancarryoutasurprisetacticalmaneuvertocausepanicandgetasignificantlylargerunittoflee.

SwedishandFinnishvolunteersinthestreetfightingforNarvain1919.ThisparticularartillerypiecefromMartinEkström’sfreecorpswasthefirsttobeemployedagainstthecitydefenders,on12January1919.Theofficerdenotedwitha“1”isCaptainÅkeHedberg,withexperiencefromtheSwedishBrigadein

Finland.Number“2”isFirstLieutenantTavenius.(H8D)

On16January1919Ekströmwroteinhisdiary,“PlanstostormNarvaweremade. Crazy maybe, but it must work.” Two days later he wrote, “Thecompanies follow thegivenorders—advanceonNarva.The3dCompanywasassignedthebloodiesttask.FacedbymanytimestheirnumberthecompanyheldtheirgroundtokeeptherearoftheNarvaforcefree.At1720hoursNarvawastakenbythe1stCompany.”23

On 19 January 1919 the Swedish Corporal, Persian Captain, GermanLieutenant andFinnishMajor, etc.,MartinEkström rode inwith his troops toNarva. Ekströmwrote about that day in his diary, “Got a pleasant Bolshevikapartment.Nowthetroublesforthecitizensofthetownstart.Dearme,dearme,dearme.”24AfterEkström’sunithadtakenNarva,Estonia’sindependencewasessentially won. It remained only to clear the area all the way to the border.Ekströmandhisunitalsoparticipatedinthatoperation.

The thirty-two-year-old Martin Ekström had led by example in the mostdangerousmoments.Hewasthefirstonshore,totingamachinegun,whenhisunit made the landing outside of Narva. This method of leadership by a unitcommander,being in thevery frontof theattacking force, could just as easilyhaveresulted inhisdeathand ingeneralconfusion inhisunit,but in thiscase

luck was with him. Naturally he became a person much spoken and writtenaboutinSweden,Finland,andEstonia.TheEstoniangovernmentawardedhimwith therankofcolonel,and inaddition,anOrder,whichmeant thathecouldreceive an estate in the country if he chose to acquire Estonian citizenship,somethinghedidnotwanttodo,however.

Officersandenlistedmenofthe1stFinnishCorpsduringtheconquestofNarvasometimeduringthewinterof1919.Number“1”isMartinEkström.Number“2”isCaptainÅkeHedberg,and“3”isFirstLieutenant

Tavenius.(H8D)

Thereportersquestionedhimifitdidnotfeelremarkabletohaverepeatedthefeat of Swedish King Karl XII at Narva in 1700. His laconic response was,“Well,theweatherwasjustasithadbeenthattime.Asnowstorm.Thathelpedustodoit.”25

Shortly after Narva was back in Estonian hands, a Swedish sergeant, KarlMothander, began to organize a Swedish corps for Estonia. Mothander hadgottenadischargefromtheVästmanlandArmyServiceCorps,butnowwantedtomakea“comeback”inEstonia.Itislikelythatin1919hewasamerereservesecondlieutenantintheSwedishArmy.Somehowhewasabletogettherankoflieutenant colonel in the EstonianArmy.He also succeeded in gettingmoneyfrom the Estonian government and the opportunity to build up a new force,

RootsiKorpusEestimaal(TheSwedishcorpsforEstonia).TheCorpsconsistedof about a hundredmen based inNarva and theCorps staffwasmore or lessbasedinthebaroftheHotelduNordinTallinn,wheretheydrankuptheunit’sfunds.

Nevertheless,under theleadershipofMajorLambertHälléntheCorpswentintobattleinApril1919.InMaythereremainedonlysixty-eightfitforcombatand fifty wounded. Hällén then proposed that he should get to recruit newSwedesforEstonia.Thefactsathand,however,indicatedtotheEstoniansthatthereweremore Swedes in Estonian service than necessary, so they began todisestablish the Swedish Corps in the beginning of June 1919. A number ofSwedishCorpsmembersandotherSwedeswerefoundinEstoniaalsoafterthisdate,butinDanish,Finnish,orEstonianunits.SomeevenendedupinRussianWhiteunitsnearPetrograd(SaintPetersburg)(seebelow).

OneoftheSwedeswhowentovertotheEstonianArmywasEinarLundborg.With his Estonian armored carKalevipoeg, named after the Estonian nationalepic hero, he became perhaps the first Swedish armor soldier in combat.Lundborg’sraidswereboldandhemanagedtoreachtheancientRussiancityofPskov. During the fall of 1919 he fought against the RussianWhite GeneralYudenich’sArmy.With thepeacesigned inTartu inFebruary1920LundborgreturnedhometoSwedenandbecamealieutenantintheSwedishAirForce.26

OneofthecentralactorsbehindtheSwedishBrigadeforFinlandin1918hadbeen archeologist Gustaf Hallström. Together with a dozen Swedish officersHallströmalsoplannedalargeinsertionofSwedishvolunteertroopsintoLatviainthebeginningof1919.AmongtheofficerswastobeHaraldHjalmarson,whohad been the last commander of theSwedishBrigade.Nothing became of thegrandplansfor thousandsofSwedishsoldiers inLatvia,however,exceptforaquarrelinthepressaboutwhocausedthebreakdownoftheplans.27

At this same time a junta ofGerman-Baltic baronswanted to create a newBaltic state under German rule, consisting of both Latvia and Estonia. It isunclearifthisstillbornSwedishforceisthesamethatwastohaveintervenedinLatviaonthesideofthejunta.ASwedishlieutenantcolonel,NilsEdlund,wasfound to be highly implicated in this plot,whichwas exposed in time for theLatviangovernmenttostopit.

TheSwedishparticipationintheLithuanianwarofindependencein1919and1920 may seem slim—only a half dozen Swedes—and it is uncertain if allactually came into battle. It is known that one of them, Olof Dahlbeck, wasappointedasaLithuaniancolonelandInspectorGeneralfortheLithuanianAir

Force.AftersixmonthsthiscaptainintheSwedishNavyhadbombedtheRedArmy’s communications lines and troop concentrations, participated in aircombatagainstRussianaircraft,andbuiltupasolidbasefortheAirForce,thenewbranchoftheArmedForces.28

SwedishnavalFirstLieutenantOlofDahlbeckpilotedthefirstSwedishmilitaryairplaneever,on4February1912.Herehe(secondfromleft)wearstheuniformofaLithuaniancolonel.AkeypersonalitybehindtheestablishmentoftheLithuanianAirForce,hesurvivedseveralmissionsagainsttheRedArmy,

butdiedofpneumoniain1930.(H8D)

InWhiteUnitsDespite a generally negative view among Swedes about Russia and Russiansthere were approximately one hundred Swedes who entered war service withWhite(anti-Bolshevik)unitsintheRussianCivilWar.Manywereveteransfromthewar inFinland and fighting in theBaltic states during1918 and1919 andwereoutofwork (lockedout fromemployment)orhaddifficulty returning tocivillife.Theyhadonlyaweaknotionofthekindofregimeforwhichtheywerefighting.TheWhitesnever succeeded in findingaunifying force, ideology,orevenpersonality.Theonlyclearthingwaswhattheywerefightingagainst:theBolsheviks.

About fifteenSwedesunderveteranwarriorÅkeHasselströmarrived in thesub-arcticportofArkhangelskinNovember1919asperhapsthelastcontingentof foreignvolunteers.Arkhangelskconstituted themostnortherly sectorof thecivilwar.SoviethistoricalteachingplacedgreatweightonthissectorbecauseitwastherethatAmericantroopsfought.

SkiingexperienceseemstohavebeenthemainideawhenrecruitingSwedesfor theArkhangelsk fighting, as is shown in an article in theMorningPost, aLondonnewspaper:

AccordingtoaccountsbySwedishvolunteerswhohaveenlistedintheNorthernArmy,thepositionatArchangel[sic]isverysatisfactory.Thetroopshavefirst-classBritishequipmentandareengagedinaski-running[sic]trainingunderSwedishinstructors.29

InspiteoftheoptimisminLondonÅkeHasselströmandhisfellowSwedeswere captured by the Bolsheviks after some weeks of extremely confusedcombat. Theywere released after sixmonths, however. Two decades later, in1939,thesameHasselströmenrolledintheSwedishVolunteerCorpsforFinlandasoneofthemostseasonedveterans.30

OneofthemostexperiencedoftheFinlandVolunteersduringWWIIwasÅkeHasselström,bornin1893inStockholm.HejoinedtheNewZealandExpeditionaryCorpsin1914,wasassignedtotheCanterburyRegiment,andservedinEgypt.HewassenttoSwedenafterhehadmalaria.InSwedenhebecamea

reserveofficerthenavolunteerinFinlandin1918;Russiain1919;withtheSwedishpeace-keeping“SaarBattalion”in1934;returningtoFinlandin1939and1941.AtonetimehewasevenwiththeCanadian

MountedPolice.Phototakenabout1941.(LennartHasselström)

ThereisastrikingsimilaritybetweentwowarmemoirsofSwedesinWhiteservice. In his 1921 memoirs, I det röda Ryssland (In the Red Russia), theFinlandandArkhangelskveteranPerLisellwritesverysimilarlytohiscolleagueConradCarlsson,who servedwith aWhiteunit byPetrograd. In thewordsofCarlsson, “They wanted to have Swedish or Finnish volunteer troops so thattherewereatleastfifteentothirtyNordicsoldierswitheachRussianregiment.These men served as a moralistic and inspirational examples for the Russiansoldiers.”31 Per Lisell described a similar trust in the Swedes serving in theArkhangelsk district. Conrad Carlsson’s memoir, Okänd svensk soldat(Unknown Swedish soldier) (1937), however, also contains the followingunusuallyself-criticalstatement:

ItiswrongtobelievethatweSwedeshavebettersoldiermaterialthananyothernation.Onthewholeshouldanationalitybeconsideredmorecourageousthantheothers,thentheFinnsmustbenamedfirst,regardless

ifheisWhiteorRed.SecondplacemustbelongtotheGermans.WeSwedeshavenothingtoboastaboutonmoralisticcourage.Wehaveastrongphysiqueandareabletofightwellwhenweareabsolutelyobligedtodoso.Wecanperformunparalleledfeatsinthefieldofsportsandintheworkplace.Thingsthataremorehonorablethanasoldier’sbloodyprofession.ButSwedesarenolongergoodsoldiersandthatissomethingthatmustbeconsideredifourcountryshouldenterawarinthefuture.32

MalenursePerLisellwasaveteranfromthewarsinFinlandin1918andEstoniain1919.HethentraveledwithfifteenotherSwedestotheRussiancityofArkhangelsk,inNovember1919.ThistinySwedish

volunteerforcewasamongtheverylastWesternunitstointerveneintheRussianCivilWar.(PerLisell)

One of the very few outsider judgments on the worth of Carlsson’s groupcomes from theBritish armorofficer,LieutenantColonelE.HopeCarson.HewroteaseriesofarticlesonhisexperiencesinRussiain1919forTankNotes,thenewspaper of theRoyalTankCorps. In one of his articles he emphasized thecloseandexcellentcooperationof theSwedishvolunteer infantrymenwith theBritishtanks.33TheSwedescouldnotpossiblyhaveexercisedwithtanksbackinSwedenbecausetheyfirstcameintoservicetherein1922.PerhapsitwassimplythatmoreSwedesthanRussiansspokeEnglishanddaredtaketheinitiative?

In total, the Swedish volunteers in the Baltic armies and White forces

numberedabout300,ofwhichatleastnineteenwerekilled.34Accounts about how the Swedish minority in Ukraine sided during the

RussianCivilWararescarce.butitappearsthatnoUkrainianSwedesservedineither Red orWhite units. They did form an anti-Bolshevikmilitia that on atleastoneoccasionwasinvolvedin intensefightingagainst theRedArmy.TheSwedesdidnotdo this fightingon theirown,but in supportof an interveningGermanforce.

IntheArmyofTrotskyDuring theRussianCivilWar at least three Swedes fought in theRedArmy,whichwasstillundertheleadershipofitscreator,LeonTrotsky.Theirmemoriesgiveusauniqueinsightintotheyoungsocialistarmyaswellastheinfancyofairpower.

FredrikÅbergwas aRedArmy translator and ordinary infantrymanduringthecivilwar,butreeducatedhimselftobeanarmorsoldier.HeagainfoughtfortheSovietUnionintheWinterWaragainstFinlandin1939,inatankunit.Itisnot knownwhere inSweden he came from, but by all accounts hemust havebeenaSwedishcitizen.35

EmilNordénwasbornin1888inafarmlaborer’scottageoutsidethetownofMotala.NordénistheonewhohasbestsummarizedthemotivesthatledhimtojointheyoungRedArmy:

Inthesummerof1918IdecidedtogotoStockholmtocomealittleclosertoRussiaintheeventitmightbepossibleformetotravelthere.Mylifeambitionwasclear—IwantedtojointhenewlyformedRedArmy.IhadworkedintheSwedishArmyforthreeyearsandforjustaslongintheRoyal[Swedish]Navy.Iwasgoingtoenlistinthearmyoftheworkingclassandtakepartintheworldrevolution,becauseworldrevolutionwasinevitableafterthebloodbathoftheWorldWar.Iftheworkingclassdidnotwininallcountriesanewworldwarwouldfollowthefirstone.Iftheworkingclassdidnotwinnowitwouldbepusheddownsothatitcouldnotriseupforathousandyears.…

IwasinductedunderthenameofEmilIvanovichMillerfromSwedenandreceivedacadetnumberof1443.Itwasnormaltochangeone’snamewhenonejoinedtheInternationalRedArmy—asintheFrenchForeignLegion.ThenameMillerwasselectedbykommandirInobecauseitwaseasiertopronounceinRussia.Ivanovichwasmypatronymicname.Myfather’sfirstnamewasJohan,whichinRussianbecameIvan,andIwashisson.ConsequentlyIwasanIvanovich.

AsIhadbecomeanofficercadetIwasautomaticallyalsomadeacitizenoftheSovietUnionwithalltherightsandobligationsthatinvolved.IwastoldveryseriouslythatIhadtobehaveproperlyandhonormySwedishorigins.SoIwasgivenmyvitalworkbook,trudovayakniga,

andamobilizationcard,lichnayakartochka.AlittlelateronIwouldswearallegiancetotheflag.36

InhismemoirsNordénincludedcopiesofhisRussiancertificatesasevidenceof his military service in the Red Army’s international branch. AviationvolunteerAntonNilsonisalsocoveredinNordén’sbookandNilson’swritingsconfirmwhatNordénwrote.37

The night between 11 and 12 July 1908 the twenty-year-oldAntonNilsonplaced an explosive charge on the hull of the barracks ship Amalthea in theharbor of Malmö. British strike breakers were lodged onboard. According toNilsonhisgoalhadbeen to frighten themaway fromSweden,butoneBritishworkerwaskilledandtwentyotherswerewounded.Nilson,andhisaccomplice,Algot Rosberg, were condemned to death (one of the last death sentences inSweden), but the judge lessened the sentence to life imprisonment.After nineyearsandalengthystormofprotestNilsonwaspardonedbythenewlyelectedgovernmentofEdén-Brantingin1917.ThepardonlessenedsomewhatthesocialunrestinSwedenthatthreatenedtoexplode.

Nilson had an ambitious dream in his Långholmen jail cell in Stockholm.After his release from prison he was able to realize his dream to get flighttraining. Thanks to socialist banker Olof Aschberg he was able to pay for acourse at Ljungbyhed Flight School, where the typical student was an officerfrom the nobility. A remarkable meeting occurred: his instructor on theAlbatrossaircraftwas“thereliableNilsKindberg,”wholaterwouldflythefirstaircraft to General Gustaf Mannerheim’s White Army!38 Nilson said thatenjoyedtrainingatLjungbyhed,“Asanassembledtroop,andwithgramophonemusic playing,wemarched out to the field and took the aircraft out from thehangarsandthenstartedourexercises.”39

AntonNilsonandhisSwedishFinnishreconnaissancespecialistTeodor“Fedja”SuoniowithanearlySovietbomber.ThephotographwastakeninRiga,Latvia,in1919,whenNilsoncommandedtheLatvianaviationdetachment.SuoniohadearlierworkedasadriverfortheSwedishEmbassyinSt.Petersburg.

(LaborMovementArchiveinLandskrona)

NilsonobtainedthecontactsnecessaryforjoiningtheRedArmybyspeakingabout Bolshevism at a meeting in Malmö. One of the other speakers wasAngelikaBalabanova,aclosefriendofbothLeninandTrotsky.Shewasabletoobtainavisa forNilson to travel toBolshevikRussia.Sincehehad refused toserve in theSwedishArmedForces, however,Nilson could not leaveSwedenwithout special approval from the Swedish government and the local countyadministration. In his autobiography Nilson described how he visited theSwedishMinisterofWarat the time, foraquickprocessingofhis request fortravel out ofSweden.The responsewas fast andhewrote, “only someweekslater Igot thedecision from theCountyAdministration that therewasnothinghinderingmytravel.”

WithoutbeingabletospeakmorethanafewwordsinRussianAntonNilsontraveled with a newly purchased “first class pilot’s attire” to revolutionaryPetrograd. Through direct contact with Petrograd area party chief Grigory

Zinovyev he was given a promise allowing him into the Red Army.40 First,though,hehadbetterlearnalittlemoreRussian,andforthatZinovyevarrangedforaprivateRussiantutor.

Speaking a few hundred words in Russian and “not without someapprehension”NilsonleftPetrogradandarrivedinthetownofGachinatobeginserving as a reconnaissancepilot.His training atLjungbyhedwas solid, but ithadbeenofacivilnatureandfromGachinahewouldimmediatelybeginflyingto the frontlines.Nilsonwrote about his arrival at the air force detachment inGachina:

AfterIhadshownmydocumentsofappointmentfrommilitaryheadquartersIwaspresentedtotheChiefofStaff,Petrovich,agraduateofanagriculturalschool.Hemetmeinaveryfriendly,comradelymannerandIwasnolongeranxious.Heguidedmeouttotheairfieldandfamiliarizedmewiththehangars,theaircraft,workshops,andpersonnel.InthemotorworkshopheaskedmenottoneglecttolearnthediversedetailsinRussian,atwhichtimehepickedupahammerandhitthemotorlightlyandsaidthatthehammerwasamolotok,andthemotorwascalledmotor.Ifoundtheairfieldtobegood,somewhatsmallerthanatLjungbyhed,butthenumberofaircraftandtypesfairlylimitedandnotatallnew.Thepersonnelwerenotinahurry,butrathertherewasageneralatmosphereofcalmactivityandthathelpedtoreducemyanxiety.Iwasnowconfrontedbycompletelynewcircumstanceswithaforeignlanguage.Theonlythingthatuniteduswasanawarenessthatwewererevolutionaries,butwithsuchacommoncommitmentonefindsiteasiertocomeintoagreementinpracticalmatters.”41

Ontheeveoffirstanniversaryofthe“OctoberRevolution”AntonNilsonwasordered,togetherwiththeotherpilots,tomountaspecialguardontheairfieldtothwartsabotageagainst the revolutionarycelebrations.“Dressed in fullcombatequipmentincludingahelmetandariflewithmountedbayonet,wecarriedoutourwatchduties.Thatwasthefirstexperienceinmylifeofguardduty,butfarfrommylastduringmytimeinRussia.”Thenightwentquietly,asuspectwascaughtbutreleased“afterheshowedushisdocuments.”

Thefirstanniversary,on7November1918,wascelebratedonagrandscale:“In section after sectionwith tenmen abreast themasses flowed,with peoplecontinuously singing Russian revolutionary march songs and “TheInternationale,”theanthemofinternationalsocialism.Whatanatmosphere!”

DuringthefirstperiodatGachinaNilsonwasvisitedbytwoleadingSwedishsocialists:SvenLinderot andCarl JohanBjörklund.Tenyears earlierLinderothadbecome the leaderof theSwedishCommunistParty (SKP) andBjörklundhad just been the editor of the anti-militaristic (!) paperBrand (Fire). NilsonshowedthemaroundinGachina.42

Duringtheconflict thatflaredupbetweenSovietRussiaandEstoniaNilsonwasmovedtoTorosinaoutsidetheoldRussiancityofPskov,whereremainsoftheanti-BolshevikSwedishCorpswaslocated.FromTorosinaNilsonundertookaflightoverPskov,butwasforcedtomakeanemergencylandingatarailwaystationcalledNeuhausenbecausetheaircrafthadrunoutoffuel.NilsonrecalledthatthelocalinhabitantsviewedhimnotprimarilyasaBolshevik,butaSwede:

TheyshowedthemselvesfriendlytotheRussianrevolutionandtheRedArmy,andwhenthepeoplelearnedthatIwasSwedish,theybecameevenfriendlier.TheytoldmehowtherewerestillhistoricmemorialsandplacesrelatedtotheSwedishtimesintheareainvolvingthekaroliner[thetroopsofSwedishKingKarlXII].TheyurgedmetovisittheseplacesandthatIdidwithpleasure.IntheareaamajorbattlehadtakenplacebetweentheSwedesandtheRussians.Thememoriesofthebattleremainedinthemindsofyoungergeneration,havingbeenpassedonbypreviousonesandwerestillvividamongthecountrypeople.ThesympathiesfortheSwedeshadsurvived.TheGermanswerenotliked,becausewheretheycametheytaxedthepopulation.43

ShortlyafterhisvisittoNeuhausenNilsonwasallowedtojointheallRussianCommunist Party, theBolsheviks [RKP(b)].Twowell knownmembers of thepartyhadrequestedthatNilsonbeaccepted.“DuringallofmystayinRussiaIremained in the Party, that is, for about ten years, and I never had anycomplicationswithrespecttomymembership.”

Nilson conversed on several occasions with Trotsky’s representative innorthwestRussia,BorisPozern,andotherpeopleclose to thechiefof theRedArmy.WhenTrotskywanted to personally awardNilsonwith a leather jacketforhis“activeservice,”however,Nilsonwasnottobefound.“Mydutiesdidnotallow me to be present, but when I returned I was congratulated by mycomrades. The awarding of orders was not yet in practice at that time and Idetestedthosethings,butaleatherjacketwasbothpracticalandnicetoget.”

AntonNilsonfromHässleholmduringhisvolunteerserviceasapilotintheRedArmy,takenattheMoscowairfieldChodinka,sometimefrom1920to1922.(LaborMovementArchiveinLandskrona)

NilsonprobablymadehisgreatestcontributiontothefledglingSovietUnionnotintheair,butatadeskinthecapitalofLatvia,Riga.Accordingtohisownstatements, Anton Nilson was called into the office of the Soviet-LatvianPresident, Pjotr Stutjkas, together with the Soviet-Latvian Republic’sCommissioner ofWar. The purpose of themeetingwas to orderNilson, as atrusted Swede and Bolshevik, to prepare a leaflet in Swedish. The Soviet-Latviangovernmentwasconvinced that that theSwedishArmyhad landedonthe shores of Estonia to confront the Red Army. The contents of the leafletshould be “informative of the conditions related to the situation between therevolution and the reaction to itwith an appeal for the Swedish troops to laydowntheirarmsorevenunitewiththeRedArmy.Iftheentireunitwouldnotdothisperhapssomeseparateunitsmight.”Nilsonhad“noobjectionsagainstthis”andwaswillingto“dothebestpossibletocarryoutthemission.”

First though, Nilson wanted to verify the information on approachingSwedish troops and he therefore contacted the Swedish Consul in Riga. Theconsul thought that the information sounded improbable because he had notheard anythingof the kind.Another countryman,OttoGrimlund, said that theonlythinghecouldimaginethatwasbehindthestorywasthat“inEstoniatherewasagroupofSwedeswhohadbeen involved in fighting todefeat the revoltmovement in [Finland].Theyhadbeenshippedover toEstonia,butnowwere

butafewadventurers.…Fromasmall featherawholechickenhadapparentlyarisen.Swedishadventurerswerenothingtoexpendgunpowderover.”

Nilson, with this fresh intelligence, apparently was able to convince theSoviet-LatviangovernmentthattheSwedishArmyhadnotleftSweden.

AsfarasNilson’sfurthercareerinRussia,itcanbestatedthatheeventuallybecamethecommanderofhisunit,wasmadeacaptain,andthathewasabletomeetLeninandshookhandswithStalin.44Backhome inSwedenNilson splitwith the SKP in 1935 and went over to the Socialist Party (SP).45 He hadbecomecriticalofStalinduringthe1920sandcouldnolongertolerateStalin’spolitics by 1935. The Swedish Security Police (Säpo), however, maintainedsurveillanceonNilsonandassembled informationandnewspaper clippingsonhimuntilhisdeath in1989.46At that timeAntonNilsonwas101yearsold. Itseems that the last thorough investigationofAnton andhiswife,Märtha,wasdone in 1942.47 After that time it appears that only press clippings werecollected for his file. According to Säpo, who apparently trusted HermannKnüfken’s input, Nilson got his job with the Russian trade delegation inStockholm in 1929 through the theSoviet intelligence agency (known later astheKGB).48

Aslateas1988,whenAntoncelebratedhisonehundrethbirthday,heshowedthathestillhadarevolutionaryspiritbyescapingfromtheintensivecarewardatthehospital inStockholmwherehewasbeing treated.The reasonwas thathefelt obligated to give a speech, “Well, it was very important, because I hadpromisedthoseradicalkidstospeaktothem.”49

Nilson,Åberg,andNordénwereprobablynot theonlySwedesinTrotsky’sArmy. It is just a matter of searching further in Russian archives. Therevolutionaryatmosphereof the timesought tohavecausedseveralSwedes tofightforSovietRussia. Infact,whenAntonNilsonvisitedBakuinAzerbaijanhefound,tohissurprise,thathehada“Swedish”colleaguethereinalocalRedAviation unit—Harry Sandberg Flekmoor—“so we were two Swedes withinRussian aviation.”50 Sandberg Flekmoor was the unit’s commissar and,according to Nilson, “lean and perhaps thirty years of age, a busy and activetype.Heexplainedthathelikedhisdutiesandhadnothoughtofquitting.”51Itislikely that Sandberg Flekmoor was not a Swedish citizen but a member of aSwedishminority.ItisunclearifhealsotookpartincombatforSovietRussia,but it is possible because the Russian Civil War lasted until 1922, and anti-Bolshevikpocketsofresistanceexisteduntil1926.

6.InEthiopianService,1934–1936:FortheLionofJudah

IncaseofwarbetweenEthiopiaandanothercountryorofthemobilizationoftheRoyalSwedishArmy,thiscontractisautomaticallyterminated.

—EmploymentcontractforGroupTamm

AfutureSwedishArmygeneralwasamong theSwedishofficerswhobecamemilitary advisors to the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Salassie. They were notsupposedtoparticipateinapossiblewarbetweenEthiopiaandFascistItaly,butthatisjustwhattheydid.

*****

The JamaicanMarcusGarvey prophesized in 1916 that a newMessiahwouldsoonbecrowned.WhenadescendantofKingSolomon,RasTafariMakonen,was crowned in 1930 as “the Victorious Lion of Judah, Haile Selassie I, ofGod’smercytheKingofKings,KingofEthiopia,”itwasseenbyGarveyasafulfillmentofhisprophecy.1ThustheRastafarianreligionwasborn—thebasisforthemusic-anddrug-basedrastaculture.HaileSelassiehimselfdidnotwantto promote the religious cult that was built around him. Modernization andinformationstoodhighontheEmperor’sagenda.TheaggressiveforeignpolicyofFascistItalyforcedhimtoreformEthiopiandefense.In1896theEthiopianshadsucceededindefeatinganItalianinvasionforce,tothesurpriseoftheworld,but theEmperorknew thatmuchhad changed since that time andhis countryhadlittlechanceagainstthemodernItalianmilitary.

In order to avoid the influence of any of the Great Powers (Ethiopia hadmanagedtosomehowescapethecolonizationofAfrica)HaileSelassiechosetoturntoSwedentogetsomehighlyqualifiedofficerstobehismilitaryadvisors.Why Sweden and not some other Nordic country is a result of the fact thatEthiopiahadalargenumberofSwedishmissionariesanddoctorsinthecountrywhohadleftgoodimpressions.

The first Swedish officer to be employed by the emperorwas the previouscommanderoftheSwedishAirForce,MajorGeneralEricVirgin.Hewasbornin 1876 in Skövde and began his military career as a volunteer with the

SmålandsGrenadierCorps.2BehindtheofficialSwedishdecisiontosendVirginand later more Swedish officers one can perceive Swedish export companiesinterestedinnewmarkets.ItalyandSwedenhadjustfoughtasmallpropagandawar in Iran togetaneconomic foothold in thatcountry.Swedenwon theduelwithItaly,inpartduetotheofficersSwedenhadlenttoIraninthe1910to1920period.3

MajorGeneralEricVirgin,inwhiteparadeuniform,totheleftof“theVictoriousLionofJudah,”EmperorHaileSelassieI.(Krigsarkivet)

“Abyssinia’sWhiteEmperor”EricVirgin,inhiswhiteuniformwithtropicalhelmet,quicklybecamepopularwithjournalistsandforeigndiplomats,exceptfor theItalians,becausehelikedto spread malicious stories about the Italians. Certain journalists thought hisinfluenceovertheEmperorwassogreatthattheycalledhim“Abyssinia’sWhiteEmperor.”AbyssiniawasthemorecommonnameforEthiopiaatthetime.4

Due to his undiplomatic statements Virgin quickly became the biggest

problemintherelationsbetweenFascistItalyandSweden!5VirgindevelopedplansforamilitarycadetschoolfortheEmperor’sguards

andamodernizationschemeforthedefenseforces.TheplanswereapprovedbyHaile Selassie and sent to the Swedish government in 1934 with a specialrequest for a group of competent Swedish officers to be sent to organize amilitary school. The Swedish government’s response was favorable and therewasno lackofapplicants.Acaptainwith theRoyalSveaLifeGuards,VikingTamm,wasselectedtobethechiefof thegroup.Hehadbeenacaptainin theGeneral Staff Corps and was a specialist in training and tactics. Tamm camewithfourlieutenantsfromdifferentmilitaryspecialties:NilsBouvengfromtheNorrbotten Infantry Regiment, Arne Thorburn from the Bohuslän InfantryRegiment, Gustaf Heüman from the Göta Artillery Regiment, and AndersNyblomfromtheengineertroops.Togethertheywerecalled“GroupTamm.”

ThegrouparrivedinthecapitalofEthiopia,AddisAbaba,inDecember1934.The mission was to last three years, but, in fact, they started an assistanceactivitythatwouldcontinue,exceptforabreakduringtheperiod1939to1945,untilthe1960s.Itwasoneofthemostcost-effectiveforeignassistanceprogramsSwedenhasevercarriedout.Ethiopiastoodforallthecosts.

One of the most important points in the employment contract for GroupTamm was, “In case of war between Ethiopia and any other country, or themobilizationoftheSwedishArmythiscontractisautomaticallyterminated,andthe officers will be released from the engagement in Ethiopia.… They can,however,…iftheEthiopianEmperor’sgovernmentdesiresandwiththeapprovaloftheRoyalSwedishGovernment,continuetoserveinEthiopia.”6

The cadet school where Tamm became the chief reported directly to theEmperor, and was given the official French name of L’Ecole Militaire HaileSelassie Ier (French was the country’s most common foreign language). ThecadetsfromsixteentoeighteenyearsoldbegantomoveinattheendofJanuary1935.Theideawasforthemtoattendforaperiodofsixteenmonths,butlongbeforetheirgraduationtheItalianattackoccurred, thecourseconceptchanged,andstudentsweretrainedforimmediateuseincombat.

VikingTammwiththeEmperor(above)asheappearedintheinternationalpressandin1960asaSwedishLieutenantGeneralandCommanderoftheFirstMilitaryDistrictinSweden(below).AftertheSecondWorldWar,TammwasoneofmanySwedishofficerswithwarexperience.Hewasdifferentfromtheothers,however,inthathehadfoughtagainstbothfascism(inEthiopia)andcommunism(inFinland).

ManyhadhopedtoseehimleadSwedishvolunteersintoNorwayin1945tofighttheGermans.(Krigsarkivet)

TheSwedishofficersexperiencedagreatdealof“cultureclash,”but thingsstillturnedoutquitealright,asisdescribedinTamm’sEthiopianmemoirs:

AFrenchrulestatesthatanofficeroughttolovehissubordinatesandembracethemwithgoodwillandconsideration.NeverhasitbeeneasierforustofollowthisguidancethanduringourserviceattheAbyssinianWarSchoolbecauseourstudentswerenotonlyinterestedandenthusiastic,butwereevenourfriendsandourtrustingchildren.7

WhenItalyattackedon3October1935theBelgianmilitaryadvisorleft thecountry.Virgindid soaswellbecausehehadaheartproblem.Tammandhiscolleagues Bouveng, Thorburn, and Heüman, however, requested to bedischargedfromtheirSwedishservice.ThatwasallowedbytheKingofSwedenon8October,andthereafterthefourcontinuedinEthiopianservice.TheymadethepointclearbytakingofftheirSwedishuniformsanddonningEthiopian.8

The Italian ForeignOffice became very irritated thatGroupTammdid notleave the country. Historian Marcos Cantera Carlomagno has studied theSwedish-Italian relationshipduring thewarbygoing through thepapers in therespective foreign offices and has come to the conclusion that what mostdisturbedRomewas:

thattheSwedishcourseofactionopenedthedoorformostremarkablefutureevents:nationsinaconflictbetweenothernations,coulddemandtobeconsideredneutralwhileatthesametimetemporarilyreleasingsomeofitsarmedforcestoparticipateintheconflictononeofthesides.9

In Sweden thewar gainedmuch attention, but not somuch because of theSwedishofficers.TheSwedishRedCrossmoved inswiftly to takecareof thevictimsofthewar.Injusttwoweekstheorganizationcollected600,000SwedishCrownsandwasabletosendfiveambulancesmannedbySwedishpersonneltothecountry.Ten(!)Italianaircraftattackedoneoftheambulanceswithbombsandmachineguns.ThemedicalorderlyGunnarLundströmwaskilledand thechief of the group, Dr. Fride Hylander, was wounded. He was later flown toAddis Ababa by the still legendary Swedish aviator Count Carl Gustaf vonRosen.TheItalianairattackcausedawaveofindignationinSweden.

ASwedish-LedBrigadeinAfricaMostoftheEthiopiansoldiershadnearlymedievalequipmentandweaponsandonly a fewhad receivedanymodernmilitary training.The Italiansmade littleprogressinthefirstmonths,however,inspiteoftheiradvantagesinmaterielandtraining.Theythenswitchedtoterrorbombingandevenemployedmustardgas.

TherewasgreatuncertaintyoverhowbesttoemploytheEthiopiancadetsinthewar. Tammproposed to the Emperor inNovember 1935 that the Swedes,together with the cadets, organize a brigade. The unit would be ready by thespringof1936.TheEmperorapprovedtheplanandtheSwedesstartedtobuildup the brigade that would have almost 3,700 men: a staff, and two infantryregiments with organic logistical units. According to the plan, all thecommanderswere tobeEthiopians. Inreality,however,Tammled thebrigadewithoneof theSwedish lieutenants incommandofeachof the regimentsandthethirdservingasaliaisonofficerwiththeGeneralStaff.

AphotographfromanexercisewiththeSwedish-ledEthiopianCadetSchool.(Krigsarkivet)

The Italian operations continued in a halfhearted manner until April 1936when they increased thepressure to full effect.When the Italians attacked thenorthern front the defense system broke. The Italians pushed through theremnantsoftheover-agedEthiopianunitstowardsAddisAbaba.

InthemiddleofAprilTammwascalledintothegovernmentandaskedifhecouldpersonallysetupadefenselineinthemountainpassTermaBerabout200kilometersnorthofAddisAbaba,usinghiscadetbrigadereinforcedbyseveralthousandirregulartroops.Ontheeveningof17AprilTammwroteinhisdairy:

Afterashorttimeforconsiderationandthebrigadefarfromhalfready,Itookupmymissionwiththeconditionthatcertainmateriel(weapons,ammunition,andvehicles),additionalreinforcements,andmulesaswellasawarchestof30,000dollarsimmediatelybemadeavailableformydisposal.10

FiredonbyItalianFighterAircraftTammsentanadvancepartyofseveralhundredcadetsbyvehicletotheTermaBar pass. He led the group during the first twenty-four hours, deploying the

advancepartyandpreparingforthemainpartoftheforce.VikingTammwaspursuedandattackedbyan Italian fighter aircraft.After

theattackhisdrivercountedfivebulletholesinthecar.11Themovementof themainpartof thebrigadebyfootmarchwasslowand

difficult.Tammcontactedtheheadquarterson29Apriltoexpeditethesendingof the promised transport vehicles. The response he got from the noticeablyshakenheadquarters,accordingtoTamm’snotes,wasthatthetransportvehicleswereimpossibletosendforward“becausethegovernmenthadchangeditsplans.Thebrigadecoulddowhateveritwanted.”12Alsohewasinformedthatthemostforward troopsatTermaBerwere forced togiveup theirpositions.Later thatdayTammexplainedtotheCrownPrincethatitwashopelesstoworkwithouttoolsandthatasaresult“itonlyremainsforustorequestourdischarge.”13

On theeveningof30AprilTammwascalled to see theEmperor,whohadrecently returned to thecapital. “TheEmperor said thatheunderstood that theSwedish officers had done their duty and that it was not their fault that theycouldnotcarryouttheplanshehadordered.”14TheSwedishofficerswerethenfreedfromtheiractivitiesintheEthiopianArmy.

Chaosspreadovertheland,but theSwedeswereabletogetaboardthelasttrain toDjibouti.On4May theEmperorgave thegroup a last short audiencebefore he boarded a British cruiser, which would take him in exile to GreatBritain.“With severalwordshe thankedusbecausewedidourdutyup to theveryendandwassorryhewasnotabletosufficientlysupportusinourefforts.”

On5MayItalianarmorunitsseizedAddisAbabaon9MayandthecountrywasannexedtoItaly.WithinashorttimeitwaspartofAfricaOrientaleItaliana,thatis,FascistAfrica.TammandhiscolleaguesreturnedtoSwedishserviceinthesummerof1936.

VikingTamm’s biographer,OveLjung, has summarized the importance oftheseeminglyunsuccessfulSwedishaction:

TheimportanceforSwedenoftheworkdonebythegrouplayinthefactthatitbroughtattentiontothecompetenceoftheSwedishmilitary.ItiscompletelycertainthattheactionsbytheSwedesduringthisperiod—theofficergroupaswellastheRedCrossambulances—contributedtothedecisionbytheEmperortofirstturntoSwedenforhelpaftertheendoftheSecondWorldWar,forexpertassistanceinallareastorebuildEthiopia.AnothernotunimportantpointisthatSwedeninreturngotofficerswithbroadinternationalexperience.15

Tammhimself,incommentstohisowndiarytext,calledthewaragainstItalya failure. The knowledge gained by the cadets from their Swedish instructors,however, was shown to be unusually powerful in their lives. Several of thecadetssurvived thewarandoccupationcamelater to takesignificantplaces inthemilitaryandinpolitics.

Two years after Viking Tamm was fired upon by an Italian aircraft, fatewouldhaveitthathewouldserveonthesamesideasanItalianwhohadflownair combatmissions in Ethiopia.Bothmenwere drawn to the FinnishWinterWarof1939–40.16

Inthefallof1944theEmperor,nowbackinpowerinEthiopia,approachedCrownPrinceGustafAdolfwith a request for the engagementofSwedish aidexperts.TheSwedishgovernmentrespondedpositively.Under theoversightofthe Swedish Crown recruiting began with the cooperation of those who hadpreviouslybeeninEthiopiaandtheSwedishMinistryforForeignAffairs.Tammwasassignedasthechiefofthenewgroup.InthemiddleofNovember1945hetook a leave of absence from the Swedish Army until 30 September 1946 toserve in Ethiopia. He held the rank of major general for the duration of hisservicethere.

TheGuardfortheEmperorhaddevelopedintoalargemilitaryorganizationafter independence with seven infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, andspecialunits.Tammtookovercommandof theGuardand reporteddirectly totheEmperorwhooftenwould come to inspect the organization.Tammwouldhave probably stayed in Ethiopia longer than 1946 if the Emperor had notbecome dependent on the British for material support. Viking Tamm wouldhoweverbementionedinmanyhighlevelstatementsbytheEmperor,aswouldtheapproximately210Swedeswhofollowed inhis footstepsasArmyandAirForce advisors to Ethiopia up to 1964.17 Tamm supported inmanyways thisactivityfromhisnewassignmentsinSweden.

*****

There was one more Swede who served in the Ethiopian military during theItalian aggression of 1935–1936, but outside of Group Tamm. That man wasHarald Nyström who, while serving as a military doctor, made significantobservations on the armies of Ethiopia and Italy. After Ethiopia NyströmproceededtoSpainandtheCivilWarthere.18

7.InSpanishService,1936–1939:TheFirstClashoftheTitans

Longlivedeath!—MottooftheSpanishforeignlegion

Over 500 Swedes headed into the most mechanized and ideological battle inhistoryuptothattime,theSpanishCivilWarof1936–1939.TheoverwhelmingmajorityriskedtheirlivesfortheSpanishsocialistgovernment,whichentrustedtheSwedeswiththeprotectionoftheirtopleaders.TheveryfirstSwedetojoinwasayoungladyfromtheprovinceofVärmland.

*****

22June1941istraditionallygivenasthedaywhenthemilitaryforcesofHitlerandStalinfirstclashed.Thatoverlooksthefact that theyhadalreadymeteachother in combat in Spain in 1936. A total of 26,000 well trained Luftwaffepersonnel,panzersoldiers,andmilitaryinstructorsservedinSpainonthesideofFrancisco Franco.1 From the Soviet Union “only” about 3,000 officers andtechnical specialists were sent to serve on the other side, but in addition theSoviet Union provided 648 military aircraft, 407 armored vehicles, and largenumbersofinfantryweapons.2

History,itissaid,iswrittenbythevictors,butinthecaseoftheSpanishCivilWar, there aremany shelves of books covering the defeatedRepublican side.Three of themost classic books are about foreign volunteers in Spain: ErnestHemingway’s novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, the more autobiographicalHomagetoCataloniabyGeorgeOrwell,andDaysofHopebyAndréMalraux.3Itissurprisingthatsofewbookshavebeenwrittenaboutthemilitaryaspectsofthe Swedish volunteers’ experience in the Spanish Civil War. Books on theSwedish volunteers have so far generally focused on politics.4 Here we shallbriefly cover the background and political lines and then study the militaryaspects.

Hitler’sandStalin’sGrandRehearsal

Intheearly1930sSpainwasabackwardandchaoticlandcomparedtoSweden.ThedominantfactorsintheretardationofSpainwereafeudalsocialorderandfifty percent illiteracy. Costly colonial wars in combination with the worlddepression of 1929 forced Spain’s dictator, GeneralMiguel Primo de Rivera,andSpanishKingAlfonsoXIIItostepdownvoluntarilyin1931andpasspowertoaleftistgovernment.Spainthussuddenlybecamearepublic.

DespiteitspovertySpainwasrichingenerals.Therewerenolessthan566ofthemin1936.Thesemendidnotwanttoseeeithertheirownpowernorthatofthe rural landowners diminished.5Discontentwith the First SpanishRepublic,however, randeeponboth thepolitical right and left.The rightwasdisturbedover the regime’s reformsandanti-church stance,while the leftwas impatientovertheslowpaceofreform.Thenin1933,JoséPrimodeRivera,thesonoftheformerdictator,startedtheSpanishFalange,orFalangeEspañola,aparamilitarypoliticalorganizationsimilartocertainmassorganizationsinHitler’sGermanyandMussolini’sItaly.6

On 17 July 1936 four Spanish generals led a rebellion against the sittinggovernment of the leftist Popular Front.7With short noticeGeneral FranciscoFrancoBahamonde,whowas at that time themilitarygovernor of theCanaryIslands,receivedforeignsupportintheformoffiftytransportandfighteraircraftfromHitlerandMussolini.TheseaircraftenabledFranco tosetupanairlift tomovepart of theSpanish colonial troops fromNorthAfrica toSpain, the firstpolitically important airlift in history.Without this support themilitary revoltwould not have lasted because most of the Spanish Navy was faithful to thegovernment.

One of the most enduring myths of the twentieth century is that whatfollowed was a three-year-long fight between fascism and democracy (orfascismanddemocraticsocialists).Theconflictcanbetterbedescribedasawarbetween two broad coalitions. In the national coalition in addition to theauthenticFalangists,therewasamajorityoftraditionalCatholicswhohadbeenshockedbytheleftistviolencedirectedagainstnunsandthechurchingeneral.Alsotherewerecentrists,(whoweredividedwithalmostasmanyintheleftistcamp!)andseveraldifferentkindsofMonarchists.OntheRepublicansidewerevarious socialists, anarchists, and communists as well as leftist Catholics andanti-clerical liberals.The republichadeven itsownnationalists in the formofthe Basques and Catalonians, who saw Franco as the greatest threat to theautonomyoftheirrespectiveregions.Oneshouldalsonotforgetthelargegroupsofconscriptedsoldiersthatendedupononeortheothersidethroughnofaultof

theirown.The volunteers who began to stream into Spain from all of Europe and

Americaalsocamefromquitediversepolitical factions.They includedFrenchSyndicalists, British Trotskyites, Swedish communists and Italian anarchists.Theywereunitedreallyonlyintheirdesiretofight“fascism.”OntheopposingsideGermanNazis,RussianCzaristgenerals,IrishCatholics,andItalianfascistsralliedaroundthedesiretofight“bolshevism.”8

FourSwedishvolunteersonleavefromdifferentpartsoftheforcesoftheSpanishRepublic.Fromtheleft,HjalmarStridsbergfromSkelleftehamn,KajsaRothmanfromKarlstad,KalleErnsedtfromEnskede,andGösta“Göken”AnderssonfromSöder(Stockholm).Thephotographwasprobablytakenin1938.(Labor

MovementArchiveofSweden)

In thismilitary and political hodgepodgeMussolini’s,Hitler’s, andStalin’sprofessionalwarriors experimentedwith new tactics andweapons. The SovietUnion,forexample,putitsBT-5tanktouseinSpain.TheBT-5wasaprecursortothemostsuccessfulSoviettankofWorldWarII,theT-34.TheGermandivebomberJunkersJu87Stuka (developed inSwedenand theSovietUnion)wasgivenitsbaptismoffireinSpain.9

OfficiallytheGerman,Italian,andSovietsoldiersservedas“volunteers”onthe opposing sides, but in practice they operated as three expeditionary corps.The comparatively smaller contingent from the SovietUnion nevertheless—atleastinitially—hadalargeinfluenceontherepublicansidethroughitsunofficialcontroloftheInternationalBrigades.

Regardlessofwhether the ideaof theInternationalBrigadeswashatched intheCommunistInternational(Comintern)orintheSovietStateSecurityService(NKVD),bothwereSovietStateorgans.10AndtheComintern’sheadquartersinMoscowwas so infiltratedby theNKVD that the leadershipof theCominternwasalmostasectionoftheNKVD.11

The concept of multinational socialist military units being called“International Brigades” was not new, but can be traced to Mexico where,among others, the Swedishworker hero JoeHill, also ofAmerican fame, hadjoinedanInternationalBrigadein1911.

The foreign soldiers on the side of the Spanish Republicans were handledverydifferentlyduringeachstageoftheSpanishCivilWar.Thiswasprimarilybecauseduringthecourseof thewar theSpanishRepublicmanagedtochangegovernmentnolessthanfivetimes,eachwithsomewhatdifferentviewsoftheComintern and foreign soldiers.12 Aside from the Republican government theregionalgovernmentsof theCastilians,Catalonians,andBasqueswieldeda lotof power. The greatest problem of the central governmentwas not the strongregions, however, but rivalry between the leftist groups that made up thepolitical leadership. The two poles among the political forces in the republicwere the Communist Party, Partido Comunista de España (PCE), and theAnarchists,organized(!)withintheFederacionAnarquistaIberica(FAI).

SwedesinCenturiasMostSpanishArmyofficersjoinedFranco.Hecontrolledthemosteffectivepartof the Spanish Army: the well-disciplined Spanish colonial troops and theSpanish foreign legion.TheNavy and theAir Forcewere largely loyal to thesocialistgovernment.Tobolsteritsforcesthegovernmentchosetoarmciviliansloyaltotheregime.Thiswasdonethroughtheunionsandthusagreatnumberofverydifferentunionmilitiaswereborn.Inaddition,manypoliticalorganizationsarmedthemselves.

Many hundreds of exiled anti-fascists and foreign workers had traveled toSpaininthesummerof1936totakepartinthe“People’sOlympics,”aprotestevent against the official Olympic Games in Berlin. Many of these socialistathletesspontaneouslyattachedthemselvestomilitias,mostofwhichconsistedofonehundredfighters,thereforecalledcenturias(thewordwasfirstusedintheRoman Army). On 19 July 1936, only two days after the military revolt hadstarted, a young Swedish lady: Kajsa Rothman from Karlstad, joined a localcenturia.Sherana travelagency inMadrid thatspecialized inorganizing tripsfor English speaking tourists.13 She had no party affiliation, but generallysympathizedwith theRepublicanGovernment.14A contributing factor for herinvolvementmayalsohavebeenthefactthatshehadrecentlybeendumpedbyherfiancée,whohappenedtobeGeneralFranco’scousin.15

Many authors have claimed that Kajsa Rothman only served as a nurse inSpain,butthechairmanoftheAssociationoftheSwedishVolunteersforSpain,Per Eriksson, stated that Rothman initially belonged to a fighting centuria.16Afterawhilethough,inaccordancewithnewpolicy,shewasorderedtoquitthecenturia,andindeedbecamearegularnurse.Somemonthslatershetransferredto a Republican agitprop unit.17 (This meant travelling around to variousmilitaryunitstoagitateandpropagatethecauseoftheRepublic.)

KajsaRothmanalsofoundthetimetowritemanyarticlesforSwedishpapersduringtheCivilWar.ShebecameacorrespondentfortheKarlstads-Tidningen(Karlstad newspaper), where her father worked. Her greatest impact on homeopinion,however,cameaboutwhenshewasselectedbyRadioMadridtobetheSwedishvoiceintheirSwedishlanguageprogramming.Shealsocametoworkfor theSwedish charitySpanienhjälpen (Help forSpain).Rothman establishedgood contacts with the Swedes in the International Brigades and the Swedes

there actually named their first heavy machine gun “Kajsa.”18 She became anationalcelebrityinSweden.WhenshereturnedhometoKarlstadin1938shewasgreetedby5,000peopleatthetrainstation.19

Eversince1936 ithadbeenclaimed that the firstSwede tobekilled in theSpanishCivilWarwasOlleMeurling,while serving in theRepublican “ErnstThälmann” Battalion. In 1980, Per Eriksson, the chairman of the VeteransAssociation, obtained a letter that contained contrary information, however.Guiseppe Marchetti, then the chairman of the Veterans’ Association in Italy,wrote about a previously unknown Swedish volunteer, Edward Wedin.20MarchettiwrotethatWedinwasassignedtohis,Marchetti’s,platoon,whichwaspartofthemainlyItalianCenturia“GastoneSozzi.”21EdwardWedinjoinedthisunit in September 1936. He was not entirely “green” because he had alreadyparticipatedincombattoseizetheislandofIbizaon9Augustwithaforceunderthe command of the Cuban captain Alberto Bayo, later a military advisor toFidelCastro.ItisverylikelythatWedinhadjoinedtheRepublicansinthefirstdaysfollowingthedayofrevolt,thatis,atthesametimeasKajsaRothman.Aweek after the landing at Ibiza, Bayo’s force also succeeded in seizing PortoCristoonMallorca.InthebeginningofSeptemberthegovernmentorderedBayoto leaveMallorca and let his soldiers join other units, among them “GastoneSozzi.”

Wedin’sCenturiawas committed against theMadridFronton6September1936, primarily armedwithMauser rifles.Theyweredeployed in theToledo-PelahustansectorwheretheyhadthesupportoffourFrench-madeWWI-eraFT-17tanks.Marchettistatedthattheywerewellpositioned.“GastoneSozzi”wentintotheattackinthetwilightagainstaMoroccanunit,andafterthreedayswereable to advance to Ávila. An after-action report mentions that at “about 7:00A.M.on the tenthor eleventhofSeptember comradeWedinwas shot throughtheneckbyabulletanddiedalmostimmediatelyinthearmsofhiscomrades.…ItisprobablethathewasburiedinthechurchyardinCencientos,Madrid.”22

SwedishvolunteersforSpain,inGerman-stylehelmets,withaMaximMGnicknamed“Kajsa,”taken1937inJaramaorGuadalajara.Front:unknown,Birger/KarlDahlström.Standing:“Rulle”(Nilsson?),unknown,

“Dad,”unknown,HolgerEkströmisoneofthoseatright.(StigBerggren’sarchive,LaborMovementArchive,Sweden)

Mostof the earlySwedishvolunteers for theSpanishRepublicbelonged tothe“ErnstThälmann”Battalion,whichhadits roots inacenturiasetup in thefirst,veryamateurish,daysoftheCivilWar.TheunitwasnamedinhonoroftheimprisonedGermanCommunistleader,ErnstThälmann.23Thefirstcommanderof Centuria “Ernst Thälmann” was Albert Schindler/Schreiner, previously areserveofficerintheGermanArmy.

Createdprimarilyasademonstrationunit,“ErnstThälmann”wassent fromplacetoplacetoinstill itsdisciplineonotherunits.24 ItfirstenteredcombatinSeptember1936. It became famouswhen it seized themonasteryofTardientafromtheFrancotroops,anditssoldierswereshoweredwithflowers,cigarettes,andwinewhenitmarchedintoBarcelona.

ThreeDanishbrotherswhohadbicycledandwalkedallthewayfromdistantDenmark were the first Scandinavians in “Ernst Thälmann.” They formed amachine-gun team during the storming of themonastery. For acts of couragedisplayedduringtheassaultthebrotherswerechosentoreceiveCatalonia’sfirstbloodflag.

TheForeignLegionoftheCominternOperations with a myriad number of centurias was not a viable long termsolution.Thecenturiasweresmall,improvisedunitsandcoordinatingthemwas

anightmare.Oneneededforces thatcouldretake the largeareas thathadbeenconqueredbyFranco’sforces.InthissituationarepresentativeoftheComintern,the French member of parliament, André Marty, came to the relief of theRepublic.UsingAlbacete as theirmain base,Marty and his Italian right handman,LuigiLongo,begantoorganizetheInternationalBrigadesinOctober1936.Communists from Germany, Poland, and France—some of them veterans ofseveralwars—streamedintoAlbacete.

“TheInternationalBrigade”hasoftenbeenusedasacollectiveexpressionforall international brigades. The authors prefer to speak of them in plural,however, as therewere actually seven International Brigades. Theywere alsoknownatthetimeastheInterbrigades,whichwillbeusedinthistext.

Among thevery first units set upby theCominternwasone thatwouldbemannedbyGermanspeakingtroops.MartyofferedthesoldiersoftheCenturia“ErnstThälmann”theopportunitytojointheInterbrigadesandformthecoreofits battalion bearing Thälmann’s name. Most accepted the offer while somechosetogoovertoSpanishunits.25

The equipment for the Interbrigades was almost as multinational as thepersonnel,which,ofcourse,createdgreatdifficultieswithrespecttoammunitionandidentificationoffriendfromfoe.

When the Interbrigadeswere dissolved in 1938 about 35,000 persons fromfifty-five different countries had served in them, plus hundreds who werestateless.26Inadditionabout5,000foreignvolunteersfoughtinthefirstmilitias(some of these, of course, later transferred to the Interbrigades) and in theregularbranchesoftheRepublicanArmedForces.

The largestvolunteer contingentswere: thecombinedFranco-Belgianswithabout10,000personnel; theGerman-speakers(Germans,Austrians,andSwiss)with 5,000; the Poleswith 5,000; the Italianswith 3,350; theAmericanswith2,800; and the British with 2,300.27 There were even some volunteers fromChina and Peru!Merely a couple of hundred Soviet citizens belonged to theInterbrigades,masqueradingasPolishvolunteers.These“Poles,”however,heldmanyleadingpositions.

AmongtheScandinavianstheSwedesconstitutedthemajoritywithwellover500men.TheDaneswerenextwithabout500.Finland’scontributionwas250men,Norway’s 200,while Iceland’s only two.28 The Swedes, Swedish Finns,Danes,andNorwegianswereeasilyblendedandareoftenconsequentlyreferredto in literature as just “Scandinavians.” The Finnish speakers from Finlandgenerally went to the American battalions “Abraham Lincoln” and “George

Washington” because both these units contained Finnish-speaking Finnish-Americans.29

Per Eriksson explained the initial desire of most Swedes to serve in theGerman speaking battalions by their belief that they had “a greater chance tosucceedwiththeGermansbecausetheirdisciplinewasbest,andgooddisciplinewastheonlylifeinsuranceonecouldget.”30

Theological student Olle Meurling was the first Swede to join the “ErnstThälmann”Battalion.He grewup inKristdala inKalmar Province,where theMeurlingshadheldpositionsinthepriesthoodsincethe1500s.31TheideawasforMeurling,bornin1909,tofollowinthefootstepsofhisancestors,butwhilehewas atUppsalaUniversityMeurlingwent over to communism.He did notquit his theological studies, however.Hebecameavery activememberof theCommunist Youth Club in Uppsala. The war in Spain came to occupy hisinterest more and more, and in the end he felt he was obliged to make acontributionatthefront.HetraveledtoSpainprobablywithoutassistancefromhiscluboranyotherorganization.HeleftSwedeninNovember1936andwenttoFrancewherehejoinedagroupofFrenchmenboundfortheInterbrigades.

OlleMeurlinghadbeentrainedonthemachinegunintheSwedishArmyandthereforehewasusedasaninstructorinAlbaceteduringhisfirstdaysinSpain.Whenhejoinedthe“ErnstThälmann”BattalionnorthofMadridhesleptintheroughundertheopensky.Laterhewasabletostayinanexpropriatedhuntinglodge, Moraleja. Meurling wrote home about his quarters, “we tread verycarefully on the fine salon carpetswith our coarse soldier’s boots.We rest onsilk pillows. I sleep below a wonderful Gobelin tapestry, that portrays JesusbeforePilate.”32

TheremusthavebeentwelvedifferentnationalitiesinthebattalionatthetimeofMeurling’s arrival. One of his friendswas an eighteen-year-old nephew ofWinstonChurchill,EsmondRomily,amemberoftheBritishLaborPartyandaformerpacifist.

Onthemorningof19December,tankswithcloseairsupportattackedalongthe road to the monastery and palace complex called El Escorial. Anotherbattalion,called“EdgarAndré,”alsomannedbyforeignvolunteers,wasalmostannihilatedatthefront.Thehigherstaffaskedforvolunteersforashockunittoharass and disrupt the enemy so that a newdefense line could be established.Meurlingjoinedtheshocktroopsofthe“ErnstThälmann”Battalion.TheywereagroupofthirtymenthatsetoutbeyondtheBoadilladelMonte.Onecamebackalive. He reported that they had allowed another group to approach them

assuming theywereon their side,but itwas too late to reactby the time theyrealizedthatgroupwastheenemy.33Theshocktroopersweredefeatedinhand-to-handcombat.TheforeignvolunteerswhoremainedinBoadillaalsosufferedheavycasualties—ofeighteenBritish in the“ErnstThälmann”Battalion in thebeginningofDecember,onlyEsmondRomillyandoneotherBritonwerealivebyChristmas.34

WhatRomillydidnotknowwhenhewrotehisbook,Boadilla,in1937,wasthat the bodies of the sixteen shock troopers were found several days later,withouttheiruniforms.Manyofthemhadbeensobadlybeatenthattheywerenot recognizable.35Among thebodies theywere able to recognizewas thatofOlle Meurling. He was buried at the brigade’s own cemetery next to theFuencarral Church, with a ceremony led by British volunteer leader ArnoldJeans.WhenMeurling’s namewas to be cut into the gravestone, however, noonerememberedhisname,thusonlythewordSchwede(SwedeinGerman)waswrittenonthestone.36

“UppsalastudentfalleninSpain”thenewsbillsannouncedinUppsalaon8January 1936. Ny Dag (New Day), the daily newspaper of the SwedishCommunist Party (SKP) published a letter fromOlleMeurling on that day. ItwassenttooneofhisfriendsintheUppsalaCommunistYouthclub.Intheletterhewrote,“OurentryintoBarcelonawasmagnificent.…Thepeoplewerefilledwith enthusiasm.… Comrade! Keep the red flame burning. Revolutionariesdie…buttheRevolutionlives!”

Things did not go any better for “Ernst Thälmann” after Christmas. Thebattalionwas ordered to regroup in preparation for an attack that never came.Insteadtheywereputintoovercrowdedtrenchesinanattempttostopanenemyattack.Overonehundredmenwerekilledononeday,7January1937.Severaldayslaterwhatremainedofthebattalion,amerethirty-twomen,waswithdrawnfromMadrid.Before they left the area theyassembled and sang the sorrowfulGermansong,sunginboththeFirstandSecondWorldWars,“Ichhatt’einenKameraden”(Ihadacomrade).37

In themiddleof January the snow fell heavily all around theMadridFrontandtherebeganastalemateofpositionalwarfarethatwastolastformorethantwoyears.

“ErnstThälmann”wasdisestablishedforallpracticalpurposeson7January1937.AtthattimethefirstlargegroupofSwedesarrivedandjoinedtheArmyoftheSpanishRepublic.BeforeweexaminehowtheygotintotheMilitaryofthe

SpanishRepublic,however,weshallstudytheSwedesontheothersideofthefront.

SwedesinFranco’sForcesThe Swedes in the service of el Caudillo (The Great Leader), GeneralissimoFranco, have so far received very scant coverage.38 Why is this the case?Considering that theSwedish rightwingextremists in themiddleof the1930scelebrated their greatest election successes, the presence of a company orbattalionofSwedishfascistsandNazisinFranco’sforcesmightbeexpected.

Professor Judith Keene at the University of Sydney has extensivelyresearched the subject of foreign volunteers in Franco’s Army, not those thatwere part of the state-sponsored German or Italian “volunteer units,” but theindividualforeignersorsmallgroupsofforeignersthatjoinedFranco’sranks.Itturns out there were some 1,500 such volunteers, primarily in the Spanishforeignlegion,notoriousfor itsextremedisciplineanddeathcult.TheSpanishLegion’smottowasvivalamuerte!(longlivedeath).Desertersfromthelegionwereexecutedonlyaftertorture.39

In 1938 there were precisely 1,248 foreigners from thirty-seven differentcountries, Sweden among them, in the Spanish Foreign Legion.40 The onlyscholar thathasstudied theseSwedes inSpanishmilitaryarchives isJoséLuisde Mesa, the author of Los Otros Internacionales (The other internationals).Mesa was able to provide the names of only eight legionnaires who in 1938stated that theywere Swedish, however; in fact, some of themmay have liedabout their beingSwedish, hoping to be treated better asSwedes than asEastEuropeans, for example. Many of the names in Mesa’s list are obviouslyinventions, but on the other hand, legionnaires were permitted to give falsenames in both the Spanish and French Legions. Spanish names were anadvantageintheextremelynationalisticSpanishForeignLegion.If,forinstance,yournamewasJohanitwaswisetocallyourselfJuan.Mesafoundtwopeoplewhoobviouslymaintainedtheirrealnames;onenameisidenticalwiththatofaSwede who later became an NCO in the German Waffen-SS. After every“Swedish”name in thebook follows thenameof thebandera, equivalent toabattalion,thatthemanwasassignedto:

CharlesFraskfikgger(LegionV.Bandera)JuanGutiérrezdelCastillo(LegionIX.Bandera)

GonzaliOinelli(LegionXI.Bandera)FernandoRocha(LegionXI.Bandera)HansScherrer(LegionXI.Bandera)AntonChevor(LegionXVII.Bandera)ArmandoChevor(LegionDepósito)AlphonsWalberg[noinformationonunitaffiliation]41

This“AlphonsWalberg”belongedeithertoabanderaoraPartyformationortheregularNationalistArmy,certainlywassomewhereinFranco’sranks.LiketwoFinnish legionnaires he later entered the service of theWaffen-SS; in theSS-Division “Nordland” there was a man by the name of Frans Wahlbergservingasaseniorsergeant.ItisknownthathealsowentbythemoreSpanish-soundingnamesAlfonsoandAlfons.Wahlbergwasbornin1900inStockholm.Duringthe1930sheworkedinabankinPeruandmustthushavebeenabletospeakSpanish.

TherearenophotographsofFransWahlberginSpanishuniformbuthereheisshownasaRottenführeroftheWaffen-SSin1943inthe“Westland”regiment.(FransWahlberg)

It is quite possible that “Hans Scherrer” was identical with Baron HansLeuhusen, a relative of the author (LG) from Jönköping. Leuhusen was

definitelyintheSpanishForeignLegionbeforetheoutbreakoftheSpanishCivilWar and is said to have deserted it during the war. Back in Sweden BaronLeuhusenagain enlistedwhen theSovietUnionattackedFinland in1939, thistimejoiningtheFinnishAirForce.

WhatdidtheFrancosidedotorecruitSwedes?ProfessorKeenedescribesinher book,Fighting forFranco (2001), howdifferently theNationalists treatedtheir foreign idealists, compared with the Republicans. Frenchmen, Irishmen,Romanians, and exiled Russians joined up with Franco’s forces, but totallywithoutSpanishsupportorevenencouragement.

Generally the foreigners who fought for Franco were ignorant of thecircumstancesinSpain,andmadenoefforttoimprovetheirknowledgewhileinSpain.WhatmatteredtothemwasthepresenceinthatcountryofInternationalBolshevism,whichtheylongedtofight.Francoandhisstaffdisplayedasimilarlackof interest in theprivate individuals andgroupswilling to fight for them.This was because the large German, Italian and Portuguese state-sponsored“volunteer” formations on Franco’s side were quite enough, not least for thenationalistpropagandamachinewhichwantedtospinthestruggleasoneagainstalargelyforeignfoe.

SwedishaviationpioneerCountDouglasHamiltonwasnotthatinterestedinjoining the Spanish Foreign Legion. He instead applied to join Franco’s AirForce and even brought his own aircraft. Such foreign applicants were, ofcourse,mostwelcome.42CountHamiltonwas, likeBaronLeuhusen, from theCounty of Jönköping, andwas born in 1892.43 He became a Swedish reserveofficerin1915andtwoyearslaterearnedhisflightcertificate.44HevolunteeredtoserveasapilotforMannerheimin1918andwasgiventherankofaFinnishcaptain.In1922theCounttooktheGermanairtrafficexaminationandlaterledtwoSwedishcivilflightschoolsuntilhewasselectedtobetheheadof“NordiskLuftflygning”(Nordicflying).

CountHamilton’sSpanishaviationcareerwascutshortbyacrashlanding.Itseems,however,thathewasstillabletoserveelCaudilloinanothercapacity.Atthe War Archives in Stockholm one finds a cryptic report, “Hamilton’sObservationsasaPrivateCitizeninSpain1938,”wheretheauthor’sfirstnameisnotgiven.ProbablytheauthordidnotwanttorevealhisidentityorhisactualactionsbecausetheSwedishgovernmenthadforbiddenSwedestoparticipateinwar service in Spain.45 Reading between the lines it is apparent that theobservationsaretoodetailedtooriginatefromashortvisit.

HefurthermoreappearstohavejoinedtheGermanArmyin1942fordutyon

theGerman-Soviet front.46Today,however,DouglasHamilton is rememberedinSwedenasthefatherofSwedishsailplaneflight.

Franco had at least onemoreNordic aristocrat in his service, the SwedishFinn Cavalry Captain Carl von Haartman. A British journalist who met vonHaartman inSpaindescribedhimas anextravagant, scarred,monocle-wearingmanwhoclickedhishealsinthebest“PotsdamManner,”alsoasaHollywoodposter boy of a Prussian officer.47 Indeed, after serving with the Finland-Swedish Dragoon Regiment during the Finnish War of 1918, von Haartmanemigrated to theUnited States andworked hisway up from a cowboy to thepositionofservingasamilitaryexpertinHollywood.48Notonlydidheprovideadvice, he himselfwas cast in films such as “Ashes ofGlory,” “Wings,” and“Hell’sAngels.”

CaptainCarlvonHaartman,aSwedishFinnintheFalangeforcesandcommanderoftheCenturiaCatalana,askedhimselfif“itperhapswasaworldwarthatwasfoughtoutonSpanishsoil?Inmanywaysthatwasthecase,ifonetakesintoconsiderationthatRussians,Frenchmen,andScandinaviansfoughtonthesideoftheenemy.”ThisphotographwastakensometimeduringtheirfirstfewmonthsinSpain.Thehelmetisofa

Frenchtype.(vonHaartmanfamilyarchive)

In1936,bymeansofsignlanguage,vonHaartmansucceededingettingaliftwithoneofFranco’scouriersthatwasabouttocrosstheFrench-Spanishborder,

who drove him to Burgos, where Franco’s HQ was located. To his greatdisappointmentvonHaartmanwasrejectedforservice in the in theNationalistArmyandaskedtoleavethecountry.Hedidnotgiveupsoeasily,however.49Just as in Germany, aside from the regular army, there were also politicalmilitias. It wentmuch better for vonHaartmanwith the Falangistmilitia. Heofferedhisservicetothesecondincommand,soontobechief,fortheFalangeinSpain,ManuelHedilla.The followingdayhewasappointedasacaptain intheFalangistmilitia andcommanderofCenturiaCatalanawithin theColumnaMoliner.

Despitethefactthathehadtotrainhisforceof180CataloniansthroughaninterpretergoingfromEnglishtoSpanish,heapparentlysucceededverywell,asshownbytheabilityofhisforcetoholdaportionoftheSantanderFrontagainstmanyassaults.

At this stage of the war Falangist forces also arranged so-called paseos(strolls),whichmeantthattheybrokeintohomesofpeoplewhomtheydisliked,and kidnapped then executed them. There is no evidence that any Nordicvolunteer participated in thesedeathpatrols, butwithin theFalangists one canhardly have been ignorant of them.There is at least proof that vonHaartmanbecameawareof theprevailingSpanishviewpoint that capturedenemy troopsmustbeexecuted.50

At the end of February 1937 vonHaartman’s demonstrated skill led to hisappointment as the chief of the Falange’s own reserve officer school inSalamanca. There were still five permitted and competing parties in Franco’sSpain,with the Falangists and theCarlists themost influential. InApril therewas a splitwithin theFalange.ManuelHedilla then ordered vonHaartman toassistindefeatingtherevoltofthreeotherFalangistchiefs,acivilwarwiththeCivilWar!AsanexperiencedofficervonHaartmanrefusedwithoutreceiptofawrittenorder.Suchanordercame,however,andvonHaartmanwasobligedtodeployhiscadetsagainstHedilla’srivals.Thedemandforawrittenorder latersavedvonHaartmanbecauseheusedthatorderasevidenceforFrancothathehadfirstrefused.

WithreferencetotheschismswithintheFalangistsFrancodissolvedallfivepartiesinNationalistSpain,includingtheFalange,andreferredthosepoliticallyinterested to his newunitary party, FalangeEspañolaTradicionalista y deLasJuntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (FET-JONS) and at the same timethrewHedillainprison.

Afterthe“Hedillaaffair”CarlvonHaartmanwasmadethecommanderofa

machine-gun company in the “Burgos” Regiment. The company, and vonHaartman himself, was honorably mentioned in an army order of the day inApril1938,forhisabilitytocoordinateandfordecisivenessduringthestormingoftheheightsaroundBoltaña.51JustbeforethebattleatTeruelthatsummervonHaartmanwaspromotedtobattalioncommander.AsacavalrymanhewantedtotransfertotheSpanishcavalry’sCalatrava-UlanRegiment.ThiswasgrantedvonHaartman.ItwasamongtheCalatrava-UlansthatvonHaartmaninJanuary1939ledacharge,“prouderthanever,”withdrawnsaber(!)attheheadofaforceofItalian light tanks.The title forhis firstmemoirwasprobablyborn justat thatmoment:ANordicCaballero[knight]inFranco’sArmy.52

When the Spanish CivilWar ended von Haartman returned to the FinnishArmyandadvancedtobecomethecommanderofthe34thInfantryRegimentonthe Svir Front.53 After a short sojourn as a liaison officer with the GermanLaplandArmyhereturnedtoSpainasamilitaryattachéforFinland.LieutenantColonelvonHaartmanenjoyedthenewassignmentverymuchandfeltathomeintheintelligencewarthatwasbeingfoughtontheIberianPeninsula.AfterhewasdismissedfromtheFinnishArmyhewasmadeanhonorarycolonelintheSpanishArmy.54

A further thirteen Finnish citizens joined the Spanish Foreign Legion andunits of the Falange, but none of themwere Swedish Finns.55 The number ofNorwegiansandDanesontheFrancosidewasalsolow:sevenNorwegiansandasingleDane.56

ManyfactorscanexplainwhysofewSwedeswereattractedtoFranco’sside.Beyond geographical distance, costs, and so on, the nationalist side made noeffort to recruit Swedes. Additionally, the Fascist ideology, which Falangismessentially was, had gained only a very small and short-lived foothold inSweden.SwedishrightwingextremistsgenerallystoppedidolizingMussoliniin1935 as a result of the increase in Nazi propaganda in Scandinavia and theItalianinvasionofEthiopiathatyear.57

The Swedeswho later fought in SS uniform at least had a small crowd ofsupporters back home in Sweden. The Swedish Nazi press wrote many aglowing piece about them, but as true fascists were in short supply by theoutbreak of the Spanish CivilWar Franco’s few Swedes aroused no tangiblesupportinSweden.

Finnish author Casper Almqvist states that the most important reason thatthere were only fourteen Finns in Franco’s ranks was the total lack of

recruitment and transportation.58 Almqvist’s research indicates that manyhundredsofFinnsmighthaveservedFrancoifonlytherehadexistedsomekindof recruitment apparatus. This would hardly have changed the outcome inSweden,however,becausetheFinnishrightwingextremistswerefundamentallydifferent from the Swedes in that they never distanced themselves from southEuropeanfascismastheSwedeshad.

TheWaytotheRepublicMostoftheSwedeswhobecamevolunteersinthemilitaryforcesoftheSpanishRepublicweremembersofoneof the threeSwedishsocialistpartiesoroneoftheiryouthsections.OnlyonepartyfullysupportedSwedishsoldiersinSpain—theSwedishCommunistParty(SKP),anofficialbranchoftheComintern.

ThetotalnumbersofSwedishcitizenswhoparticipatedinmilitaryserviceonthesideof theSpanishgovernmentis“between530and540”accordingtothelastpublicationof theSwedishveteransof theSpanishCivilWar.59Thesamebook provides probably the most accurate number of volunteers who weremembers of the SKP or its youth league, Swedish Communist Youth (SKU):about340volunteers.

AtleasteightmembersoftheSwedishSocialistParty(SP),whichwascriticalofMoscow,also traveled toSpaindespiteprotests fromthe leadershipof theirparty.60ThatpartywasSweden’ssecondlargestleftistpartyforsometime.OnlysevenvolunteersweremembersoftheSocialDemocraticWorkersParty(SAP),buttheycametoplayanimportantsymbolicrolebecauseinterestintheSpanishRepublicwas very high among commonSwedish social democrats.61At leastten volunteers were Syndicalists, members of the Swedish Workers CentralOrganization(SAC).LikeSPandSAP,however,theSACdidnotencourageitsmemberstobecomevolunteers.

Regardlessofpartyaffiliation the largergroups thatwentdown toSpain tovolunteertraveledcourtesyoftheSKP.

TheSKPofficiallyexpresseditsprideovertheSwedishvolunteersforSpain;nevertheless, SKP members never liked to talk about their own roles in therecruitment.KnutOlsson,aCommunistmemberoftheStockholmCityCouncil,wasidentifiedneverthelessastheheadofrecruitmentandtransportofvolunteersforSpain.Olssonacknowledgedhis role for the first timeonly in1985, albeitwithoutexplaininghowhetookhisdirectivesfromtheComintern.62

Thenational sections (parties)of theComintern, in typicalSoviet style,gotmonthly quotas that told how many volunteers they ought to provide. In hisdoctoral dissertation on the subject Bertil Lundvik has estimated that theSwedishquotawasbetweenthirty-fiveandfiftyvolunteersamonth.63

OpenrecruitingofvolunteersforSpainwastechnicallyforbiddeninSweden,butthisposterisnotfarfromaSwedishrecruitingposterforSpain.TheorganizationbehinditwastheSocialDemocraticWorkersCommuneofthecityofLidköping.Themeetingfeeof50öre(Swedishequivalenttocents)wenttothe

SwedishFront-fighterSupportFund.(Kungligabiblioteket)

A camouflaged recruiting office was opened on Drottninggatan, the mainshoppingstreetincentralStockholm,withKnutOlssonincharge.Asubordinateoffice was opened in Gothenburg and contact men were selected for otherdistricts.64Neitheranyaddressnortherecruitmentcampaignwasannouncedinwriting.Recruitmentwasdonetotallybywordofmouthatpartymeetings,youthclubs, and seamen’s clubs. This was necessary because in February 1937 theSwedishgovernmentsuggestedalawthatcriminalizedallformsofrecruitmentforSpain,aswellastheparticipationofSwedishcitizensinthewar.On3Marchof that year a law was passed to that effect by the Swedish parliament, andthereafteronecouldgetsixmonthsinprisonforviolationsofthelaw.65

To be certain that the law would have the desired effect, the governmentmade Swedish passports invalid for travel to Spain. The following text wasplaced in thenewpassportmodel, “Thispassport isvalid for traveloutsideofSwedenwiththeexceptionofSpain,theSpanishcolonies,andtheSpanishzone

inMorocco.”66ThebackgroundoftheSwedishdecisionwasthattheFrenchgovernmentwas

afraid that a large stream of volunteers for Spain could bring about a generaldestabilization of Europe. On 1 August 1936, therefore, they initiatednegotiations tobringaboutan international agreementonnonintervention, thatis,non-involvement,intheSpanishCivilWar.BytheendofAugustanumberof countries had agreed to the French proposal, among them Sweden, GreatBritain, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union. This agreement did not affectHitler and Mussolini in their very tangible support for Franco, though. TheSovietUnionhadthesamedisregardfortheagreementandcontinuedtosupporttheSpanishgovernment.London,however,strictlyfollowedtheagreementandon9January1937reportedthattheBritishgovernmentwouldapplytheForeignEnlistmentAct from1870,which forbadeBritishnationals from joiningeitherside.67ShortlyaftertheSwedishgovernmentenactedsimilarlegislation.

LecturetoursinSwedenontheSpanishCivilWarwerenotallowedtohavehave the character of recruiting sessions. It is reasonable to assume, however,thattheselecturesinfluencedsometosignup.RadioMadrid’sSwedishservicewasalsoasourceofinspirationformany.Itwascommontolistenregularlytoforeign radiobroadcasts.A later volunteer, SvenBrännström, remembered thestrong impression the program hadmade on him, “TherewasKajsaRothmanwho spoke about the situation. She exhorted…she wanted quite simply forpeople to help the Spaniards. She spoke about how the strugglewas going.…Thenewspaperslistedthetimeforherbroadcasts.”68

KnutOlsson, themain person in charge of recruitment for Spain, seems tohave been a war veteran himself—from revolutionary General AugustoSandino’s guerrillawar against theUSMarineCorps inNicaragua.69Militaryexperience was a merit that stood high with the Comintern. The Swede whojoined to go to Spainwas twenty-eight years old on average, so that ought tohavemeant thatmost had done their basic conscription service in Sweden. In1925,however,therehadbeenamajorreductionintheSwedishdefensesystem,which led to fewer needing to fulfill the conscription requirement.Only thirtypercent of the Swedish volunteers for Spain, therefore, had received militarytraining,butsevenpercentoftheoriginalgrouphadbeentrainedbytheSwedishDefenseForcesasnon-commissionedofficers.70

AtleastoneSwedishvolunteerhadreceivedSovietmilitarytraining.ArthurKääriä,borninKirunain1905,hadgonethroughaRedArmyofficer’scourse

andwasaSovietlieutenantwhenhewenttoSpain.71AnotherpersonfromtheprovinceofNorrbottenhadagreatdealofwarexperienceanddefinitelycouldbe classified as a “career revolutionary.” His name was Robert “the Lapp”Lundström, born inArjeplog in 1903,who had fought both inNicaragua andMexico.72

BeforeRobert“Lappen”LundströmfromArjeplogbecameaSpanishvolunteer,hefoughtinMexico,Nicaragua,andprobablyinBrazil.HeisshownasagunnerintheSwedishNavywhereheservedfrom

1921to1924inthe4thCompanyattheStockholmNavalStation.(BengtLindgren)

TwoSwedishsixteen-year-oldssucceededinsneakingtoSpain:Bertil“Tiny”SommeliusfromStockholmandKarlKarlströmfromKarlstad.Sommeliushadshownupwithafalsedocumentstatingthathewaseighteen,butbythetimethetruth was discovered he had already fought in the battles of Jarama andGuadalajara.73 He served again in Norway in 1940 and then in the WWIINorwegianmerchantfleet.TheoldestSwedishvolunteerwasthemetalworkerFrithiofAnderssonwho,attheageofforty-five,traveledtoSpaininApril1938.

It was an absolute condition that a volunteer have an anti-fascist attitude.PartyorYouthAssociationaffiliationwassecondary.Thesearchforadventurewasnotanacceptablemotive,butforafewitstillseemstohavebeenthemain

draw.ThemaindifferencebetweentheSwedishcontingentandthosefromBritain

and theUnited Stateswho volunteered for the Spanish Republicwas that theSwedeswere almost exclusivelyworkersor sailors.TheSwedeshadvery fewartistsorintellectualsintheirranks,whileboththeBritishandAmericanscouldformplatoons justoutof intellectuals. IncontrastSwedishwritersand famousathletes in 1939 and 1940 flocked to join the Swedish Volunteer Corps inFinland.

TheonlySwedish“celebrities”whosupportedtheSpanishgovernmentwereEdgar P. Andersson, an author of children’s books; and painter/photographerChristerStrömholm.ThisdespitethefactthatStrömholmhadpreviouslybeenamemberoftheNaziorganizationNordicYouth(NU).74

MostofthevolunteerscamefromStockholm(117)andGothenburg(71),butall Swedish provinces were represented.75 Of the 234 Swedish volunteers forSpain who left information on their civil situation, only twenty-one weremarried,butforty-onesaidtheyhadchildren.

TherewasacertainamountofscreeninginSwedenforthosewhosoughttojoin the International Brigades—a primary motive was to screen for possibleinfiltration—but it is not clear how many applicants were rejected. Thereprobably were a number of refusals at the Comintern’s recruitment office inParis.

Generally speaking most of the volunteers traveled by train by way ofCopenhagen, where they obtained cash in different currencies if they had notalready received that from theSKP inSweden.They then traveledby train toEsbjergwheretheytooktheferrytoeitherDunkirkorAntwerp,followedbyatraintriptoPariswheretheyspentanightinahotel.

ThenextdaytheywerecheckedbyadoctorintheheadquartersoftheFrenchLabor Union, at 8 Rue de Mathurin-Moreau, and questioned by Cominternpersonnel. Those approved could sign up. Veteran chairman Per Erikssonpointedoutthatthecontractboundthevolunteeronlytorestorethepowerofthelegal government over the territoryofSpain, not aword about fighting for anideology.76 Evenmore remarkable about the contract, however, was that wasthat no time limit was noted.77 Perhaps that is the reason why some Swedesturned back inParis?There are no reliable statistics on howmany did in factjumpoutoftherecruitmentprocessinParis,butthenumberwasprobablytentotwentySwedes.

From Paris they traveled further in groups, by train to either Perpignan or

Nîmes.Untilthespringof1937onecouldstilltakeabusoverthePyreneesintoSpain.Franceceasedtoclose itseyes to thevolunteer traffic inmid-1937,andthereafter the volunteers who could not reach Spain by boat had to cross theFrench-Spanishborderbyfootatnight.Thestreamofvolunteersinthespringof1937waslargeenoughtobealmostequaltothelosses.

HeadingintoBattleThe first group of Swedes received fourteen days of training. By the end ofJanuary1937therewereaboutseventySwedes in training.Mostof themweredeployedwithotherScandinavians to the3dRifleCompany in the“Thälman”Battalion where the Swedes were all placed in one section, denoting a unitsimilar to a standard Swedish infantry platoon. Per Eriksson remembers howthenRagnarSkottewaselectedasthecompanycommander,“TheGermanstoldus to choose both amilitary leader and a political commissar.…Since Skottewas both honest and a well trained comrade he was elected [military leader]withoutdiscussion.”78

RagnarSkottewasunusualbecausehewasbothaSyndicalist (amovementwhose members were critical of communism) and a second lieutenant in theSwedishLandstorm (militia). In addition he had been a sergeant for six yearswith the Swedish Södermanland Regiment.79 At home waiting for him inAskersundwereawifeandtwochildren.

Some Swedes instead ended up in other battalions such as the American“Abraham Lincoln,” the Canadian-American “MacKenzie Papineau,” and theGerman-dominated “Edgar André,” Because of specialized training in theSwedish Army individual Swedes were assigned to the antiaircraft unit“ArgumentDimitrov”andtheArtilleryBattery“ErnstThälmann.”Inadditionatleast six Swedes chose not to fight with any Comintern-associated unit, butrathersoughtoutassignmentswithoneofthefirstpopularmilitias(inthecaseofPeder Sjögren) and then the Anarchist-Syndicalist counterpart of theInterbrigades: the Compañia Internacional (International Company) “ErichMühsam,”(namedafteraGermananarchistpoet)partofthelegendaryDurrutiColumn.80

Aninternationalbrigadecouldcontainas fewas2,000 toasmanyas5,000menandhadacoreof three to five riflecompanies.Therewerenoregiments.The battalions had three rifle companies and onemachine-gun company. Thecompanieswereledbyastaffthatincludedapoliticalcommissar.AllthiswasverymuchinspiredbytheRedArmyorganizationofthetime.

The strength of a fullymanned rifle company in the Interbrigadeswas 120meninthreeriflesectionsconsistingoftwoplatoons,which, inturn,consistedofthreeteams.Ateamwasacorporalwiththreeprivates.

Likeothernationalities in theInterbrigades theSwedeswereclad inmotley

uniforms and were poorly armed. The standard Spanish uniform was rathersimilar to the homespunSwedishArmyWWII uniform, but just as often theywore only a safari jacket and civilian trousers. The helmets were French,Spanish,orCzechandtheriflescamefromallovertheworld,butmostlyfromCzaristRussiaandtheSovietUnion.Beretswerelargeandofcivilianmake.Inthesummerinsteadofbootstheyworelightshoesmadeofclothandwithhempsoles,calledalpargatas.ThroughexhortationsofSovietadvisors,reformswereimplemented so that the Interbrigade lookedmoreuniform in1937, andat theendtheylookedliketheregularmembersoftheEjercitoPopular,theRepublicanPeople’s Army. Incidentally, the Interbrigades were only made part of theEjercito Popular in the fall of 1937.81 Before that they were consideredessentiallyaforeignformation.

JohnSvenssonfromBorås,oneofaboutfourSwedesintheInterbrigadeswhoreceivedthespecialmilitaryrankandpositionofcommissar(shownbytheinsigniaonhiscap).HereceivedthisaftersavinganantitankgunfromfallingintoFascisthands.HealsoknockedoutatleastoneItaliantank.(LaborMovementArchive

ofSweden)

TherewerenospecialScandinavianorSwedish insignia,butsomeSwedishInterbrigadememberswore an official but rarely seen badge in the form of athreepointedredstar.Itwas“almostlikethatonaMercedes.…Someworeiton

their beret, others on their arms” recalled Per Eriksson.82 On the knownphotographsofSwedishvolunteers,however,onlyrankinsigniacanbeseen.

Interbrigadepersonnelsalutedwithaclenchedrightfist,likethe“RedFront.”In combat one often heard brigade members shout Communist Icon DoloresIbárruri’simmortalbattlecryof“¡Nopasarán!”(Theyshallnotpass!).83

The Swedes were poorly prepared when it came to languages, too. PerEriksson,whowasacompanycommander,couldnotrememberasingleSwedewhoonarrivalcouldspeakSpanish,“Wehadapairof intellectualswhoknewFrenchandtheytaughtussomeFrench,whichwelearnedveryquickly.…Thenwe had to learn on our own in the trenches and so…one had to expressoneself.”84 The only Swedes who received real tuition in Spanish were thoseselectedforofficertraining,amongthem,PerEriksson.

Karl Norén from Arvidsjaur in Lapland served in a unit that otherwiseconsisted solely of Spaniards. In a letter home (undated) hewrote, “you can’timaginethesufferingithasbeenformenottobeabletocommunicatewiththecomradesIamconstantlyaround.”

The Swedes received a daily pay, just like the other republican soldiers,whichinthebeginningwasenoughtobuysomeextrawine(inadditiontowhattheirallocationwasatthefront).Allthepaydidnotgotomorewine,however;theSwedishsoldierscollectedpesetastobuybooksforSpanishorphanages.Inthesummerof1937thepaywentuptotenpesetasadayforthoseatthefront,andsixpesetasadayfortheothers.85Bytheendofthewarthepaysystemhadevolvedsothatthereweredifferentpaygrades,asinotherarmies.

RognarSkottedecidedtoapplyofficialSwedishArmyregulations,withtheexception that theywoulduse the familiarwordforyou,“du,” rather than theformal“ni,”andalsocalleachothercomradesinallrelationships.

JaramaThe first battle that the Swedes in the “Edgar André” and “Ernst Thälmann”Battalions experienced took place in February 1937, near Jarama, some thirtykilometerssoutheastofMadrid.Onlyafewmonthsafterthebattle,GothenburgsailorandcommunistSixtenOlssonwrotedownhis impressions.Olsson(laterheusedRogeby as his last name) endedup in amachine-gun company in the“Edgar André” Battalion, named after an executed German communist andconstruction worker. Olsson’s still fresh remarks of life at the front weredistinguishedbybothmilitaryobservationsandahumantouch,andmakeaverycredible impression.Fiveyears in theSwedishNavywasperhapsnot an idealpreparation for infantry combat in Spain, but it had given Olsson a militaryframeofmind.

Three weeks training would suffice for the machine-gun company, it wasthought.The exercise areawas locatednearMurcia andwas calledLaPalma.Thecompanycommanderturnedouttobe“alittleBerlinersourasvinegar”bythe name of EmilWendt, although hewas never addressed by anything otherthan“Emil.”DespitethisinformalityitseemedthatEmilwasneverpleased:

Buttheoldboys,whohaddonethreemonthsoffrontlineserviceoutsideofMadrid,knewhimbetter.“Emilishighlysatisfied,”theyexplainedinasecretivemanner“butknowsjusthowtopretendotherwise.Moreover,heisneverhumanbeforehegetstothefront.Justwaituntilwegetthere.…Emilisasuperguy.…”Andwithtimeandaftermuchscoldingfromthe“superguy”wegaingoodinsightintothestrangeworkingsoftheheavyMaxim[machinegun],welearnhowtousetheterrainandwhatweshoulddointhisorthatparticularsituation.“Neverforgetthatthisisawarofmaneuver,boys!Trytorealizethatyouhavetomoveon!86

The main weapons in the machine-gun company were the twelve RussianMaxims. It was a classic water-cooled design from 1910 that weighed anincrediblesixtykilograms(132pounds)withmassivesteelwheelsandafurtherfourteenkilograms (31pounds) ifone included thearmorprotection shield. Inaddition to this weight were the ammunition and coldwater! From amodernviewpoint itwas a physical impossibility to handle the system in the field.AMaxim crew consisted of a chief, a fire direction observer, a gunner, and aloader.ThecrewsweremadeupofSpanish,Swedes,French,Swiss,Belgians,

andHungarians.DuringtheeveningOlssontookpartintheculturalsmorgasbord.Itincluded

poetryanddirtyjokesinGerman;FrenchanecdotesthattheSwedeslaughedatonce they had been translated; and Swiss Tyrolean songs mixed with headyHungarianczardas(folkdances).

On11FebruaryinthebeautifulglowoftwilightthecompanyapproachedthefrontnearJarama.Theseriousnessofthesituationwasmaskedsomewhatbythechirpingbirdsandthedeepgreenleafsoftheolivetrees.TheSwedesbegantodig out an appropriate positionwith “the explosive enthusiasm of beginners.”Theyduglongerthananyothergroup,untilfourinthemorning.

Olssonwastheloader.His team’sbosswasthenon-partymember,ChristerReuterswärd, amember of the nobility in Sweden andwith a great interest inmilitary history. One of Reuterswärd’s best friends had been Olle Meurling,believedtohavebeenthefirstSwedekilledinSpain.Reuterswärd’sbrotherwasacadetat theMilitaryAcademyinStockholm.Hisfatherwasaformerofficerwho had moved on to head Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå (TT), the largestSwedish news agency.87 After completing his conscription service in theSwedishArmyReuterswärdtraveledtoFranceandtheSovietUnion.

Olsson felt a special confidence for his closest comrade, gunner HelmerHansson,whohadbeenanNCOwiththeRoyalSveaLifeGuards.TheMaximwas capriciously constructed, but Hansson was able to figure out a way toimprovethefeedingmechanism.

Reuterswärd,Olsson, andHansson did notwait for the order to fire. Theysenttheirfirstsalvoagainsttheenemyduringthefirstbreakfastatthefront.Thatactionwascutoff, though,byafascinatingscenein theairoverhead—combatbetween German Junkers bombers and Republican fighter aircraft. Nextfollowed the first onslaught of enemy artillery, which, fortunately for theRepublicanside,missed.AfterthisbaptismoffireReuterswärd’steamsawfiveSwiss volunteers who had not dug sufficiently deep in the stony ground andbecame“piecesofbloodymeatdressed in tornrags,”so thateveningthe teamdecidedtoimprovetheirpositionratherthansleep.Theyranoutofwaterfairlyoften and to avoid overheating themachine gun theyhad to usewine or theirownurinetocool theweapon.Afterfourdaysat thefrontall twelvemachine-gun teamsexcept theSwedishonehad lostat leastoneman. In theirdesire topostpone their first loss, theSwedes dug even deeper.They selected positionswithgreatcareandduguntilbloodwoulddripfromblistersontheirhands.Themachine-gunteamswerealsoreducedtotwomensothatintheeventofadirect

hittheywouldnottakemorecasualtiesthanabsolutelynecessary.88ReuterswärdleftOlssonandHanssonandformedateamwithJohnFranssonfromKumla.

The first infantry attack Olsson experienced consisted of “forward rushingblackrascals”(thatis,MoroccanMoors)butAugusta,astheSovietmachinegunwas lovingly called, acknowledged Hansson’s careful attention and “firedthroughthreebeltswithoutahitch.”Theresultwas“severalpilesofbodiesandbackward creeping Allah-shrieking wounded.” Helmer Hansson had justpredictedthatFranco’sartillerynowwoulddoitsbesttoblastAugustatopieces,whenithappened.Byasheermiracle,however,neitherOlssonnorHanssonwasevenwoundedwhenAugustawastornapart.

Heavy losses and a shortage of ammunition seeded panic in the company.“Theofficerspleaded,imploringthesoldierstoholdtheline,”Olssonsaid.89

Asolitary tankcameup to reinforce thecompanyand suddenly they foundtheircourageagain:

Sixtymenwentintotheattackfollowedbyatanktwentymetersbehindthem.Andindeed!TheswarmingmassesofMoorsturnedasiftheyhadbeenhitbyaninvisiblewave.Atfirstwemarchedforwardinalineatahastymarchingpace,butsoonstartedtorun.…Wheredidwefindthepowertodothat?ThefieldiswasnearlycoveredwiththebodiesofMoorsandGermans.Thetankdriveropenedhishatchandtheyounggiantinsideroaredouthisdelightwithclenchedhandswhilehissteelwagoncrushedsomesmalltreesandmadebroadpathsthroughthethicket.90

SixtenOlsson thenwitnessed howChrister Reuterswärd fell over.A bulletpiercedhiminhisbreastandonthewayouttookwithitpartofhisback.Thecommissar ordered the men to help the wounded, but at that very momentFranco’s troopsmade a counterattack, andOlsson disappeared into “a surgingcorpse-stinking nightmare.” New Moroccan soldiers poured in and he wasgripped by a deep unreal feeling when he saw his own rifle fire off and aMoroccandropwithoutstretchedarms.“Darn,howmuch this remindedmeoftheater…theatricalrevolutionaries.…Ilaughedhystericallywithouthearingmyown voice.” Olsson was brought back to reality by a Romanian comrade ofReuterswärd:

TherewassomethingfamiliarabouttheraggedanddirtyfigureandinalittlewhileIdiscernedKasimir’swhiteface.“WhereisChrister?”hemanagedtogetout,leaningforwardandthevoiceemptyofanguish,

“Christerhasfallen.”TheRomaniansankdownonatreerootandwithamoaningsobanda

despairingwhisperhecrawledontheground,“Allofourbesttheytake,thosedamn…allofourbest.…”

Inthemorningwewererelieved.Longlinesofyoungboyswithpurefacesandcleanuniformsregardedusasghostsaswemarched,ormorecorrectly,stumbledpastthem.Finallywouldwegettosleep…sleep.…91

Olssonandtheothersin“EdgarAndré”gotafewdaysofrestinreserveandgladlyletthemselvesbestuffed“withRussiancannedgoods,Russianham,andRussianbutter,whichcouldnothavebeenbetteriftheyhadcomestraightfromhome.”92

TennewScandinavianswereallottedtothebattalionandEmil,thecompanycommander, gave the Scandinavians their own section. He wanted to haveHelmer Hansson as their commander, but because he could speak neitherSpanish nor German that lot fell on Sixten Olsson. Judging from Olsson’sfrontlinememoirs,hesucceededbetterthanexpectedintrainingthenewcomers.Olsson stated that the Scandinavian section’s ambitious digging and buildinginspiredthesurroundingFrenchandSpanishsectionstoworkharder.

Gösta “Göken” Andersson from Stockholm has given us a somewhat lessdetailed, but no less vivid description of the “Ernst Thälmann” Battalion’sSpanish-Scandinavian rifle company at Jarama. Before the company enteredcombat theywere encouraged to see theRepublican’sChatos, or “short nose”aircraft, in action. Probably this was the same air combat that Sixten Olssonwitnessed(seeabove):

TheplanewasaRussianfighterthatlookedlikeahornet,thusthename.AwhirlingbattlebetweenoursandtheFascists’.Aplanecaughtfireandcrashed,andthebomberscontinuedontheirjourney.Thecompanycommander,Skotte,discussedsomethingwithaGerman,interpretedbyourPelle,asfewofusreallyspeakGerman.Thecompanywasmixed,youngSpaniards,mostlyilliterate,andtherestScandinavians.Skottemadeagreatimpressiononme.Nolanguageskills,ashorttimefortraining,tenshotsalltogetherwefired—thereasonwasashortageofammunition—butweknewourweaponsbyheart.Wecouldtakethemapartandputthemtogethereffortlesslyinthedark.Skottewastheonlycareersoldierandunderstoodthehorribleconsequencesofgoingintocombatwiththecompany…waiting…waiting,thesoldier’seternalchore.BackinSkotte’s

directionitseemedthatthediscussionwasover,PellesaidafewwordstotheGermanandaftersalutingleftquickly.93

Per“Pelle”Eriksson,fromKragenäsonthewestcoastofSweden,ininitiallywas the interpreteranddispatcher forcompanycommanderRagnarSkotte,butwas with the Balkan battalion “Ghorghiu Dimitriov” when “Ernst Thälmann”suddenlyfounditself incombat,“soIgotmybaptismoffiretogetherwiththebrave Bulgarians.” After the fighting had abated Eriksson was shown to hisbattalionandsoonfoundtheScandinavian-Spanishcompanyinaditch:

Theresatadozenobviouslydepressedcomrades,thinkingthateverythinghadfailed,andthatthewarwasoverforusasanindependentcompany.WehadbeenworkedovertwicebyFasciststanks.Therewasnothingelsewecoulddobutrunwhenthetankscame,runninginzigzagandexchangingfirewiththeMoorishinfantry.Skotteandtheothersworriedthatthecompanywouldbedissolved,butwebrightenedupforeverysurvivorwhoturnedup.Tenortwelvemenhadbeenkilled,wedidnotknowthenumberofthosewounded.OurcompanywasreplenishedwithbothSpaniardsandGermans,butwasrolledoveragainwhentheFascistsmadequickcounterattackswiththeirarmor.Still,wesucceededinpreservingourindependence.94

The companywas later reinforced by Swedes,Danes, andNorwegians andbecame almost entirely Scandinavian. In order to better handle the strains thesoldiers got additional training in the trenches, and everyone preparedthemselves to serve a rank higher than the one they had. Captain Skotteconcentrated on improving the routines. The leadership of the Interbrigadesimproved in its giving of orders and coordination of the surrounding units, aswell as ensuring that food and ammunition arrived more regularly. TheScandinavians dug out their first proper defensive system. It was given thenickname“Kajsasro”afterthemachinegun“Kajsa”(-romeaninglodge).Itwasequippedwithingeniousdrainpipesandbecameincreasinglycomfortable.

Folke Liljegran, a painter from Stockholm, knocked out a tank from about150meters(164yards)distancewithhisMaxim.Themachinegun’seffectonatankwaslimited,evenwhenonehadaccesstoarmorpenetratingammunition.Inthis case itwaspure luck that someof the rounds ricocheted from thegroundand struck the soft belly, hitting the gasoline fueled engine. As Liljegranrecalled,“Thecrewtriedtoputoutthefirewithdirt,butthatjustsentthemto

hell.”95BeforethebattleofJaramawascompletelyoverthecompanysawitspopular

commanderkilledbyasharpshooter.SkottehadexposedhimselftogetabetterviewofwhereFranco’smachine-gunnestswereplaced.Hisbodywas carriedaway by an honor guard and he was buried with full military honors. ConnyAndersson stated that Skotte inspired his subordinates by his bravery, hisconcernforthewounded,andhisskills:

RagnarSkotte’sextraordinarymilitarytalenthadquicklyattractedhissuperior’sattention.NotonlyduringexercisesbutalsoandaboveallincombathehadrepeatedlysurprisedgrayingWorldWarofficersbytheutterlysmoothwayhecommandedhiscompany.Hisfar-too-earlydeathdeprivedtheSwedishworkingclassofoneofitsmostdevotedandcompetentsonsandcutshortagloriousmilitarycareer.HereallydidanexcellentjobinpromotingtheSwedishway.96

AnotherSwedewasselectedashissuccessor,SkoglarTidströmfromGävle.“Hewastallandblond,atrueNordictypeandhehadgottenanunusuallybroadtraining. He spoke English, German, French, Russian, and Spanish and hadstayed in the Soviet Union for a long time.”97 Tidström was indeed a goodreplacement,butwaswoundedonlythenextdayanddiedlater(oftyphus)inaMurcia hospital. Per Eriksson wrote about how, for the second time, thecompanygotanewcommander:

ThenthebattalionstaffcameandtoldmethatIshouldtakeoverthecompany.…Isaidnotothat,becausewehadelectedourofficersinthebeginning.IsaidthatIwouldnotacceptsuchanorderunlesstheboysinthecompanyapprovedit.…TheonlyonewhohadsomecommandtraininginSwedenwasasergeantnamedAxelPettersson,soweelectedhimtobeourcompanycommanderandreportedthatdecisiontothebattalionstaff.Theysaidnothingaboutit.Justafewdayslaterhewentintogrenadeshockandwentcrazyandorderedallofus,includingthesick,tomoveoutagainsttheenemy,withoutplanning,givingoforders,oranything.Inanycase,weranoutandthrewourselvesrightintomachine-gunfire.Thenwefoundhim,frothingatthemouth.Mad,obviously.Thentheboystoldmetotakeoverthecompany.…98

Erikssonbecameknownas“CaptainPierre”becausetheSpaniardscouldnot

say“Pelle.”AxelPetterssoncamebackfromhisshockandreturnedtothefront,buttoanothercompany.Therewouldbemanyworsecases.Itdidnottakemuchto lead to symptoms that varied from complete apathy to rage beyond allconsciousnessandcontrol.

The February battle of Jarama ended with no decisive victor. Franco hadadvanced about ten kilometers, but failed to reach his goal: the road fromValencia to Madrid. The cost was high with about ten thousand dead andwoundedontheRepublicansideand6,000ontheFrancoside.99

AgainstMussolini’sBlackshirtsThenextmajorbattleintheSpanishCivilWarstartedjustaweekafterJarama.On 8March 1937 Franco’s goal againwas to surroundMadrid, but this timefromthenortheast.TheNationalistspinnedtheirhopesonaSpanish-MoroccandivisionandnolessthanfourItaliandivisions.Threeofthelatterweremadeupof “Blackshirts” (Mussolini’s party militia). Mussolini was sure of victorybecausehiswarriors had combat experience fromEthiopia andhad just easilytakenMálaga.

TheRepublicanswereonlyabletomusterthreedivisionstomeettheattack.ThepartlySwedish“ErnstThälmann”and“EdgarAndré”Battalionsbothwerepart of the Eleventh International Brigade, which belonged to the EleventhDivision.100TheSwedesweretakenbytruckstotheforwardedgeofthebattlearea up on a plateau called Guadalajara on platforms mounted on transporttrucks. Leading the enemy force were armored cars, light tanks, and themotorizedBlackshirtDivision“TheBlackFlames.”

The first thing that Per Eriksson saw when he arrived was his own side’scavalry in flight from Italian tanks. “We got them [our cavalry] to stop bythreateningthemwithourweapons,andwhenthey’dcalmeddownwegotthemto turn around and return to the front.” It was “Edgar André” that first wasengagedincombat.SixtenOlssonhadjustcheckedhisequipmentwhenallhellbrokeloose:

Spadeswerenotavailableinsufficientnumbers—wedugourselvesdownwithbayonetsasmuchaswecouldmanageandscoopedsoilwithourhelmetsandhandsfordearlife.Everylittlestonewasutilizedwithurgentloveandsoonwehadasmallbankforprotectionforourheadsaswellasthelastammunitionboxes.Whatwasimportantnowwasbullets…lotsof

bullets!AftertwentyminutestheFascistswereoverus.Wefiredwildly,pouringoutstreamsofleadintothesurging,graylines.Twoofourautomaticweaponsconstantlyjammed,buttheothersixfiredoffroundafterrounduntilthesteamrosetoformacloudoverthepositions.Theassaultwasstoppedwithagroaningeffort…theinfantrymenburnedtheirfingersontheglowinghotriflebarrels.101

PerEriksson’s company,number three in “ErnstThälmann,”was allotted apart of the front together with the anti-Fascist Italians in the battalion, whichfought under the name of the Italian freedom fighter and hero GiuseppeGaribaldi.102AtGuadalajarathegroundwasevenmoresterileandhardtoworkthanatJarama.Theterrainhadbeendestroyedbyclearcuttinganderosion.TheSwedes knew that the loose stones around them could be as dangerous asshrapnelinanexplosion,butstillchosetobuildstoneprotectivewallsinfrontofthemselves rather than to lie unprotected. Eriksson remembered anotherdifficultybeforethebattle:

Wegotadrawnmapofourportionofthefront,butitwasveryhardtomakesenseofit.Forthatreasonwefailedtomakecontactwiththe“EdgarAndré”Battalion…agaparose.…The“ErnstThälmann”Battalionshouldbeinthemiddle,withthe“Garibaldi”Battalionontherightflankandthe“EdgarAndré”Battalionontheleftflank.Wegotperfectcontactwithourrightflank,with“Garibaldi.”Wewerethentoestablishcontactwiththe“EdgarAndré”Battalion.Wesentoutapatrolthatshouldhavemadecontactwiththem,butwewerenotabletomakecontact,sotherewasabroadcanalbetweenusthatwasnotatallundersurveillance.ItwasjusttherewheretheItalianFascistscameandattackedthe“EdgarAndré”fromtherearandtherewereverymanykilled.103

Howcanoneleadincombatwithoutapropermapandnotevenbinocularsoraflashlight?ItwassoseldomthattheSwedeshadaccesstobinocularsthatPerEriksson remembers exactly how HermanWohlin succeed to get a binocularthroughCaptain BjarneNatt ochDag, the only Swedish career officer on theside of the government, and the chief of personnel at the Swedish-NorwegianmilitaryhospitalinAlcoy.104HermanWohlinwasatthattimeincommandofafew Swedes in another of “Ernst Thälmann’s” companies where the othernationalitieswereGermanandDanish.HarryEricssonfromGävlerememberedofhis timewithWohlinatGuadalajara that in thebeginning they lackedeven

thesimplestweapon,“onewaiteduntilsomebodywaskilled,thenyouwouldbeabletotakehisrifle.”105

Sixten Olsson had just run around in vain searching for armor piercingammunitionwhenseveralItaliantanksfiredmethodicallyatthepositionsoftheSwedes.Olssonhearda“Lord,theyblewthemachineguntohell”andwentinthedirectionofthevoice:

Theroundhitinthemiddleofthemachinegun,toreapartthewholemechanismandtookmostofBruno’shands,too,astheywereholdingtheweapon.Machinegunnernumbertwo,KarlDahlström,wastransformedintoanindefinablemassoutofwhichonecouldonlydiscernhisnarrowfaceandanuglytorn-uphandthatwasstillholdingontoanammunitionbelt.Somethingformlessmovedandmumbledinamushymanner—itwasBrunobeginningtocometolifeandhepokedinconfusionattheremainsofhiscomrade.WithsomeweaknessIgothimonhisfeetandboththeSwedishaidmenstumbledforwardoverstumpsandshellholestohelphim.Helookedjustterrible…bloodflowingoverhisfaceandpumpingoutfromwhereoncehehadtwopowerfulandtoughworkershands.Hecouldwalk,though,andonlyneededalittlehelpgettotheclosestmedicalstation.…IsentamantotheDanishmachine-gunpositionwiththeordertomoveimmediatelytoalocationsixtymetershigherupandtotheright.OnthewayhemetPederPedersen,whodeliveredareportthatoneoftheirpositionshadreceivedadirecthit,KurtAnderssonhadbeenblowntobits,andEinarHansenhadhadhisfacecutaway.Withthehighestpossiblespeedwemovedtheremainingguntothereservepositionthatwehadalreadyestablished,andplacedourselvesaroundit.Thefieldoffirewasworsethanbefore,butwehadtomakedowithwhatwehad.106

The fallenKarlDahlströmhad led theSKP inEslöv.KurtAndersson fromGothenburghadbeen theSKUdistrict leader.107“Thewar isworse thanIhadimagined”saidnewlyarrivedKnutBjörktoSixtenOlssonthatevening.

Shortly before sunrise on 12 March the Interbrigaders placed white clothstrips in front of their rifle trenches so that theywould be seen from the air.When the sun arose Soviet fighter aircraft came and bombed the Nationalistpositionsandstrafedthemwithmachine-gunfire.TheSwedeshadheardthattheplaneswereflownbySoviet,American,andFrenchpilots,andwavedwildlytothem.Theairsupportcouldnothavecomeatmoreopportunemoment.JustthatdaytheItalianshaddecidedtopauseintheoffensiveandrecover.Theweather

alsosupportedtheRepublic.TheItalianAirForcehadgreatproblemstakingoffbecause of flooded airstrips. The truck-mounted Italian infantry units weregreatlyhinderedbymud.

The entire Eleventh Division now launched a counterattack, supported bySoviettanks.ItfirstretookthetownofTrijuequewithabayonetassault.Inthetwilight the “Garibaldi” Battalion seized the palace at Ibarral. On that day,however, Knut Björk and Harry Thunström were taken prisoner. They wereprobablythefirstSwedestobecaptured.Thereisnoinformationonthembeingimprisoned. It is likely that theywere executed at the front.Björk hadbeen afrequentpublicspeaker in thesquarenicknamed“RedSquare” inGothenburg.The Swedish police had on one occasion issued a warrant for him for hisincitementagainsttheGothenburgNazis.HewasalsotheonewhoorganizedthefirsttransportsofvolunteersfromGothenburg.108

The next night Per Eriksson’s company advanced through brushwood andmeltingsnow. In theearlymorninghourshenoticed that the flankshad fallenbehindsohecalledahalt toallow them tocatchup.At thesamemoment thecompany came under artillery fire. Eriksson understood that the fire was notdirected and soon the shells began falling in another sector.Machine-gun firereplaced the shells, however, so Eriksson thought their best course of actionwouldbetoattack.Hecriedout“adelante!”(forward!)andorderedthenearestmachineguntoreturnfire.

Through the underbrush, from the opposite direction came Italian enemysoldiers,withweaponsanduniformssurprisinglyliketheirown.Inthehand-to-handcombat that followed,Erikssonwasshot through the leg,butwasable tocontinue.Henoticedthatthecompany’snewlyarrivedSpaniardswerehesitantorbegantoturnandretreat.ItwasthenthatErikssoncriedout“¡Nopasarán!”(Theyshallnotpass!)asneverbefore.Therewasnomistakingthatorderandithadavisibleeffect.

There was more close combat and Eriksson was wounded in the hand.Despiteeverythingtheforwardmovementcontinued.Erikssonthereaftercarriedback one of his German platoon commanders, and returned with a medic tohandletheseverelywounded.Afterafurthernightintheopenairunderafrozenblanketthemeninhiscompanyforcedhimtoseekmedicalattentionforhisownwounds.HestayedaweekinaDutch-Americanfieldhospital.109

After Guadalajara, only two of an original thirty men remained in SixtenOlsson’s Scandinavian section in “Edgar André.”110 The Norwegian authorNordahlGrieg visited at that time to attend a remembrance ceremony for the

fallenScandinaviansandwroteinhisbook,Frihetochlivärett(Freedomandlifeisone)(1983),abouthowonesaidfarewelltothedead.Afterashortspeechabout keeping the strugglemoving forward the audience raised their fists andsang.111

Still,thebattleofGuadalajarawasaclear-cutRepublicanvictory,becausetheRepublicans both pushed the strong Italian forces back and captured enoughweapons to equip two entire divisions.TheRepublicanpropagandists had twogoals:tobringtheoutcomeofthebattletotheattentionoftheworld’spress,andtodrawattentiontothefactthattheoverwhelmingmassofenemysoldierswerenot Spaniards. The Italian Expeditionary Corps in Spain—a total of 80,000during the war—lost about 5,000 men killed and wounded in action atGuadalajara.112

For theSwedes in“ErnstThälmann” theconquestof the Italian fooddepotbecameareasonforagrandfeast.FolkeLiljegrenreportedtoSixtenOlsson:

Butter,bread,cheese,milk,preserves,salads,andsmallfilledcakesfilledeverycornerofmyinsidesandwonderfuleffervescentwinecausedmetosendacompassionatethoughttothosepoorthirstycreaturesattheOperaCellarRestaurant[thetopgourmetrestaurantinStockholm].113

ThegeneralstaffsinEuropedrewverydifferingconclusionsfromthebattle.TheItalianshadwantedtostrikeanarmoredwedgeintotheRepublicanforcesin best Blitzkrieg sprit, but they failed. Many British and French observersthought that this showed that the tank arm did best to play its old role as asupportingforcetotheinfantry.

TheGermans knewmore; specifically how indecisive the attacking Italianshad been and how poorly they had prepared for the new high-speed war ofmaneuver they had desired to wage. The German military, therefore, did notdrawthesameconclusionaboutthebestwaytoemployarmorunits.

ThreeoftheSovietadvisorsatGuadalajarawouldlaterbecomemarshalsoftheRedArmy.One of them,KirillMeretskov,would direct the Soviet attackagainstFinlandin1939.114

WhenPerErikssonreturnedtohiscompanyhesensedabadmood.Thedayafter the great victory two German officers had brusquely awakened thecompany.Thecompanywasordered tostand forauniform inspectionand thescoldingthatfollowedgreatlyupsettheSwedes.Thosewhoopenlyshowedtheirdispleasure were arrested and chargedwithmutiny, whichwas punishable by

death. According to Eriksson those who remained were very clear in theircriticism, “All the comrades asked with one voice to be transferred from the‘Ernst Thälmann’ Battalion to the Navy. ‘We are not fit to be soldiers,’ theysaid,‘especiallynotGermanones’.”115

The entire battalion was present for the following crisis meeting whereErikssondescribedhowheaccountedforthecombatrecordsofthosewhowerearrested and “demanded democratic discipline instead of parade-grounddiscipline.” Eriksson knew that for a long time there had been deep criticismamong the Swedes about the German view of discipline, but he chose not todwellonthatanyfurther,inordertoavoidanevengreatercrisis.

TheBattalionCommissar,withalmost equalpower to theunit commander,spokeout.HesidedwithErikssonandproposedthatthosearrestedbereleased.Erikssonthenheldaprivatemeetingwithhiscompany.“WhatmattersnowistonotstarthatingGermans,Isaid.…OurGermancomradesaregoodpeople,thatweknow.Theoccasional idiotandzealotonefindsinallunits.Wedecidedtostay.”116Erikssondidnotmention,however,thathismenwouldagainseektobereassigned from “Ernst Thälmann” and several months later they, in fact,succeededinthis.

TheSwedes inSpainknew ingeneralwhatwasgoingon in theworld.ByFebruary1937therewasalreadyanewssheetmadefortheScandinaviansintheInterbrigades.Thenewssheet’schiefeditorwasLiseLindbaek,acorrespondentforaNorwegiannon-socialistnewspaper.Thesheetwassopopularitwasreadto pieces.117 Eventually the Swedish Communist newspapers Ny Dag andStormklockanalsoreachedthevolunteers.

After the debacle at Guadalajara, Franco’s German advisors told him toconcentrate onweaker points along the front line. Spain’s northern coast, theBasquearea,wasstillinthehandsoftheRepublicansinthespringof1937,butseparated from the core area of the Republic (which was along the southeastcoast).Also,therewerenoInterbrigadesinthenorth.

TwoSwedishvolunteerswithaSoviet45mmantitankgun,probablyinthesummerof1937atBrunete.HarryEricsson(left)fromGävlewasoneofthelongest-servingSwedesinSpain(fromJanuary1937untilJanuary1939)fightingbothasaregularsoldierandasapartisan.“HarrySvensson”(right)isprobablyJohn

Svensson.(StigBerggren’sarchive,LaborMovementArchive,Sweden)

Franco followed theGermanplan,whichcalled for theCondorLegion, theGerman volunteer air force in Spain, to play a decisive role. The CondorLegion’s bombing of the Basque region had a big impact on world opinionbecause of the storm it raised in the press. The bombings even affectedcontemporaryartthroughPicasso’smonumentalworktocommemoratethefateoftheBasquecityofGuernica.BymidsummerthenorthofSpainwaslost,buttheattentionoftheworldpressgavetheSwedesinSpainhopethatperhapstheRepublicwouldgetmoresupportfromabroad.

Erikssonhadonlybeenatemporarycaptainduringthewinter’sfighting.Nowhewas thefirstSwedetobesent to theofficers’school located inPozorrubio,near Albacete. The school had four departments: for German, Slavic, French,andEnglishspeakers.ErikssonwassenttotheGerman-speakingbarracks.

FromAndalusiatoBruneteAfterGuadalajarasergeantSixtenOlssonwasplacedintheweaponsworkshopof the Interbrigades, where eightmen from seven nations repaired everythingfrom the most twisted Soviet machine guns to Japanese carbines and antiqueAmericanrevolvers.Olssonfeltathome,weaponstechnicianthathewas.Likesix other Swedes inAlbacete, however, he chose inMay 1937 to jump at anoffertotojointhenewantitankunits.

ThenewantitankweaponsturnedouttobebrandnewSoviet45mmantitankguns and Olsson’s experience with naval guns was advantageous for him.118AfterthreeweeksofintensivetraininganantitankbatterywasassignedtoeachInterbrigade.AnAustrian,FirstLieutenantWagner,becamebatterycommanderfortheSwedes.Thebatteryhadthreeguns:onewiththeSwedesunderOlsson,one with Bulgarians, and one with Austrians. The battery was sent to theThirteenth Interbrigade (later “Dabrowski”) in the most southern region,Andalusia.

AttheendofMaythebatteryarrivedinthesmallbattle-damagedvillageofValsequillo.AnofficerfromtheChapayevBattaliontookOlssonandtheothergun commanders to the most forward line and showed them appropriatepositions for the battery. Up on a small hill Olsson stumbled across a smallScandinavian unit he had not heard about. Its chief was one sergeant EvertErikssonwhospokeunmistakableGothenburgdialect.Intheheatofthemiddaysun the redbeardedErikssonwore only swimming trunks, a steel helmet, andsandals, and carried something similar to a blunderbuss. Evert “Robinson”Eriksson told about tough combat withMoroccans on a mountaintop nearby.Aftermanyweeksnowithadbeencomparativelyquiet.Olsson’sbatterymovedintopositioninordertostopapossibleforwardthrustbytankforces,however,soonthey,too,wentovertothegeneralslow“vacation”pace:

Thedayspassbyinabsolutequiet.NowandthenwemeetwiththeotherScandinavianswhomwereachbyatwenty-minute-longhike.Themosttimeiskilledwithpokerandloudrantingabouttheheat,thefleas,thethistles,andthevegetationingeneralwithallitsthornyqualities.Folkegrowsamoustache,Connygrievesoverhisdog,andtallPaulandSiggeentertainoneanotherwithallthedevilishthingsthatdigestiondisorderscanproduce.Severalweeksslipbyinamonotonousdullness,butlateone

eveningthebatterycommanderrushesinandgivesanordertoimmediatelypreparefordeparture.Aftersuchalongperiodofinactivitywefindithardtoworklikecrazy,butwegetthereintime,bytheskinofourteeth.119

Guadalajarahadgivenan incentive to theRepublicanmilitary leadership toswitchtooffensiveoperations.Theychosetoattackon7JulyatBrunete,westofMadrid.ThegoalwastomakeamajorpenetrationintoFranco’sSpainandforcethebesiegedforcesinMadridtoretreat.

SixtenOlsson’santitankgroupmadeitsfirstcombatcontributionduringthisoffensive. No enemy armored vehicles showed themselves, so their mainmissionwastotakeoutmachine-gunemplacements.

Itwas the first time ina longwhile for theSwedes to seeSpaniardsas theenemy, not Spanish Moroccan troops, but ethnic Spaniards. The RepublicanSpaniardswhowerewiththeSwedes“releasedastormofnationalisticrage”onthe prisoners they took and Olsson was very troubled for the “unfortunateFalangistprisoners.”Theywere,however,allowedtoleavethebattlefieldalive.CoulditbethattheirsurvivalwasaresultofOlsson’spresence?

TheRepublicanoffensivewashaltedafterhavingadvancedsomekilometers.Franco’s forceshadbrought forward reinforcements and their aircraft attackedwith full force. The hot and dry battlefield was filled with the indescribablyhorriblestenchofthousandsofcorpses,botholdandfresh.TheNationalistshadalreadyforsomebeenusingtheareaasaburialsite.

The Scandinavian company that had previously been part of “ErnstThälmann”wasorderedtostoptrainingandrelocatetoahillnorthofBrunete.The temperature on the battlefield at this time was on average 104 degreesFahrenheit(40degreesCelsius)duringthedaytimeandFolkeLiljegrenonedaymeasured a temperature of 145degreesFahrenheit (63degreesCelsius) in thesun.ThenewlyarrivedSwedesdiscovered theoldcorpseswhen theydug intothegroundtofindwells.Witheveryattempttheyhitbodyparts,sotheygaveupandwereforcedbytheirimmensethirsttodrinkcognac.

TheScandinaviancompanydidnotengageingroundcombatatBrunete,butwas able to shootdown twoenemy fighters,with theirGerman (!) antiaircraftmachineguns,accordingtoLiljegren.120HadtheSwedesbeenputintothesamezoneofcombatastheBritishInterbrigaderstheoutcomewouldhavebeenverydifferent:theBritishbattalionlostforty-twomenatBrunete.121

OlleAhlstrand,fromStockholminacamouflagedambulance,Jarama,1937.(StigBerggren’sarchive,LaborMovementArchive,Sweden)

TheCommunistpressproclaimedBruneteasthesecondgreatvictoryfortheRepublicans.Infacttheyhadgainedonlyasmallamountofterritoryatthecostof 25,000 killed andwounded, aswell as the loss of eighty percent (!) of thetanks in theRepublican forces.122 TheNationalist losseswere smaller, 17,000menandfewheavyweapons.

AccordingtomilitaryhistorianAntonyBeevortherewasamassiverefusaltoobeyorderswithintheInterbrigadesduringtheBruneteoffensive.Heclaimsthattherewasaspecialbackupforce,justlikeintheRedArmy,thatwastouseanymeanstohinderretreatandflight.123

WithRepublican“victories”liketheoneatBrunete,Francocouldlooktothefuturewithconfidence.

TheScandinavianBattalion“HansBeimler”BackhomeinSwedena“FrontFighterFund”tosupporttheSwedishtroopsinSpain was born in October 1937. Clothing, shoes, books, chocolates, andcigarettesfortheSwedishsoldierswerepaidbythefund.LateritalsosupportedtheSwedishveteransbypayingfortheirmedicalcare.Insomecasesitprovidedcashtoneedyveterans.ThefundcameaboutonaninitiativebytheSKP,butgotabroaderresponse.Thefund’sfirstmissionstatementwasapprovedandsignedbytwenty-fivelaborunionleaders.

In October 1937 in Spain the Swedes from “Ernst Thälmann” and newly

arrived countrymen were assigned to an Austrian-German battalion with thename“12February”(named inmemoryof theshortbutbloodyAustrianCivilWarof1934).WithinthisbattaliontheSwedishcompanyfoughtindeepsnowand zero degrees Fahrenheit (minus eighteen degrees Celsius) at Teruel, inJanuary1938.124

TheSwedes viewed theAustrians as “more flexible than thePrussians andquickertounderstandthementalityofothers.”125TherewasstillaspontaneouscheerfromtheSwedes,however,whenthebattalionstaffinFebruary1938gavetheordertoestablishthefirstScandinavianbattalioninSpain,bearingthename“Hans Beimler,” who had been a Communist member of the Germanparliament.126

Thirty-year-oldHolgerEkströmbecamethefirstcommanderofthebattalion.HewasfromTorshällanearEskilstuna.Whenhewassixteenhehadgonetoseaand gradually became one of the leading personalities within the SvenskaSjöfolksförbundet(SwedishSeamen’sUnion),inGothenburg.HewasamemberoftheSKPandhadbeenintheSovietUnionforsometime.127InSpainhehadbeenfightingsincethebattleofJarama,andhadbeenwoundedfourtimes.Hewasdescribedas“amanoffewwordsandactuallynotthatlikeable,butahardand excellent soldier.”128 Ekström was promoted from captain to major inconnection with the establishment of the battalion. Ekström’s second incommandwasKarlErnstedt,a formersergeant in theRoyalSveaLifeGuardswhohadjustreturnedfromspecialforcesservicetotheInterbrigades.

The Swedes in “Hans Beimer” were assigned to the 1st Company “GeorgBranting,”namedafteraSocialDemocraticmemberoftheSwedishParliamentwho alsowasChairman for the SwedishAid for SpainCommittee. The othercompanies in the battalion were the mainly Danish 2d Company “MartinAndersen-Nexö,” the Norwegian 3d Company “Egede Nissen,” and the 4thCompany“BuenaventuraDurruti,”madeupofCataloniananarchists.129

On8MarchFrancolaunchedanoffensivetoreachtheMediterraneanbywayofAragon.ThehistoryoftheScandinavianBattalioncouldhavebegunbetter—itstartedwithweeksof retreat throughmountainousandwild terrain.SwedishCommissar Bengt Segerson had to admit his admiration for the oppositionduringthisstage,“Theirabilitytocoordinateair,artillery,andtankswassecondtonone.ItwasarealtriumphforGermanmilitarytechnique.”130

KarlErnstedtreportedtoGöstaAnderssonhowafteronlyaweekincombathewasforcedtotakeoverfromHolgerEkström,“Wewereoutridingatruckon

reconnaissancewhenhewasinstantlykilledbyshrapnel.”131ThefollowingletterfromKarlErnstedtdescribeswhatfollowedinaletterto

afriend:

Spain,30March1938DearComrade!Thankyouforyourletter,whichIgotseveralweeksago.HereIhave

nothadtimetowritebeforenow.Yousee,IhaveexperiencedamassiveFascistoffensive.Justnowwehavedefinitelystoppedit.Theyshallnotgetanyfurther.Theircalculationwastogetnearthecoast.Andtheyhavepouredinahugenumberofmenandmateriel.Massesofheavybombersannihilateeverythingintheirpath.Heavycaliberartilleryfirefollowsinthewakeoftheairattack.Andthencomemassesoftanks.AllItalian.

Underthedreadfulpressureofsomuchmaterielwewereforcedtomovebackstepbystep.Itwasdifficultmanytimes.OnetimetheFascistsbypassedus…andseizedatowntwentykilometerstoourrear.

Afteraveryadventuroustrip,alongmarchoverthemountains,wearrivedatthenewdefensiveline.TheFascistsalmosthadussurrounded,however.JustbeforetheiroffensivebeganwesucceededinbuildingaScandinavianbattalion.Wefeelveryproudaboutit.DuringtheoffensivetheScandinaviansperformedexcellently,asalways,eveniftheoffensivedidnotgointhedirectionwedesired.Wehavenotlostfaithinvictorybecauseofthis,though.Ifthistimetheyhavebeenabletogoalittleforward—thatdoesnotchangethatthereisintenseworkgoingoneverywheresothatthefinalvictorywillbeours.AlloftheSpanishpeopleandtheSpanishArmyareunitednottocompromisebuttocontinuethewar.

Myself,Iamnowinahospitalbed.Havegottenaninguinalherniaonmyrightside.Imustcontinuetoliehereatleastthreeweekssaidthedoctor—yes,timeistorment.IthasbeensixteenmonthssinceIleftSweden.Beginningtofeelrundown.Wouldbenicetohavesomevacation.Weshallseehowitgoes.NowmustIwriteasquicklyaspossiblesoIcangetthenextletterwhileIamstillhere.…Salud,Kalle132

WhenKarl(Kalle)ErnstedtcamebacktotheScandinavianbattalionitwassobadly hit that only one-fourth of the men were ready for combat. All

ScandinaviansthatsurvivedthedefeatatAragonwereassembledunderErnstedtin the company “Georg Branting.” Thus the company was now moreScandinavianthanSwedishincharacter.133

Inthesummerof1938theRepublicwassplitintwo.ThecoastlinebetweenValencia andBarcelonawasnowcontrolledbyFranco. Inorder to relieve thepressure on Valencia, and with the view to retake the entire south coast, theRepublicangovernmentputeverything intoonestrike:anattackover theEbroRiver.SixtythousandRepublicansoldierswerecommittedtotheattack.

Sixten Rogeby wrote about the hours just before the attack, “There was agoodatmosphereinthecompanystaffthenightbeforethecrossing.…Itwasnotbadinthetrencheseither,buttheboyswereobviouslyrun-down.Therewasnobread and not any redwine either. The only food thatwas offeredwas blacklentils,cookedinwater.Baddysenteryreducedtheirstrength.”134Earlier therehadalwaysbeenplentyoffood,evenifithadbeenweirdormonotonous.

The same night rangers of the Republic’s new special unit, the FourteenthSpecial Corps, were sent over the Ebro River where they silently eliminatedFranco’s watch posts and attached ropes for the pontoon bridges and assaultboats. They then infiltrated further into enemy formations, to attackheadquarters,seizecriticaltransportationjunctions,andconductambushes.135

The first ordinarybattalion to cross the river just before sunriseon25 Julywas “Hans Beimler.” It is not clear if its Scandinavian company “GeorgBranting”wentas theveryfirst,asmanyhavestated,but ifnot, itwas tightlybehindthefirstcompanytocross.136

Ebro veteran sergeant Carl Gösta Hjärpe has stated that “Georg Branting”advanced twenty-five kilometers in the first twenty-four hours.137 HjärpereachedahighpointsohecouldseeallthewaytotheplainofBatea,whichtheyhadbeenforcedtoleaveduringthespringretreat.

Ingeneral,theoffensivestartedwell.TheRepublicanEbroArmytook4,000prisonersandlargequantitiesofequipmentonthefirstday.Massiveartilleryfireand the Spanish Foreign Legion, however, stopped the advance and remindedeveryone about the weaknesses of the Republican Army. It did not havesufficient supplies, especially ammunitionand food.Thewoundedhad towaitfortransportforuptotwelvehours.AtthesametimeFranco’ssidewasabletoget all the supplies itneeded.Franco’sair superioritywasalsogreat,which isapparentfromthefollowingextractfromSwedishsignallerKarlStaf’sdiary:

2August

Theworstnight.FourtimestheFascistsattacked.Everythingisjustabigmess.Twoviolentairattacksagainstthetown[Corbera]followed.Mortarandbeamswhirlaroundskyhigh.

18AugustInthenightIinstalloursignalshighupinamountaincrevicenextto

thefront.Weareshotatbyartilleryandaircraft.Nolosses,butallthelinesweresmashed.

20AugustHeavyfightingallnight.Inthemorningourplanesbombedtheirlines

andweremetbyhellishantiaircraftfirethatleftlargeblackclouds.…Twohourslateranenemysquadronoftwenty-fourJunkerbombersandsixteenfightersareoverusandforthefirsttimewerecognizethenotoriousStukas.Twentyplanesfromahighaltitudewentsharplydownandinaroaringdivethatmakesyoufeelasifaknifeisrippingupyourback,evenbeforetheyreleasetheirbombs.…Andagainstthemonlysomemiserablemachine-gunfire.

21AugustSamehell.JunkerbombersandthosedevilishStukas.…

12SeptemberUnderaerialbombardmentalldaylong.

23SeptemberFinallyrelief,finally.…InadazeIthinkIhear“brigadas

internacionalesseranretiradas,”butittakesafewsecondsbeforeIunderstandthemeaning.Astrangefeelingsweepsoverme.Afeelingoflightnessmixedwithdistress.…Coulditreallybetrue,thatthevolunteersshallbewithdrawn?138

Therumorwastrue.TheRepublic’sgreatoffensiveovertheEbroRiverhadledtoaminorgainofterrain,butzeroandnothingcameofitinthelightofthedryingupoftheArmy’soffensivepower.TwoofthreeRepublicansdied,werewounded, or captured at the EbroRiver.Among the Scandinavians the losseswereevengreater.

KarlErnstedt,whohadsurvivedsomanydangerousspecialoperations,diedinafreakaccidentontheseconddayoftheEbrooffensive.Hewasstandingonarailwayembankmentandwasabouttohelpupacomrade.Tobepulledup,the

soldiergaveErnstedthisrifle.Ernstedtgrabbedtheriflebarrelandpulledupthesoldierwithit.Butinthemiddleofthismovementthesoldiersomehowtouchedthetrigger.AbulletwentsidewaysthroughErnstedt’schest.139

A Finnish lieutenant took temporary command over “Georg Branting”;subsequently two Austrians led the company a day or two. One of theseAustrians,HansBaier,disappearedby“DeathHill.”140WhenCommissarBengtSegersson took over and he, too, was ordered to take “Death Hill” he flatlyrefused, stating that he had “the responsibility for nearly one hundredScandinavians. I will not squander them away on some clownish attack.”Segersson was arrested by two German officers and taken to the brigadecommander, a Hungarian called Otto Flatter whose real name was FerencMünnich.(HehadservedintheRedArmyandtwentyyearslaterhebecametheprime minister of Hungary.) Segersson was threatened with execution andescortedbacktohisunit,stillunderarrest,sothathemightshowhowdifficultthe situation was. Segersson attacked with the Germans watching. TheScandinavianscameunder immediateheavyfireandSegerssonwashitso thathemade a somersault. The attackers had threewounded and retreated, then aDutchofficerintervened.ThearrestwasterminatedandSegerssonwasallowedtoseekcare forhiswounds.Hecontinued topickoutpiecesof shrapnel fromhimselftwenty-fiveyearsaftertheincident.

The last companycommanderwas sergeantCarlGöstaHjärpe fromLöa inthe province of Västmanland. He summarized his time as commander of the“company” thus forNy Dag’s reporter, “When we regrouped in Falsett therewere three, I say threeScandinavians left in the ‘GeorgeBranting’ company.”Hjärpe told author Göte Nilsson thirty years later, “When I arrived there Iexpectedtomeetseveralfromthecompany,butnoonecameexceptNielsenandtheboywhowouldbringusourmeals,Jönsson.Theothers,theentirecompany,weredeadorwounded.”141

TheRepublicansplayedtheirverylastcard.Inadesperateattempttorevivethe nonintervention agreement that up to thenhadnot helped, the governmentdeclaredthattheInterbrigadeswouldbewithdrawnanddischarged.ItwashopedthatFrancowouldthendothesamewithhisforeignforces.Thegovernmentalsoinvited in an international military commission to supervise the withdrawal.LieutenantColonelOlofRibbingwiththeRoyalMountedLifeGuardsbecameoneofthecommission’stwoSwedishmembers.Ribbingreported:

Withouttheslightestdoubtitcanbesaidthattheinternationalvolunteers

hadplayedaveryimportantroleintheSpanishWar.Inatimeofrevolutionarydisintegrationanddisordertheyhadfromtheverystartconstitutedthediscipline-formingandunitingelementwithoutwhichtheRepublicanmilitaryorganizationnotwouldhavebeenpossibletodevelop.

TheyhadbeenthegoodexamplesfortheSpaniardsinbothindividualbehaviorinthefield,commandandroutines.Regardlessofwhomyouaskedaboutthesethings,theanswerswerethesame.Evenafterthewithdrawalfromthefronttheorderanddisciplineinmanyoftheinternationalgroupswasexemplary.

Thankstothecontributionoftheinternationals,Spanishunitsandindividualsoldiershadacquiredanewformofdisciplineandtheirfieldskillshadbeenimproved,resultinginamilitaryfarbetterthanonecouldhaveexpectedconsideringtherevolutionaryconditions.

“WeSpaniards,”oneoftenheard,“havethroughourbeingtogetherwiththeinternationalistslearnedprimarilyonething,somethingwedidnotunderstandinthefirststageofthewar,namelythesignificanceofanironharddisciplineandgoodorganization.”Andthenpeoplewouldadd,“andthatthismayverywellbecombinedwiththerevolutionaryideas.”142

ThefinalremarksthatLieutenantColonelRibbingwroteseveralmonthslaterarestillinlargemeasurevalidtoday:

SovietRussiahadactedtoobrusquelyandsoughttoputtheSpanishGovernmentunderitscontrol.Thisincreasedtheunwillingnessofthe[Spanish]populationtofollow.WhentheSovietleadershiprealizedthis,itbegantoliquidateallofitsinvolvementinRepublicanSpain.

Byearly1938therewasnotmuchleftofSovietinvolvement.SomeRussianwarmaterialwascertainlystillthere[but]theSoviet-

Russianpersonnelthathadnotbeenkilledorcaught,hadbeencalledbacktoRussia.

FortheSpanishGovernmentitwasnowofhighestimportancetosignalachangeofsystem,insuchaclearmanner,soastoenablecloserrelationswiththeWesternEuropeandemocracies,especiallyFrance.Partofthispolicywasthereturnoftheinternationalvolunteers[emphasisintheoriginal].PresidentNegrínstatedtotheCommissioninDecember,that“thesendinghomeofthevolunteersmeansthatlasttietointernationalcommunismhasbeensevered.”143

Thefollowing,andprobablylast,letterwrittenbycompanycommanderKarlErnstedt,might also have been classified as “anti-Soviet slander” (had it beenread by theNKVD) because of its harsh criticism of the political control andbureaucracyoftheInterbrigades:

Ihaveafeelingthatyouhavenotfullyunderstoodthesituation.Ithasbeenfalselyportrayed,notleastthroughsomeidiotic[published]lettersfromthefrontabouttheScandinavianbattalion,andsoforth.ThefactisthatwehavehadnoScandinavianinfluenceneithertherenorinotherplaces.TheScandinavianshavebeeneitheratthefrontorwoundedorsickinhospitals.Theywereneverabletogetanyhighpositions,positionswheretheycouldhavehelpedororganizedfortheothers.Formyownpart,Ihadacertainreputation,butwastoolonginspecialforcestobeknownamongtheinfluentialoldguysbackinthe“hinterland.”YoushouldknowthatIdidwhatIcouldtokeepthemoraleupandingeneralhelptheScandinavians,butIjustwasnotabletodoeverything.Iunderstandthatthe“others”(theParty,andsoon)holdmeandtheotherofficersandrepresentativesresponsibleforthecomrades,thesoldiers,butnowhaveIwaitedforfourteendaysfortransportationtotakemetothebattalion.Andthewaitcontinues.Why?Becausethereisnopersonherewithpoliticalinfluencewhocanexplainhownecessarymypresenceisatthefront.…144

TheSwedish-NorwegianFieldHospitalIn Sweden the Swedish Aid for Spain Committee (SHfS) was officiallyestablished on 9 October 1936. The Committee was formed by well-knownSocial Democrats under the chairmanship of Georg Branting, a lawyer andSocial Democraticmember of the Riksdag (parliament). Representatives fromtheSKP,SP,andSACjoinedtheCommittee.TheCommitteeeventuallyhadnolessthan431localcommittees!145SHfSwasnotmeanttosupporttheSwedishvolunteers,butwasneverthelesshighlyvaluedbytheInterbrigaders,asisclearfrom the fact that themost-Swedish-dominated company in Spainwas namedafterGeorgBranting.

WhentheideaofaSHfS-organizedSwedish-NorwegianfieldhospitalfortheRepublic was to be realized experts were assigned through the SwedishDepartment of Defense. The Swedish Foreign Ministry generously provided

diplomaticpassportstothefifteenSwedishhospitalpersonnel(normalSwedishpassportshadbeenmadeinvalidforSpain,byaSwedishgovernmentdecision).

ThelargestcontributionoftheSwedishStateforRepublicanSpainwastheSwedish-NorwegianFieldHospitalinAlcoy.Showninthisphotographfrom1937ismostprobablytheSwedishdoctor,Fridolf

Wingerstrand(center,whitecoat).Immediatelytotheleftofhimstandshispatient,BrunoFranzén.Theothersprobablybelongtotheguardforceforthehospital.Thebuilding,relativelyunchanged,isnow

(2009)usedasatechnicalhighschoolforAlcoy.(PerEriksson)

ThefirstchiefofthehospitalinAlcoywasNilsSilfverskiöldwhohadbeenengaged in Committee work from the start. The hospital was provided withnecessaryequipmentsuchasfurniture,surgicalinstruments,areservelogisticalsupplyoffood,andsixvehicles.Fromthebeginningitwasintendedtohandle125patients,buttheSpanishGeneralStaffmedicalsectionwantedtoseeamuchlarger capacity hospital, at least for 1,200 persons. In the end it became 650beds.ThehospitalwasinauguratedinApril1937,andinAugustthesameyearthe management of the hospital was handed over to the Republic by GeorgBranting.

At the end of the war the hospital was bombed seven times by Italian

bombers and finally was abandoned.146 Bertil Lundvik stated in his doctoraldissertation on Sweden and the Spanish Civil War that the Swedish ForeignMinistrywasawareofthebombingsanddeterminedthatitwasdoneonpurposebut chose not to inform the press out of consideration for the diplomaticrelationshipwithItaly.

Swedish Army Captain and nobleman Bjarne Natt och Dag was both thesupply officer and chief of personnel at Alcoy. He was the only professionalSwedish officer in Spain from 1936 to 1939 before the arrival of LieutenantColonelRibbing.LikealltheotherstaffattheScandinavianhospital,however,hewasinSpainasacivilian,sentoutbytheSHfSandformallywiththestatusofadiplomat.Nevertheless,liketheotherScandinaviansatthehospital,healsowas given amilitary rank in the regular SpanishArmy upon arrival.MedicalgraduateErikRabo,oneoftheSwedishdoctorsatthehospital,receivedtherankof lieutenant and he supposed that Natt ochDagwasmade a colonel.147 ThemilitaryrankswereawayofthankingtheSwedesforthevaluablecontributiontheymadefortheSpanishArmy.

Natt ochDag got an overview of themilitary situation in Spain,which hethendescribedforthebenefitoftheSwedishArmedForcesuponhisreturn:

Itgladdenedtheheartofaprofessionalmilitarymantoheartimeaftertimefromthediscerningcirclesinthisverydemocraticlandthatithadbeennecessarytofinallyacceptalltheoldmilitarydogmasandmethods.IalsobearwitnesstothefactthatonelearnedtousethesemethodsinsuchawaythatbackinSwedenalargenumberofpeoplewoulddecrythemasPrussiandrill.148

In total the Swedish-Norwegian Hospital performed 1,200 operations. NattochDagdescribedthefirsteffortsofthehospital:

InthebeginningofMayourhospitalwasreadytoreceivethefirstwoundedpatients.TheywereasmallandbadlyknockedaboutlotfromtheCordovaFront.Theadministrativeprocessingintookthreehoursforthesefirstthirty-fourpatients.Amonthlaterwewereabletoprocessa100to150patientsinfifteentothirtyminutes,evidenceasgoodasanyofwhathowmuchroutinematters.149

NattochDagexplainedhowwhenhetraveledtoSpainhewas“atfirstveryskeptical”abouttheSpanishgovernment.Aftersometimeinthearea,however,

hebecamemorepositivetowardsthegovernment.LikeHamiltoninhisreport,he emphasized how catastrophic the Republican attack tactics were, “Combattraining was clearly marked by the thesis that only the attack leads to finalvictory.Thatis,bytheway,significantfortheSpanishtemperament.”

The trencheswere locatedwithinwalkingdistance fromAlcoyandCaptainNatt ochDag studied them in detail.He could see that the trench systemwasboth comprehensive and occasionally downright luxuriouswith furniture frombombed-outbuildings:“Thesoldiersinthebunkerrelaxedinelegantarmchairsand thewallswere decoratedwithmiscellaneous artwork.”From these absurdliving rooms it was only a stone’s throw to the Franco lines from which theSwedishcaptaincouldhearthe“singingdialectoftheMoors.”

InaRepublicanmachine-gunnestNattochDaggotapoliteinvitationtofireoff somemachine-gun rounds at theMoroccans but declined, because of “theprovisionsoftheGenevaConventionAgreements.ThiswasmostprobablyoneoftheveryfewoccasionsintheSpanishCivilWarwherethenamedagreementshad any practical implications.”150 Serving at the hospital he could only fireupontheenemyinselfdefense,undertheprovisionsoftheGenevaConvention.

NattochDag’scareerseemsnottohavebeendamagedbyhisservicein“RedSpain.”Onthecontrary,hewaspromotedtomajorintheArmyServiceCorpsin1940, and three years laterwas a lieutenant colonel.He ended his career as acolonelandregimentalcommander.151

One can regard the military field hospital in Alcoy as a way to mark thesympathy of the Swedish government and Swedish public opinion for theSpanishRepublicdespitetheagreementonnonintervention.WhentheSwedishandNorwegianpersonnelhadleftthefieldhospitalitbecameamoredangerouslocation, because the ItalianAirForcedecided theyhad the right tobomb theoppositionsoldierswherevertheywere.152

SwedesinSovietSpecialForcesinSpainNineteenSwedesfoughtinSovietspetsnaz(specialforces)inSpain.Theywerenot part of the Interbrigades, and at first not even of the Spanish Republic’sArmedForces.CaptainKarlErnstedtcalledit“theSpecialService.”TheSovietofficerswhocreatedandledtheunits,usedintheirmemoirsthetermspetsnaz,aRussian acronym for voyska spetsialnogo naznacheniya (special purposetroops).153

One of the main sources for Swedes in these units is the autobiography,

Partisaner (Partisans) (1975) by First Lieutenant Gösta Andersson, later amemberofanNKVDgroupinSweden.Theterm“partisan”hasalsobeenusedinotherbooksonthevolunteersinSpain.TheunitthatAnderssonandErnstedtbelongedto,however,doesnotcorrespondtothegeneralwesternunderstandingofthemeaningofpartisanasamemberofaresistancemovementinanoccupiedland.Ontheotherhand“partisan”correspondswithSovietthinking.

Partisans had fought Napoleon in both Spain and Russia. The RussianGeneral Denis Davidov thereafter formulated a set of theses about successfulemployment of partisans. Theywere all based on the idea that partisanswerebest subordinated to the regular forces and should act in support of them.Histhoughts were further developed in the SecondWorld War, when the SovietStateSecurityService(NKVD)andtheRedArmybothsetupasetofunitswhoweresentbehindenemylinesforshortorlongermissions.Someofthesewerecalledpartisans, somerazvedchiki (scouts),whileotherswerecalledspetsnaz.The state-sponsored partisans were generally members of the Komsomol—Communist Youth, who got a quick course in guerrilla warfare, razvedchikibelongedtoArmyorNavyunitswhilespetsnazpersonnelbelongedtoeithertheNKVD or the military intelligence service, the GRU. To make things morecomplicated there were also Soviet partisans that actually fit the westernunderstandingoftheterm:Sovietciviliansandsoldiersontherunwhotookuparms against foreign occupiers. Then, during the course ofWWII there evenappearedanti-Sovietpartisans!

Well then, from a Soviet viewpoint the Swedish “partisans” in Spain,belongedtothatmostspecialcategoryofpartisans:spetsnaz.WhentheSwedesconductedraidsdeepintoFranco-territoryandwouldmeetcivilianstheywouldpresentthemselvesusingtheSpanishtermguerrilleros(guerrillas).ThatisclearfromGöstaAndersson’smemoirs.154

Anderssonhas describedhowhisGerman chief “RickardShenk”presentedthemissionof theunit:“Themissionis toget to theroadsandrailwaysystemandplaceexplosiveswherethedamagewillbegreatest.Thejobisdangerous!”Andersson’scolleagueGustavFridénrememberedthattheywouldalsoseektocapture enemy soldiers who through interrogation could provide valuableinformation.155Themethodwas inSovietparlancecalled“takingtongues.”Atleast on one occasion spetsnaz units in Spain attacked a German airbase anddestroyedthreeaircraft.156

KarlErnstedtwasimmediatelymadecommanderoftheScandinaviangroupwithin the 1st PartisanBattalion. Later he became second in command of the

battalion. When the Swedes joined the unit in early 1937 the battalioncommander was Richard Stahlmann, also known as Andersson’s “RickardShenk.”HewouldlaterresideillegallyinSweden,until1946.StahlmannwentontobecomeacolonelinEastGermanStateSecurity.

TheSwedewhoadvancedfurthestintheRepublican“SpecialService”wasKarlErnstedt(left).HiscommanderRichardStahlmann(originallyArthurIllner)(right),waslateroneofthefoundersoftheEastGermanintelligenceservice.StahlmannwasadirectsubordinatetotheChiefoftheNKVDinSpain.

ErnstedthadpreviouslybeenasergeantwiththeSveaLifeGuards.(MilitärverlagderDDR)

According to the chronicle of the East German Spanish veterans, the 1stPartisan Battalionwas founded and developed despite great skepticism of theSpanish Republic’s military leadership.157 Soviet GRU Colonel IlyaGrigoryevichStarinovwent further in hismemoirs and explained that initiallyveryfewwithintheRepublicanforceswereevenmadeawareofthebattalion’sexistence.

Duringthefallof1937allRepublicanunitsthatconductedspecialoperationswere collected in the 14th Special Corps. The foreign volunteers in specialoperationsinSpainbecamefeweratthesametimetheSpaniardsbecamemore

numerous.The14thSpecialCorps,however,seemstohavebeencontrolledbytheNKVDtotheveryend.

InFebruary1937atleastthirty-threeScandinaviansservedinthe1stPartisanBattalion, according to East German veteran BrunoKühn. The Scandinaviansmadeup the largestgroupbecause thebattalionwasonlyeighty-sevenmen instrength.Itwastraditionwithinspetsnaztocallwhattomostwasacompanyabattalion.Kühndidnot statehowmanyof the thirty-threeScandinavianswereSwedish, but from Gösta Andersson’s book, Partisaner, and interviews withSpanishvolunteersitcanbesurmisedthatleastnineteenSwedishcitizensservedinaspetsnazcapacityinSpainatsomepointbetween1936and1938.

Gösta Andersson remembered his time as a spetsnaz lieutenant with greatpleasure. 158 Comradeship and discipline with Stahlmann differed remarkablyfromhowthingsweredoneintheInterbrigades,accordingtoAndersson.Hehadbeen a Interbrigader during the battle of Jarama. Andersson described theatmosphere as exceedingly informal. “I would sweep the floor sometimesdespitehavingcommandoversixtytoseventymen.”

“Dosomejob”wasAndersson’seuphemismforanoperation.Ten timeshewas behind Franco’s lines. First with Ernstedt as commander, whom hedescribedas“coldasice.”LaterAnderssonhimselfwouldleadoperations.

TheweaponswerebetterthanintheInterbrigades.InadditiontothestandardSovietriflesthemenhadSovietautomaticriflesandCzechmachinepistols.Theminesandother explosives theyhandledwereoftenof anexperimentalmodeland therefore were handled by Soviet officers. Andersson could notcommunicate directly with them, but got help from a Russian speakingcountryman,ArthurKääriäfromKiruna,whohadreceivedofficertrainingintheSovietUnion.

BothGöstaAndersson andGustavFridéndescribed the averagemission aslasting twenty-four to forty-eight hours and out to a range of fifty kilometers.Karl Ernstedt, however, on several occasions carried out raids as far as thePortugueseborder.BothFridénandAnderssonfeltthat“theSpecialService,”astheycalledit,wassaferandmoreinterestingthaninfantrycombat.Thereweretimes of intensive experiences of nature and peace in the middle of theirmissions.Ontheotherhandfourof theSwedishpartisanswerekilled, threeatthesametime,“onanexpeditionintheGuadalajaramountains.”TheywereRolf“theBeard”Aronsson fromGothenburg,EinarKarlsson fromKarlskrona, andBertilLjörnerfromVärmland.159AccordingtoLiseLindbaek,KarlErnstedtwasinspetsnazservicefortenmonthswithoutthelossofasinglesoldierduringthe

missionsforwhichhewasresponsible.160BengtSegerssonwasoneofthosewhowouldratherhavebeenapartisan,but

didnotgetaccepted,“IcertainlyhadagoodfriendwhowasaCommunist,butIwas not organized myself. They took no chances. I could not get into thepartisans.”161Despitethisremark,however,partymembershipdoesnotseemtoalwayshavebeenanabsoluterequirement.162

SvenBrännström, from theProvinceofVästerbotten,officiallybelonged toan antiaircraft battalion—at least that is what his military ID stated—but, hesaid,“thatwasonlyacover,Iactuallybelongedtothepartisans.”163Brännströmat first described his service only very laconically, “Wewent over andminedroads and so forth.… I had done my Swedish conscription service with theengineerssoIwastrainedinmines.”

SvenBrännström,bornin1911,hadresignedinthesummerof1937fromhisjob at the UrsvikenMechanicalWorks outside the northern Swedish town ofSkellefteåtovolunteerforSpain.HespokeGerman,butendedupinaFrench-Belgian battalion.164 Thereafter he was assigned to a unit responsible forprotectingtheforeigndiplomatsinValencia,wheretheRepublicangovernmentwas based. Shortly before Brännström died in 1998 he told historian StefanDalin that after Valencia he was transferred to Barcelona and was directlysubordinate to a Soviet general by the name of Kotov. In time Brännströmlearnedofthe“general’s”publicname,MajorLeonidAleksandrovichEjtingon(realnameNaumIsakovichEjtingon,whowas theviceheadof theNKVD inSpainandheadofspetsnazactivityinthecountry.165BrännströmstatedthathegotthejobbecauseofhisoutstandingmarksintheSwedishArmy.Thenewjobwas to lead a guard detachment at the headquarters of the Soviet militarymissioninSpainandtotrainpersonnelintheuseofexplosives.Ononeoccasion“GeneralKotov”(thatis,L.A.Ejtingon)wasvisitedbyJuanNegrín,thePrimeMinisteroftheSpanishRepublic.WhenNegrínshowedhewasdisturbedbythesmallnumberofguardsonduty,“Kotov”calledforBrännström,whoexplainedtothePresidentthat“itisnotalwaysaquestionofquantity,butratherofquality,andIamSwedishandweSwedesareVikings,sothereisnodanger.”166AfterthatNegríntappedBrännströmontheshoulderandsaid“theneverythingisallright.”

SwedesinValenciain1937.SvenBrännström(thirdmanfromtheright)workeddirectlyundertheSovietNKVDofficerL.A.Ejtiingon.ElofAbrahamsson(tohisleft)wasalsointheSpecialServiceandfrom

Skellefteå,aswasBrännström.TheGermantextonthewalltotherightreads“proletariansinallcountries,unite.”(PerEriksson)

Per Eriksson recalled another, even less well known, side of Brännström’swork.AccordingtoEriksson,Brännströmhadguardedimprisonedmembersofthe Partido Obrero de Unificacio de Marxista (the United Marxist Party)(POUM), the sister party to the Swedish Socialist Party, and the party thatGeorgeOrwellactivelyfoughtforinSpain:

SomeofthesePOUMersweretakenprisoner.AmongthemwasAndré[Andreu]Nin,theleaderforthisgroupthatrevolted.Ididnotknowwhathappened,butIdoknowthatBrännströmforawhilewasguardingthem.Hewasfrightenedfortherestofhislifeafterthatepisode.HewasafraidthattheTrotskyistswouldcomeand.…167

POUMwasclassifiedbyStalinasTrotskyist,and incollusionwithFranco,thereforeStalinwantedthepartyoutlawed.TheSwedishCommunistnewspaperNyDagdulywroteon11March1937:“POUMhasbecomeanorganizationforenemiesof theSpanishpeople.…TobeaTrotskyistmeansbeinganagentforFascism. To defend Trotskyists means having sympathy for the agents ofFascism”andreferredtoTrotskyistactions“intheSovietUnion,inSpain—andinSweden.”

About 200 POUM activists were arrested by the NKVD and its Spanishaccomplices.168POUMleaderAndreuNin—oncethesecretarytoTrotsky—wastortured and executed by the NKVD without his giving any form of“confession.”169 Sven Brännström’s boss, Major Ejtingon, continued to huntdown Trotskyists in other countries and organized the murder of Trotsky inMexicoin1940.TwoyearslaterEjtingonbecametheViceChieffortheNKVDSectionfor“reconnaissance,terror,anddiversionbehindenemylines.”Afterthevictory over Germany he was promoted to major general and served as vicedirectorofSovietnuclearweaponespionage.170

Whatdid theSwedes inRepublican serviceknowabout theNKVDand itspredecessors? In particular what did the Swedes know about the millions ofSoviet citizens that the organization had imprisoned and executed for“sabotage,” politically incorrect viewsormere associationwith “saboteurs” orfreethinkers?171Asearlyasthe1920s,thosewhowishedcouldreadaseriesofreports in the Swedish press on political persecution and terror in the SovietUnion. For example, Anton Karlgren’s articles inDagens Nyheter, Sweden’slargestmorningpaper,gaveafrighteningpictureoftheyoungSovietUnion.172Hispictureislargelyinagreementwithmodernresearch,butatthattimethesearticles were seen by those who would later be volunteers for Spain as“conservativeterrorpropaganda.”OnehastobearinmindthatmostvolunteersweremembersofapartythatwasdirectedbytheCominternandthusMoscow.The newspapers the future volunteers read provided a significantly retouchedpictureofSovietsociety.

Oneoughtalsotobearinmindthattherewasnostrongcorroboratingmediasuch as today’s televisionnews.Someof the futureSpanish volunteerswouldoccasionally listen to Swedish public service radio, but theywould also listen(more) to “TheVoice ofMoscow,” as RadioMoscow’s Swedish servicewasactuallycalled.

In contrast to how the “Soviet comrades” acted in Spain, the SwedishcommuniststhereatleastdidnotexecutetheireightcountrymenwhowerefromtheSocialistParty(SP).ThestaunchthreevolunteersfromtheSPwhochosenotto go over to the SKP and the Interbrigades did, however, experience howMoscow-criticalvolunteersgraduallyweredisarmed.173

Harry Nordblom told the SP paper, Avantgardet, that he was refused thetravel money that the SKP members received when their war service ended.Anothermemberof theSP,YngveAndersson,was struckbycommunistsat a

homecoming celebration in Sweden, according to the same newspaper.174 ThethreesteadfastSPmemberswere,accordingtotheSKP,“deserters.”AccordingtoSwedishForeignMinistrydocumentsnolessthantenSwedesquittheirpostsintheSpanishRepublic.SomeofthembelongedtotheSKPorSKU,butnone,asfarasisknown,totheSP.175

Swedish partisan Gunnar Alm wrote in 1937 new lyrics to Evert Taube’ssong “Fritiof Andersson’s ParadeMarch.”With the new lyrics it became themarch of the First Partisan Company. The following verses are quite tellingaboutthemindsetoftheSwedishCommunistvolunteers:

Withagazelikefireandwithnervethatistemperedlikesteel.WemarchforwardeverypartisanintheheartthehateburnsagainstFascistoutrages.Wegotowardsthefinalgoalhandinhand,toSovietlandwereallareasbrothers

Sowesacrificewithboldcourage,ourlivesinthepeople’sstruggle.Againstoppressionandbarbarism,intheeyethehateisseen.Watchoutyouboldmercenary,andyouFascistpigs,youwillgetnopeace,becauseweseekcombatforustherearenoborders!176

“LaPasionaria’s”BodyguardThe longest livingSwedish company commander in the InterbrigadeswasPerEriksson. He was also a tireless advocate of the volunteers until his death in1997.Eriksson’stimeasacompanycommanderwasshortbecauseitwasclearthathewassuitableforhighertasks.Hewasthentrustedwithsomeofthemostsensitive tasks in all Spain.Eriksson spoke in a relaxedmanner giving detailsabout his time in Spain, but could also be harsh in tone, when the issue ofTrotskyistssurfaced.

Per Eriksson was born in 1907 and grew up in a lineman’s cottage in

KragenäsonSweden’swestcoast.Hismotherwasamidwife.Shehad to takefullresponsibilityforPerveryearlyinhislifeafterhisfatherdiedwhenhewasfour.177EvenasaboyErikssonwassomethingofaworker-leaderaccordingtohisbiographer,ArvidRundberg,inFrisco-Per(1985).Theteacher’sindividualhandling of “finer” boys seemed to have played a roll in his ideologicaldevelopment. After completing his elementary education in Kristinehamn hewantedworkasatelegrapherbutwithout“afriendorrelativewithinthemiddle-class” that was an unattainable dream, according to Eriksson.178 Through achancemeetinghewasabletofindajobasawelderonasteamboat.

After he completed his military conscription in the signal corps Erikssoncontinuedtovisit theharborsof theworldatseaasamotormanandgotmanyimpressions of colonialism, racism and flagrant misery. Discussions at theseamen’s clubs were radical. “Quite simply,most seamen became Reds. ThiswasprobablyaresultoftheworlddepressionandtheforwardmarchofFascism.ThestockmarketcrashonWallStreet in1929evenmorepoliticized life.The1920shadbeenadream.JapanbeganitswarofconquestinChinain1931.”179InthesameyearErikssonjoinedtheSKP.

Inthesummerof1936PerErikssonmetmanypeopleintheSouthAmericanseamen’sclubswhowereontheirwaytothewarinSpain.WhenhelatersignedupinGothenburgthefirstgroupofSwedeswerealreadyontheirwaytoSpainand in thecity’s seamen’sclubsPerwasasked ifhewanted to travelwith thenextcontingent.Hesaidhewantedtothinkaboutit.“Iwasnospeakerorwriter.Theonly thingIcoulddo tohelp takeactionagainstFascismwouldbe tosellnewspapersandsoforth.180SoIthought,‘Okay,IperhapswouldbemoreusefulifIwouldgo[toSpain]’.”

Eriksson’s time as a company commander in “Ernst Thälmann” has beencovered earlier in this book. As a consequence of the leadership abilitiesErikssondisplayedatGuadalajarahebecamethefirstScandinaviantakeninforofficers’training:

Theofficer’sschoolIwentthroughwascertainlyalsoacadreschool[cadremeaningthebackboneofanorganization].Youreallygottoexamineyourcharacter,andwhatinterestsyouhad.Itwasnotonlymilitarystrategyandtactics.Wehadverystrongpoliticaltrainingaswell.181

At this school Eriksson learned everyday workable Spanish in record time

and got out as a lieutenant with a class standing of second out of a of fortyGerman speaking students. Eriksson’s first assignment was in BenimametoutsideofValencia,asaninstructorinthesabotageschool.InhismemoirsGRUColonelIlyaStarinovwroteabouttheschoolasalargeandattractivelylocatedvilla.182Eriksson’sstudentswereGermanandSwedish.

Erikssonhereshowedhimselftobetrustworthyandhelaterwasassignedasboth an adjutant and body guard for a Soviet advisor, dressed in uniform butwithoutanyrankdisplayed.183Perfoundout thathewasasageneralbutonlyeverlearnedhiscovername,“MichailGrigoryevich.”IntheGeneral’strailweretwointerpretersand“amanwhoorganizedastaffcampateveryplace,aswellas one Russian and one Spanish chauffeur.”184 Together, the General andErikssoninspectedtheTeruelFront:

Wewerein[General]Rojosheadquarters,arailroadcarinatunnelimmediatelyoutsideoftown.ThenIfollowedtheRussianandinspectedthefront.IwassurprisedoverhowcarelessthisGeneralwas.Hewalkeddirectlyintheincomingfirefrommachineguns,whiletheothersallhidthemselvesinthetunnel.Afraidhecertainlywasnot.

Thesoldierscamemarchingthroughthesnowwiththeirclothboots.Manyfrozetheirfeet.Theywereverypoorlyequipped.Ihaditbetter,however.WegotboxesofgiftsfromtheSovietUnionwithcaviar,Russiancigarettes,andham.TheRussianssharedallthetime,however,sothattheSpaniardsintheirquartergotthesamefoodaswedid.185

TheycelebratedbothNewYearsEve1937and the short term liberationofTeruel. TheGeneral filled up his drinking glass with vodka for Eriksson andtheytoastedthevictory,atthesametimerealizingtheliberationwouldnotlastlong.

LieutenantErikssondidnotgettoknowtherealidentityoftheGeneraluntilthe war was over—Grigory Michailovich Shtern, the highest Soviet militaryadvisorwiththeSpanishGovernmentfrom1937to1938.AyearlaterShternledone of the four Soviet divisions that attacked Finland in the Winter War.Eriksson maintained that Shtern died in the Far East, but both Soviet andRussianworksstatethathewasexecutedin1941as“aGermanspy.”186NotaparticularlycredibleaccusationashewasJewish—butthatwasStalin’sregimeinanutshell.

Eriksson was moved next to a multinational organization in Barcelona he

describedasasecurityforce.TheorganizationwascreatedaftertheAnarchists“MayRevolt” against theGovernment and the Stalinists. “I became part of aspecialgroupinBarcelonathatwasnecessarythereaftertherevolt.Itwasmostimportant tohold certain strategicplaces inBarcelona.Wewere suchagroupwithbothGermansandAmericans,Poles, andmore”187SvenBrännströmandElofAbrahamssonwerealsointhegroup.AccordingtoErikssoneachgrouphadnomorethanthirtymenandtherewerefromfivetosixofthesegroupsplacedaroundBarcelona.“Youdidguarddutymostofthetime.Thatwasaveryboringjob,actually.Whentherewereairattacksandbombing,yougottogoupontheroof. The remainder went down into the cellar. You got tense. You could bebombedorstrafed.”

ThecrowningachievementofEriksson’svolunteerservice inSpainwashismonths as a bodyguard for Dolores “La Pasionaria” (The passion flower)Ibárruri. Eriksson and the leader of the Belgian Young Socialists wereresponsible for her security during the summer of 1938. Despite the physicalcloseness duringhis duty, often as long as twenty hours per day, Ibárruriwashardtogettoknow,accordingtoEriksson.

AmongEriksson’s routines as a bodyguardwas to standnext to her on theplatform and to check her room and placeswhere shewould visit before shearrived. He learned how to search for bombs and hidden explosives at thepartisanschool.Erikssonespeciallyrememberedoneseeminglydangeroustrap.AlargeSovietfooddeliveryhadarrivedattheSpanishCommunistPartyandthefoodproductsweresentontotheundernourishedpersonnelinavehiclefactoryinBarcelona that built Soviet-designed fighter aircraft under license. Erikssonremembered, “The workers were Syndicalists and Anarchists.” SomeonetelephonedPartyHeadquartersandaskediftheycouldthankLaPasionaria(forthefood)withabigpresent.“Theyhadbuiltalargecrate.…Wewenttogetit.… Itwas coveredwith flowers. Therewere red and black blossoms preciselylike theAnarchist flag…but therewas somethingmoving…asnake?No, theresatalittlewhitedove!ThenIwentinandgotDolores.Shecameoutandtheypresentedanofficialthanksfromthefactoryworkers[forthefood].”188

ErikssonescortedLaPasionariatotheEbroFrontwhereshegaveaspeechinfront of two Spanish divisions. She also visited smaller units of theInterbrigades,amongthemunitswithSwedes.

Were there any actual attempts to attack Ibárruri? During Eriksson’s timewithherheexperiencedonlyone thing.“TheystoleDolores’scar,anarmoredcarfromtheUSA—agiftfromtheAmericanworkers.”189Erikssonremembered

thathefeltveryhelplessatthetime.Onatleastoneoccasionhewasabletomakeuseofhisproximitytopower.

HehadlearnedthattherewasaSwedishdeserterimprisonedintheStatePrison.Themaninquestionhadsimplybeensentoffbyhiscomrades toobtainsomesoap. Eriksson took up the matter with La Pasionaria and the Swede wasreleased.190 Eriksson planned to remain in Spain with the partisans, but wasexhorted by Dolores Ibárruri to travel home and “continue fighting for Spainfrom Sweden.” Had Eriksson remained, he theoretically could have beenfightingwiththepartisansuntil1960,whenthelastguerrillasfromtheCivilWarweredefeated.

WhenPerErikssonsummeduphisvolunteerexperiencehewasnotentirelyuncritical:

Naturallyalsomistakesweremadeatthattime.Onehadalsocertainnationalproblems.WeSwedesfounditveryhard,forexample,toagreewiththeGermans.WedidnotlikethePrussiandiscipline.Weweresailors,youknow,andweremoreinternationalist,becausewehadbeenatseaalotandhadlearnedaboutdifferentnations.191

According toEriksson theSwedishvolunteers inSpainviewed theMunichagreement by ChamberlainwithHitler in September 1938 as “the last nail inSpain’scoffin.”192Theagreementfor“peaceinourtime”securelylockedGreatBritain’snegativepositionwithrespecttotheSpanishgovernmentand,itcanbeargued,moved Stalin to team upwithHitler.British historianAntonyBeevorsharestheviewthatMunichmadetheSovietsupportfortheSpanishRepublicaburdenthatneededtobequicklyterminated.193

Erikssoncamehomeon thedayafterChristmas in1938with the last largegroup of volunteers and got a job outsideGothenburg as an apprentice at theGermanfirm,Demag,whereheworkeduntilthemanagementlearnedabouthistimeinSpainandfiredhim.

AMeaningintheDefeatIn spite of all the talk about nonintervention inSpain the foreign involvementwas massive, and it was Franco that got most foreign support. The idealisticvolunteers for Francowere ofminute significance to him, after all he had thelargeItalian,German,andPortuguese“VolunteerCorps”forSpain,and—asisless well known—Texaco oil, American trucks, and credits. No fewer than12,000 trucks were delivered by Ford, General Motors, and Studebaker toFranco. That was nearly three times the number provided by Germany andItaly.194

Thefinaltallyforthewarwasabout600,000lostlivesandmany,manymorewoundedandhomeless.

Soviethistoriansstatedthat164SwedesdiedfortheRepublic,that’sathirdofall thevolunteers fromSweden.This figurehasbeengenerallyaccepted.195FrancodeclaredhimselftobethewinneroftheCivilWaron1April1939andhis dictatorship continued until his natural death in 1975. During his darkestperiodofterror,from1939to1946,atleast50,000personswereexecuted.196

WastheSwedishvolunteercontributionforSpainthereforemeaningless?Itislikely thatFrancowouldhavewon as early as 1936 if it hadnot been for thecombinationoftheInterbrigadesandthesupplyofSovietweaponstothesideofthegovernment.Well,doesitmatterthatthis“boughttime”fortheRepublicanssothattheycouldfightonafurthertwoyears?OnecanspeculatethatGermanyand Italy could have initiated offensive action earlier in other areas with aFrancovictoryin1936.

When the Swedish former Interbrigaders were asked on the usefulness oftheircontributiontheiranswerwasoftenthatthedefeatwasdepressing,yes,butthat they also felt a deep satisfaction over having actively fought againstFascism.TheyarguedthattherehadbeenasymbolicvalueintheirfightfortheRepublic.

WhatcanbestatedobjectivelyisthattheSwedeswhosurvivedthefightinginSpainhadreceivedasolidmilitarylevelofreadiness,whichmanyofthemusedin further struggles with Fascism. At least fifty Swedish Spain veteransparticipatedinWorldWarII—fortheSovietUnion,theUnitedStates,Finland,andNorway aswell asGermany.Thirty of them asmerchantmarines for theAlliesandovertwentyindifferentforeignarmies.

From the Stalinist viewpoint the Swedish contribution to the Spanish

Republic was a victory even in the short term. Pavel Sudoplatov, a spetsnazofficer in Spainwho later became one of the highest spy chiefs in the SovietUnion,hasstatedMoscow’sviewonthewarinSpainmoreclearlythananyoneelse,“BothStalinintheSovietUnionandTrotskyinexilehopedtobecometheRepublic’sleadingstarandthroughthatcometodominatetheCommunistworldrevolution.”197SincetheNKVDinSpainsucceededinweakeningandintheendalso physically eliminating the Trotskyite POUM, Sudoplatov wrote that “theSpanishRepublicanslost,butStalin’smenandwomenwon.”

Stalin’s worldwide hunt for actual and imagined adversaries was mirroredamong the Swedish volunteers in several ways already described. It can beadded, however, that on at least one occasion Swedish Interbrigaders wereorderedtofightagainstanotherRepublicanmilitaryunitbecauseofitspoliticalattitude.198EvenintheirlateryearstheSwedishveteransthatbelongedtoSKPclaimedthatPOUMwasfullofFascists, fifthcolumnists, reactionaries,andsoon.

During the Spanish Civil War political propaganda found its place on thebattlefield by way of appeals with loudspeakers, as described in Karl Staf’sdiary. Also Swedish Army Captain Natt och Dag mentioned the use ofpropaganda “both at and behind the front” in his report for the SwedishHighCommand.199

Medalswerenot to theRepublicanside’s tasteduringtheyearsof theCivilWar. Promotion was the only reward. Six Swedes were made companycommandersintheInterbrigades.OneSwedewasgivencommandofabattalion—HolgerEkström(succeededbyKarlErnstedt).Readersmayrecall that therewasabattalionon theopposingside thatwascommandedbyaSwedishFinn,CarlvonHaartman.

BothmembersoftheInterbrigadesandopponentssuchasDouglasHamiltonstated that itwas common practice to execute prisoners on both sides.200 TheSpanishviewofenemyprisonersremindsoneofthebleaksituationforprisonersofwaron theWWIIEasternFront.201Thereexists,however,noevidence thatSwedishvolunteersexecutedprisoners.Thiscanbeexplainedby thepolicy inthe Interbrigades to leave the execution of prisoners to the Spaniardsthemselves.202 It is quite probable that Swedes nevertheless did commit warcrimes in Spain. Those who were involved in commando raids, for example,surelymusthavebeenfacedwiththedilemmaoftakingprisoners,ornot.

Aside from the 530 Swedes in the combat formations of the Republic, the

fifteenSwedes at themilitaryhospital inAlcoy, and the tenor sowho servedFranco there was onemore group of “Swedes” in Spain: Swedish-Americansand Swedish-Canadians.203 Several of the Swedish-Americans ended up onBertilLundvik’s list ofSwedes inSpain, but it is likely that thereweremanymoreofthem.Aguesswouldbeseveraldozenmore.Thesetwocategoriesneedtobebetterresearched!

On Sunday 11 September 1938 a train rolled in to the Central Station inStockholmwith174Swedishvolunteers forSpain.Acrowdof4,000hadmetthematthedocksideinMalmöandinStockholmthewelcomingcrowdwasatleast twice that size.At theplatform theyweremetby the traditionalSwedishcheer, “long may they live, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!” Then the“International”wassung, then thecrowdandtheveteransmovedtogether toamajor square inStockholmforanwelcomingceremony.On the samedayonecouldreadinthenewspaper,Social-Demokraten,“Theyhavehonoredthenameof Sweden, they have honored their class, the workers class, and they havehonored democracy. We have threatened them with prison for their bravery,throughthelawonnonintervention,[whichwas]forcedonusbyoutsideforces.”

TheGovernmentenactedaspecialamnestyfor thevolunteerssotheycouldavoida legalprocessbecauseof theirparticipation in thewar.Thepromiseofjobs in the welcoming speech did not materialize, however. As Per Erikssonrecalled, “They had promised us we would get jobs on the tramway inGothenburg…thatwewould get them ifwe just joined the SocialDemocraticParty,butthatwecouldnotagreetodo.”204

AtleasteighteenSwedesremainedinFranco’sprisonsinthespringof1939.Fifteenofthemwerereleasedthreeweeksaftertheendofthewar,buttwohadtowaitfortheirfreedomuntilOctoberthesameyear.LarsBerggrenfromGävlehadtowaituntil28May1940,andbecauseofWorldWarII,hishomecomingbecamethemost remarkableofall.Swedenhad justpurchasedfourdestroyersfrom Italy and one of these picked up Berggren in Spain for the journeyhome.205TreatmentintheSpanishprisonswasoftensadistic,buttheRedCrossand the Swedish Foreign Ministry had certain opportunities to assist theprisoners. Isak Mattson died during his time in prison Another Swede diedshortlyafterhereturnedtoSweden.

Seventy-fiveoftheSwedesthatreturnedhadphysicalwarinjuries.Therehasbeennoresearchintothosewithpsychologicalinjuries.

DuringtheSecondWorldWarmanyoftheveteranswerecalledupfordutyin Sweden. There are articles and books that claim that the veterans were

generally subjected tobrutal treatment in theSwedishmilitary and somewereplacedin“laborcompanies”forrepairofroads.Thisappearstobeanincorrectgeneralization, judging from many interviews. Some veterans indeed had toserveinlaborcompanies,butthemajoritywenttonormalunits.206

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PerEriksson spentmost of the 1940s in theUnited States and there observedhowtheAmericanveteransoftheSpanishCivilWarorganizedthemselves.HewasinspiredbythemtoorganizeasimilarSwedishveterans’groupinthe1960s.TheresultbecametheSwedishVolunteersforSpainVeteranAssociation,whichwasdissolvedonlyin1994.AssociationChairmanPerErikssonwasproudthathe was able to keep the organization free from internal conflicts, “In ourassociation we find Social Democrats, VPK members, APK members,Syndicalists, and those that have no party.” That the Spanish volunteerswereaboveallpartyschismswasmanifestedevery1Mayatthevolunteermonument“LaMano,”onKatarinavägeninStockholm.AllSwedishSocialistpartieswereinvited—andparticipated.InGothenburgthereisalsoavolunteermonumentinEsperantoplatsen(EsperantoSquare).

During the1980s therewere ceremonies inSpainmarking fiftyyears sincethe CivilWar. Swedish veterans then each received aWar ParticipantMedaltogether with an offer of Spanish citizenship—a promise from 1938 that wasfinally fulfilled. Per Eriksson received as well an Honor Medal from EastGermany(GDR).TheEastGermanstateinmanywaystendedboththememoryofErnstThälmannandthesocialistvolunteersoftheSpanishCivilWar.

In Swedish fiction and music the Swedish volunteer movement for Spainoccasionallyhassurfacedovertheyears.ItsimpactonSwedishpopularculturehas been very limited, however, when one considers that more than twice asmany Swedes fought Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler from 1936 to 1939 thanfought for the ThirdReich from 1939 to 1945.Quite tellingly, only one low-budgetmotionpicturehasbeenmadeabout theSwedishvolunteers forSpain:“Dyningar”(Swells)(1991).

InDecember1938mostofthesurvivingSwedishvolunteersinSpainreturnedtoSweden.ThefrontfighterflagisheldtotheleftoftheflagsofCataloniaandtheSpanishRepublic.PhotoprobablytakeninMalmö.

(PerEriksson)

WhataboutvolunteerOlleMeurling’sgrave?Youmayrecallthatithadonly“Swede”onthegravestone.ThechurchyardinFuencarralwherehewasburiedisstillthere,butitisnolonger“northofMadrid.”FuencarralistodayaMadridsuburb.Meurling’sgravewasdestroyedduringFranco’sreign,butonanearbywall there is now a plaque to the memory of all the volunteers of theInterbrigades.207

8.WiththeWesternAllies,1939–1945:“AMoralDuty”

Thatwhichmeantthemostformewasstillnotthemedals,butthatIbelievedthatIhadtakenpartinstoppingwarforalltime.

—KurtBjörklund,formerRoyalMarineCommando

About9,000SwedishcitizensatsomepointservedassailorsorsoldiersoftheWesternAllies.Swedishvolunteersparticipated inAlliedcommandoraidsandthe invasion of Normandy. In early 1945 more than 6,400 Swedish citizensvolunteeredtofightasvolunteersforNorway,butdidnotgettheopportunitytodo so. Approximately 200,000 Swedish-Americans served in the US ArmedForcesduringWWII.

AfterhavingsurvivedaGermanU-BoatattackSwedishsailorSivertWindhfromHässleholmvolunteered

fortheUSArmy.Asamemberofthe99thInfantryBattalionhedisembarkedinNormandyinthesummerof1944.AfterhewaswoundedinBelgiumhetransferredtotheAmericanintelligenceserviceOSS(notethejeepbumper).ByanavigationalerrorWindh’sgroupwasdroppedinMarch1945notoverNorwaybutoverhisnativecountry.Onhisrightarmhewearsthe“SpecialForce”parachutistwingsandonhisleft

breasttheUSArmyparachutistbadge.PhototakeninLondoninJuly1945.(RonWindh)

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According toAdolfHitler the SecondWorldWar startedwith a Polish attackagainstGermanbordertowns.Germanandinternationalnewsmediareportedon1 September 1939 that Polish soldiers the day before had destroyed the radiostation atGleiwitz.ThePoles had firedwildly and locked in the radio stationstaff. Thereafter the radio listeners had heard an angry Polish voice in a livebroadcast.1Duringfourminutes thevoiceexhortedGermany’sPolishminoritytorevolt.

Borderincidentscertainlytookplace,includingthespectacularseizureoftheradio station in Gleiwitz, but the “Polish soldiers” were German SS men, ofwhich some were Polish speaking, dressed in Polish uniforms. In order toheightentheimpressionofarealattacktheyevenleftthebodiesofsome“killedin action,” who were actually concentration camp inmates who had beenmurderedandalsodressedupasPolishsoldiers.2

PrincessandPartisanNot far fromGleiwitz, in Zywiec on the Polish side of the border,wasAliceHabsburgfromHölöoutsideStockholm.ShewasthefirstSwedetowitnesstheSecond World War and among the first to actively take part in it. On 3September, the same day that Great Britain and France declared war onGermany, she saw a German patrol cautiously approach towards her windowwithriflesraised,“SotheGermanArmycameasastormfloodoverthecityofZywiec,anoverwhelminginvasion.AmajorpartofitwasmotorizedbutIalsosawinfantryandsomesoldierswithbandagesontheirheads.”3

Shewasbornin1889asAliceAnkarcronaandwasdescribedin1910bythehighsocietychroniclerHansvonRosen,as“themostbeautifulSwedishwomanofhertime—andthatdoesnotsayeverything.”4In1920shemarriedArchdukeKarl Albrecht of Habsburg and thereby became a princess and member of anoble house that for 600years had ruledover large parts ofEurope.With thePolish independence fromCzaristRussiamany—including Swedish diplomats—assumedKarl Albrechtwould be theKing of Poland.5 Onemight ask howSwedenwouldhavereactedtoHitler’soccupationofPolandifthecountryhadhadaSwedishQueen?

Princessandpartisan.ThefirstSwedetowitnesstheinvasionofPolandinSeptember1939wasPrincessAliceHabsburg,bornonHölöislandoutsideStockholm.LatershewassworninasasoldierinthePolish

ZWZ,thePolishGovernment-in-ExileResistanceArmy.Photoprobablytakeninthe1950s.(KarlHabsburg)

Inanyevent,Alice“only”gottomanageonecastlewithanestateof69,000acres near Zywiec. Despite many requests to leave Poland when Hitler andStalininvaded,sherefused.ShewasthenevenassaultedbySovietsoldiersand“was so close to being shot that they even held a riflemuzzle pointed atme.Every time, though,Iwasrescuedbyoneof theirofficers.”6Herhusbandwasimprisoned by the Gestapo because he, a nobleman of Austrian origin, hadservedasaPolishcolonel.

TheZywieccastlewasrequisitionedastheheadquartersforvarioussectionsoftheSS,amongthemtheGestapo.Onlyinthelatesummerof1940didtheSScompletelyevictAlicefromthepalace.ThekingsofSwedenandItaly,Spain’sex-king,andthepro-NaziSwedishexplorerSvenHedinallputpressureontheGermansonherbehalfforthesakeoftheArchduke.7InthecaseoftheSwedishkingandSvenHedinitwasactuallyAlicewhowasthereasonfortheiractivism.ThatshehadbecomeaPolishcitizenwasimmaterialtoKingGustafV,becauseherfatherwashisclosefriend.

SvenHedinhasreportedonhisdiscussionsabouttheHabsburgcouplewith

hisfriendHeinrichHimmler.8Hedinsaidthatheusedallpossibleargumentstoinfluence the SS leader. “I remember the case in the most minute detail”HimmlerhadsaidtoHedin,whereafterHimmleralsoprovedhowwellheknewthecase.9

Germandocuments testify to themany,manyhours thatseveralSSofficersspent studying the Habsburg couple. Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of theReichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), the SS security department, wrote aboutAlice to Gauleiter [Nazi Party regional leader] Fritz Sauckel, “Moreover, Iconsiderthatemployment[meaninghereforcedlabor]insomeimportantworkfor thewarwouldbemost inappropriate because of the close connections she[thatis,Alice]hastoforeigncircles.”10

AlicegotwordthroughtheoccupantsofZywiec,“fromthehighestplace”—probablymeaningHimmler—thatshecouldbothbefreedandhavepower.SheonlyhadtosupporttheThirdReichinreturn.11Shedidnotonlyrejectthatoffer,however,shejoinedtheZwiazekWalkiZbrojnej(ZWZ)(AssociationforArmedStruggle), theexiledPolishgovernment’ssecretarmy.Ononeof thefirstdaysof1940Alice swore anoathof allegiance to theZWZ in thepresenceof tworesistancefightersandapriest.“Theoathmeantthatonewasreadytolaydownone’s life for Poland and that one was subject to all orders from theconspiratorialauthorities,wouldcarryoutallmissions,naturallyundercompleteresponsibilityforsilence.”Shereceivedtherankofaprivate.12

In the beginning Private Habsburg worked mainly on radio broadcastinterception,butintimeshebecameacourierandcametopassmanyorderstodifferentresistancegroups.Shealsowasauthorizedtorecruitnewsoldiersandreceivetheiroathofallegiance.13Alicehadherbaggagesearchedonmanytrips,andtheGestaposearchedthroughhernewhome,buttheGermansfoundnoneofthehighlycompromisingdocumentsthatshehadinherpossession.

ItisclearthattheworkAlicedidwasnotofthesimplervariety.In1946shewasawarded thePolishCross forBraveryand in1963 theResistanceSignofHonor.ThelatterawardwaspresentedtoherbynoneotherthanGeneralCountTadeusz Bór-Komorowski, who had commanded the entire Armia Krajowa(AK)(Polishhomearmy—formerlytheZWZ).14

Kasimir, Alice Habsburg’s eldest son, avoided becoming a prisoner of theRed Army in 1939 and went to France where he joined a Polish MountainInfantryBrigadethatwassenttoNarvik,Norway.HewasagaininFrancewhenthe countrywas defeated, and again avoided capture by escaping toMorocco,

wherehewasfinallyinterned.AfterayearhefledfromtheinternmentcamptoGibraltar by hanging on to a rope tied to a motor boat. In Great Britain herequestedtobeexemptedfromfurthermilitaryservicetobecomeamonkintheDominicanOrder.Thishewasallowed.15

Theyoungerson,Karl, livedinSwedenfrom1939,butin1944approachedthePolishEmbassyinStockholminorder tobecomeasoldierforPoland, likehis father andbrotherhadbeen.16Theprincewas able to join theFirstPolishArmoredDivision in Britain byway of the secret US courier flights betweenStockholmandScotland.17AsanartillerymanhecameashoreinNormandyandsawactionoutsideCaen.

KarlHabsburggotalongwellwithhiscomrades—somealreadywithcombatexperiencefromfighting inSpainandPoland.Habsburgwas impressedby thestrikingpoweroftheGermantanksagainstAlliedarmor,butasanartillerymanheseldomsawtheenemyupclose.HeneversawGermanaircraftbecause theAllies had nearly total air superiority. Habsburg witnessed Allied troopsplundering dead German soldiers and became aware of murder of Germanprisoners.18

After having fought in Normandy, Belgium, and the Netherlands, theSwedish-Polish Prince was sent to an officer’s school in Scotland. It wasintended that thePolish soldierswhohad foughtwith theBritishwould travelhomeandhelprebuildthecountry’sArmyafterthewar,butbecauseofStalin’sviewofBritishtrainedunitsthePolishunitsweredissolvedandKarlHabsburgreturnedtoSweden,asdidhismother.

FromtheGötaLifeGuardstoArmiaKrajowaOver one hundred Swedes worked in Warsaw during the 1930s for variousSwedish companies. At least nine of these Swedes worked in the Polishresistancemovement, and four of themwere subsequently sentenced to death.According to Heinrich Himmler they constituted “the most important courierlink between the Polish ResistanceMovement and the Polish Exile regime inLondon.”19YetaftertheendofthewarresearchinPolandandinGreatBritainshowedthattheSSonlysucceededinuncoveringapartoftheSwedesactivities.

A key person among the Warsaw Swedes was Carl Herslow, a lieutenantcolonel in thereserveof theprestigiousGötaLifeGuards.HehadbelongedtotheSwedishGeneralStaff for just less than five years and following thatwas

madeMilitaryAttaché in Berlin andMoscow.20 In the fall of 1939 hewas acivilianandthegeneraldirectorfortheSwedishMatchMonopolyAB.HishomewasstillinWarsaw,wherehewasthehonorarySwedishGeneralConsul—untilthe German authorities proclaimed that Poland no longer existed, andconsequentlynoconsularfunctionsinthat“formerstate.”

Herslow’s old friend General Wladyslaw Sikorski had become Poland’sPrimeMinister andCommander-in-Chief in exile, butwas not able to get hisfamily out of the country. Hitler’s Germany would indeed have had a bigbargainingchiphadtheysucceededinfindingSikorski’swifeandchildren,butthankstoHerslowandotherhelpers,ultimatelythefamilywasabletogetoutofoccupiedPoland.

TheWarsawSwedeshadtheirgreatestimpactwithmilitaryintelligenceandpropaganda. Radio communications between the Polish military leadership inParis, later London, and the commander-in-chief in Poland was possible, andwasusednowandthen.Everytransmissionrantheriskofdetection,however,and when one would send a detailed report it became a time consumingtransmissionandalsorequiredhoursordaystobeencryptedandthendecrypted.InotherwordsacourierlinktoLondonwastotallynecessary.Therewasalsoaneedtobeabletosendlargeamountsofmoneyintheoppositedirection.

TothesemissionsSvenNorrman,theWarsawdirectorofthefamousSwedishcompanyASEA,placeda third task—tosee to thatGermanatrocitiescame tothe world’s attention. Norrman inspired the leadership of Poland’s largestelectricity company to assemble photographs and film that showed Germanoutrages, aswell as Polish acts of resistance.21 Later, inGerman custody, theSwedes were informed by their interrogators that some of the film they hadmanaged to smuggle out of Poland had been shown in movie theaters in theAlliedcountries.

InMay1942astaffofficerwiththePolishcommander-in-chiefwroteaboutthe secret reports from Poland, “They came forward faster through theSwedes.”22 The Gestapo calculated that the Swedes carried 25,000 dollarsillegally to Poland, but in fact the true sumwasmuch higher.23 Swedes whosupportedthePolishresistanceworkedalsowiththeSwedishcompanyEricssonand in the Swedish Chamber of Commerce inWarsaw. The Swedish activitybeganinSeptember1939andspedupbythefollowingfall,butwasdiscoveredinthesummerof1942,whentheSSseizedsevenSwedesandtwenty-fourPoles.The SSmissedmore than twenty additional conspirators, however, whowereable to flee, among them the ASEA Chief, Sven Norrman and Carl Gösta

Gustafsson.The sixty-five-year-oldCarlHerslowwas sentenced to death for espionage

for Poland. Sigfrid Häggberg, Tore Widén, and Nils Berglund got the samejudgmentforspyingonbehalfofBritain.

King Gustaf V personally wrote to Adolf Hitler and pleaded for a mildersentence.Not less importantwere the appeals byFinnishPresidentRistoRytiandCarlosAdlercreutz,theChiefofSwedishMilitaryIntelligence.Thelatter’sappeals enabledHansWagner,Germany’s spy chief in Sweden, to personallyspeakwithHeinrichHimmler.Thedeathpenalty against theSwedeswas thusnever carried out, and shortly before the end of the war they were discreetlyreleased.

The arrest of the Swedes caused damage to an important branch of Alliedintelligence, but London found a solution by the use of parachute drops, andafter a timewere able to restore the secret landing areas in Poland’s sparselypopulated regions, which made it possible to conduct courier traffic in bothdirections.

Afterthewarwriterswereverysparingaboutgivingoutinformationontheintelligence activities of theArmiaKrajowa (AK) out of consideration for theAKmemberswhosurvivedandremainedinPoland.ThatisonereasonwhytheWarsawSwedesneverhavereceivedmuchattention.Regardingthemotivationsofthesemennotmuchisknown,withtheexceptionofHerslowandNorrman.MostofHerslow’sclosestfriendswerePolish.Norrmanemphasizedthatasfarbackas1917,intheyoungSovietRussia,hebecameanopponentofallformsofdictatorship. That Hitler’s attack on Poland was made in conjunction with aSovietonedeeplyaffectedNorrman.24

Józef Lewandowski is the one who has researched theWarsaw Swedes ingreatest depth. He has stated that their “courage and personal self-sacrificedeservetobecomeapartoftheSwedishNationalConsciousness.”25

SwedesintheNorwegianArmy1940About 300Swedes appeared inNorway in 1940 to fightwith theNorwegiansagainsttheinvadingGermanWehrmacht.ManyofthemworeSwedishuniformswith emblems fromFinland because they had just been fighting in Finland asvolunteers. Some of themwere also veterans of the Spanish CivilWar. Howcoulditbe,though,thatNazisympathizerswereamongthem?

OperationWeserübung, the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940,

was one of the most bold invasions in the history of warfare. The GermansriskedtheirentirefleetandalargepartoftheLuftwaffeonthatgamble.BeforethiseventtherehadbeenaracebetweenLondonandBerlintogettoNorway.26What attracted both the Brits and the Germans was not to take over NorwayitselfbuttheNorwegianharbors,andmostimportantlyNarvik.ToownNarvik’sice-freeharborwastocontrolthedeliveryofironorefromtherichorefieldsinNorthSwedenandtherebymorethanhalfoftheSwedishironorethatwenttoGermany.27 Stalin’sWinterWar against Finland very nearly brought about aBritish-FrenchoperationagainstNarvikwithhelptoFinlandasagoodexcuse.Through the abrupt endof theWinterWar, however, theGermans first got toNarvik.

FormanySwedish friends ofGermany the invasionofNorwaywas a rudeawakening.LeadingarcheologistGustafHallström,organizerofseveralSwedishvolunteermovements,wantednowtoseeaSwedishvolunteercorpsforNorway.DuringtheWinterWar,“ForNordicFreedom”hadbeenthemainslogan.Itwasobvious toHallströmthat thesameslogan led thewayfor thenewmovement.On11April1940hewrotethefollowingappealandsentittotwonewspapers:

Norwayfightsforitslife.Norwayisingreatestneed.WhatareweSwedesdoingatthismomentintime?OurgovernmenthastakenthecourseofactionfortheStatethatmaybethecorrectone,thegovernmentisbestorientedonthesituation.ThatdoesnotbindthehandsofindividualSwedestoputtheirstrengthandmeanstothedisposalofothers,however.ThebestmoralsupportforthefightingNorwegiansistoquicklyshowourwilltotakeaction,butthatdeterminationmustimmediatelymanifestitselfinveryphysicalaction.Amany-headedmonsterofviolencehasattackedthefreedomoftheNordicstates.ThereasonsforthisviolenteruptionindeedlieswithallofthemainpowersandnotwithNorway.Thisobservationshouldsufficeforustotakeaction.TheNorwegianswaitforhelpfromus,asearlierdidtheFinns.Isthereadifferencebetweenthesetwosituations?Yes,thereisadifference.Thesituationforusallisnowsubstantiallymoredangerous.Thereforewemust,asfreemenandwomen,demandthatwebeallowedtotaketheactionswefindarenecessary.

AlreadyhasitbeenreportedthatSwedishvolunteershavesignedupwiththefightingNorwegianforces.Theymustbecomenumerous.Moneymustbecollectedforequipmentandotherabsolutelynecessarypurposes.

TheNorwegiansarefightingforus,asearlierdidtheFinns.

Nosympathyorantipathyforanygreatpowergroupisrelevant—thereshouldbenopreferenceforonesideortheother.Inourcountrywehavewaytoomuchofthatalready.

ImusthonestlyadmittothefactthatIwasafriendofGermanyandthatmysympathiesinthatdirectionarenotfullygone.Ihavenokindofdoubtabouthowtoact,however,whentheGermansuseviolenceandbombing,demandingNorwaytocapitulate.Itismurderthatisbeingcommitted.

StilltheremaybethingsthatcankeepNorway—andScandinavia—frombeingdrawnintotheWorldWar.ThisdependsinpartonwhatNorwaycanaccomplishinitsbattle,inpartonthewisdomoftheWesternPowers,intheeventofanAlliedvictoryontheNorwegianFront.

TheNordicstateswouldrathernotseeasinglearmedforeignsoldierontheirsoil,neitherGermansnorBritish,RussiannorFrenchmen.Inthecurrentsituation,however,thehelpoftheWesternPowersisnecessary.Painmay,bypain,bedrivenaway.

Thelamenessthatinitiallygrippedusmustgivewayforaction.TheSwedishpublicisherebyexhortedtocollectmoneyandsuppliesforsupportofSwedishvolunteersforNorway.28

The appealwas never printed.The opening of volunteer offices and publicmeetings foravolunteercorps forNorwaywere immediately forbiddenby theSwedishauthorities.ConscriptsandofficersintheSwedishArmedForcesweregivennopossibilitytovolunteerforNorway.29InotherwordsthepolicyoftheSwedishgovernmenttowardsNorwayinApril1940differedsignificantlyfromthepro-FinnishSwedishpolicyduringStalin’sWinterWaragainstFinland.

Shortly afterGustafHallströmwas informed by the newspaper editors thatthe government had forbidden publication of anything that would beadvantageousforavolunteermovementforNorway,hewrotetothePresidentofthe Storting (the Norwegian parliament), Carl Joachim Hambro that “thesituation was so utterly sensitive that nothing public could be done in thisthing.”30

Despite the general fear for German reaction there were several hundredSwedeswho chose to go toNorway,many in the uniforms that they had justbeen wearing in the Finnish Winter War. They got money to buy food andequipment from the Social Democrat Youth Association (SSU), unions, theNorwegian legation and private persons such as Gustaf Hallström.31 Thevolunteers, forexample,wereable toequip themselvesat thePUBdepartment

storeinStockholmcourtesyofHallström.SSU’sofficeonTorsgataninStockholmfunctionedforawhileasthesecret

volunteerbureau,withaformervolunteerforFinland,GöstaRehn,responsible(later he became a leadingSwedish economist).As soon as it becameknown,though, the activity had to move. This SSU recruiting bureau neverthelessprocessed300requestsandsentsixtySwedesontheirwaytoNorway.32

MilitaryhistorianGöranAndolfhasassembledalistof115SwedishcitizensthatdefinitelywerevolunteersforNorway,buthealsowrotethattherealtotalmusthavebeen“severalhundred.”GustafHallströmestimatedtheirnumbertohavebeenbetween400and500.33Theauthorshaveconcludedthatareasonableestimateisthatatleast300SwedescrossedthebordertofightontheNorwegianside,andabouthalfofthemactuallysawaction.

Quickimprovisation—thusonecancharacterizetheNorwayvolunteersbasicoperating procedure. Some joined small Norwegian units, some formed theirown volunteer Free Corps. The most famous group is Benckert’s Company.Gösta Benckert, from Stockholm, was a second lieutenant in the SwedishLandstorm or government militia, and had served in the Swedish VolunteerCorpsforFinland(SFK)withthesamerank,butwasappointedasacaptainintheNorwegianArmyafteronlyadayinNorway.Hiscompany—atotalof219men served in it—was made up mainly of Norwegians with recent warexperiencefromFinland,buttherewerealsoabouttwentySwedes,alsomostlyex-SFK.34Thecompany’suniformswere,therefore,thestandardSwedishArmyModel39,buttheemblemsandrankinsigniawereinitiallythoseoftheSFK.

TheinsigniachosenforthecollaroftheSFKuniformwasidenticaltothefinalsymboloftheSwedishBrigadebackin1918:fourarmssupportingeachother,symbolizingFinland,Sweden,Norway,and

Denmark.(LG)

GöstaBenckertwas troubled by the appearanceof someof the prospectivevolunteers who assembled in front of him in Stockholm’s Central Station. Anumberwereintoxicated.BenckertthoughtitbesttorejectthemevenbeforethetripandthereforepersuadedthepersonnelattheCentralStationonthenecessityofallowinghimtousetheluggagecounter.Heinformedtheassembledmenthattheyweretogooverthecounterratherthanthroughthenormalgate.Therewassome spectacle! Those who did not succeed in getting up on the counterremainedinStockholm.35

Benckert’scompanyarrivedattheNorwegianfortressofKongsvingeron14Aprilandwasreceivedbyanoverjoyedcommandant.Anextracompany,withwar-experienced soldiers,was preciselywhat the fortress needed.On the verynext day the newly appointed Captain Benckert received an order to take hiscompany toElverum,eightykilometers furthernorth.Benckertcountermandedtheorderandgotinsteadjustwhathewanted:todefendthefortressaslongaspossible.

On16AprilaGermancompanyattackedandwasfireduponbyBenckert’sriflemenandtwoofthecannonsinthefortress,bothdatingfrom1863.Theboltsfortheartillerypieceshadbeendroppedintoacesspool,butoneofthemcouldbe fished up. TheEkman brothers from the town ofKungälv used this singlebolt,alternatingitbetweenthetwocannons!36

Benckertestimatedthathiscompanykilledorwoundedsixty-fiveGermans,butGermansources speakofmuch fewer.Atany rate,hiscompanydiddelaytheforwardmovementoftwoGermanbattalionsforatwenty-fourhourperiod,atthepriceofonlytwowounded.

After Benckert had left Kongsvinger he and his company tried to join theNorwegianforcesinÖsterdalen,butonthewayseveralofBenckert’smenfiredon an ambulance that belonged toVidkunQuisling’sNasjonal Samling (NaziParty).WhenGöstaBeckert attempted to find those guilty of this atrocity thecohesiveness of his unit fell apart and more than ten soldiers went home toSweden.AfterseveralsmallskirmishesinGudbrandsdalenandonthenewsthattheWestern Powerswere abandoning southernNorwayBenckert lostmost ofhis men, and only twenty remained. With these troops Benckert carried outguerrilla attacks until early June when the Western Powers also left northNorway.

OnehundredNorwegianandSwedishsoldiersunderSwedishSFKSergeantTageHolmquistheldthetownofOsfrom1to2May.TheyheldoffapowerfulGermanassault thankstogoodfiringpositions.MorethanfortyGermanswere

killed or wounded during the battle that raged for nine hours.37 Several dayslater the German legation in Stockholm protested that the Swedish volunteerforcehadparticipatedinactionsinthatarea.38Thiseventandfurther“intrusionofforeignvolunteergroups”evenledtoameetingoftheSwedishArmedForcescommander-in-chief and the German commander in Norway. During themeetingtheGermansideexplainedthatitviewedforeignvolunteersasaseriousthreatwho couldpopupout of nowhere and attack their overextended supplylines.The attendingSwedes are said to thenhavepromised theywoulddo allthey could to hinder new volunteer groups from crossing the border intoNorway.39

Three Swedish citizens participated in the battle for the Fortress Hegraoutside Trondheim: Bertil Abrahamsson, Peder Brolin, and his brother, BrorGöstaEdin.HegrawithstoodGerman attack for almost amonth. Shortly afterthefortresscapitulatedon5MaythefortresscommandantsawtoitthatthethreeSwedes were not captured by the Germans.40 After the war, because of thelargelysuccessfuldefense,thefortressbecameanationalmonument.

School comrades and regimental comrades as well, Jan Danielsen and PålMontgomeryPåhlsonbothrushedtoassistNorwayaftertheyhadservedintheSFK in Finland. Danielsenwas a second lieutenant in the reserve of the LifeGuard Regiment of Hussars and Påhlson was a conscripted sergeant with thesame regiment. On 14April Danielsen askedGeneral Staff Captain Åkermanwhat the consequences would be if he would join the Norwegian Army. Theanswerwas“tendaysarrest”and“goodluck!”41

DanielsenandPåhlsoncametoNorwegianKongsvingerandimmediatelyfeltthe chaotic and confused mood there that marked the defensive actions insouthern Norway. On 17 April the two Swedes become directly involved,DanielsenasaplatooncommanderandPåhlsonashisdeputy.TheirfirstclashwaswithmotorizedGermaninfantryatRoverud.DanielsendecidedtoenveloptheGermanswithhalfofhisplatoon,theotherhalfheorderedtosetuparoadambush. “Ihandled theactionas Ihad learned inCavalrySchool” laterwroteDanielsen.42Thesnowwassodeep,however,thatitlimitedtheextentofactionandhewasnotabletoenveloptheenemy.Germantroopsofthe340thInfantryRegimentbroke through the linesandboth theGermansandDanielsen’s forcelostthirteenorfourteenmeneach,killedinaction.

After the Roverud battle Swedish newspapers reported that Danielsen hadbeen killed and his parents in Hällekis, unaware of their son’s presence in

Norway, received condolence letters. Both Danielsen and Påhlson survived,though, and moved out cross-country over desolate and wild terrain to thevillage of Trysil, where they arrived on 20 April, absolutely exhausted. TheyjoinedaNorwegiancompanythatwasbeingformedbyanotherex-SFKsoldier,thecharismaticself-proclaimed“Captain”KurtBjörkman.Hehadtheabilitytospellbind his listeners completely and get them to carry out the most riskymissionsimaginable.BjörkmanhadgreattalentforleadingpeopleeventhoughhehadonlybeenaprivateinFinlandandhadspentmostofhistimethereinahospitalwithpneumonia!43

There seemed to be no limits toBjörkman’s creativity.Hewanted to placepoisonedfoodinaGermanfieldkitchenandmadehismenprepareforairdropsthatnevercame.Stillhewasobeyed.

DanielsenandPåhlsonranintodifficultiesintheserviceofBjörkman.Theywere threatenedwith execution by firing squadwhenBjörkman imagined thattheyhadbeensignalingtoGermanaircraft.Fortunately thecrisiswasresolvedand theywerereleasedfromBjörkman’scompany.Nowtheywanted to joinaregular,betterledunitandwentfurthernorthtoreachtheretreatingNorwegianforces.Aftergreathardshipstheyreachedthoseforceson27Apriltogetherwithfellow SFK comrade Bror Strandqvist. Carl Gustav Fleischer, NorthernNorway’shighestcommandinggeneral,personallygreetedthethreemenbeforetheywereassignedtothe16thInfantryRegiment.BothDanielsenandPåhlsonwereappointeddeputyplatooncommanders.

On14MayDanielsenwroteinhisdiaryabouttheirfirstmission,torecaptureNaeverfjell mountain, which was defended by twenty Germans armed with amachinegun:

Oneof[our]mortarsfiredatthemachinegunandwhenitwasdeemedtohavebeentakenout,FirstPlatoongottheordertoseizethehighestpeak.Iwastoldtotakeasquadandseizeasmallerheight.FirstPlatoontookoneprisonerandshotonesoldier.Påhlson,Strandqvist,andtheNorwegianplatooncommander,SecondLieutenantH.Norman,wereupfrontandsawtheremainingGermansflee,butdidnotnoticeoneortwoGermansbetweenthemselvesandthefleeing[Germans].Påhlsonattemptedtomovecloserandcreptuponahill.Themomentheraisedhimselfuptofirehewaskilledbyashotstraightmiddleinthehead.Deathwasinstantaneous!Thepeakwaslatertakenbytheplatoon.Iseizedthelowerheightandwasonlyshotatfromafar.44

The platoon commander named by Danielsen as “Norman” was HallgeirNormann,whohasdescribedPåhlson’sdeaththus:

Suddenlyhehoppedtoarockabitfurtherdownthanourposition,wherehedroppedtotheopenground.Iyelledathimtofindsomeprotectivecover,buthedidn’thearorcomprehendme.AGermanpoppedupatshortdistance,shothimdown,thenranaway.Påhlsondiedalmostimmediately.Itwashardformetocomprehendit,butIslowlyrealizedthatmygoodfriendandcomradewhoIhadmetonlythreedaysearliernowwasgone.Itwasashock,painfulandgruesome,upthereintheicywind…at985metersaltitude,thatnight.45

PålMontgomeryPåhlson,fromtheprovinceofVärmland,iscommemoratedontwoplaquesinNarvik.46InhistownofRotternosthereisamemorialinhishonor.AccordingtoDanielsen,Påhlsonhad“aneasyandstronglycoloredwayto express himself about all the peculiarities that we encountered.” The 16thInfantryRegimentcontinuedforwardforthenexttwodays,“withmuchcredittooursuperbsnipers,whosofteneduptheresistance.”

PålMontgomeryPåhlsonandBrorStrandqvistaretwoSwedesinFinnish/SwedishuniformsinNorway,1940.JanDanielsenremembersthatthephotowastakennorthofNyplasstrainstationsouthofTrondheimandthat“thecountryroadbridgewasblownupaswestoodattheabutment.”Themenhadtostripand

wadeacrosstheicecoldwateroftheGlommenRiver.(Krigsarkivet)

JanDanielsen,SwedishplatooncommanderintheNorwegian6thDivisionbyNarvik.HereinSwedishuniformasasecondlieutenant.(JanDanielsen)

Jan Danielsen’s company commander, Captain Gunnar Elstad wrote laterabout“ourgoodDanielsen”thathewasquickandhadanimpressiveabilitytorealize the opposition’s intentions.47 TheNorwegian side also got praise fromthe Germans for their spirit and combat technique during the later fightingaroundNarvik.

The German Gebirgsjägers (mountain infantry) withdrew closer to theSwedishborder.Danielsen’splatoonseizedyetanotherheightwithoutflinchingwhiletheGermanJu87Stukabombersthatusedthemfortargetpractice.

TheGebirgsjägers closed in on the village of Bjoernfjell by the Swedishborderandtheircommander,GeneralEduardDietl,almostdecidedtotakethemacross theborder tobeinternedinSweden,butGermantransportaircraftwereable to drop reinforcements, arms, and supplies. More mortars were alsodropped, and soon there were more mortar rounds coming down on theNorwegians.

Both the Gebirgsjägers and Danielsen’s platoon crossed the border toSwedenintheheatoftheaction.Danielsenevenapologizedtohiscountrymen

fortheinfringement!WhenDanielsenreturnedtotheNorwegiansideoftheborderheheardabout

Norway’sdecision tocapitulate.Belgiumhad just surrenderedandFrancewason theedgeofcompletedefeat.The lastBritishandFrenchmen, therefore, leftnorthernNorwayon9June1940,andon thesamedayDanielsenwrote inhisdiary:

Ontheeveningof8JuneitagainbegantosnowandduringthenightIwasnotabletogetanysleep.Theentirebattalionwasnervousandeveryoneunderstoodthatwehadbeenforcedtocapitulate.Withintheirinnerselvestheenlistedmenwereprobablygladaboutthis.Thebattalionhadbeenoutinthefieldforalmosttwomonthsandwewereallnearlytotallywornout.Scurvyhadbeguntoappear.Aboveall,thelasttendaysofrainandsnowhadreallydampenedourspirits.48

JanDanielsenandBrorStrandqvistwenthomecrosscountrytoSweden.AssoonasDanielsengothomehewascourt-martialed.Hewasacquittedbutwaskicked out of the Reserve Officer Corps of his regiment. This decision washowever reversed in Danielsen’s favor by the Chief of the Swedish GeneralStaff,MajorGeneralHelgeJung.

DanielsensummarizedhislessonsfromthewarinNorwayintheimportanceofroutineandreflexes,“Whattheindividualmanisnotabletodoinpeacetimetofullsatisfaction,thathecannotdoeitherinwartime.Suchasimplethingastoadvancequicklyandattherightmomentmustbeingrainedbyexercisesothatitbecomesautomatic,becauseotherwiseonecannotdoitincombat.”49

Theactions thatDanielsen,Påhlson,andStrandqvistparticipatedinweresoimportant that they were added to the banner of the 16th Infantry Regiment:“Store Balak-Naeverfjell” and “Kobberfjell-Kuberget.” At least five moreSwedes fought in Norwegian units at Narvik, but much less is known aboutthem.50Asfaras isknownnotasingleSwedefoughton thesideofHitler (orQuisling)atNarvik,oranywhereelseinNorwayin1940.

At least eighty-one of theNorway volunteers had earlier fought in FinlandandfifteenhadbeenintheforcesoftheSpanishRepublic.51Someofthesemenhad foughtboth inSpain andFinland.ConnyAndersson, recently aprivate inthe 1st Antitank Platoon atMärkäjärvi, Finland,was one of these. AnderssonhaddonehisconscriptionserviceasamereprivateintheSwedishNavy,butitwas very clear that people under fire trusted this warehouse worker from

Stockholm. He led a group of twenty-nine men from to Brekken in Norwaywhere his group joined a Norwegian company. A German motorcycle patrolengaged the unit, the company commander was taken prisoner and ConnyAnderssonwaswounded.Following this fight thecompanywas takenoverbyanotherSpainandFinlandveteran:ÅkeSjögren.52

As was apparent from Gustaf Hallström’s censured appeal for a Swedishvolunteer corps for Norway, even Swedish friends of Germany were verydisturbed by Germany’s attack on Norway. And in that country hundreds ofmembers ofVidkunQuisling’s ownparty turned against himandopposed theGerman invasionofNorway.Many“Nazis” thusbecame leadingdefendersofdemocratic Norway.53 Considering this it is perhaps less surprising that alsothreemembersofSvenOlovLindholm’sSwedishNaziParty,SvensksocialistiskSamling (SSS, Swedish-Socialist Assembly) were among the Swedishvolunteers fighting against the Germans in 1940. The former SSS leader,Lindholm,statedin1987thatthreepartymembers,shortlyaftertheinvasionofNorway,askedhim“ifthePartyhadanythingagainsttheirgoingtofightagainsttheGermans.”54Since“thePartyhadthefreedomoftheNordicCountriesasaguiding principle the Party had nothing against it,” according to Sven OlovLindholm.The threemen had just fought in Finland.Two of themhave beenidentified: Pål Montgomery Påhlson (at least according to partyleaderLindholm’smemory)andKarlLindström,bothkilled inaction inNorway.On12 October 1940 the SSS newspaperDen Svenske published an obituary forLindström.AsidefromreportinghowLindströmwasalwaysattheconventionsoftheLindholmMovement,thenewspaperdescribedhowhehadbeenwoundedanddecoratedforbraveryinFinlandasearlyas1918.Lindströmin1939againvolunteered for Finland and finally for Norway, where he was killed by aGermanhandgrenade.55

The third SSSmember’s name is unknown but Christer Strömholm had atleast up to 1938 been a member of the SSS Youth Organization, NordiskUngdom(NU).AccordingtoaSwedishSecretPolicedocumentStrömholmwasthrownoutoftheNUineither1938or1939.StrömholmclaimedthathechosetoleaveNUonhisown.56

Gustaf Hallström, one of the organizers of the volunteers, claimed that“severalthousandmen”couldhaveformedavolunteercorpsforNorway.57Firsthand reports from officers in the SwedishVolunteerCorps for Finland (SFK)indeed show that there was a wide interest among SFK-volunteers to aid

Norway.58 The Swedish government’s fear of offending Nazi Germany,however, stopped the volunteer movement for Norway while it was in itsinfancy,sothatitbecamenomorethansomehundredmenstrong.

Several of the Swedes in Norway in 1940, would, as we soon shall see,eventuallyweregivensensitivetasksinBritishservice.TwoNorwegiansoldiersthat joined Gösta Benckert’s company later became two of Norway’s mostcelebrated participants in thewholewar:MaxManus andLeifLarsen.Manuspraised Benckert’s leadership style.59 Norwegian General Johan Christie, aprivatein1940,saidofBenckert,“Ihavenevermetabraverman.”60

PossiblythegreatestcontributionoftheNorwegianvolunteersof1940aftertheirserviceinNorwaywasthatmanyofthemcontinuedtosilentlyfightoninSweden for Norway, by way of establishing and running a part of the firstcourierlinksbetweentheAlliesandtheresistanceinNorway.Theselineswereespecially important for Norway, because in the first stage of the occupationdroppingsuppliesbyparachutewasnearlyimpossible(asinPoland).AssoonasConnyAndersson, theveteran fromSpain,Finland, andNorway,had returnedhome he became the central person in the courier operations.61 Finland andNorwayveteransAllanMannandJanGüettleralsobecameleadingcouriers,asdidStenAndersson,lateraforeignminister.62

Many of the Swedes living in the border provinces of Bohuslän,Dalsland,and Värmland supported the courier traffic, and even the secret section ofSwedishMilitaryIntelligence,theC-Bureau,graduallycametosupportit.63Atthesametime,however,mostSwedishpolicemenandcourtsworkedagainstthetraffic!JournalistCharlottaSjöstedtelegantlysummarizedthisparadox,“WhileonebranchoftheSwedishGovernmentcondemnedthecouriersasspies,anothersoughttocooperatewiththem.”64

The British director of the courier operations wasMajorMalcolmMunthefromtheBritishSpecialOperationsExecutive,orSOE.Hewashalf-Swedishashis father was Axel Munthe, world famous author and personal physician toVictoria, Queen of Sweden.MajorMunthe had served in Norway during theGermaninvasionandwaspursuedbytheGermansforthreemonths.Atonetimehe was wounded and captured, but was able to escape, by way of a toilet!65Muntheisdescribedingreaterdetaillaterinthisbook.

It isnotclearhowmanySwedishofficerssoughta leaveofabsence to jointheNorwegianArmy,howevertherearetwodocumentedcases:LieutenantJanGüettler and Captain Georg Holmin. Both requests were refused. Holmin

workedonthestaffof theSwedishheadquartersresponsiblefor thedefenseofsouthern Sweden and was a nephew of the Norwegian commander-in-chief,General Otto Ruge. Holmin gave his motives for seeking to go to Norway,“Thereweretwoprimaryreasons:onewastogotomymother’shomelandandhelp them in theirmoment of great need and the secondwas to gainpracticalexperienceofGermantacticaloperationsintheNordicterrain.”66

The chaotic situation in Norway in 1940 did not allow for the kind offundraising in Sweden that had been performed during previous wars. As aconsequence of the abrupt end of the Finnish Winter War, though, theScandinavian-American FieldHospital for Finlandwas able to divert to assistNorwayinstead.ThechiefofthefieldhospitalwasBrorvonBlixen-Finecke,aSwedishveteranoftheWWIBritishArmy(seechapter4).Cladinremarkableuniforms, “Blix” and his twenty Americans crossed over into Norway fromSwedenatÖstersundintheirmilitaryambulances,undertheflagoftheUnitedStates.InÖstersundhehadmettheAmericanmilitaryattachétoNorway,whohadverylittleupliftingnews.Despitethisdiscouragingencounter“Blix”movedontoNamsosinNorwaywhereheandhismenwereabletosupportBritishandFrenchtroopsbrieflybeforetheywereforcedtoreturntoSwedenbecauseoftheapproachingGermanforces.”Blix”wantedtoservemoreactivelyandagainjointheBritishArmy,butwasturnedawaybecauseofhisage.Afterall,hewas55.67

SwedishLegionnairesatNarvikWhen Assar Tano wrote down his experiences from the battle of Narvik inArcticNorwayhesubmittedtheviewofaveryseasonedLegionnairesergeant;the enlisted legionnaire Sture Ronnöwrote a very differentmemoir about thesamebattle,bothmenprovidedvaluableinsightsthroughtheirwritings.

AssarTanofromnorthernmostSwedenfoughtintheFrenchForeignLegionagainstGeneralDietl’stroopsatNarvikin1940.ThenexttimehewasincombatwasagainsttheUSArmyinAlgeria!Brieflyaprisonerofwar,hereturnedtocombatwiththeAlliesagainstRommel’sAfrikaKorps.ThisphotoofhiminLegion

paradeuniformwasprobablytakenin1945.(AllanMann)

AssarTanowasborninMattilaoutsideHaparanda,innorthernmostSweden.Heentered theFrenchForeignLegion in1929whenhewas twentyyearsold.According to his own statements his desire both for employment and foradventurebroughthimtolaLégioninAlgeria.68TanowasnotoneofthosewhocomplainedaboutthelegendarybrutalityoflaLégion.Hestayedinitforsixteenyears,firsttakingpartincombatintheMoroccanAtlasMountainsfrom1930to1934.AfterthathereturnedtoAlgeriaandtheSaharawhereheremaineduntil

the outbreak of World War II. He was transferred to the legion’s EleventhRegiment,assignedtotheMaginotLineforanexpectedfightwithleboche(the“Krauts”). Just before he departed Algeria, however, he was promoted to therankof senior sergeantandbecausehehadbeenattached to the regimentasameresergeanthistransferandtripwerecancelled!Tanowasdisappointed:

Thereforethejoywasevengreaterwhenourbattalioncommander,MajorGuenenchault,calledmeinonefinedayandaskedifIcouldski.“Ohyes,Major,IwasabletoskibeforeIcouldwalk.”“Good,”hesaid,andgavemethemissiontoselectforty-twomoremenwhowereabletoski.…IngreatsecretivenessheconfidedtomethatwewoulddeploysomewhereinnorthernEurope.“Finland?”Iasked.“Well,onecansaythat,butdon’tmentionanythingaboutit.”69

StureRonnöofStockholmwaswithoneoflaLégion’sregimentsinMoroccoin1940andwasaskedthesamequestionasTano.Hewasalsoveryenthusiastic.“Iwillgetthechancetohelpabrothercountry[Finland],possiblygettoseemyowncountry,andperhapsgetanopportunitytorunaway.”70

WhenConnyAnderssonledathirty-mangroupintoNorwayin1940healreadyhadcombatexperiencefromFinlandandSpain,wherethisphotowastaken.AfterthefallofNorwayhesetupandranacouriergroupfromSwedeninsupportoftheNorwegianResistance.HelatertooktheinitiativetoorganizetheSwedish-NorwegianVolunteerAssociationthatprovidedthebasisforthe“NorwayBattalion”in1945.

(Självständighetsförbundet)

TanoandRonnöbothendedupinlaLégion’snewThirteenthHalfBrigade.When Finland signed an armistice with the Soviet Union the unit was notdissolved but rather continued preparations. The objective became Norwayinstead of Finland. As early as 6 May 1940 it was clear to Tano that theNorwegiancampaignwasveryconfused.Theylandedatthewrongplace,intheNorwegian town of Skårnes. There, however, Tano met three other SwedishLegionnaires who also had been sent to fight in the Arctic: his cousin, PerGranberg; whom he had not seen for nine years; Sergeant ÖstenNilsson—“areallygoodwarrior”;andStureRonnö, theHalfBrigadesownwarreporter.Inthe beginning Tano wasmade the interpreter for the unit commander, but hesuggestedthatRonnöoughttogetthatjob,whichthecommanderaccepted.

ConsequentlyRonnöhadthebestopportunitytogetacomprehensivepictureof what happened in Arctic Norway. Ronnö, with four years service in theSwedishArmybehindhim,describedthecircumstancesaroundthecontroversiallandingatBjerkvik.Duringtheassaulthefoundhimselfbesidethecommander,ColonelRaoulMagrin-Vernerey.According toRonnö’s testimony inhisbook,Visom intogNarvik (WewhoseizedNarvik), theAllied forces firedupon theNorwegiantownofBjerkvikwithoutconsiderationforthecivilianpopulation.

Assar Tano wrote scathingly about Ronnö’s book, “His fantasy isimpressive.”71Ronnö’sbookwaspublishedasearlyas1941andcontainserrors,forsure,however,inthemainhisdescriptionsarevaluable,nottheleastabouthow the Norwegian civilian community was affected by the combat.72 SincethentherehavebeenmanymorethanRonnöwhohavecriticizedthelegionforitsconductinNorway.

Tano described how the cooperationwithNorwegian units actually shapedup. He wrote about the Norwegian officer corps, which “for the most partconsisted of reservists with little military service” and how he, a foreignsergeant, was forced to take command when Norwegian officers avoidedresponsibility.73 He also admitted to having purposely “used not-so-niceexpressions about theNorwegianpeople to get them to forget thepanic.”TheNorwegian enlisted soldiers replied, according to Tano, “that they were notcowards, as I had called them. Had they only had the same quality ofcommandersaswedo,thenthey,too,wouldperformbetter.Ihadtoagreewiththem on that point. Theywere for themost part young boys who had barelyfinishedwithbasictrainingwhentheywerecommittedwithoutrealleadership.

It was no surprise that they responded [performed in combat] in that poormanner.”

Tano was aboard one of the first landing craft to cross the Rombaksfjordduring the French-Norwegian assault againstNarvik town from27 to 28May1940. At the edge of the town panic broke out within the most forwardNorwegiancompany.Tanodescribeshisownhandlingofthissituation:

Irushedforthandmanagedtostoponeplatoon,andwithmypistolinmyhandthreatenedthatIwouldshooteachandeveryoneunlesstheyturnedback.Ithenranforwardandtheboysfollowedme.Inthelastpossiblemomentweagainmannedtheposition.…ItwouldnothaverequiredalargeGermanforcetohavetakenourposition,whichwouldhavebeencatastrophic.Fromthatheightitwouldhavebeeneasyforthemtocoverwithfiretheentirebattalionontheslope.74

Both Tano and Ronnö were celebrated as heroes by the Norwegians inNarvik. “Everything good that one could imagine was lavished upon us,”rememberedTano.“Therewasnolimittotheirhospitality,”wroteRonnöandhewas able for the first time in five years to listen to the Swedish radio newsbroadcasts. The broadcasts confirmed the improved situation for the Alliedforces in northern Norway, but reported bad news from the continent. WhenRonnö returned to his staff, members of the command of the French units inNorwayvalidatedhissuspicionthat theywouldsoonevacuateNorwayandre-deploytoFrance!75

When the Allies left northern Norway to its fate—German occupation—itwas too late to save the Western Front, however. Both Tano and RonnödescribedtheHalfBrigade’s involvementatBrestasacompletefailure.In theconfusion that prevailed hardly anyone noticed the arrival of the legionnaires;their morale could hardly have sunk lower. Evacuated to England thelegionnaires, including the Swedes, had to choose: to continue to fight on thesideof theAllies inGeneraldeGaulle’sexileFrenchForcessupportedby theBritish,orif theywanted,toreturntotheremainsofthelegioninthecoloniesand risk coming under German influence. Tano stated that one was free tochoose,andhesaidthat“I,togetherwiththelieutenantandeightmenfromourplatoon, choseMorocco,while all the others chose to remain.My cousin, PerGranberg,chosetostayinEngland.”76

Sture Ronnö’s said that de Gaulle was “an elegant man, whomoved withnonchalantgestures.Hehadalargestaffofwell-decoratedofficersaroundhim,

whoperpetuallyfussedoverthegreatman.”RonnöstatedthatonlythemarriedsoldiersweregivenanopportunitytochoosebetweendeGaulle,thatis,stayinginEngland,andgoingtoAfrica.Hedidnotwanttostay,sohehadtosneakinwith themarried legionnaires.Uponhis return toMoroccoRonnöwent to theSwedish Consul and got a German transit visa permitting him to return toSweden.Hewenthomeassoonashiscontractwiththelegionwascompleted.

AssarTanoservedfortwomoreyearsasaVichylegionnaire(fortheVichygovernmentandthereforeindirectlyontheGermanside)andsawactionassuchagainst the American troops that besieged Fort Arzew in Algeria, where heserved.TanoadmittedthathecompletelyabandonedlaLégion’straditionsthere:“Thelieutenantassembledallthecommandersforawarcouncilandhewantedtohearourviewsastowhatweshoulddo:fighttothelastmanorgiveup.SinceI was the oldest NCO I proposed capitulation, reasoning that it was better tohave a living legionnaire than tendeadones, and after voting all acceptedmyproposal.”

AfterashorttimeasaprisonerofwarTanoandhiscolleagueswereequippedwithUSweaponsandsent intocombatagainstRommel’sAfricaCorps.Whenmost of the legionnaireswere dispatched to attack Sicily, however, Tanowastold to remain inAlgeria, having just beenmade sergeantmajor and chief ofexpedition in Bedeau. When Tano’s contract with the legion expired inNovember1945helefttheorganization,aftersixteenyearsofservice,andwenthome,withtwoFrenchdecorationsforbravery,theprestigiousCroixdeGuerre,inhisbaggage.AfterthewarTanobecameabusinessmaninnorthernSweden.HekeptafootinmilitarybyservingintheHomeGuard,andfinishedhisserviceasthecommanderoftheÖvertorneåHomeGuardDistrict.

Tano’s cousin, Per Granberg, who chose to follow de Gaulle, was killedduring the finalmonthsof thewar atHerbsheim,Germany.The fateofÖstenNilsson,thesergeantfromSkåne,isunknown.77

When itwas discovered that Tano had been forgotten at the ceremonies inNarvikcelebratingthefiftiethanniversaryofthebattle,theNorwegianmilitaryattachéinStockholmtraveledtoÖvertorneåtopersonallygivehimamedalandcitationfromtheKingofNorway.78

LegionnaireKnutHällfromHelsingborgwasonhiswaytoNarvikwhenhisunitwasreorganized,andperhapsbecauseofthatwasaliveandabletowritehisbook,Soldatensomintekundedö(Thesoldierwhocouldnotdie)(1987).

Legionnaire Harry Forsberg did not get to Norway either, but fought forseveral weeks against the American landings in Morocco.79 Thereafter he

fought,likeTano,againsttheGermanAfrikaKorps,butunlikeTanocontinuedtoSicilyandthemainlandofItaly.HewascapturedatMonteCassinoin1944andspent the restof thewar inaprisonerofwarcamp. InApril1945hewasliberatedbyAlliedparatroopers.

*****

Sincethe1960stheThirteenthHalfBrigadeof theFrenchForeignLegion, theunitthatfouroftheSwedesatNarvikwereassignedto,isbasedinDjibouti.Butitstillhasthebattlehonor“Bjerkvik-Narvik”onitsflag.

InBritishIntelligenceandSpecialOperationsAtleast thirtySwedishcitizensservedinmilitaryunitsofGreatBritainduringWWII.ManyofthemwereabletojoineliteunitsthatoperatedfromtheArctictoNormandy.

Whenthewarbrokeoutin1939MelcherLudvigssonandeightotherSwedishdiamonddrillersinBritishKenyawerecutofffromSwedenandobligedtosupporttheBritishArmedForces.Thephotowastakenin1940whentheSwedesdrilledwellsfortheBritishtroopsonthenorthernfront.Duringretreatstheyhadto

blow-upwellsinstead.TheSwedeshadtrenchestohideinduringthefrequentItalianbombings.(Ludvigssonfamilyarchive)

ThefirstBritishsabotageactioninNorwaywascarriedouton17June1940whenagroup from theD-Sectionof theSecret IntelligenceService (SIS, alsoknownasMI6)blewupthepowerstationinHardanger,whichwasimportanttoGermanwarindustry.UnfortunatelyverylittleisknownaboutKalleKronberg,the Swedewho is said to have been part of that sabotage team.80We are notevensureifthatwashisrealname,aswiththistypeofunitcovernameswerecommon.

AlittlemoreisknownabouttheSwedesintheSpecialOperationsExecutive(SOE),buthowmanyofthemwerethere,fiveorsix?InNorwayBirgerSjöbergwasformanyyears,atleastofficially,themostpraisedoftheseSwedes,yethecertainlyisa“manofmystery”intheextreme.SomeverybasicfactshavenotbeenfullyestablishedaboutthemanwhocalledhimselfBirgerSjöberg.

There is solid evidence that he served in the Swedish Volunteer Corps inFinland(SFK)in1940.81HisSFKrecordstatesthathisprofessionwasthatofanauthor.The“RollofHonor”fortheNorwegianCompanyofSOEdescribeshimas“anaturalleaderandorganizerofmeninguerrillawarfare.”TheassessmentofhimintheRollofHonorwas:“HisfriendsinbothNorwayandGreatBritainalways thought of him as a brave soldier full of idealism and one who wasalwaysreadytosacrificehislifeforthecausehebelievedin.ForhisexceptionalcourageanddevotiontotheserviceHisMajestyKingHaakonVIIawardedhimtheSaintOlavMedalwithOakLeaf.”82

TheSOEarchivescontainreportsconfirmingmuchoftheabove.Partsofthereports even reinforce the description of Sjöberg as a competent leader ofguerrillafighters:

Theremainderofthegroup“Heron”underSjöberglandedatTraene,atthepolarcircle,on15April[1942].LieutenantSjöberghadfourteenofficers,NCOs,andprivatesunderhiscommand.Hedividedhissmallforceintoseveralteamstooccupystrategicplacesandgotthemtoworkunderespeciallychallengingcircumstances.Overthirtytonsofsupplies,includingweapons,explosives,militaryequipment,andfoodhadbeenpre-positionedonlandneartheWestCoastofNorway,mainlybyfishingboatsandpartlybyuseoftwoCatalinaamphibiousaircraft.Theywereforcedtomovethesesuppliesoverglaciersandsnow-coveredmountains,passingGermanoutpostsandreconnaissancepatrols.Itisamarkofhisorganizationalleadershipthathewasabletobuildupandmaintainaforceofonethousandpersonsforfivemonthsincompletesecrecy.Manyof

themwerethentrainedandorganizedandbecameeffectiveguerrillatroopsforattackingselectedtargets.83

TheNorwegianbookPaVingeneforNorge(OnwingsforNorway)(1947),statesaboutSjöberg’s last fighton9 June1944, that aGermanSSsergeant, aHauptscharführer Märtz, led the patrol that killed Sjöberg. Märtz wasinterrogated after the war and then claimed that Sjöberg and his companionswereburiedwithmilitaryhonors.84

The chronicle of the renowned Norwegian Company of SOE,Lingekompaniet, vividly describes Sjöberg’s mission in northern Norway.ContrarytothetextinRollofHonor,however,itclaimsthat“theAlliedstaffsinLondonandStockholm[sic]decidedtoceaseallguerrillaactivityinthenorthernareaaftertheliquidationoftheSjöbergorganization.”85

Tohonor thememoryofSjöbergandhisguerrillagroup there is anannualSjöbergMarchintheareaofhisfinaloperations.Themarchdrawshundredsofmilitaryandcivilianparticipants.86

InthetownofVefsnattheplacewherehefellthereisamonumentthatreads,“CaptainBirgerSjöberg”andhisnameisalsofoundinanumberofNorwegianandBritishbooks.87

AllanMann, anotherSwedewho served in theSOE, regardedSjöberg as acountrymanandwasallowed to addSjöberg’snameon thememorial stone inOslo for theSwedish citizens that died in the service ofNorway.AllanMannmaintainedhisviewofSjöberg’snationality,atleastofficially,untilhisdeath.88

Thereisgoodevidence,however,thatSjöbergwasactuallyaNorwegianwhowantedtostartanewlifebypretendingtobeSwedish.Therearemanyodditiesin the recordsaboutSjöberg.Tobeginwith,hisSFKrecordsstate thathehadreceivedmilitary training inNorway,which is hardly common for a Swedishcitizen.

ThreeNorwegian authors, one of them an SOE-veteran, claim that SjöbergwasneitherSwedishnorwasheburiedunderhiscorrectname.ItseemsthathewasactuallyaNorwegianbythenameofNilsBerdahl,whohadbeenpursuedby the police. According to author Egil Ulateig, Sjöberg, or Berdahl, was “afugitive and charlatan” who certainly was brave and capable, but who alsocausedsubstantiallymoredamagethangoodfortheareaswhereheoperatedonbehalfofSOE.89

DoesallthisuncertaintyregardingSjöbergreallymatter,though?Well,ifhewasnotactuallySwedishheneverthelesscarvedhimselfaplace inNorwegian

historyassuch!90In contrast, the reputation of the most well known Swede in SOE, Allan

Mann,isimpeccable,butalsosospecialthathewillbecoveredseparatelylateron.

FransHellströmandHolgerWestinwerealsoSwedishSOE-members.Afterhaving served as volunteers in Finland and Norway in the spring of 1940,Hellström, Westin, Allan Mann, and five Norwegians managed to get to theShetlandIslandswithafishingboat.TheyweretrainedthereeitherbySOEortheD-SectionoftheSecretIntelligenceService(SIS).91(Itwasjustatthattimethat theD-Sectionwas transferred from theSIS to thenew rival organization,SOE.)

Aftersomemonthsoftraining,FransHellström,whowasfromGothenburg,wasordered toblowuprailwaytracks inNorway.Thehazardous tripover theNorthSeasucceeded,againthankstolegendary“Shetlands-Larsen”[anationalheroinNorwayforhisWWIIexploits].Priortocarryingouttheactualsabotage,Hellström stayed at a hotel frequented by the German military. The actionsucceeded, even if it blewonly the rails and did not take out aGerman trooptrain with it. Hellström returned to Scotland to ferry British weapons over toNorway.

AbouttheNorwegiansHellströmmetduringhismissionsinNorwayhesaid,“Everywherewewentwe felt support. TheNorwegianswere always ready tohelp when we appeared and asked for a night’s lodging. Some were a bitsuspicious in the beginning, but after a fewminutes they understood that we‘werefortheKing’.”92

TheGermanauthoritieshaddeterminedthataSwedehadparticipatedinthesabotageagainsttherailwayatGudå.SomehowtheSwedishauthoritieshadalsolearnedthisandwhenHellströmcametoSwedenhewasarrestedandsentencedtoimprisonmentattheinfamousLångholmenprisoninStockholm.Thefactthathe had fought forNorway later obstructed his efforts to findwork at a navalshipyard.TheentireissuewascleareduponlywhenHellströmwentdirectlytotheMinisterofJustice.

HolgerWestinfromStockholmmadeatotalofeighttripsfromtheShetlandIslandstoNorwaysmugglingBritishweapons.HewasalsogiventhepoliticallyverysensitivemissionofspyingintheFinnishportofPetsamoandthenearbyNorwegiantownofKirkenes.93

In the fall of 1942 a German aircraft torpedoed the Norwegian coastalsteamerKnollandtheshipsankwithinafewminutes.OnboardwasaSwedish

seaman,KurtBjörklundfromNorraVramintheprovinceofSkåne.Björklundandmostofthecrewsurvived,butseveralhourslaterGermanaircraftfiredontheirlifeboatsontwooccasions.Thesceneofthesedefenselesscomradesbeingmowed down by theGermansmadeBjörklund vow “to get back at them andmakethempay.”94

ABritish destroyer brought the survivors to London,whereBjörklundmetwiththeSwedishmilitaryattachéandaskedforadviceonhowtojointheBritishArmedForces.TheSwedishofficerobviouslyhadtherightcontactsbecausethenextdayBjörklundwasenrolledasCommandosoldiernumber1027andenteredeight weeks of elite training. Björklund participated in a number of daringcommandoraidsalongtheNorwegiancoastandagainstaGermansignalsbasenorthofNorway,onBear Island in theBarentsSea.The intelligencegatheredfromthestationledtothesinkingofsupplyshipsheadingforMurmansk.OnenightBjörklundandfivecomradesrowedarubberboatashoreBearIslandandenveloped the radio station. “After a short exchange of fire we captured thesignals specialist and blew up the facility. We hoped that from then on theconvoyswouldbeabitsafer.”95

Intheeveningof5June1944Björklundwasaboardanassaultlandingshipheading across theEnglishChannel.Hewas part ofNo. 6Commando,RoyalMarines,destinedtolandatSwordBeach.Björklundclearlyrememberedwhathesawonthatmoonlitnightduringthefirstfewhoursof6June:

Therowsofboatswasunending.FarinfrontofuswesawtheGermanbarrageballoonsthatwerehangingallalongthecoasttohinderanylandingfromtheair.Theintensityoffirecomingtowardsusfromtheenemywassurprising.TheGermanshaddiscoveredusandshotintothedarknesswithyellow,green,andredtracerssothatitlookedalmostlikeafireworksdisplay.Manyofusprobablyforgotforawhilewhatwewereabouttodoaswelookedatthespectacleandasweweretransportedtowardswhatformostofuswouldendindeath.96

Björklunddidnot try to takecoveronthebeach,ashecouldnotsee that itwouldhavehelped.Hiscomrades“tumbledeverywherearoundmebutIdidnotknow if they were wounded, killed, or had only stumbled.” He eventuallyreachedagrasscoveredslope inhissoakingwetuniform.He thenentered theGermandefensive trenches “toperformmy job.”Björklundhasnotwanted todiscuss the restofhiswartimeexperiencesbecause theyhavehauntedhimforsixtyyears,“[d]espitehavingtriedeverythingpossibletoforget.…”

TheloneSwedishveteranofNo.6CommandowasnoticedbyPrinceCharlesduring the fiftieth anniversary ceremony of the Normandy invasion, whenBjörklundrevisitedthebeacheswithsomeofhiswarbuddies.97

LarsRooth, fromStockholm, foundhimself in theUnitedStatesduring thefirst years of the war, but in 1942 he received a message from the Swedishauthoritiesthathecouldgetnofurtherpostponementtoappearforbasictraining.Rooth had nothing against defendingSweden, “but I did notwant to lay on arock with an order to shoot at whoever came first! I was totally opposed toneutrality. If I was to become a soldier then I would choose sidesmyself.”98AfterhemadethedecisiontobecomeaBritishsoldierhecomposedalettertohisparentsdisclosinghismotives:

IconsiderthattheAlliesarenotrightineverythingtheydo,buttheothersiderepresentssomethingthatmustbestopped.Itisnotaquestionaboutifonewantstohelpornot,itisamoralduty.IcanhelpSwedenbyhelpingtheEurope,whichisbeingsmashedtopieces.IamnotcertainthatIcoulddothatasasoldierbackhome.99

Hisfather,IvarRooth,headoftheSwedishNationalBank,triedinatelegramtoarguewithhisson,butfailedtoconvincehim.LarsRoothwasinformedbytheBritishGeneralConsulthatforeigncitizenscouldnotjointheregularBritishArmy and referred him to theNorwegian or FrenchFreeCorps.After severalmonths the ruleswerechangedandhewasable toapply for theonlyarmyhewanted to join. Rooth sailed over the Atlantic with a large convoy thatmeanderedforward.“inthehopetothussurvivethesubmarines.”Onarrivalandafter twoweeksof interviewsandwaiting,LarsRooth finallywasable to jointheBritishArmy.HehadhissightssetontheIntelligenceCorpsoftheBritishArmy(becauseitwasfocusednotonkillingtheenemybuttalkingtohim,Roothwith his objections against killing, could still serve in the IntelCorps.)Roothexplainswhyinhismemoir:

IfeltastrongneedtogetinvolvedpersonallyinthefightagainstHitler,buthadgreatdoubtsabouthavingtokillothers.WhenIlatergotthreemonthsofinfantrytrainingtheworstthingwastrainingtoattack,whenonehadtoleapwiththebayonetagainstahaysack,whichrepresentedtheenemy,driveinthebayonetwhilesteppingforward,turningit,andthenpullingitout.Isawinmymindhowthebowelsbegantoflowoutfromthedyingenemy,andallmyhatredforHitlercouldnotgetmetoaccept

thisbrutalroleexceptinthemostextremecircumstance.Topressabuttoninabomberorthefiringmechanismonanartillerypieceiscertainlypsychologicallyeasier—thenonehasnopersonalrelationshipwiththoseonekills.100

Roothhadmore interest inother aspectsofhis training suchasmotorcycledriving and the somewhat theatrical lessons in interrogation. He arrived inNormandy on 7 August 1944 and was ordered to the 19th Field SecurityBattalion,attachedtothe79thArmoredDivision.RoothsawhowtheDivision’sShermantanksboggeddownonthebeachduringtheattacktocontroltheDutchScheldt River harbor. In Antwerp he experienced several attacks with theGermanmissilesoftheV-1andV-2typesandsawtheirvictimsupclose.

LarsRoothfromStockholmwastheonlySwedishcitizenintheBritishIntelligenceCorpsandattendedtosecretmaterialwithaBritishtankunitonthewaytoGermany.Attheendofthewarhehadthemissionto

searchforandarrestSSofficers.(LarsRooth)

InGermanyRooth had the task to search for and arrest leadingNazis anddetermine which persons could be politically acceptable for cooperation andbuildingupanewanddemocraticGermany.HegotmanytipsfromtheGermanpublic about where high level Nazis and SS officers were hiding. Rooth was

partlyresponsibleforthecaptureoftheSSofficerwhohadbeenthepolicechiefinDüsseldorf.

Lars Rooth did not gain much experience with armed combat, but in hismemoirsDethändepåvagentillRom(IthappenedonthewaytoRome)(1989),heleftrecalledthoughtprocessthatdrovehimtovolunteerfortheAlliedside.Bearing in mind his service for the Allies, it is also hard to brush aside hiscritique against theAlliedwayofwagingwar, “When I reflect on theSecondWorldWar it is not only the attackswith the atombomb that I foundhard toaccept.”101

After the war Rooth became a Jesuit and led the Vatican Radio SwedishService.HehasalsotraveledtheworldwithhishighestemployernexttoGod,thePope.

ThisSSarmshieldforSwedishvolunteerscomesfromaSSHauptamtdocument,whichisdated1February1945.ItistheonlyproofsofaroftheexistenceofaSwedisharmshield.TherearereportsaboutindividualSwedeswearingshields.Todate,however,ithasnotevenbeenproventhatshieldswereactuallymanufactured.WhatisabsolutelysureisthatSwedishshieldswereneverdistributedbytheSS,whichisa

reflectionofthesmallnumberofSwedesintheSS.Thereis,ofcourse,atheoreticalpossibilitythatsomeonemayhavewornaprivately-madeshield,butnophotographicproofofsuchashieldexists.(LG)

FourSwedishvolunteers—RuneIdengren,“L.E.A.,”ElofPersson,andJanGüettler—allservedinBritishinfantryunits.Thelattertwohadbeenvolunteersin Finland and in Norway in 1940. Persson served from 1940 to 1945 as asergeantinScotland,mostlikelywiththeNorwegianbrigadethere.102AftertheNorwegian campaignof 1940 JanGüettler served as anSOEcourier, butwas

arrestedinSwedenforthepossessionofillegalweapons.Shortlyafter,GüettlerwaspardonedandinJuly1941heleftSwedenaccompaniedbyhisNorwegianwife.MalcolmMuntheoftheSOEarrangedforthemtobeflownoutbyBritishcourier aircraft.103 In Great Britain Güettler chose to become a Norwegiancitizen,butdidnotrenouncehisSwedishcitizenship.BothGüettlerandhiswifeworkedintheBritishPoliticalIntelligenceDepartment.Adeskjobwasnotthatsatisfying for Güettler, however. He applied for and was accepted at theNorwegian Military School in London. After that, he had expected to leadNorwegian troops to liberate Norway, but instead he was assigned as a firstlieutenant with a regular British infantry unit, the King’s Own ScottishBorderers. Normandy, not Norway, became his big task. Güettler crossed thechannelalittleoveraweekafterD-dayandoneofthefirstpersonshethenmetwasstrangelyenoughanotherSwedishvolunteerandoldclassmate,LarsLind,who also had married a Norwegian girl and now served in the NorwegianNavy.104

Güettler’s first letter fromNormandy to his wife was filledwith optimismwhereas his last letterwaswritten in amuch darker tone, “This is noRobin-Hood-typeadventurebehindthelinesinNorway.Thisisadirtyandrottenwarwiththestenchofbloodandbodiesfillingtheairwhereverwego—thisisnotawar, this isamassacre.”105JanGüettlerwaskilledbyabulletfromamachinegunshortlyaftermidnighton16July1944.

AllanMannFor forty years after WWII a very large number of Swedish and Norwegianofficers were trained in close combat and gymnastics by Allan Mann. TheywouldalsoinvariablyhearsomethingabouthisyearsinBritishandNorwegianspecial operations. It is not an exaggeration to declare thatMannwas one ofSweden’smostfamousandappreciatedofficersinmoderntimes.Notthatmanyhave heard Mann himself discuss his own role during the war, however. Inpublicheseldom,andthenonlybriefly,describedtheactions inwhichhewasinvolved. Still, through the efforts of a number of researchers one can get arelativelyclearpictureofwhathedidduringthewaryears.

Allan Mann was the son of a farmer in Töreboda in the province ofVästergötland. He was a junior national wrestling champion when hevolunteered to serve inFinlandwith theSwedishLaborCorps in 1939.MannhadnotyetservedhistimeintheSwedishArmy.InFinlandhewasneverthelesstransferred to the military volunteers, the SFK, where he was assigned as anassistanttoCaptainMalcolmMurray.

AllanMann,Sweden’smostlegendaryvolunteeronthesideoftheAllies.By1940hehadbeguntoworkfortheBritishandNorwegians.In1944hebeganhisuniformedservicewiththeBritishSpecialOperations

Executive.HereheisshownonaBritishmotorcycle,probablyin1945.(AllanMann)

After FinlandMann was home in Sweden only two days with his parentsbeforehetraveledabroadon11April1940.Hehadbecomegoodfriendswitha

numberofNorwegiansintheSFKandtheywantedhimnowastheir leaderinNorway, despite the fact that he was only nineteen years old. Mann hasdescribedhismotiveforagreeingas,“Reallyitwasverysimple,myNorwegianfriends from the Finnish War wanted to go home to volunteer to serve inNorway.HadIdeclinedtofollowthemIwouldbeknownasafraudtomyclosecomradeswithwhomIhadexperiencedsomuch.”106

Mann arrived inKongsvinger on 12April and joined a regularNorwegianunit.107HetookpartindefendingthewithdrawalnorthwardandparticipatedinthebattleatOs,theplacewheretheemploymentofSwedishvolunteerscausedapreviously mentioned diplomatic protest by the Germans to the Swedishgovernment.

Mann and ten of his comrades had heard of the larger battle that was stillragingaroundNarvikanddecidedtogothere,eventhoughtheonlyconnectingroadwasblockedby theGermans.Mannand twenty-twoothers,all filthyanddisheveled, went over the border to Sweden and traveled as “tourists” on theSwedish rail.108Theywereable to reachNarvik from thenorthbywayof thethen-Finnish province of Ishavsfinland (now part of the Russian county ofMurmansk).

On19AprilMannandisgrouparrivedatGratangeninArcticNorway,wheretheyjoinedthe2dBattalionofthe15thNorwegianInfantryRegiment(IR15).109ThebattalionwaspreparingtoretakethecityofNarvik.On28MayMannwasamongthosewhoreclaimedthecityfromtheGebirgsjägerswhoduringsevenweekshadheldit.

MajorGeneralTorkelHovland,aNorwegianmilitaryhistorian,hascalledtheretakingofNarvikas“thehighpointinthemostpowerfuldramathathasevertakenplace in thenorthernmostpart ofour country.”110Mannwasneververyspecificabouthisroleinthesixtosevenhoursoffightingthatprecededthefallof German-occupied Narvik. He has only confirmed that he was there andremindedthatthebattlewaswonatacostofsixtydeadandwoundedoutofthe450soldiersinthebattalion.111

Thenight between7 and8 JuneMann joined amixedunit ofNorwegians,Polish and French soldiers. The latter were Foreign legionnaires and on oneoccasionMannmetunexpectedlywithoneofthefourSwedesthatwereamongthem. This international group moved ahead eastwards of the Rombaksfjord,following the railway tracks used for the transport of iron ore. Then Germanshellsbegan to raindownon themat aplacecalledKatterat.Mann’s stomach

waspenetratedbyashellfragmentandaFrenchlieutenantwaswoundedinthefoot.DespitehiswoundAllanMannbuiltasled-likelitterusingseveralskisandheplacedtheFrenchmanonit.BypurewillpowerandinstinctManndraggedhimtowardstheeastandtheSwedishborder.Manndescribedtheepisodetoajournalist in his characteristic, taciturn, way: “A French soldier was seriouslywounded in the foot but I was able to get him to Sweden. That was a rathertough job in the wet snow.”112 When he told the same story to a SwedishAirborneRangerOfficerheprovidedabitmoredetail:

Icannotremembersomuch.Ionlyknowthatitwasdifficult,verydifficult.Perhapsitwasadistanceofninekilometers.Therewasalotofsnowthatspring.IwasnotabletowalkinastraightlineandIwasbleedingfrommystomachwound.TheFrenchmancouldnotwalk.Heonlycriedout“avancez,avancez.”ASwedishpatrolfoundusataborderstationfourkilometerssouthofthetownofRiksgransen.Wemadeit.Idon’tknowforsurebutthinktheysaidtheytreatedmeatVassijaurebeforetheysentmefurthersouth.113

Still,Mannforgottomentionthathe,himselfseriouslywounded,draggedtheFrench legionnaire lieutenant for nine hours.114 For his action at Narvik theFrenchGovernmentmadeMannaKnightof theFrenchLegionofHonor.TheFrenchlieutenantwentontobecomeahighrankingFrenchofficer.

DuringhisstayatahospitalMannwasvisitedbyMalcolmMunthefromtheSOEOfficeat theBritishEmbassy inStockholm.AsanSOEcourierbetweenSweden andNorwayMannwas able to smuggle bothmessages,weapons andammunition.According tomany sources he carried out a total of fifty-two (!)suchmissionsintooccupiedNorway,armedonlywithapistolandaknife.115HewasnevercapturedbytheGestapo,buthedidspendseveraldaysinaSwedishjailundergoinginterrogation.

Notmuch is known about the following twoyears inAllan’s life but he isknowntosomehowagainhavereachedEnglandandtohaveparticipatedinthelargeandcostlyraidagainstDieppeinnorthFrance.ItwasmostprobablyduringthatoperationthatheperformedanactionthatrenderedhimtheBritishMilitaryMedal“forbraveryinbattle.”

Inthespringof1944Mannunderwenttrainingintheuseofparachutesandspecialized close combat training with the Norwegian Independent CompanyNo.1,theNorwegiansectionofSOEbetterknownjustas“Lingekompaniet.”116

In November 1944 he returned to Sweden in an American aircraft and wassubordinatedtotheNorwegian-AmericanColonelBerntBalchenwho,withtenUSAAF Dakotas with crews, was based in Sweden, in spite of Swedish“neutrality”!MannflewwithoneofBalchen’sC-47DakotatransportaircrafttoFinnmark innorthernNorwayandparachuted into thewilderness.HismissionwastoconductsensitiveintelligencecollectionandtodistributeweaponstotheNorwegianresistanceinthearea.Notalogicalmixoftasks!TheGermanshadburned down almost all the buildings and left a large number ofmines in theFinnmarkareaastheyretreatedtothewestin1944.Inadditiononehadtopayattention to the fact that there were both German, Soviet, Norwegian andAmericanforcesoperatinginthearea.

ForhismilitaryaccomplishmentsduringhisvolunteerserviceMannwasalsoawarded theNorwegianSaintOlafMedalwithOakLeafand twoFrenchWarCrosses.

AllanMann remained in Norway and became a gymnastics instructor. HemarriedMary, aNorwegian, andworked as a teacherwith the rank of a firstlieutenantattheNorwegianWarAcademy.WhenMannreturnedtoSwedenin1956hewasgiven—withoutanyformalSwedishofficertraining—therankofaArmycaptainandthepositionasateacherattheSwedishArmyWarAcademyatKarlbergCastle (the equivalent to theUSArmyMilitaryAcademyatWestPoint).Heheld thisposition formore than thirtyyears.A largenumberof theSwedish Army officer corps was trained by Allan Mann, and through hisphysicaltrainingprogramhiseffortsreachedjustabouteveryoneintheSwedishDefense Forces. ThroughMann a number of Norwegian war veterans withinspecialoperationscametoKarlbergandgavelectures.

He replied toa reporterabouthowhehimselfwould judge thevalueofhiscontribution toNorway:“Having survivedawaryoubecome ratherhumble…youdonotforgetthatyouwerejustoneofmanywhodidthejob.Andthatyouwereluckytoreturn.”117

FiveCombatJumpsCountErikG:son[sic]Lewenhaupt’slifewasfullofunbelievabletwists.HavingoncebeenmarkedasamilitarywashoutheeventuallybecameanadvisortothecreatoroftheSwedishAirborneRangerSchool.HisextensiveexperienceinwarinbothEuropeandAsiaiswellsummarizedinaremarkbyaBritishsergeant:“Findawarandyou’llfindErikLewenhauptinit.”118

OnewouldhavethoughtthatErikG:sonLewenhauptwasbornwithasilverspoon in hismouth as the son of a count whowas court huntingmaster andownerofacastle (AskeCastle,outsideKungsängen).Whenhe reached thirty-four years of age, however, his assets amounted to zero.His family had livedwithexpensesthatcouldnotbesustained.

Without any property to manage Lewenhaupt sought a military career, astrongtraditioninhisfamily.Hesoonhadtoleavethearmybecauseofaseriousillness, so in Sweden there was no such future for him. The French ForeignLegionremained.

Wellonhiswaytooneofthelegion’sunitsinAlgeria,literallyatthegate,hewas not prepared to take the last step into the world of la Légion. Vagueinformation indicates that he could not immediately return to Swedenwithoutfirst servingonone sideor theother in theSpanishCivilWar.119There isnodoubt,however, thathewas in theWinterWar from1939 to1940alongwithtwo other Lewenhaupts—as a volunteer for Finland. Since he had no realmilitary training or competence he could only become a squad leader with atransportcompany,buttherehewasappreciatedbecauseofhissolidknowledgeandabilitywithvehicles.120

It must have been the combination of his years at Oxford, continuedunemployment,andhisNorwegianbrothers-in-armsfromFinlandthatmadehimdecidetojointhewarinNorway.

Lewenhaupt proved to be a natural leader in the forest fighting aroundKongsvinger.HiscomposureandenergyledtohimbeingpromotedtocaptainintheNorwegianArmy in justa fewdays.Likesomanyof theotherSwedes insouthernNorway, he became tired of the chaos that prevailed there. Togetherwith fellowSwedeHansThuringhe requestedandwasgranteda transfer toacompany from the Scots Guards on their way to the north, as a guide andinterpreter.121ItwaswiththeScots,literallyatthePolarCircle,thatLewenhauptearned his first Military Cross, one of Great Britain’s highest awards.

Lewenhauptgot thecompanyback to thebattalionafter theyhadbeencutoff.On one occasion he alone covered the retreat of his companywith amachinegun.122Duringoneof the longhungermarcheswith theScotsGuardshewasrequestedtotakeoveraBritishplatoonandfollowalongtoFrance.

On5 JuneLewenhaupt andhisBritishunit steppedonboard thepassengership Franconia, with the destination unknown. He knew that Belgium hadrecently capitulated and that the situation in France was precarious, but stillchosetofollowtheBritish.ThetripendedinScotlandandtheyremainedthereforawhilebecauseFrancehadbythenfallen.LewenhauptwasreassignedtoanewlyestablishedNorwegiantrainingbattalion.

As chief for a company of young Norwegian former whalers Lewenhauptbecamepopularwithhismen,despitehisemphasison“spitandpolish.”Hadheonly been a caricature of an aristocratic guards officer his popularity hardlywould have been possible. It is noted inmany Norwegian, British as well asSwedish sources that Lewenhaupt possessed both charm and brains and wasconsiderate.Thismadeadeepimpressiononalmosteveryonewhomethim.123ThecharmalsoconqueredaNorwegianRedCrossnurse,AaseKløvstad,whomarriedhiminSeptember1940.OnhisownresponsibilityLewenhauptreleasedafellowSwedefromjail,BirgerSjöberg(laterwithSOE).Thiscausedaschismbetween Lewenhaupt and his Norwegian officer colleagues, which led toLewenhauptleavingtheNorwegianArmyinJune1941.

In order to switch armies and once more lead British soldiers, ErikLewenhaupt had to start all over.CountLewenhaupt became a private soldieragain, at the age of thirty-eight! After twelve months as a private andnoncommissionedofficerintheFirstAirborneDivisionhebecameacadetattheWar College in Southend-on-Sea. Thereafter the records indicate thatLewenhauptwas“on loan” to theSOEandparachuted intoDenmark.His taskwasprobablytogetimportantDanesoutofthecountryandtoBritain.

The next, certain, information is that Lewenhaupt was made a secondlieutenantintheRoyalArmyServiceCorpswithintheSixthAirborneDivision.Twomonthslaterhewasacaptainagainandhisjobtoprovidecloseindefensefor the 716th Independent Pathfinder Company, the guide company for thedivision.124Thecompanymissionafterlandingwastogatheranddistributeallthe equipment that belonged to the division. Lewenhaupt’s dutywas partly toprovidesecurityforthecompanysothatitcouldcarryoutitsmissionandpartlytolocatenewbases.

On5 June, the daybeforeD-day,Lewenhauptwrote to his best friend, the

NorwegianLieutenant“Jojo”Dahl,“Ihavethefinestsoldierstobefound,soIamcertainthateverythingwillgowellandamproudthatIhavebeengiventhisjob.InearlygottearsinmyeyeswhenIsawaNorwegianflag,becauseasyouknowitisbasicallyforthatflagthatIfight.”

Lewenhaupt’splane,aloneC-47Dakotatookoffat2230hourswithtwentyparatroopers,radarbeacons,andlanternswithcoloredglass.On6Juneat0020hours the aircraft was over Ranville in Normandy and the green light in theaircraft turned on. Lewenhaupt fell through a net of searchlight beams fromGermanFlakunits.

Two German machine guns were located in the area where Lewenhauptlanded, he said, but one machine-gun team fled and “the other we quicklyrenderedharmless.”

While Lewenhaupt’s platoon was busy clearing the area of anything thatmight hinder a follow-up larger parachute landing they came under fire againandadozenmenwerehitimmediately.Atthesamemoment,however,anAlliedfighter aircraft arrived and the Germans were forced to leave. ThirtyminuteslaterLewenhauptwitnessed the landing of seven parachute battalions releasedoverhisarea,wellclearedandsecuredbyhismen.

Lewenhaupt’sgroup foughton6June“in thedikes,onbackstreets,and insewers.” and spent the first night inpositions a little southofAmfreville.Thenightwasfilledwithclosecombatusingbayonets.

AweekaftertheinvasionLewenhauptwasdrivingdeepintoenemyterritorywithhisjeeponreconnaissancemissions.SergeantJackKellywroteaboutthesetrips, “I loved that guy [Lewenhaupt] especially when he would come to mydugoutat0200hoursandsay,‘Jack,getajeep,we’regoingonarecon’.Iusedtotellhimthathewouldgetusbothkilled,buthewouldjustlaughandignoreeverythingIsaid.”

On19JuneLewenhauptwrotefromFrancetohisbestfriend,“Jojo”Dahl:

TheGermansareunfortunatelymagnificentsoldiers.Weknowthisfromexperience,becausewehavebeenkickedaroundprettyhard.Yetwehavebeenabletogetthroughitall,andthatisthemainthing.WeintheAirborneareverypopularwiththeFrenchmenandthereisagreatdifferencewhenwepassthroughatownandwhenothertroopsdothesame.FormepersonallyeverythinghasgoneexcellentlyhereandIhavedoneoneveryresponsiblejobaftertheother…forthemomenttheGermanshavetheirartillerydirectedagainstthisplacesoeverythingis

shaking.Lostamanfrommyunitat2230hoursduetotheseincomingshells.Itisinterestingtoseehowlittlepeoplerespondtoallthisnow.Themainthingforthemisthattheygettheirfoodandcigarettes.

During the continuing combat inNormandyLewenhaupt proved he had anamazingability topredictGermanmovements,andbecausehedependeduponhisintuitionhefrequentlydidnotgo“bythebook”inhisactions.

Another example of Lewenhaupt’s lively technical interests are two smallgadgetsheconstructedwhenhewasinBritishservice:acombinationinspectionstickandpocketflashlightaswellasaveryshortcastingrodnottocatchfishbuttotriggerboobytraps.

AfterthreemonthsofcontinuouscombattheSixthAirborneDivisionreachedtheRiverSeine,andthedivisionwaswithdrawnfromthelineandsentbacktoEnglandforreorganizationandreplacementofpersonnel.

DuringHitler’sdesperateArdennesoffensiveinDecember1944Lewenhauptledasuccessfuloperationtoliberateprisoners.InMarch1945heparticipatedinOperation VARSITY, the last large air-delivered deployment in the war. Notfewerthan1,300gliderswereusedandmeasuresweretakentoensurethattheywouldnotbespreadoutastheyhadbeenatNormandyandArnhem.Thegliderswereloadedwithmen,jeeps,artillery,andlightarmoredvehicles.TheobjectivewastotakethehighgrounddominatingtheGermansideoftheRhineRiver,thelast significant terrain barrier before the Ruhr region, Germany’s industrialheartland. Lewenhauptwould lead a platoon of air-delivered armored infantryvehicles. The weather was ideal, and the Germans already were weak anddemoralized. For the most part both the gliders and paratroops landed asplanned. A reconnaissance unit that did not land in time was replaced byLewenhaupt’splatoon.

VARSITYbecamethemostsuccessfulAlliedairlandingduringthewar.Onits conclusion Montgomery ordered the Sixth Airborne Division to use allpossiblemeanstogettoDenmarkbeforetheapproachingRussians.Therivalrybetween the Western Allies and Stalin was becoming evident. On 30 MarchLewenhaupt and his reconnaissance unit, serving as the advance party for thedivision,reachedtheirobjective,abridgeovertheRiverEms.Lewenhauptcamedirectly upon aGerman unit that seemed towant to surrender, yet thereweresome in that unit not willing to give up. These soldiers took Lewenhaupt bysurprise and took him prisoner. Even though the end of the war was near hedecided to escape and found the opportunity during an Allied air attack. The

escapewasjustabouttosucceedwhenhewascapturedagain.On2MayLewenhauptwroteinhisdairy:“1720hoursthefirsttankarrived

from theEleventhArmy (?). I am free.Much todowith thedisarmingof theGermans.” After a proper welcome ceremony from his company at theirtemporary mess facility he was transported to Copenhagen by air, probablybecauseofhislanguageabilityandpreviousexperienceofDenmark.On5Mayhewrote,“LandedatKastrupat1605hours.Easyjob.CelebratedlikecrazywiththeDanes.”Ina later letterhewrotethathisdetachmentonlyhadtofire threeshotsinDenmark.

TheWarOffice,theBritishwarministry,didnotwanttoreleaseLewenhauptyet and ordered him to Burma, despite the fact that he still was a Swedishcitizen.Hewaspartof theoperationthat liberatedSingaporeanddisarmedtheJapanese. He was made a major in Indonesia and commander of eighteenhundredmen,andwasgiventhemissiontoclearoutandrebuildtheSemarangarea.LewenhauptreceivedthetemporaryrankofbrigadiergeneralandwasthenassignedasheadoftheWarCollegeinHongKongwiththerankoflieutenantcolonel.125

Afterhehad completedhismaximum tour length inAsiaof threeyearshereturned to Great Britain in 1948. He left the British Army with the title ofHonoraryMajor.126Above a rowof commonBritish,Norwegian, andFinnishmedalsLewenhauptheldtheKing’sMedalforCourageintheCauseofFreedomandtwoseparateawardsoftheMilitaryCross.

AfterhisreturntoSwedenhewasappointedRyttmästare(cavalrycaptain)inthereserveandin1951hewasattachedasanadvisortoNils-IvarCarlborgwhenhe was to start up the Airborne Ranger School in Karlsborg. Carlborg wroteaboutthattime:

ItwaswithmixedfeelingsthatIhadtoacceptArmyChiefofStaffVikingTamm’ssuggestiontomakeuseofLewenhaupt.Itwasprobablynotgoingtobethateasytobetheboss,beingonlyacaptainandhavingdoneonlyfiveparachutejumps,whenmyassistanthadbeenaBritishlieutenantcolonelandmoreoverhaddonefivejumpsincombat.Theapprehensionwasnotwarranted,however.Erikknewwhowasthebossandwasonehundredpercentloyal.Hewasabletoteachmealotinhisquietmanner.ThestylethatwestroveforrightfromthestartwasveryBritish,andwastoagreatextentinspiredbyErik.127

Nils-IvarCarlborgwas initially also skeptical about a lot of thewar stories

toldbyLewenhaupt,butintimehebecameconvincedthattheCounthadreallyexperiencedallthoseimprobableepisodes.

ErikG:sonLewenhaupt,acaptainintheBritishparachuteforces,jumpedoverNormandyon6June1944.HelateralsotookpartinthelargestairborneoperationinWesternEuropeasthecommanderofair-landed

armoredvehicles.InthisphotographheisinDenmarkinMay1945.(ClaesLewenhaupt’sarchive)

FirsttoMeettheMesserschmitt262Thewar in theairhasbeensurroundedbyacertain romanticglow,as the lastindividual “gentleman’swar.”Theduelsbetween thepilots in theSpitfire andMesserschmitt fighteraircraftweresomethinglike tournaments in theheavens.Mostof thefighterandbomberaircraftpilots,however,hadnoillusionsaboutthe possibility of surviving for a longer period. The steady pressure, lack ofsleep, and risk of burning to death or being shot down took its toll on them.Remarkably, several of the Swedes who flew for an extended period in theBritishRoyalAirForce(RAF)survivedthewar.

TherewereveryfewpilotsintheSwedishAirForcebeforetheSecondWorldWar.When thewarbrokeout thesefewmenweremuchneededforSweden’sowndefense.DespitethisatleasteightSwedescametoserveintheRAFduringtheSecondWorldWar.

Six of the ten known Swedes in the RAF joined between 1940 and 1941,whenGreatBritainstoodisolatedagainstanenemywhopromisedto“eliminatetheEnglishMotherland.”Pro-Allied andanti-Nazi sentimentswere clearly themain reasons for theseSwedes to join theRAF.Other factorswere search foradventure,anenthusiasmforflight,andfamilyconnections.

TheSwedesintheRAFfoughtinmanyairroles—infighter,attack,bombing,torpedo,andreconnaissanceunits—andonseveralfronts.Theyexperiencedthedesperateperiodofdefensive combat against theLuftwaffe in1940and1941,thebattleforairsuperiorityintheMediterranean,andthemassivebomberandfighterassaultontheThirdReich.

In August 1944 a British telegram reported that a Swedish RAF pilot hadbeenthefirst toengageincombatwiththeworld’sfirst jetfighteraircraft, theMesserschmitt262(Me262).128Thepilot’snamewasUlfChristiernsson,whohadbeenafirstlieutenantintheSwedishAirForce,andwasnowavolunteerintheRAF.HowdidaSwedeendupintheRAF?

SwedishRAF-pilotUlfChristiernssonin1944,searchingtheskiesofGermanyforMesserschmitt262s.(KurtKarlsson)

UlfChristiernssonwasborninHelsingborgin1913.Hisfatherwasamemberof the Swedish parliament,who in the 1930s formally proposed for increasedfundingfortheyoungSwedishAirForce.From1933to1934Ulfwastrainedasa Swedish Air Force pilot at the school located at Ljungbyhed. He left theSwedishAir force in 1937 and joined the Swedish civilian airlines,ABA.Hewas recalled to active duty as a reserve lieutenant in 1939. At that time hevolunteered to serve with the volunteers in the Finnish Winter War, but hisrequestwasrejected.

UlfChristiernssonfromHelsingborg,aflightlieutenantinthe130thRAFDivision,standsinfrontofhisSpitfireinBelgium,September1944.Duringthreemonthsinthefallof1944Christiernssonflewtwenty-

eightmissionsagainstGermangroundtargetsduringtheWesternAllies’offensive.(KurtKarlsson)

In1942UlfChristiernssonpersonallycalledontheChiefoftheSwedishAirforce,GeneralBengtNordenskiöld,andrequestedthathebeallowedtoserveintheBritishRAF.“Gothen,ifyouaresodamnedstubborn”Nordenskiöldsaidattheend.129

Christiernssonwastrainedasalongdistancereconnaissancepilotonthefasttwo engine Mosquito aircraft.130 After convoy service with a squadron ofWellington aircraft the RAF wanted to send him to the Far East, butChristiernsson urgently pleaded to be allowed to continue to fight againstHitler’sforces.TheRAFthenstationedhimwiththe680thSquadroninLibya,NorthAfrica.

Inabrand-newMosquito,heflewpastthePortuguesecoastviaCasablancatoCairo. TheBritish Squadron commandermet himwith thewords: “Welcome,we have not seen a bloodySwede before but I hope you can fly!”The 680thSquadronwasaphotoreconnaissanceandpathfinderunitthatflewaheadofthebombersandmarkedtargets.

AftertheAlliedinvasionofItalyChristiernsson’ssquadronmovedtotheSanSeveroAirBase in Italy in June 1944. Togetherwith an observer he flew anunarmedMosquitowithsixbuilt-incameras.TheirlongdistancereconnaissancemissionsentaileddeeppenetrationoverGermany.

Christiernsson’saircraftweredamagedonlytwiceinallhisflyingmissions,despite often having to fly over intense German flak fire. In October 1944,during a flight over the Messerschmitt factory in Wiener Neustadt, the rightengineonhisplanereceivedadirecthitfromaGermanJunkers88.Afterhehademptied his reserve fuel Christiernsson attempted to fly back to Italy on oneengine, but was forced tomake an emergency landing at themilitary airfieldNovi Sad in Yugoslavia, taken by the Red Army only four days prior. Thedramatic flight in the fog and rain over the high Balkan MountainsChristiernssonwavedawaywith,“Wecamedownwithoutascratch,sothatwasnotsoremarkable.TheRussianGeneral,whowasthecommanderoftheairbase,wanted to send us to Moscow, but I insisted that we had to return to oursquadronandcarryonthefightagainstHitler.Afterthreeweekswewerehomeatourbaseagain.”131

About his nightmarish meeting with the world’s first jet powered fighteraircraft, the Me 262, over Würzburg, Germany, in August 1944 UlfChristiernssonsaidin1947:

IwasjustgettinginovermytargetinWürzburgwhenithappened.Itwasasiftherightwinghadsuddenlybeenstruckbyapowerfulblow,andtheentireaircraftvibrated.AtthesametimeIsawseveralsplintersflakeofffromthewings.ForafractionofasecondIwonderedwhatcouldbethecause.ThenIsuddenlysawanaircraft,no,amonster,rushingtowardsmeinasteepdescent.Outfromthewingsandfuselagecamecannonfire.Itwasasifitwasallonemachinegun.ItwhizzedpastlikelightningandIhadnotseenthesplintersflyingoffmyrightwingImighthavethoughtitwasaghostplane.Iusuallywasabletojudgemyownairspeed(onaverage550km/hour),whichwasusuallysuperiorandhadsavedmemanytimes,butthismonsterwasclearlymuchfaster.Itriedtoimaginethatitwasavisionoranightmare,butitwasneither.Nowtheplanecameagain.Thewhinewasovermeonemoretime.Icouldjustglimpseitasitwhistledpast,evenifIcouldnothearit.Icalledmyobservertothecockpitsothathecouldgetacloserlookatthemonster.Heshookhisheadandsaid,“Idon’tknow,butitlooksbloodydangeroustome!”

Thenbeganeightminutesofcat-and-mouseplaythatIwillneverforget.NeitherbeforenorafterhaveIperformedsuchanartisticflyingprogram.Iattemptedtomaneuverawaybyperformingtightloops,sidesteps,anddeepdives.SeldomhaveIfeltsohelpless.Eightminutesofunequalbattle,butformeitfeltlike800years!Itwasmygreatmaneuverabilityandresponsivenessthatsavedme…andacloudbankthatIwillblessuntilmydeath.Iduckedintoitandsucceededtoshakemypursuer.AtthatpointIfirstnoticedthatIwassoakingwetasifIhadwalkedindrenchingrainforseveraldays.132

Inconnectionwiththesamemission,ChristiernssondescribestheaccuracyofthepreciseGermanairdefenses:

TheGermanantiaircraftartillerybegantoplayuptoafullorchestra.AllIcoulddowastodivedownthroughthebarragefireandcontinueovertheflatlandscapeofHollandatnearlyzeroaltitude.Itwasatleasttenminutesoffire,butmiraculouslyIwasnothit.IgotonelastanointingwhenIdoveoutovertheseanearVlissingen;aseriesofsalvosfroman88mmbattery.InafireworksdisplayofexplodingantiaircraftroundsmyMosquitodancedoutovertheEnglishChannel.TwentyminuteslaterIfoundmyselfoverBritishterritory.WhenIlandedmyremainingfuelcouldperhapshavebeenenoughforacigarettelighter.133

After a completed tour of forty-eight sorties with the 680th MosquitoSquadron, in the fall of 1944 Ulf Christiernsson was transferred to the 130thSquadroninBelgiumwhereheflewtwenty-eightsortiesagainstgroundtargetsinaSpitfireMarkIX.AsaveteranintheRAFhenowhewasknownsimplyas“Chris.”JustafterthewarinEuropewasoverhewasstationedforashortperiodasaSpitfirepilotinKristiansand,Norway.UlfChristiernssonthenreportedfordutyagainstJapan,but theatomicbombsatHiroshimaandNagasakioccurredbeforetheunitbecameoperational.Thewarwasover.

WhatwasitthatmotivatedUlfChristiernssontojointheRAF?AccordingtoChristiernsson himself it was “a desire for adventure and the Vikingtemperament”butaboveallaverystrongsympathyforthecauseoftheWesternAllies:“IdetestedHitler!”Therewereother,morepersonal reasons.HissisterwasmarriedtoamanwithaJewishancestry,whowasmurderedbytheNazisduringthewar.134

UlfChristiernsson left theRAF at his own request on 20 January 1946.135

After the war he returned to Sweden as a pilot for the civilian airline,SkandinaviskaAero.

WithMontyOvertheRhineTageStåhlenbergwasthesonofaworkerfromthemilltownofLjungaverkinwesternMedelpad.HehadanearlyinterestinenginesandaviationandbecameanaircraftmechanicwiththeSwedishAirForceVästmanlandsF1Winginthe1930s.On5November1941attheageof21heleftSwedenonaSwedish“safeconduct” ship,working in the galley. The ship passed through themine-filledwaters of the Atlantic. In New York, Ståhlenberg went to the NorwegianRecruitingOffice, setup to serveexiledNorwegians in theUnitedStates, andjoined theNorwegianFlyingCorpswithin theRAFas a fighter pilot.Hewastrained as a combat pilot at the training base “Little Norway” in Toronto,Canada,andlaterintheUS.Aftercompletinghistraininghewasjudgedtobean exceptional pilot and selected to be an instructor at one of theRAF flyingschoolsinScotland,whereheservedfrom1943to1944.

PilotOfficerRalphHäggberg(ninthfromtheleft)withhisBritishpilotcolleaguesfrom137thRAFSquadronon3February1941attheairfieldColtishall,England.ThephotowastakenaweekbeforeHäggbergwaskilled.Inthebackgroundisatwin-engineWestlandWhirlwindaircraft.(MaryFarron)

InJanuary1945Ståhlenbergfinallyachievedhisgoalofbecominganactivefighter pilot against the Luftwaffe. He flew as a Spitfire pilot in the 331stSquadronof theRAF.Somanydifferent nationswere represented in this unit(Norwegians,Polish,Czechs,Spaniards,andmanyothers)thatitwascalled“laLégionétrangèreaérienne”(theForeignLegionoftheair).

In the beginning of January 1945 theWestern Allies had regained all theterritory they had lost, albeit at a great cost in human life, in the ArdennesOffensive, theBattleof theBulge.The lastmajorbarrier to thefinaloffensive

against the Third Reich was the Rhine River. At this point Ståhlenberg waspromotedtosecondlieutenantintheRAFandparticipatedwithoutabreakinaircombatinFrance,theNetherlands,Belgium,andGermanyduring1945.HewasinterviewedinSwedeninthesummerof1945abouthiswarexperiences:

Ourordersweretobombtheenemylinesofcommunications,rivertrafficontheRhineaswellastocleanuptheareainfrontoftheadvancingSecondBritishArmy.Itbecameaninferno.TheGermansthreweverythingtheyhadatusinthewayofantiaircraftgunsandfighteraircraft,butourSpitfirespunchedholesineverything.…Wewereintheairpracticallyeverydayfrom0600inthemorninguntil2200atnight.Thereweremanybittermoments,however,whenwereturnedtobaseandcalculatedthelossesaftereachraid.Goodcomradesweremissing.WehadworkedhardandsweatedtogetherintrainingovertheprairiesofCanadaandsharedstressintrainingcampsinBritain,andnowatthefront.136

DuringFieldMarshalMontgomery’scrossingof theRhineRiverat theendofMarch 1945 Tage Ståhlenberg returned from amission with a third of hisplane’swingshotawaybyGermanflak:

IconsidereditapuremiraclethatIwasabletoreturn.TheaircraftrolledviolentlyandIhadtomakeanemergencylandingatanairfieldwellbehindtheforwardlinesneartheborderbetweentheNetherlandsandGermany.Beforethat,however,Isawhowthenumberthreeaircraftinmysquadronwasstruckbyadirecthit,blewapart,andexploded.Therewasnothingwecoulddo,onlytotrytomakeitbackourselves…butthatbecameaneverydaything—thatmany[ofus]woulddie.137

TageStåhlenbergflewatotalof128combatsortiesfortheRAFin1945.Hisaircraftwasshotdowntwiceandbothtimeshewasabletoparachutetosafety.InApril1945theysenttheNorwegianandSwedishpilotsin331stSquadrontotheairbaseNorthWealdnearLondon.TheywerepreparingfortheinvasionofNorway, but thewar took another turn byway of theGerman capitulation inMay 1945. Equipped with the new Type IX Spitfire Ståhlenberg and hiscomradesflewtoNorwayon22May.

SwedishvolunteerTageStåhlenberginthetrainingaircraft“SwedenI.”Theairplanes“Sweden”ItoIIIwerefundedbySwedish-AmericansandhandedovertotheRoyalNorwegianAirForceinCanadaby

Swedish-AmericanauthorCarlSandburg.IncidentallySandburghimselfhadparticipatedinwar;hewasaveteranoftheSpanish-AmericanWarof1898.(BoArvidsson)

After a short period in theSwedish civilian airline,ABA,Ståhlenberg flewsmall aircraftwith seniorexecutives toFranceandGreatBritain.Afterhavingsurvivedsomanyintensivecombatactionsthenewlymarriedtwenty-eight-year-old Tage Ståhlenberg died on 31 May 1948 when his four seat Saab SafirAircraftcrashedfornoknownreason,overthetownofSkillingarydinSmåland.HewasonhiswaytoGreatBritain.HeisburiedinhishomeparishofTorpinMedelpad.138

SwedishRAFPilotOfficerTageStåhlenbergfromLjungaverkwithhisSpitfire,probablyintheNetherlandsinearly1945.Whileflyingwiththe331stRAFSquadronhemainlyflewcombatsorties

againstGermangroundtargetsuntilwar’send.(BoArvidsson)

SpitfirePilotAgainstGermanV-1“Rocketexploded—Iamjumping!”Thisshortradiomessagewasthelastsignoflifeofthetwenty-three-year-oldmanfromGothenbergandflyingsergeantintheRAF,FredrikHåkansson.Hediedon9July1944duringahuntforGermanV-1rockets over the English Channel. He was born in England, but moved toSwedenwhenhewasfiveyearsold.HisfatherwasaSwedishseacaptainfromGothenbergandhismotherwasBritish.

In the summer of 1939 Fredrik Håkansson got a job as a machinist on aSwedish Trans-Atlantic shipping company.WhenNorway andDenmarkwereoccupied in 1940 Håkansson decided to be a pilot for the RAF, from hismother’shomeland.HefoundhimselfoutsidethebarrierstoanAmericanharborandsignedonwithaUSshippingcompany.WhenhearrivedintheUSAhelefttheshippingcompany.AfteraveryadventurousconvoyjourneytoGreatBritainhewent to anRAF recruiting office. Itwas not a simple thing to get into the

RAF,however,becauseHåkanssonwasbothaforeigncitizenandfromaneutralcountry.He finallywas able to see hisway through all of the red tape in thesummerof1941.

FredrikHåkanssonfromGothenburgasasergeantintheRAF1944.HewaskilledthesameyearwhenaGermanV-1explodednearhisSpitfire.(RobertIngvarBakker)

On8February1944theBBCbroadcastedaninterviewwithHåkansson:

BBC:HowisitthatyouasaSwedishcitizenjoinedtheRoyalAirForceandwasn’titveryhardforyoutobeacceptedthere?

Håkansson:Yes,it’salongstory.AsperhapsyouknowIhavetraveledalotintheselastyears.IwasaseamanbeforeIjoinedtheAirForce.IhavealwaysadmiredEnglishmenfortheleisurelywaytheyhandlesituations,butalwayswhen“business”isconcernedthattheydidathoroughandgoodjob.EverywhereIhavebeenintheworldIhavebeentreatedbyEnglishmeninacourteousandfriendlymanner.TheGermans,ontheotherhand,Ihaveneverliked.Theywereprobablyjustlikeotherpeoplebeforethewar,butinanycaseInevercouldlikethem.PerhapsitisbecausemyparentsweretorpedoedbytheGermansintheFirstWorldWar.Idon’tknow.ButsincethewarbrokeoutandIhaveheardstories

fromrefugeesaftertheycameovertoGreatBritain,IamverygladtotobeintheAirForce.IanonlytoowillingtohelptheEnglishmenputanendtothismadness.AssoonasIarrivedinEnglandIsoughttojointheRAF.Itwasverydifficulttobeaccepted,especiallyinmycase.Englishmenaregenerallyknownasveryold-fashionedpeople.HaditbeenintheAmerica,theywouldprobablyhavesaid,“OK,buddy.Firstdoorontheleft!”NotwiththeEnglishmen,though.FinallyeverythingwasOK,thankstoaverysympatheticmanattheRecruitingOffice.139

During the summer of 1943 Håkansson became a pilot after receiving hisflighttraininginCanadaandGreatBritain.HeservedfirstwiththeRAF165thSquadron flying the Spitfire Mark IX. He then was transferred to the 610thSquadronwherehisunitwasresponsibleforescortingAmericanbombersoveroccupiedFrance.AftertheAlliedinvasionofNormandyHitlerattackedLondonwiththenewlongdistanceV-1rocket.On9July1944Håkanssonsucceededindestroying twoV-1 rocketswithhisSpitfire.Whenheattackeda thirdV-1hewas force to jump out with his parachute over the sea outside of Dungeness.Mostlikelyhedrowned.OneofhisfriendsintheRAF,FlyingSergeantMauriceHardingwroteinthatsameweekaboutHåkansson’slastdayoflife:

ItwasaSundaywhenithappened.“Hackie”[anicknameforHåkansson]tookoffatsunrise.Anotherpilotshouldhaveflownwithhim,buthehadenginetrouble,and“Hackie”flewalone.DuringthistimehehuntedseveralV-1rocketsandshotdowntwoofthem.Overtheradiohereportedthathehadtojump.Hewasonlyseveralkilometersfromthecoast,butdespitetheeffortsoftheSeaRescueServicetheyfoundnotraceofhim.140

RAFPilotandPartisanLeaderGustavLönnberghfromÖstergötlandwastrainedasacivilianpilotinSwedenin1938andthencontinuedtrainingattheBritishFlyingSchoolatHamblein1939.HereceivedhismilitaryflighttrainingattheF2WingatHägernäsfrom1939to1940.During1941heobtainedpermissionfromtheSwedishauthoritiestotraveltoGreatBritainforfurtherflighttraining.HeenrolledintheRAFandbecameanight fighter pilot with the 111th Squadron during the Luftwaffe attacks onLondonandthesouthcoastofEnglandin1941.Lönnberghlaterbecameatestpilot for the RAF. As a test pilot he crashed on several occasions. One timeLönnberghflewintoahillwithaSpitifreataspeedof780kilometersperhour,butsomehowhesurvived!

AfterhistimeasatestpilotLönnberghwasstationedintheMediterraneanasapilotonaWellingtonbomber, rebuiltasa torpedoplane.Losses for theunitwereveryhigh.InMay1942LönnberghjoinedagroupoftorpedoplanesfromNorthAfrica to attack aGerman-Italian convoy in theMediterranean.Due toerrorsintheintelligenceonthefirepoweroftheescortingenemyshipstheattackbecameacatastrophe,whichLönnberghdescribedinaninterviewin1946:

Thetimewasabouthalfpasttwointheafternoonof30May1942whenthesquadron’sflyingpersonnelwerecalledtotheorderlyroombytheloudspeakerstogetthebattleorderfortheday.InthedrowsyatmosphereoftheAfricanmid-daysunsomeeightyofficersandsergeantsassembled,allmoreorlesstanned,dependingonhowmanydaystheyhadbeenassignedtothesquadron.Losseswere,bytheway,veryhigh.Thewell-knowndarkbrownandfreshfaceswerereplaced,inmyview,alltoooftenby“palefaces”fromdepotsbackinthehomeland.

Thecommanderwasfirsttospeak.Itwasquietintheroom,deadlysilent.Thenitcame:“Today’soperationistoattackaconvoynorthwestofPantelleria.”Somedetailedinformationwasprovidedforthenewcomers,andsomefriendlywordstothecrewsandtheobligatory“Goodluck,boys!”Thenupcametheoperationsofficerwithalongexplanationofhowtheconvoywasorganized,whattypesofships,whatkindsofcargo,thenumberofescortingships,size,type,armaments,attacktechniques,andwhattypeoftorpedoestouse.Thenwithafewfinalwordsthattheoperationshouldbeofan“easiercharacter”hesteppedback.…Iassembledmycrewandfoundthateverythingwasready.Inotedthatwe

hadonehourandtwentyminutestohaveourobligatory“flyingmeal,”carefullywashourselvesalloverandchangeclothes,whichincaseofinjurylessenedthepossibilityofinfection.

TwentyminutesbeforestartIwalkeddowntothe“ship,”aheavyWellingtonbombermodifiedtotaketwotorpedoesinsteadofbombs.ThereliablestationsergeantinformedmethatIhad7,500litersoffuelinmytanks,andafterahastycalculationdeterminedthatIhadtobebackatmystationby0100hoursthatnight.

Thetimewas2025.Wereachedthetarget.Thefullmoon—whichtheweatherprophetpromisedus—wasblockedbylowcloudsanddarknessquicklydescended.TheradiooperatorgavemehislatestinformationandsaidtoavoidtheislandofPantelleria,wheretheGermanshavetwosquadronsofMesserschmittsstationed,sowesteeredtothenorth.Thensuddenlythequietairlayeraroundbegantomoveabout,astheantiaircraftbatteriesonPantellariaandthegunsontheescortshipsopenedfire.Howfantastic,thatfromaquietenvironmentwithnosignsoflife,wesuddenlyfoundourselvesinaglowinghellwith250to300firingcannonsandmachineguns.

Suddenlyinthedarkness,disorientedbytheexplosionsandflameslightingmydarkcockpit,theplanemadeahoplikeakangaroo,wrenchingthecontrolsoutofmyhands.Ifumbledmomentarilybeforeregainingcontrol.Thefirewasfocusedagainstour“F”plane,increasingeverysecond.

Hellmustbeawonderfulplacetoescapeto,comparedtothis:thetracersofcannonsandmachine-gunfireformedasortofbridgebetweentheescortshipsandtheattackingaircraft.Thereisaestimatethatabout100,000bulletsperminutearespentonanattackingaircraft.Metal,glass,andinstrumentsseemedtobeswirlingandwesensedastrangesmellofsomethingburning.Theco-pilottoldmethatIwasbleedingfrommyrightcheek.141

Lönnbergh’saircrafthadsustainedadirecthitononeengineandwasforcedtomakeanemergencylandinginafieldofcornintheSicilianmountains.Theaircraftwasburnedby thecrewwho thenwereable tohide foraweekbeforetheywerecapturedbyItaliantroopsandtakentoaprisoncampinsouthernItaly.AftertheAlliedinvasionofSicilyin1943theGermanstookovertheprisonersof the Italians and began to evacuate them toGermany. Lönnbergh described

howhegotawayfromtheGermantransporttrainnearVerona,wherehemadeaboldandsuccessfulescape:

Wehadnoted…thateverythirdcarwasaflattransportwagonwithfourmachinegunsmannedbytwelveGermansoldiers,whoalsocarriedsubmachineguns.Everyothersteptherewasasoldierarmedwithasubmachinegun.Thelastcarinthetrainwasequippedwithamachinegunpointingtotherear.ItstartedtogetdarkandIdecidedtodareanescape.Icrawledheadfirstoutasmallwindowandreachedforthemountusedforthesidelantern.Ithenswungoutsuspendedbythatmountandwasabletoreachtheareabetweenthecarsandstandbrieflyonthecarbumper.Ilookedfortherightkindofplacetoleapoffthetrain.Ijumpedintoadeepdikefilledwithwater.Thewholethingtookonlytwosecondsorso,butdespitethattheguardmanagedtofireseveralshotsthatcamewhistlingbymyearsandonepassedthroughmyleftarm.142

LönnberghwasabletoattachhimselftoagroupofpartisansinnorthernItalyandwaschosenastheirleader.InthisrolehebecameanuisancetotheGermansand as a result Lönnbergh and his partisans were pursued. Lönnbergh finallycrossed the border toSwitzerland at the end of 1943.Hewas interned for sixmonths by theSwiss, but after his release he had another adventure, this timewith the French resistance.Hewas smuggled over the border and to southernFrance,totheAmericanlinesatGrenoble.LönnberghreturnedtoGreatBritainandtheRAFinthesummerof1944.

From the fall of 1944 until his release from theRAF in February 1946 heserved in the RAF Transport Command and flew Liberators, Skymasters andAvro Yorks on the route England-Malta-Persia-India-Burma-China. When helefttheRAFin1946asaflightlieutenanthehadflownanalmostunbelievable119[sic!]differentAlliedaircraftforatotalof5,000flyinghours.

Lönnberghhadapro-British attitude fromstays inEnglandbefore thewar.This, combined with a desire for adventure and the Germans bombing ofWarsawin1939hadsolidifiedhisdecisiontojointheRAF.143

BeforehecametoGreatBritain in thesummerof1941for“flightstudies,”LönnberghhadaskedandreceivedpermissionfromtheSwedishauthorities.TheBritishAirMinistryinformedtheSwedishForeignMinistryinDecember1941thattheywouldliketoretainLönnberghasavaluablepilot,butinJanuary1942the Swedish Air force Chief of Staff General Nordenskiöld decided thatLönnbergh should be given a courtmartial at theF 2Wing for “unauthorized

stay abroad.”Nothingwasdone about it until in 1946 theSwedish authoritiesstartedwhatwasforthemamostembarrassinglegalprocessagainstLönnbergh,for not returning toSweden in1941.The embarrassmentbecameevengreaterwhen thepresswas able to report that theBritish ambassadorhadwritten andtalked positively about Lönnbergh thewar hero.After he had his civil pilot’slicensewithdrawn and endured ten separatemilitary court reviews Lönnberghwas finally released and free in April 1947. Gustav Lönnbergh worked inSweden after the war as a civil pilot and later as a sea captain. He died inSundbybergin1980.144

ShotDownovertheEnglishCoastRalphHäggberg, born in 1922 in Stockholm, became one of the victims of amajorGermansurpriseintheEnglishChannelin1942.Hehadbeenservingasasergeant in the RAF since 1940 and was now a pilot officer with the 137thSquadron,equippedwiththeattackplaneWestlandWhirlwind.Itwasamodern,well-constructed, two-engine attack bomber designed for low-level flight andarmedwithfourautomaticcannons.

On12February1942at1310hoursHäggbergtookofffromtheRAFairfieldatMatlasketoescortsomedestroyersovertheEnglishChannel.Unfortunatelyatthe same timeashismission therewasa surprisebreakout from theharborofBrest in France to the English Channel and eastwards by the battle cruisersScharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. They wereaccompanied by an escort force of twenty fighter planes of the typeMesserschmittBf109.PresumablyhisplanewasshotdownovertheChannelbytheGermanescortplanesorby theantiaircraftgunson theoneof theGermanwarships.Hewaslistedasmissinginactionon13February1942.Atthetimeofhis disappearance he had flown thirty-seven combat sorties.Häggberg’s namecan be read on the RAF’s central memorial stone at Runnymede in Surrey,England.

In addition to Häggberg, Christiernsson, Ståhlenbeg, Håkansson, andLönnbergh there were at least four more Swedish citizens who flew Britishairplanes:RoyKonrad(Conrad)NorrisHeisewhodiedduringhisflighttrainingat “Little Norway” in Toronto, Canada; bomber pilot Lennart Olofsson fromSkåne,whoservedintheMediterraneantheatrefrom1942to1945;OlofVernerKochfromStockholm,GunnarPerssonfromVästerås,andStigHolmgrenfromStockholm.145 Therewere probably somemore Swedes, butmay have served

underpseudonymsandare,therefore,hardtotrackdownindocuments.TheNorwegians andSwedes inAllied (British) air servicewerematerially

supportedbytheSwedish-Americancommunityinthatseveraltrainingaircraftwere purchased through fundraising among Swedish-Americans. The aircraftwere all given the name “Sweden” followed by a Roman numeral. A drivingforceforthissupportwastheSwedish-AmericanpoetCarlSandburg,himselfawar veteran, having volunteered in 1898 for service in the Spanish-AmericanWar. Although he since then had become a pacifist, he nonetheless stronglysupported theAllied cause evenbeforePearlHarbor.Hewrote about thenewwarwithsomevehemence inaUSnewspapercolumnof lateDecember1941:“Now theNazis throw inwith the Japs.Now the pureAryans ofBerlin yokethemselveswith thepureMongolsofTokyo.But theNewOrderwill lose.” IfSandburghatedanythingmorethanwar,itwastyranny.

Therewas at least one attempt byBritish agents in Stockholm to fly out agroup of Swedish air force pilots whowished to join the RAF.Half a dozenSwedishpilotsstoodreadytogo,butwerebetrayedandtheplanwasdropped.

SpecialmentionshouldbemadeoftheattempttojointheRAFbyCountCarlGustafvonRosen,withwarexperience frombothEthiopiaandFinland.CarinGöring, theSwedishwifeofHermannGöring,wasvonRosen’sauntandasachildhehadthusmetthefutureheadoftheLuftwaffe.Fatewouldhaveit thatsoon after a visit to Hermann Göring, von Rosen would find himself in theNetherlands while it was being invaded by the Germans. In spite of a goodrelationship with Göring, his personal experiences ofMussolini’s war againstEthiopiaandNazi terrorwithinGermanyhadgraduallyconvertedhim toanti-fascism. Carl Gustaf von Rosen therefore decided to support the Dutch andhelpedflyaDutchDC-3ladenwithsecretgovernmentfilestoBritain.WhileinBritainhevolunteeredtojointheRAFasafighterpilot,buttheBritishfounditabittooabsurdtoentrustarelativeofHermannGöringwithoneoftheirfighteraircraft,accordingtovonRosen’sbiographerRalphHerrmanns.

CarlAschanwasaSwedishcitizenuntiltheageoftwenty,whenhebecameaBritishsubject.HebeganthewarasaregularPilotOfficerintheRAFbutwasrecruitedintotheSecretIntelligenceServicein1940.AschanputhisSwedishtogooduseasassistantairattachéat theBritishEmbassy inStockholm.He thenworked in Combined Operations under Lord Louis Mountbatten and in 1945helped track down Albert Speer, William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”) andHeinrichHimmler.146

OnFindhornandValkyrieBeforewesummarizehowmanySwedeswereinBritishandBritish-Norwegianwar service from 1939 to 1945 three more categories should be mentioned:SwedesonBritishwarships,Swedesinthe“XU”intelligenceorganization,andtheembryoofaBritishguerrillaorganizationinSweden.

OnlytwoSwedesonBritishwarshipsareknownbyname.OscarMalmbergfromFärlövinSkånejoinedtheRoyalNavyReserve(RNR)in1943.HeservedasanavigationofficeronthefrigateFindhornandthedestroyerEmpero,whichprotected convoys crossing the Atlantic. After the warMalmberg became theDirector of the prestigious Göteborgs Handels-och Sjöfartstidning. The otherRoyalNavySwedewasHaraldLindbladwhotraveledfromLysekiltoCubainthespringof1940.FromCubahewent toCanadawith thegoalof joiningtheNorwegian Navy. In Sweden he had served on a destroyer and had been aninstructor at the Swedish Naval War Academy. The Norwegians turned himdown, but instead he was able to join the Royal Navy where he, too, servedaboardescortshipsintheAtlantic.147

It is known that Swedes also served in “XU,” a Norwegian civilianintelligenceorganizationthatworkedforRoyalNavyIntelligence,buttherearefewdetailsaboutthesesecretoperators.148

MalcolmMunthewasmentionedearlierbecausehewas responsible for thefirstcourier linesbetweenStockholmandNorway.MajorMunthemanagedanevenmoreclassicSOEactivity fromStockholmandengineered—according tohisowninformation—anattemptonthelifeofHenrichHimmlerduringoneofhisvisitstoNorway,butHimmlertookanotherroutefromthewaythathadbeenpredicted.149 SwedishCabinet Secretary ErikBoheman’s judgment ofMunthewasnotflattering,“[TheBritish]usedfartoomanytotalamateurs,whohadreadtoomanydetectivenovelsandspybooks.IespeciallyrememberMajorMunthe.…”150

Munthe had a very difficult moment when he was ordered to attach anexplosive charge on a German ammunition train passing through Sweden.According to Munthe there was a unknown problem—either with the timingmechanismonthebomboramisunderstandingincommunications—thatledtotheentiretrainexplodingattheKrylbostationon19July1941.Thestrategicrailjunction looked like it had been subjected to an aerial bombardment, butsurprisinglyonlytwenty-fourpeoplewereinjured.

Munthe left Sweden that same evening and was reassigned to SOEHeadquarters in London.151 He was then put in charge of many Norwegianoperationsupuntil1943,whenhewastransferredtotheCameronHighlanders.Munthecameashorewith thisbattalion inSicilyandwasbadlywoundedafterhehadreachedtheItalianmainland.

CharlesCruickshank disclosed in his 1986 book,SOE in Scandinavia, thatMunthe’smore secretive colleaguewith theBritish legation inStockholm, thePressAttachéPeterTennant,succeededbetterthanMunthe.Withtheassistanceof an unknown number of Swedes he was able to build up a sabotage andintelligenceorganizationthatwouldbeactivatedwithaGermanoccupationorifSweden“wouldcomeunderindirectGermancontrol.”152Therearefewdetailsabout these Swedes who were ready to work for the SOE by “attacking keyinstallations,”butTennantadmitted thathehad recruitedvolunteers fromboth“intellectual and worker circles.” In order to conduct isolated training ofSwedish radio operators Tennant bought a sailboat named Valkyrie.153CruickshankgivestheimpressionthattherewereatleasttwentySwedesinthisorganization.

AltogetherthenatleasttwelveSwedishcitizensservedinBritishlandforces,twointheRoyalNavy,andeightintheRAF.ThentherewereatleasttenintheNorwegian Navy and XU. That gives a total of at least thirty-two Swedes inBritish-Norwegian service. Peter Tennant’s Swedish “SOEGuerrillas” are notcountedherebecausetheywereneveractivatedonawarbasis.

ASpanishCivilWarveteran,ArneLarssonfromOrust,wasprobablynottheonly one who was not accepted into the British-led Norwegian Brigade inScotland.HeworkedforthemerchantfleetwhenhewenttotherecruitingofficeinLondon andwas told that hewasofmorevalue remaining in themerchantmarinethanfightingonsomebattlefield.154

ThecaseofRagnarRudfalk shows that thereweremen in themost remoteplaces in Sweden who had a burning desire to fight for the Allies. RudfalktraveledfromhistinyvillageofGrenåskäleninnorthSwedentoFinlandin1943and worked his way on foot through the lines of the Eastern Front to reachSovietMurmansk.Hesucceededingettingthere,buttheSovietswerenotatallinterestedinhelpinghimtogettoGreatBritain.Insteadtheyarrestedhimasaspy and he served three years in different gulags in the Soviet Union.WhenRagnarRudfalkreturnedtohishomeinGrenåskälenin1946hewasdressedinaSovietuniform.155

SwedishSoldiersfromCanadaandAustraliaInWorldWarII,soldiersinBritishbattledressuniformscametoEuropefromall parts of thewide expanseof theBritishEmpire. Just as in theFirstWorldWar there were thousands of Scandinavians and children of Scandinaviansamongthem.

AccordingtoCanadianstatisticsin1921therewere27,000immigrantsfromSwedenandafurther30,000personsinCanadaofSwedishorigin.156FromthisfactandthenumberofSwedishnamesinCanadianwargraverecords,itcanbededucedthattheremusthavebeenhundredsofCanadiansoldierswhohadbeenborn in Sweden and many hundred more of Swedish descent. In contrast to1917, however, the Swedes and Canadian Swedes in the SecondWorldWarwerenotorganizedintospecialunits.Theirhistory,therefore,iscomposedofanumberofindividualstories.Onemini-biographyfromtheCanadianAirForceand three from the Canadian Army will here illustrate the Swedish CanadianWWIIexperience.

Hugo Lindskog was born in 1905 in Brattsbacka in the province ofÅngermanland.HeemigratedasayoungmantoCanada.InNovember1942hevolunteered to join theRoyalCanadianAirForce (RCAF)wherehebecameamember of an aircraft crew (presumably a bomber) based inGreat Britain.ASwedish relative of his reported howLindskog had “flown along the Swedishcoastlineandlonginglylookeddownat theSkånelandscape.”InJanuary1946Lindskogwasdischargedasacorporal,stillnothavingvisited,onlygazedat,hisoldhomeland!157

HugoLindskogfromÅngermanlandgottoseehishomelandfromtheairasavolunteerintheCanadianAirForce.(BengtStrömgrenviaStenLosenborg)

Speakingof theRCAFmentionmust bemadeofGeorge “Buzz”Beurling,Canada’smostsuccessfulairaceinWWII,with32confirmedkills.Beurling’sfatherwasSwedish.

GeorgNilssonfromGällaredintheprovinceofHallandwasaSwedishsettlerintheCanadianprovinceofAlberta.158Hewasnot that interestedinobtainingCanadian citizenship, but was obliged to get it so he could purchase hishomestead.With threeyears experienceas a soldier inSwedenhe thought theCanadianArmedForceswouldbeinterestedinhim,despitehisageof37.Beingavolunteergavemanyadvantagesoverbeingdrafted,whichit isbelievedwasthereasonhevolunteeredandenteredserviceinDecember1942.

In the army he got to know another Swedish-Canadian, Harvey Nyström.Theyboth endedup inPrincessMary’sScottish-CanadianRegiment and afteroneyear inGreatBritain theywere landedat JunoBeach inNormandyonD-day.TheycameashoreduewestofthetownofCourseulles-sur-Merwheretheenemy forces also were made up mainly of foreigners: eastern Europeans inGermanuniform.TheCanadianlossesonthefirstdaywereveryhigh,closeto1,000,ofwhich335werekilled.

Georg Nilsson was among those who died on Juno Beach, but we do notknowtheexactcircumstances.Hisfriend,Nyström,waskilledfurtherinland,atPutot-en-Bessin.Back inSweden,GeorgNilsson’sparentswere first informedoftheirson’sfateonlyon27September1945,whentheyreceivedaletterfromtheCanadianArmythatbeganwiththewords“Weregretverymuchthatweareobligedtoinformyou.…”

Valfrid Lundgren from Piteå led a true pioneer life in the deep forests ofCanadawhenhejoinedtheCanadianArmyTransportationCorpsinRedDeer,Alberta.HisrelativesbelievethathejoinedasavolunteerforthesamereasonasGeorgNilsson.LundgrenwastrainedasamotorcyclistandsenttoGreatBritaininDecember1944. In the springof1945hewaspartof theSecondCanadianInfantry Division. Documents from the Canadian Army state that LundgrenvolunteeredtocontinuefightinginthePacificregion,butresearchindicatesthathe decided to continue mainly so that he could get thirty days of leave inCanada.159 Thanks to the Japanese surrender Lundgren was released. He andHugoLindskogbothweregiven theCanadianVolunteerMedal and twootherawards.

ValfridLundgrenwasoneofprobablyseveralhundredSwedesservingintheCanadianarmedforcesduringWWII.CertainlymanymoreCanadiansservedwhohadparentswhowereSwedish.This1946photoof

LundgreninCanadianuniformwastakeninSweden.(HelmerLundgren)

Lundgren,nowthirty-fiveyearsold,returnedtohishomeinPiteåoneortwoyears after the war, dressed in his Canadian uniform. He never returned toCanada,buthecontinuedtowearhisfaultlessbattledress longafterhisreturnhome.

*****

ThenumberofSwedesandchildrenofSwedesinAustraliaduringtheinterwaryears isnotclearbut the figuresaresmaller than thoseforCanada.Still, therewere about 130 Sweden-born Australian soldiers and merchant mariners inWWII, and the number of uniformed children of Swedish settlerswas severaltimes larger. This is apparent from the online archives available through thewebsite of the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au). Even less isknownaboutNewZealandersofSwedishdescentinWWII,butsurely,astherehadbeeninWWI,thereweresuchsoldiers.

SwedishCitizensintheUSArmedForcesDespite immense geographic distances and other obstacles Swedish citizensmanagedtoreachtheshoresofAmericaalsoduringtheSecondWorldWarandjoin the US Army, Navy, or Army Air Forces. In the summer of 1944 inNormandy there were thus Swedish citizens both in British and Americanuniforms, anda few inGerman fieldgrey.Oneof theSwedes inUSuniform,GöstaWollin,madehisfirsteverparachutejump,overthefamousvillageofSt.MèreÉglise.

“BoyfromYstadBecomesTownMayorinBesiegedDutchCity”announcedtheheadline in theSwedishnewspaper,DagensNyheter, on15October1944.Theheadlinewastheresultofastorysentinbythe“BoyfromYstad”himself,Gösta Wollin. Master Sergeant Wollin was in the American 82d AirborneDivisionandwantedtodescribethebrutalityofmodernwartohiscountrymen.Theostentatiousheadlinewasnothisidea.

Wollin,thesonofabutcher,wasborninYstadin1913.Hischildhoodfriend,HugoSörensson,describedhimasonewho“wouldtryeverything,andhadnofear.”160 According to Sörensson, Wollin was a serious athlete, thirsty forknowledge, andhadagood senseofhumorbut also apassion for justice.HisdesirefortravelbroughthimtoGermany,andhewaskeentolearnmoreabouttheThirdReich.HesawfirsthandhowtheGermanspersecutedtheJews.That

gave him a strong interest in the Jewish people.When he was back home inSweden at a dance he met Anna, a Jewish girl, and he wanted to knoweverything about her.Wollin had for a timeworked as a journalist for a localnewspaper,thenwasstudyingtobeafurrierwhenhemarriedAnna.Thecouplemoved to Oslo where Wollin became a supervisor of a fur factory. WhenGermany occupied Norway in 1940 they went to the USA by way of GreatBritain. Wollin later explained his step to become an American soldier to aSwedishreporteras“adutytodomypart.”161

GöstaWollinfromYstadjoinedtheUS82ndAirborneDivisionandjumpedwithoutanypriorparachutetrainingoverNormandysomehoursbeforeD-day.Wollinhasleftbehindanunusuallywell-writtenaccount

ofhismotivesandexperiences.(KarinWollin)

AsaScandinavian,hewasexpectedtobeabletoski,sotheUSArmyplacedhim first with a ski unit in Colorado. When they discovered his greaterintelligence they moved him to a military intelligence base where he studiedGermanmilitaryorganizationandequipment.Hiscoursecolleagueswerebothcolonelsandprivates,intellectuallyfascinatingpeoplelikeThomasMann’ssonand the nephew of Sigmund Freud. Wollin enjoyed the course like a fish inwater andwas among the top five students in a course of 600 students.As amastersergeanthethentraveledaroundGreatBritaingivinglecturesonwhatto

expectinnorthernFrance.Therewerenoplansthathepersonallywouldbepartof the invasion force, but he felt that it was absolutely necessary for hiscredibilitytojumpalongwiththeparatrooperstowhomhelectured,sohejoinedthe82dAirborneDivision.

He had not received any parachute training, and with only classroominstructionbehindhim, jumpedon5June1944overSt.MèreÉglise—therebybecomingafull-fledgedmemberofhisnewunit,the505thParachuteRegimentofthe82dAirborne.

HemadeanotherjumpovertheNetherlands,wherehewasmaderesponsibleforrelationswiththecivilianpopulationandtheresistancemovementinaDutchtown. Itwasbecauseof thisassignment that theSwedishmorningpapermadetheheadline“BoyfromYstadBecomesTownMayorinBesiegedDutchCity.”InWollin’sownwritingsonefindsnosuchboasting.

Wollin was impressed by the German Ardennes Offensive, which heexperienced first hand, but the experience also gave him a strong and lastingrespectfortheAmericanmilitarypersonnelsystematthetime,“Theywerenotsoldiers but civilians in uniform, capable specialists who through thoroughtestinghavebeenassignedjusttherighttasks.TheAmericanscanimproviseandtestthingstomoveforward.Theyarenotslavesunderorders,butareabletodothebestpossibleineachsituation.”

It is likely that Wollin made notes already during combat because by thesummer of 1945 had completed a script for a play—about the generalresponsibilityof theWesternWorldfor theriseofNazismandtheoutbreakofWWII—called“Dennavårskuld”(Thisourguilt).Asfarasweknowtheplaywas never performed, but a year laterWollin published a novel with similarcontents inSwedish. Itcovers thefirst fivedays inNormandyafterD-dayandone of themain characters isNils, a Swedish volunteerwho “was nuts aboutdemocracy”andwasforthemostpartidenticalwithWollinhimself.InthenoveltheAmerican soldiers are describedwithwarmth but definitelywithout halos.Outrageous treatmentofGermansoldiersandplunderingarenotmissing fromthisclose-upviewofagroupofairbornesoldiers.The theme from theplay isalsointhebook—whatguilthadGreatBritain,theUnitedStatesandFrancefortheSecondWorldWar?

Wollinsucceededinthesummerof1945topurchaseasurplusjeepfromtheUS Army in Paris and took it to Berlin. There he studied the young, newnewspaperworldthattheAmericanArmyhadputinplace“withtheassistanceofreliableGermanjournalists.”

WollincamehometoYstadwithhisjeepandinfullUSuniforminOctober1945inordertocelebratehisthirty-thirdbirthday,ashehadoncepromisedhismother.For theSwedishmagazineSehetalkedabouthisbookprojectandthereporter finished thearticleaboutWollinwith“hisgoal ismarkedout,hewillwrite about war, peace, and the hope that must never die.” After two morenovelsWollinchangedhisfocustostudyastringofnaturalsciencesubjectsandwent toworkatColumbiaUniversityinNewYorkCityfor thirty-sixyears.162Professor Wollin’s work within the space and climate research areas drewattentioninrespectedpublicationssuchasNatureandNewScientist.InSwedenhewas featured in the television show“This IsYourLife,” in1981.Wollin’seventfullifeendedin1995.

SivertWindhfromHässleholmwentashoreatOmahaBeachon21JuneasasoldierintheScandinavian-American99thInfantryBattalion.InApril1942hehadbeenworkingasaseamanwhenhisshipwasfireduponbythedeckcannonfromaGermansubmarine.This, in combinationwithhis strongdispleasureatthe German troop movements by rail through Sweden, made him leave themerchantmarineandjointheUSArmy.163HecametobeintheAmericanunitthatprobablyhadthelargestconcentrationofSwedish-AmericansandthereforeWindh will be covered later in connection with the Swedish-AmericancontributioninWWII.

AtleastoneSwedishofficerleftSwedenduringthewartojointheAmericanforces.ItwasAndersKullanderfromGothenburgwhoduringthefirstyearsofthe war commanded a Swedish infantry platoon. For medical reasons he wasreleasedfromtheSwedishArmy,butwasstillabletofindworkonashipboundfortheUnitedStates.InNewYorkCityin1941hevolunteeredfortheUSArmyandwasmade a second lieutenant andUS citizen.He landedwith the secondwaveofUSsoldiersonOmahaBeachon6June1944asamemberofthe35thInfantryDivision.After having survived some of themost intense fighting inNormandy,KullanderwasmadeastaffofficerwiththeUSArmyTwelfthCorpsand was an assistant to General Edmund Sebree during operations in easternFranceandGermany.164

AndersKullanderfromGothenburgcommandedaSwedishArmyinfantryplatoonin1940.Formedicalreasonshewasreleasedfromthearmy,butwasabletofindworkonashipboundforAmerica.InNewYorkCityin1941hevolunteeredfortheUSArmy.HelandedwiththesecondwaveofUSsoldierson

OmahaBeachon6June1944asamemberofthe35thInfantryDivision.(AnitaLockhart)

Per Eriksson, or “Captain Pelle” as he was called in the Interbrigades inSpain, came to play an important role for the American military during theSecondWorldWar,inspiteofthefacthedidnotjointheforces.Duringthefirstmonths of the war Eriksson served as a “link” in the “the Red helpers” anorganizationworking to hide fleeingGerman communists in Sweden. In 1940Eriksson returned to the sea and became one of the thousands of SwedishseamenwhocouldnotreturntoSwedenbecauseofthewar.HisshipwastakenoverbyanAmericanchartercompanyandhewentashoreintheUSA,wherehebecame the representative for the Swedish and Norwegian Seamen’sAssociations. As an administrator he was involved in the Allied convoys toGreatBritainandtheSovietUnion.HealsosupportedtheFBIinitssearchforAxisspiesinUSharbors.

During the war Eriksson had many opportunities to influence Americanopinion:

IgottospeakontheradioinAmericaduringthelastpartofthewar…totheresistancemovementsinDenmark,Norway,andSweden.…Ispokeon

theSpanishCivilWar..aboutstoppingtheNazisfromtakingpowerinSweden.…ItwasapprovedforsendingonAmericanradio.TherewasthisSwedishjournalist[who]wassurprisedthattheyaccepted[tobroadcast]everythingItalkedabout.165

Through his work Eriksson had contact with a large number of SwedishsailorswhowantedtojointhemilitaryaftertheyhadbeentorpedoedbyGermansubmarines. They asked Eriksson about his thoughts on serving in the USmilitary. His answer was that, “It is in the boats that we Swedes can dosomething useful,” but at the same time he did not discourage thosewho stillwanted“tohelpinthefightinadirectway.”166BeforetheUnitedStatesenteredthe war Erikssonmet a number of Swedes on their way to the Canadian AirForceandtheNorwegianexileAirForceinCanada.AfterPearlHarborhemet,amongothers,GöteLjunggrenwho,afterbeingtorpedoedthreetimes,“wantedto shoot back.” He became a sergeant in the US Army. Another Swede whocame toconsultwithErikssonwasBengtSvenssonwhobecame“anexpert atdestroyingarmoredvehicles.”

CarlJohanssonwas,accordingtoEriksson,theonlySwedewhovolunteeredfor US submarine duty. Two others joined the US Navy surface fleet: KarlGustavNilssonandIngemarSteen.Sadly,theirlaterfatesareunknown.

JohnPaul fromStockholmbecamea captain in theUSNavy in away thatreminds one of a Hollywood movie. Up to 1942 he worked as EmbassySecretaryattheSwedishdiplomaticmissioninShanghai.Hecameintoconflictwith the Japanese occupation authorities after he had helped two Americanprisoners of war escape and was forced to make a hasty departure inland inChina. After twomonths of rough walking he entered a battle zone and wasforcedtomovesouth,towardsTibet!

AftermarchingthroughTibet,JohnPaulreachedCalcuttainIndia,wherehewasput intoahospitalwithanumberof infections.At thehospitalhemetanofficerfromtheAmericanWarDepartmentwhohelpedhimjointheUSNavy.As thecommanderof a small shipPaul cunninglyattackedanddestroyed twoJapanesepatrolboatsandwasmadealieutenantcommander.Heparticipatedinthe finalbattle forOkinawaandwas impressedby theJapanesewish to ratherdiethanfallintoAmericanhands.Hegotfurtherconformationofthisattitudein1948when he tried to convince a lone Japanese corporal on a small volcanicislandthatheought tolaydownhisrifleandgiveup.“Itwasonlywhen[my]commandingofficergotaletterfromtheEmperorofJapanwithanorderforthe

mantosurrenderthathewentonboardoneofourships.”167The brothers Kurt and Walter Feldtblad from the town of Slöinge in the

provinceofHallandweretheonlySwedeswhowrotedowndetaileddescriptionsof their impressions from theD-day beaches. They both joined theAmericanArmy’s Transportation Corps, operating sea transports. Kurt Feldtblad hadearlier been a volunteer for Finland and had then sailed to occupied Poland,wherehelosthisadmirationfortheThirdReich.168

OnthewaytoNormandyKurtFeldtbladmetanotherSwedeintheinvasionfleet,JohnnySundlingfromKarlstad,whosejobwastosinkloadramps.Theywouldserveasbreakwatersandfacilitatetheunloadingoflandingcraft.169

Aspartofthemachineryusedtolandthetroopsandtanks,Feldtbladwasabletofollowtheentiredramacloseup:

Allaroundusinthewaterfloateddeadandlivingsoldiers.Manywerecrushedtodeathwhiletryingtoboardtheassaultboatsthatmovedviolentlyupanddownlikeyo-yosalongthesidesoftheirmotherships.Duringourfirstattemptstorescuesoldiersthemenweresuckedinbythepropellersandcuttopieces.Wecouldnotstoptheenginesrightthen,becauseourmainjobatthatmomentwasnottorescuehumanlives.Itwasmoreimportanttomakesurethatthosethatwerealivereachedthebeach.

Thefirsthourswereplaguedwithbadluck.SoldiersintheassaultshipsweremoweddownbytheGermancoastbatteriesontheirwayintothebeach.Theworstwasfortheassaultengineerswhohadthejobtoclearawaythebarriersontheapproachestothebeach.…Ofthesixtyorsoamphibiousarmoredvehiclesthatweretoprovidefiresupportfortheinfantryinthefirstwave,halfweresunkwiththeircrewsonboard.…

Whiletheshellsexploded,mythoughtswereonmymotherbackhome.Ithoughtaboutwhatshewouldhavesaidifsheknewwhathersonsweredoing.Shestillthoughtthatwehadajobonland,farfromtheevilsofwar.

Mythoughtsalsowenttomybrothersomemilesbehindme.“Mayhegettosurvivetheday,”Ithought.170

WhenKurtFeldtbladleftFrancehedidsoironicallyenoughontheformerlySwedish civilian cruise liner Kungsholm, which had been made into anAmerican troop transport ship and was now called John Ericsson. AnotherimprobablecircumstancehappenedinthePacifictheatreofwarwhenFeldtblad

thereagainbumpedintohiscompatriotJohnnySundlingfromKarlstad!BengtBylander and JohnnyHanssonwere twomore Swedish seamenwho

hadtiredofGermansubmarineattacksandalsoenlistedintheUSArmy,buttheonlydataavailableontheirserviceisthatBylanderfoughtinthePacific.171Oneof the very few Swedes (probably the only one!) who has participated in theelimination of two German submarines is Roland Grönberg, a fireman, fromStockholm.GrönbergsomehowcametoserveontheUSCoastGuardshipUSSSpencer,escortingconvoysacrosstheAtlantic.DepthchargesfromtheSpencerforced up the German submarine U-175, just before it was able to attack aconvoy. The air pumps in the submarine had been destroyed by the depthcharges. When the sub surfaced the Spencer and another escort ship werewaiting. Captain Muntz of the German submarine, and six of his men, diedduring a short fire fight and the remainder of the crew surrendered and wascaptured. That was the second submarine that Grönberg and his comradesonboard the Spencer were able to take out. “When we had handed over theGermans,CommodoreBerdinegavetheorderforabigvictorydinnerinalloftheship’smesshalls.”172

AtleastoneSwedishcitizenservedintheUSArmyAirForces.AccordingtoatelegramfromtheSwedishdiplomaticstaffinWashingtonon19May1944totheForeignMinistryinStockholmaSwedishcitizen,PaulMakanowitzky,wasdeclaredmissinginactionafteraUSraidoverRomania.Itwasreportedthathe“hadrefrainedfromapplyingforAmericancitizenshipandretainshisSwedishcitizenship.”173MakanowitzkywasborninStockholmin1920inthehomeofanexiled Russian couple. The SwedishMinistry for Foreign Affairs permitted aSwedishdiplomat inBucharest to search forhimandheactually succeeded infindinghiminaprisonerofwarcamp.

WearecertainthatmanymoreSwedesthanthesixteennamedabovejoinedtheUSArmedForces.Todaywecanonlyspeculateaboutthetruetotalfigure,buthopefullythisbookwillleadtoamorecompletepictureasnewinformationbecomesavailablethroughreaders.

TheSwedish-AmericanContributionThebookBandofBrotherswasabestselleralreadybefore itwasmade intoatelevision mini-series. Richard “Swede” Stockhouse belonged to the sameregiment as the soldiers in Band of Brothers and he was only one ofapproximately200,000Swedish-AmericanswhoservedintheUSArmedForces

duringWWII.Seven of the nine members of the Stockhaus family left Sweden in the

beginningof the1900s toseekabetter life in theUnitedStates.Oneof them,JohnStockhaus,hasalreadybeenmentionedinthesectiononSwedesintheUSArmyduringtheFirstWorldWar.FouroftheStockhauschildrenservedintheSecondWorldWar.174

TheSwedish-AmericanRichard“Swede”StockhousesometimebeforeD-day.Onhiscapistheairborneinsignia,andonhissleeveistheinsigniafortheGeneralHeadquarters.(MikaelSundberg)

RichardStockhouse(anAmericanizationofStockhaus),wasbornin1924inNewAlbany, Indiana,and joined theArmydirectly fromhighschool in1941.He was one of the first who sought to join the new, volunteer based 506thParachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), whose motto was the Indian war cry“Currahee!” (stand alone!). He was placed in the machine-gun platoon ofHeadquartersCompany,3dBattalion.175When“Swede,”ashewascalled,wasnot involved inmachine-gun traininghe tookcareof themail in thebattalion.The summer of 1943 the regiment joined the 101st Airborne Division, “TheScreamingEagles”andbeganpreparationsforOperationOVERLORD.

Lateintheeveningof5June1944“Swede”wasdroppedbyparachuteover

Normandy.Mostlikelyhewasapathfinderwhowouldmarkthelandingzone.Amazingly,hesurvivednotonlytheinvasion,buttheentirewar.

ShortlybeforeHitler’slastgreatoffensiveintheBelgianArdennesduringthewinter of 1944 the regiment received replacement troops. One of thereplacements was none other than Leonard (Lennart) Lundquist, Richard’scousin.AsfarasweknowLundquisthadnoideawherehiscousinwasassignedwhenheappliedforparachuteservice.Itseemsasifpurechancebroughttheminto the same platoon. Contact between the two lasted only some weeks,however,becauseLundquistdidnotsurvivethebattleforthebesiegedtownofBastogneinBelgium.GeorgeKoskimaki,afriendofLundquist,statedthat theregimenthadtriedtomakeacounterattackthedaybeforeLundquistwaskilled,9January1945,toreducethebulgeintheAmericanlinesmadebytheGermans.Lundquistwaskilledbyshrapnel.

Oneoftheapproximately5,000SwedishimmigrantsandSwedish-AmericanswhowerekilledinactioninAmericanserviceinEurope,Africa,andAsiafrom1941to1945.TheremainsofLeonard(Lennart)E.Lundquist,killedon21December1944,weremovedfromEuropetoNewAlbanyNationalCemeteryin

NewAlbany,Indiana.(RogerW.Davis)

Both Richard Stockhouse and Leonard Lundquist had brothers in the war.Richard’s brother, Freddy, served in thePacificOcean andLeonard’s brother,

Elmer, was in was in the US Navy as an aviation mechanic, probably on acarrier.OfthefouremigrantsonsonlyLeonardLundquistwaskilled.AfterthewarLundquist’sparentsbecameclosetoRichardStockhouse,whotheytreatedastheirowninanefforttodealwiththeloss.

That there were Swedes in the German Waffen-SS “Wiking” Division isratherwell known,but theSwedes andSwedish-Americans in theUSArmy’s“Viking Battalion” are virtually forgotten. The battalion was officiallydesignated as the 99th Infantry Battalion and was based in the snow-coveredmountains of Colorado, just like the 10th Mountain Division. Both unitsspecialized in winter warfare, so it is no surprise that they attracted manyScandinavians.

Theemblemforthe99thAmericanInfantryBattalioncalledthe“VikingBattalion.”ThebattalionwasoneofthefewAmericanunitsrecruitedfromaspecialcategoryofEuropeansandAmericans.(BillHolland)

AnunknownnumberofSwedish-Americanstraveledwiththe10thMountainDivision to fight in the mountains of Italy.176 The number of Swedish-Americansinthe99thInfantryBattalionisnotcertain,butprobablythereweremorethantwenty.ThemajorityinthebattalionwereNorwegiansorNorwegian-Americansandthatgaveaspecialimprintonthestyleoftheunit.

Swedish-AmericanBirgerJohanssonhadenteredthe10thMountainDivision,but switched to the 99th Infantry Battalion. Sivert Windh from HässleholmremembersthattherewerethreeothersinWindh’scompanywho,likehim,were

borninSweden,andseveralmoremenwithSwedishancestry.Duringhistimein thebattalionWindh’scitizenshipwasnotentirelyclear.Asasoldierhehadswornloyaltyto theUnitedStates,butwouldnotbeabletogethiscitizenshippapersuntilhewasdischarged.HefoughtwiththebattalionfromOmahaBeachtoBelgium,wherehewaswounded.

Thebattalionhadbeenusedasnormal infantry,but in thespringof1945itreceived a special mission: to locate Nazi Party functionaries. Parts of thebattalionweresenttoliberateBuchenwald.On12AprilitwasentrustedtomoveonethirdoftheGermangoldreserveaswellasarttreasuresthathadbeenstolenbyGermanoccupationforcesandhiddenthere.

At the end of 1942 theOffice of Strategic Services (OSS), the central USintelligenceorganization,wasorderedtosetupitsowncommandounits—calledoperationalgroups,orOGs—recruitedforthemostpartonethnicgrounds.Forexample, theOSS looked for personnel to fill a unit of one hundredmen fordeployment in Norway. The 99th Infantry Battalion was full of very fitNorwegians,so theOSSwereable to recruit two-thirdsof theNorwegianOG,now designated as the OSS Norwegian Special Operations Group (NORSO),from the battalion. Sivert Windh and two Swedish-Americans became theSwedishcomponentof the force.Windhwasamachine-gunexpert in thenewunitwhiletheSwedish-AmericansFredJohnsonandRobertAndersonwerebothmedics.

AfteralongseriesofexercisesinScotlandathirdoftheNORSOcontingentwas finally sent toNorway inMarch 1945 to perform the sabotage operation“Rype”withattached localNorwegian resistance fighters (oneofwhomwasaSwedish citizen, Bertil Vestgöte). The leader of the group, Major WilliamColby,would later be theChief of theCentral IntelligenceAgency, CIA (thesuccessor of the OSS). This small group was the first US fighting unit onScandinavian territory. From a military point of view it is uncertain if theNORSOrailwaysabotageoperationhadanygreaterimportance,butpoliticallyitwas very significant. It signified the long-term security interest of the UnitedStates,notonly inNorwaybutalso inSweden.Swedish territorywasusedonseveral occasions during the NORSO operation. William Colby returned toSwedenin1951andworkedwithaSwedish“staybehind”organization,asecretresistancenetwork thatwouldbeactivated in theeventofaSoviet invasionofSweden.177

NORSOmedicRobertAndersondidnot survive theoperation.Theaircraftdeliveringhimtothedropzonecrashedintoamountainkillinghimandallthe

othersonboard.BothFredJohansonandSivertWindhcamebacktotheUnitedStates,whereWindhbecameamissileandspaceengineer.178

When theGermans surrendered inNorway the 99th InfantryBattalionwassent there tohelpwith thedisarmamentof themanyWehrmacht troopsstill inthe country. At this time, coincidentally, the unit received its distinctive unitinsignia,ashoulderpatchfeaturingaVikingship.

RalphGoranson(withguidon)commandedCompanyC,2ndRangerBattalionfromNormandytoCzechoslovakia.TomHanksportrayedhimin“SavingPrivateRyan,”inwhichhewascalledJohnMiller.ThesonofanemigrantfromSmåland,hewasraisedinaSwedish-speakinghome.HisactionsonD-dayearnedhimtheDistinguishedServiceCross.HisyoungerbrotherintheMarineswaskilledonIwoJima.

(BobGoranson)

ASwedish-AmericanWWIIcavalryofficer:HughGyllenhaal.FromFrancetoGermanyGyllenhaalwasatankcommanderinthe25thMechanizedCavalryReconnaissanceSquadron.Theunitspearheadedthe4thArmoredDivision’schargetoBastogneduringtheBattleoftheBulge.Gyllenhaalsurvivedthismost

hazardousdutyandeventuallybecamethegrandfatherofHollywoodstarsJakeandMaggieGyllenhaal.(EdGyllenhaal)

SwedishsailorRolfJohanssonfromGothenburg(fourthfromleft)issomewhereinthePacificonanislandrecentlycapturedfromtheJapanese.HeworkedonboatsbelongingtotheUSArmyTransportationCorps.

(TerjeFredh)

SwedishimmigrantstoAmericaandtheirdescendantswerespreadoutinallthebranchesoftheUSArmedForces.Herearejustafewexamples:

CaptainErikG.HåkanssonwasatPearlHarborwhentheJapaneseattackoccurredon7December1941.Hewasadoctoratthebasehospitalandtreatedhundredsofwoundedonthatday.Håkansson,originallyfromtheprovinceofSmåland,becametheDirectoroftheUSNavyMedicalResearchInstitutein1943.179

GeneralJohnE.DahlquistwastheViceChiefofStaffforGeneralEisenhower.AttheendofthewarhewastheCommandingGeneralofthe36thInfantryDivision,towhichHermannGöringsurrenderedhimself.Dahlquist’sparentshademigratedfromtheprovinceofDalslandandtheGeneralwasfluentintheSwedishlanguage.180

USGeneralJohnE.Dahlquist(left)in1945withGermanFieldMarshalGerdvonRundstedt(right)afterthelatter’scapturein1945.DahlquistwasDeputyChief-of-StaffforEisenhowerandlaterCommanderoftheUS36thInfantryDivision.Dahlquist’sparentswereimmigrantsfromSwedenandhehimselfwas

publishedintheSwedishlanguage.(LW)

ThereweretwomoreUSgeneralswhohadSwedish-bornparentsandoneUSgeneralwhowasbothbornandraisedinSweden:MajorGeneralIvorThord-Gray,bornasIvarHallströminStockholm.

TherearenineverySwedishnamesamongtherecipientsofthehighestUSmilitaryaward,theMedalofHonor(MOH),outofatotalof464

awardedfrom1941to1945.ThesenamesareHaroldAgerholm,ArnoldBjorklund,RichardBong,LeonardBrostrom,EdwardDahlgren,EricGibson,FloydLindstrom,JohnSjogrenandWilliamSoderman.TheremaywellhavebeenmoreSwedish-AmericanMOHrecipients,butnothingconclusivecanbesaidaboutseveralnamesthatmightaswellbeNorwegianorDanish.(Allrecipientscanbefoundatwww.homeofheroes.com.)

OneoftheMOHrecipientswasMajorRichardBong,themostsuccessfulUSfighteraceever,withfortyconfirmedkills.Bong’sfatherwasaSwedishimmigrantfromtheprovinceofDalarnawhohadservedwiththeUSArmyinWWI.

Swedish-AmericanMajorRichardBong,fromPoplar,Wisconsin,isthehighest-scoringUSfighteraceofallwarswithfortyconfirmedkills.ThisphotographofBong,whosurvivedthewar,waspresumablytaken

shortlyafterhewasawardedtheMedalofHonor.(USAirForce)

MOHrecipientCorporalEricGibsonwasnotonlyofSwedishdescentbutwasalsoborninDegerforsintheprovinceofVärmland,Sweden.Gibsonwasoriginallyacookbutdemandedcombatduty.HewaskilledinactionshortlyafterhavinglandedatAnzio.Hisbrother,Egon,joinedthe

USArmyAirCorpsandsurvivedthewar.

OneofthekeyorganizersofescapeandevasionforAlliedaircrewsinEuropewastheSwedish-bornUSColonelStenKristofferAnkarcrona,whohademigratedtotheUnitedStatesasayoungmanpriortoWWII.IntheUSheAnglicizedhisnametoStoneChristopher,enlistedintheArmyAirCorps,andworkedinintelligence,wherehisSwedishbackgroundprovedtobeuseful.In1945ColonelChristopherworkedinOperationPAPERCLIP,whichbroughtGermanrocketscientiststotheUnitedStates.

Thepainting“AHeroReturns”intheUSSenate,depictingGeneralDwightD.Eisenhower,waspaintedbyUSArmyAirCorpswarartistOkeG.Nordgren.Bornin1907asÅkeNordgreninStockholmheemigratedasateenagertotheUnitedStates.DuringWWIINordgrenwasdraftedbutbecamenoordinarysoldier.Heillustratedmilitarymanualsandpaintedwarscenes.AsidefromhispaintingintheSenatehisworkcanstillbeseeninmanyplacesasitisinthepermanentcollectionoftheUSAirForce,whichrotatesaroundtheworld.Histwobrothers,GustafandCarlNordgren,alsoservedtheUnitedStatesinWWII,intheUSNavy.

TheSwedish-AmericanpainterandUSAirForceSergeantOkeGustavNordgrenfromStockholm,withhisone-year-olddaughterIngrid,in1944atMitchellField.(IngridNordgren-Pratt)

ThesecondknownSweden-bornUSfighterpilotwasCaptainCarlH.Leo,bornin1920inMjölbyintheprovinceofÖstergötland.HemovedtotheUSatyoungage,graduatingfromaKansasCityhighschool.HetransferredfromtheUSCavalrytotheAirCorps.HewasshotdowninaP38andhimselfdownedaFw190.Heflewseventymissions;hisawardsincludetheDistinguishedFlyingCrossandAirMedal.(Björn

Leo)

The total number of Swedish immigrants and their children in the ArmedForcesoftheUnitedStatesduringtheSecondWorldWarcanbeestimatedfromthe1930UScensusdata.ItshowshowmanyAmericanswereborninSwedenandhowmanywerebornintheUnitedStatestoSwedishbornparents.Thetotalnumberwasabout1.6million,or1.3percent,ofthetotalUSpopulationof123million in 1930.During theSecondWorldWar about 16.4millionAmericansserved in the armed forces, or 13 percent, of the total population.As that thepopulation statistics had not changed significantly ten years later and theSwedish-AmericansservedatthesamelevelastheaverageAmerican,itcanbeassumed that about 208,000 Swedish-Americans served during the war. OneSwedish-American family alone, the Falldins of Minneapolis, Minnesota,contributed no less than nine US servicemen during WWII. The city ofMinneapolis, therefore, erected a memorial, “Falldin Post,” to honor the twoFalldinsonswhowerekilled inaction,and in1964,when theirmother,Anna,diedthelocalpaperwrote,“Mrs.AnnaFalldin,theMinnesotamotherbelievedtohavehadthemostsonsservinginWorldWarII,diedSunday.”181

A Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs document indicates that duringWWII, justas in theWWI,Swedishcitizens in theUnitedStatesweredraftedinto US military service. There can hardly have been as many such cases inWWII,however,astherehadbeenduringtheWWI.182

Many in the US military who had Swedish roots were, just like RichardStockhouse, simplyknownas “Swede”during their service. IncidentallymanyBritishsoldierswithScandinavianrootsgotthesamenickname.183

It seems reasonable topresume that the relatives inSwedenof the200,000plusinducted“Swedes”inUSforcesweretosomedegreeinfluencedbythefactthattheyhadanuncleorcousininAmericanuniformduringtheSecondWorldWar. We believe that this must have had at least a subconscious impact onSwedishWWIIpublicopinion.

The Internet database listing all members of the US Armed Forces in theSecondWorldWar(www.wwiimemorial.com)wasstillnotcompletewhenthisbookwaswritten.Lookingat just twotypicalSwedishnames,however, it listsseventy-three US soldiers with the last name Lindgren and fifty-threeLundquists.

LindberghandWallenbergTwo Swedish names from the first half of the twentieth century can still beconsideredhouseholdnames in thewesternworld:LindberghandWallenberg.Fewtodayassociatethesemen,CharlesLindberghandRaoulWallenberg,withmilitary history, yet both playedmilitary roles during thewar. Lindbergh, theson of a Swedish immigrantwho had beenwildly againstUS involvement inWWI,became theworld’sbest-knownaviator after having completed the firstsolo,non-stopflightfromNewYorktoParisin1927.Intheyearsfollowinghisreturn, he alienated himself from the Administration. He joined the AmericaFirstCommitteeandbecameamajorfigureinitscampaigntokeeptheUnitedStatesneutral.On29April1941,twodaysafterRooseveltimpugnedhisloyalty,LindberghresignedhiscolonelcyintheAirCorpsReserve.TheJapaneseattackon Pearl Harbor placed Lindbergh in a quandary, but in a patriotic spirit hewished to aid the US war effort by returning to the Air Corps. TheAdministration refused his services, however, and forced Lindbergh’s manyaviation employers to cancel his positions. Only Henry Ford resisted, andLindbergh went to work for Ford as a consultant, helping them convert tobomberproduction.

In1944Lindberghmanaged toget intomilitaryactionviaabackdoor—heflew fifty combat missions against the Japanese as a “consultant.” Ten yearslater President Dwight D. Eisenhower restored Lindbergh’s commission andappointedhimabrigadiergeneralintheAirForce.

Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is remembered for his humanitarianwork inBudapestduringWWII,whenhemanaged tosave the livesof tensofthousandsofHungarianJews.Theseactionshavebeenimmortalizedinagreatnumber of books, films, and TV documentaries. Wallenberg was made anHonoraryCitizenoftheUnitedStatesin1981,thesecondpersontobegrantedthis status after Winston Churchill. Yet only quite recently Wallenberg’saffiliationtotheOfficeofStrategicServiceshascomeintofocus.Itwouldseemthat this involvement did not mean any kind of political-military intelligencework forWallenberg.Yet it also seems quite possible that Soviet intelligencesimplycouldnotbelievethatacapitalist intelligenceagencycouldbeinvolvedinhumanitarianworkwithoutanypolitical-militaryaspects.ThusWallenberg’sfatewasprobablysealedassoonastheSovietNKVDgotwindofhisstatusasan OSS asset. Wallenberg was captured by the Soviets in 1945 and most

probablydied in1947 (initially reportedlybyheart attack, but later reportedlyexecuted).

ToLiverpoolandMurmanskTheBritishForeignMinisterAnthonyEdensaidafterthewar,“TheNorwegianMerchantMarineduringtheSecondWorldWarwasofmorevaluetotheAlliesthanamillionsoldiers.”184UsingthiswayofreasoningSweden’scontributiontotheAllieswasalsosubstantial,astherewerethousandsofSwedishcitizenswhotransportedweapons, troops, and fuel for theAllies, often at thepriceof theirownlives.

Asmentionedearlier,atleastfiveSwedishcitizens(andprobablymanymoreformercitizens)wereinNormandyonD-dayasvolunteersoldiersoftheAllies.There were many, many more Swedish citizens behind the scenes, however,workingasseamenonshipscarryingfuelandotherloadsinthegiganticAlliedflotilla.OnAmericanshipsalone,inJune1944,therewereaboutfiftyworkingasseamen,accordingtothecrewlistsstudiedbynavalhistorianTerjeFredh.185Altogether there were over one hundred Swedish citizens working onNorwegian, British, and American tankers and cargo ships in support of thetroopslandinginNormandy.

Most of the Swedes in the Allied cargo fleet during WWII served onNorwegian ships, over 700men.186 After that come the Swedes onAmericanships, about 500, and on British ships, 400. Others worked on ships underSwedishflagbutalsoundertheSwissandYugoslavianflags.Alltogethertherewereabout8,000SwedishcitizensworkingfortheAlliesunderdiverseflags.187

Theirworkconsistedoftransportingfuel,tanks,trucks,soldiers,andaircraftprimarily from theUnitedStates, “the arsenal ofdemocracy,” toGreatBritainand the Soviet Union—later other countries. New York, San Francisco,Liverpool, andMurmanskwere harbors of central importance to thousands ofSwedishseamenworkingfortheAllies.

Swedish-born Captain AxelW. Pearson, USWar Shipping AdministrationRepresentative toMurmansk andArkhangelsk, reported to his superiors abouttheordealof theconvoys toRussia,“Ineversawsuchcourageasour seamenhave.They’vegotthesamespiritthoseRussianshave.”(AlthoughSwedish-bornhemeantnotonlySwedishseamen,butallAlliedseamenintheconvoysacrosstheoceans.)

The successful Allied amphibious landings in Africa, Italy, and France in1943and1944also involvedthousandsofSwedeswhotransportedsupplies tothebattlegrounds.

TheAmericanshipscrewedbySwedishseamennormallyhadsomeformofair defense.Part of theNorwegian andBritishmerchant fleetwas also armed.Some of the Swedes inAmerican servicewore uniforms of theUSMerchantMarine or of the United States Lines and were considered as part of the USArmedForces.RegardlessofwhetherornottheshipswerearmedandifthemenworesomeAllieduniformornot,however, their shipswere likehuge floatingtargetsforGermansubmarinesandaircraft.

The largest Swedish ships inAllied service had previously been passengershipsofthecompanySvenskaAmerikaLinien(SAL)(SwedishAmericaLine).The Kungsholm, mentioned earlier in the book, was one of SAL’s pleasurecruise ships. She traveled between New York and theWest Indies when theAmerican government requisitioned her for use as a troop transport. ThathappenedonlyfivedaysaftertheUnitedStatesenteredthewar.188TheshippingcompanydidnotloseoutbecauseWashingtonpaidcompensationofsixmilliondollars.The425-mancrewoftheKungsholmwaspermittedtoleavetheshipandterminateservice,ifdesired,inNewYork.ManychosetoseekpositionsintheAlliedMerchantMarine. Some remained on their old job with the ship, nowcalled John Ericsson. One of them that had no doubts about staying put wasRagnarWikstenfromRåneåinNorrbotten,“AtthetimeofthepurchaseIstayedwithit.TheYankswerenotreallyfamiliarwiththefinertechnicalpointsoftheKungsholmandthereforeneededsomeonewhoknewhowthingsshouldbe.”189WikstenwouldseeseveralofthemostvitalportsduringWWII.

RagnarWikstenfromRåneåintheuniformoftheUnitedStatesLinewithhiswartimedecorations.WikstenwasonUStrooptransportshipsthewholetimeduringthewarandwasabletoseemanyoftheworld’smostimportantharbors.LaterhebecameanAmericancitizenandaradarengineer.Duringthe1950sheworkedasatechnicianonboardtheNautilus,thefirstnuclear-poweredsubmarine.(GöstaWiksten)

Even female Swedish seamen were in the Allied convoys. Naval historianTerjeFredhhasfoundfourSwedishladieswhosailedundertheNorwegianflagfrom1939to1945.MargitPerssonfromGothenburg,forexample,experiencedseveral combat actions in the Mediterranean while serving on a Norwegianship.190

About 600 Swedish seamen died during the war under the flag of othernations, most in the service of the Allies. In addition 460 seamen died onSwedish ships sailing outside of the Skagerrak strait (between Denmark andNorway),mainlywhileworkingfortheAllies.191Thereisnoexacttotalfigurefor how many Swedish seamen died while assisting the Allies, but it can beestimated that therewere about 900.A total of 270 Swedish shipswere sunkduring the war.192 The Norwegian losses were naturally greater—5,000Norwegian sailors lost their lives and more than 400 ships were lost.193 TheSwedishlossesstillstandassubstantial,however,especiallysinceSwedenwasofficiallyneutral.

When the seamen came home—often with physical and psychological

problemsbecauseofwaractionsandprisoncamps—theywerenotmetbyanybandsorcheeringcrowdsat thepier. InSweden theyweremetquiteoftenbypolice,whosentthemofftoservetheirdelayedconscriptionobligationatsomenearbynavalbase.TheSwedishNationalTaxBoarddemanded the immediatepayment of past due taxes.Many seamen found that their bank accounts hadalready been cleaned out by the authorities through discretionary assessment.ThehomewardboundwarsailorwasoftenhandledforyearsasasuspectdeviantbytheSwedishauthorities.

TheNorwegiangovernment,too,failedtogiveaproperthanksafterthewartoseveralhundredofitsSwedishwarsailors—butaftertheauthorTerjeFredhpublicized their role in the1980s theNorwegianauthoritiesorganizedamajorceremony and passed outmedals to those assembled, including Fredh, with aspecialthankstohimforlocatingalltheveterans.194Similarly,theSovietUniondistributedmedalsin1985tothoseSwedesstilllivingwhohadbeeninvolvedintheAlliedtransportstoMurmansk.195

In Sweden, after many decades of neglect and the lack of any officialappreciation for their efforts, the Swedish government held a large honorceremonyinGothenburgforthesurvivingwarsailors.TheSwedishStatethen,finally, officially thanked all the war sailors, including those that had beenassisting the Allies, for their contribution, and at the same time dedicated amemorialmarkerinGothenburgforthewarsailors.

WerethereanySwedishseamenwhoworkedfortheGermanmilitary?Yes,but theywere relatively few in number compared to thosewho sailed for theAllies.Thewar sailors grouphas estimated that therewere about 500Swedeswhoworked on six large and a number of smaller Swedish tankers thatwerecharteredtoGermany.196TheytraveledfromGermanharborstotheWehrmachtinNorwayandintheBaltic.GermansignalerswentwithsomeoftheseshipsaslongasGermanywasabletocharterthem,uptoDecember1944.197

The Swedish sailors who transported iron ore to the German weaponsindustrybelongaswelltosomedegreetotheAxiswaractivity,butactuallytheyalsowentwithSwedishore toGreatBritain,untilNorwaywas invaded.UptothattimetheBritishcouldpurchaseasmuchironoreastheywished.198ThelastloadofironorewasshippedtoGermanyinOctober1944.ThelossofSwedishlives and materiel in the ore traffic was appalling: a total of 203 sailors andsixty-six ships were lost.199 The question of what would have happened ifSwedenhadrefusedtosellironoretoGermanywillbediscussedinSwedenstill

formanyyearstocome.AnumberofthenamesoftheSwedishwarsailorsarewrittenontheTrinity

Monument inLondon.AgroupconsistingofAllanMannandothers saw to itthat amemorial stonewaserected inOslo in the1970swith thenamesof theninety-sixSwedes—ofwhicheighty-eightweresailors—thatareknowntohavegiven their lives forNorway from 1940 to 1945.200 In otherwords almost asmanySwedesdiedforNorwayasforFinlandduringtheSecondWorldWar.

The“NorwayBattalion”and“GroupFritjof”The“NorwayBattalion”wasthelargestSwedishvolunteerforcesetupfortheAllies.ItwasorganizedandequippedentirelybytheSwedishArmyandwouldhave been taken over by the Norwegian military in connection with theanticipatedfinalfightforNorway.

InSwedishofficialdocumentsitwasdesignatedastheI.HalfBattalionofthe10th Infantry Regiment (I 10), but it was generally called the “NorwayBattalion.” It was indirectly created with the birth of the Swedish-NorwegianVolunteerAssociation,whichbeganon12December 1944.ConnyAnderssonwasmainlybehindthisinitiative,withhiswarexperiencefromSpain,Finland,andNorway.Hewasmadethechairmanofthenewassociation.Itspurposewasmainly to set up a Swedish volunteer force that would operate alongside theunitsofNorwegian“PoliceTroops”thatwereformedinSweden.Atthisstageinthe war, these troops were no longer policemen, but constituted a NorwegianInfantryDivisionon“neutral”Swedishsoil.

Recruitment was completely open and clearly in conflict with all rulesregardingneutrality.Amongotherthingstherewereposterswiththetext:“Forthe People of Norway—Become a Volunteer!” showing a soldier wearing aSwedishsteelhelmetwithNorway’sflagbehindhim,andwithdirectionstothemainrecruitingofficeinStockholm.201

Applicants streamed in—occasionally hundreds per day.Thebreadth in theorganizationwasimpressive.GeorgeBranting—thememberofparliamentwhohadchampionedtheSpanishMovement–spokeattheirmeetings.Manyveteransfrom Spain and Finland joined. Sten Andersson, who would later becomeForeignMinister,wasamongthosewhotookthestep.202DuringFebruary1945theAssociation started induction and began basic training for thosewhowereplanningonwarserviceinNorway.TheSportBoardinStockholmpermittedtheuse of the Östermalm Sport Center, where, for example, trainers instructed

recruitsinthethrowingofhandgrenades.Parallel to all this some dramatic things happened in Värmland, or more

exactly, on the border with Norway. On 22 February 1945 Allied aircraftdropped,forthefirsttime,containersfilledwithweaponsfor“GruppFritjof.”203Thisgroupwasanew,Swedish,sectionoftheNorwegianresistancemovement,under the command of Bertil Harding, a career sergeant with the Lv 6 AirDefenseRegimentinGothenburg.Hardinghadresignedfromthearmytobuildup a guerrilla group with the blessing of the Norwegians and supplies ofautomaticweaponsfromtheBritish.SeveralmonthslaterGruppFritjofandtheNorwayBattalion’sfateweretobejoinedtogether.

On15March1945theSwedish-NorwegianVolunteerAssociationaskedtheSwedish Army to call in part of the Norway Battalion for field training. TheSwedish commander in chief forwarded up the proposal to the King withoutcomments. Military historian Börje Furtenbach explained this seeminglyindifferentattitudewith:

ItmustbeseenagainstthebackgroundthattheSwedishmilitaryleadershipatthattimewasfullyoccupiedwithpreparationsfortheintroductionofregularSwedishunitsintoNorwayandDenmarkfortheirliberation.Andatthetimetheselargerplanshadatopsecretstatus.ApprovaloftheAssociationproposalwasdesirable,however,asasecurityrelease,givinganoutletformanySwedestohelptheNorwegiansatlast.Theproposalwasapprovedbythegovernmenton6April.204

Inotherwords theSwedishmilitary in thespringof1945wereconsideringthree possible actions outside of Sweden: The Norway Battalion’s as well asregular Swedish units within the framework of Operations RÄDDA NORGE(SaveNorway)andRÄDDADANMARK(SaveDenmark).205FurtenbachalsoexplainedwhattheSwedishmilitarythoughtaboutthelegalityoftheseplannedSwedishactionsagainst theGermans: circumstanceswhen thebattalionwouldcrossthebordertogetherwiththeNorwegianPoliceTroopsprobablywouldbesuchthattheHagueConventionwouldnotapply.206

When the government hadmade the decision to conduct full-scalemilitarytrainingofthemembersoftheVolunteerAssociation,theChiefoftheDefenseStaff (andalsoSFKveteran)CarlAugustEhrensvärdgave theAssociation allthe backing they needed, and then some, because he personally applied formembershipintheAssociation.207

Onecouldjointhebattalionbyleavinganapplicationwithsomeoneatoneofthirty-fiverecruitingofficesoftheVolunteerAssociation.Theywouldthensendthe individual’s information to the local conscription office, from which theregionalconscriptionwouldsendorderstocallinthepersontothe10thInfantryRegiment.Entrywasmadeat the tank regiment inSträngnäs inSödermanlandwherethecommandelementfirstmeton23Aprilandthefirstprivatesappearedthreedayslater.ColonelVikingTamm,withwarexperiencefromEthiopiaandFinland,wasconsideredforthepositionofbattalioncommander,butintheenditwasgiventoCaptainHenricGeorgFalkenbergfromtheinfantryregiment,I3.GöstaBenckert,withhisgoodreputationfromNorwayin1940,wasselectedacommander of the third company in the battalion.208 The equipment in theNorway Battalion was entirely Swedish. Trucks and horses arrived. After athoroughorganizationthebattalionwastransportedtoVärmlandwhereamixedlotofpersonnelinthebattalionreceivedbasicinfantrytraining.Onlyabouthalfhadpriorinfantrytraining.Theyalsopaidspecialattentionto“partisanwarfare”andtheclearingofGermanlandmines.ClosecombatexpertAllanMann(fromSOE)wasaninstructoratthebattalionforashorttime.209

Furtenbach’s judgment of the combat potential of the battalion put in thedefensestaffmilitaryhistoryyearbookasfollows:

InsummaryitmustbesaidthattheNorwayBattaliondoesnotmatchthestandardreachedbyotherSwedishinfantryunitsattheendofthewar,becauseofthemixedtrainingthatwasprovidedanddiversebackgroundsofthepersonnel.Someofthetroopshadearlierbelongedtoothervolunteerunits.Inthismanner52wereintheSFK,13intheHangöBattalion,and16belongedtotheSvirCompany.About15menhadearlierbeenintheSpanishvolunteers.210

ThisnewspaperannouncementcallingforSwedishvolunteersforNorwaywasprintedinmanySwedishnewspaperson18April1945.

Asfaraseconomicpayment,theNorwegianvolunteerspaywascomparabletootherregularconscripts,as longastheywereinSweden.OncetheycrossedtheborderNorwaywastoassumefullresponsibilityforpayandallowancesaswellasmaterielcosts.

Thebattalionwasneverputintoaction.On7MaytheGermanssurrenderedinNorwayandan advance elementof theNorwegianPoliceTroops includingtheattachedSwedishofficerGustafMunthe(not tobeconfusedwithMalcolmMunthe)weresentintocleartheGermanroadbarriersandtakeoverfromthe350,000heavilyarmedGermansstillinthecountry.Muntheexpectedresistance

from theGermans, but “nothinghappened.The fewGermanswe sawgaveusvery tired and indifferent glances.”Munthewasnot unique; at least twomoreSwedes,HenrySundstrandandThorSvensson,managedtobecomepartoftheNorwegianPoliceTroops.ItwouldseemthatthisformationwasforNorwegiansonly, but as theseSwedish volunteers had fought bravely forNorway in 1940theywereconsideredbytheNorwegianarmyashonoraryNorwegians.211

On10MaythegreatmassoftheNorwegianPoliceTroopscrossedtheborderandalreadyby12Mayhadthesituationstabilized.TheNorwegiangovernmentthensentthefollowingmessagetoSweden,“TheNorwegiangovernmentsendsits warmest thanks to those Swedes whowere ready to risk their lives as wewaited for the resolution of the war in Norway, but now the conditions havedeveloped to a point where the Norwegian government sees that it is notnecessarytogettheassistanceofthesevolunteersforpoliceduties.”212

Assoonasthebattalionwasinformedofthemessageordersweregivenforpreparations granting leave. The evening before, however, five battalionmembers had realized what was going to happen and illegally left theencampment. They joined Grupp Fritjof in the borderland forests in thedesperate hope that despite everything they would be able to somehow assistNorway. The men learned how to fire British submachine guns, looked formissing parachute containers, and patrolled the Norwegian-Swedish border.There were also some skirmishes with mystical wanderers, fleeing Nazis, orperhapsjustproductsof theimagination.213 Inmid-July1945GruppFritjof(atthemostithad120members)wasdisbandedinconnectionwiththedissolutionoftheNorwegian“HomeForces”(theNorwegiangovernment’sguerrillaunits).SomeofthemembersofGruppFritjofwantedtojointheUSArmytobesenttoJapan,but theydidnotsucceed inpersuading theAmericanmilitaryattaché inOslo.

ThenumberofthosewhoservedintheNorwayBattalion—some700men—is today an interesting statistic in the debate on Swedish opinion during theSecondWorldWar.Anevenmoreimportantstatistic,however,isthenumberofapplicantstothebattalion.Furtenbachestimatedthatnumbertobeabout5,000.Because only a small portion of the applicants could be processed, the actualnumber of those who applied was never officially recognized. The journalist,Charlotta Sjöstedt, has done themost research on the battalion and concludesthatthenumberofapplicantswasevenhigher,over6,400.214

MartinNilsson,SecretaryoftheVolunteerSocietyat theStockholmOffice,toldCharlotta Sjöstedt how the archiveswere destroyed shortly after thewar.

She summarized her experience of searching for records of the battalion thus,“When the Norway Battalion was dissolved it was as if it had never reallyexisted.”215Herexplanationofthesilenceaboutthefactthatover6,000Swedeswere ready to risk their lives for Norway seems reasonable: those involvedsimplywantedtoforgettheywereparticipantsinsuchanon-eventandthereforedidnotwanttopreserverelevantdocumentsforthefuture.

ThedesireofthosethousandsofSwedesbecomesimportant,however,whencompared to the fewer thanfiftySwedeswho, from1941 to1943,approachedthe German legation in Stockholm about service in the Waffen-SS orWehrmacht.

TherewerealsoanumberofSwedeswhowantedtojointheWesternAllies,butbecauseofthewartimelackofpassengertrafficbetweenSwedenandGreatBritain and theUnited Stateswere unable to get to a recruiting office for theBritish orAmericanArmy.RagnarRudfalk’s desperate and failed attempt viaMurmanskhasalreadybeendescribed.OtherstelephonedorwroteletterstotheSwedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the foreign diplomatic offices inStockholm. It has provenmost difficult to get even an overall picture of howmany suchattemptedcontactsoccurred.One letter to theMinistry forForeignAffairswillbequotedfromhere,though,asitprovidesanexampleofaSwedishwomanwhowantedtojointheAllies.Inaletterdated3August1943Inga-BrittWallenberg,anofficeassistantata tuberculosissanitarium,asked theMinistryforForeignAffairs“toreport[her]forvolunteerwarservicewiththeBritish,aseitheranurse,oramemberoftheWomen’sRoyalNavalServiceorsomethingofthatnature.”216

SeveralhundredSwedes, ifnotmore, alsoactively supported the resistancemovements in Norway and Denmark from Swedish territory, by providingrefuge, information, and supplies. In a 1946 ceremony in the StockholmCityHall no less than 700 Swedes were, therefore, awarded the Danish FreedomMedal.217

FromtheSStotheUSArmyThevery lastSwedes toendup inWesternAlliedmilitaryservicedidsoafterhavingbeenprisonersofwar(POW).

The Swede “Oskar” had belonged to the SS-Regiment“Germania” withinthe“Wiking”DivisionandwasputinanAmericanPOWcamp.HewasabletosneakoutofthePOWcamponenighttogetherwithaDaneandwenttoafarm

intheareawherehegotridofhisGermanuniform.Hungerforcedhimtogotoarefugeecampthat theUSArmyhadestablished. IncivilianclothesandwithaSwedish passport he presented himself as a Swedish businessman on hiswaybacktoSwedenfromwarravagedVienna.Henotonlygotfed,butwasoffereda jobwith theUSmilitarypolice. “I thanked themand accepted, puttingon akhakiuniformandbeganhandingoutfoodtoformerslavelaborers.”218

AnothermanfromStockholmintheruinsoftheThirdReichwas“Sven.”Hehadbeenaslavelaborerand,justliketheSSman“Oskar,”washiredbyUncleSam.DespitehisSwedishcitizenshipandhisyoungage,hewasbornin1930,“Sven”endedupgettinginvolvedinmoreimportantthingsthanmostduringtheSecondWorldWar.HehadanillegitimatebirthandwaslookedafterforatimebyaGermanmedicaldoctorandhis family.Laterhewas takencareofbyanEstonianengineerwhowasdeportedbytheSovietNKVDinApril1941.“Sven”wasveryluckyandhappenedtobeoutwhentheNKVD-menarrived.Hejoineda band of youths that carried out “diverse small sabotage actions against theRussians.”219 After several months “Sven” was caught and sent to LeningradwhereagainhewasabletoescapebysuspendinghimselfunderarailwaycaronitswaytoGerman-occupiedEstonia.

After some resistancework against the new occupation power “Sven”wascaughtbytheGermanswhomadehimaslavelaboreratanexplosivesfactoryintheGerman townofBrahnau.Next hewasobliged togo to theEasternFrontwith the German paramilitary Organisation Todt (OT). While he was there“Sven” came down with severe frostbite and was allowed to return to theexplosives factory in Brahnau. Not far from Brahnau there was a Stalag(German POW camp). Together with two American airmen “Sven” fledwestwards.InNovember1944thetriowasmetbyAmericantroopsatAachen.“Itwas theUS5thArmoredDivision,”“Sven”said.“Iwas fourteenwhen theAmericanArmy putme towork as a translator. Imademany reconnaissancemissions along the front lineswhere I questioned the local civilian populationaboutGermantroopmovements.”220

TobeamilitarytranslatorinoneofGeneralGeorgeS.Patton’sfast-movingarmored reconnaissance units called for more than knowledge of languages.Amongotherthings,“Sven”learnedhowtousethecapturedGermananti-tankweaponPanzerfaust.Hewaswoundedincombatandreceivedabadscaronhisforehead.InJune1945hewastransferredtotheUSGravesRegistrationService,whosemissionwastodigupgravesandidentifyAmericanairmenwhohadbeenburiedbytheGermans.InDecember1945“Sven”returnedtoSweden,butwas

marked by hiswar experiences.He traveled extensively aroundEurope in the1950s and his later fate is not known. He may well have been the youngestSwedeatwarduringtheentireperiodfrom1914to1945.

Robert Bengtson from Örebro had been a sergeant in the Waffen-SSLeibstandarte“AdolfHitler”formostofthewar.InanAmericanPOWcamphewasnoticedforhisexcellentknowledgeofEnglish.HewasinvitedtoleavethePOWcampifhewouldagreetoworkfortheAmericans.InthiswayhebecamebothaninterpreterandbartenderfortheUSArmyinBavariaduringthesummerof1945.

KarlStaffromHelsingborghadsurvivedthelastbattleofEbrointheSpanishCivilWarandalaterGermandeathsentenceforhiscooperationwiththeDanishresistancemovement.WhentheAmericanSeventhArmyliberatedStaffromtheDieburg Prison Camp he was starved, but was able to quickly recover. Heswitched from a German prison uniform to that of the US Army where heworkedasaninterpreterandassistant in theAmericanMilitaryGovernmentinGermany.OnhiswayhometoSwedeninSeptember1945—drivinganewOpelOlympia, a gift from theUSArmy—he stopped at the German concentrationcampNeuengamme.NowthecampwaspopulatedbymenfromtheWaffen-SS.Togetherwith twoNorwegian formerprisoncamp inmates,hewas reluctantlyallowed to enter the camp by a British guard. The SSmen stood at watchfulattention when Staf approached them. “It should have been a moment oftriumph,”hesaid,“buttheonlythingIcouldfeelwasdisgust.”221

9.InFinland’sService,1939–1945:Finland’sCauseWasTheirs

Theretheycameintightformations.Athardlytwenty-fivestepsdistance,cheeringandwithmountedandshinybayonets,theenemystormedtowardsus.Noweverythinghappenedbyinstinctandreflex.Uprightfiringpositionagainstthenearesttreeorstoneorwithoutsupport.AquickshowerofshotsatthenearestRussian,lowaimingpoint,thenthenextone,thenthenext.

—OrvarNilsson,LieutenantColonel

TheWinterWarof1939–1940causedasurgeofpublicsupportforFinlandinSweden.Eventhe“neutral”Swedishgovernmentinmanywaysthensupportedthe Finnish Armed Forces. The Swedish Government was less inclined tosupport the Swedish volunteer movement in the Finnish Continuation War,however, nevertheless it also gave the necessary approval to enable a nationalvolunteermovementforFinlandduringthatwar.

ExamplesofpostersfortheSwedishvolunteermovementforFinland.“Finlandssakärdin”translatesas“Finland’scauseisyours.”

*****

Just as Hitler used a “Polish attack” against a radio station as a reason forinvadingPoland,StalinusedtheshellingofMainilaon26November1939.TheFinnsmade an immediate study of what had happened and proposed that theSovietUnionshouldsendrepresentativestojoininacommonexamination.TheSovietsdidnot respond to theoffer,and itwasn’tuntil the1990s thatRussianpoliticiansadmittedthatthefirstroundswerefiredbytheSovietNKVD.1

WhenFinlandwasattackedbytheSovietUnionon30November1939onlythosewhohadbeenlong-timefaithfultoMoscowacceptedthereportabouttheFinnishartilleryfiringontheSoviets.MostsawintheFinnsarighteousDavidandinStalinamodernGoliath.2TheWinterWarfascinatedpeopleinthemostremotecountriesbecauseoftheunequaloddsandextremefightingconditions.

Themilitary forces of the SovietUnionwere theworld’s largest, themostmechanized,andwith the largest forceofparatroopers. In1939 theRedArmy

had138divisionsandalmostfortybrigades.IntheWinterWaragainstFinlandtheRedArmy sent in fifty divisions, almost 3,000 armored vehicles, and 800aircraft.3Finlandwasabletomobilizefifteendivisions,andhadonly45tanks,mostlyfromtheFirstWorldWar,aswellasonly146aircraft.4

WhenthewarstartedFinlandstoodmilitarilyisolated.Incontrast,StalinwasinanalliancewithHitler.ThewargoaloftheSovietUnionwasclearlyrevealedbytheSovietmediaonthefirstdaywhentheypresented“Finland’sdemocraticgovernment”inTerijoki(nowZelenogorsk)setupbytheexiledFinnOtto-VilleKuusinen,SecretaryintheCommunistInternational.5TwodayslaterKuusinensignedanagreement“in thenameofdemocraticFinland” that resolvedall theborderissueswiththeSoviets.

TheSovietattackcausedagreateroutcryinScandinaviathananyothereventin1939,even the invasionofPoland thathadoccurreda fewmonthsprior. Infact, Finland Committees were set up all around the world. Thousands ofHungarians and Finnish-Americans wanted to come to the support Finlandimmediately.EvenPortugueseandItalianswantedtojoinwiththeFinns.Fewofthesepeoplesucceededinarrivingbeforethewarcametoanend,however.Herewe will only name the most remarkable examples of volunteers who offeredthemselves to Finland. TheUS President’s son,Kermit Roosevelt, recruited a“Finnish Legion” in London that went to Finland with 230 “Legionnaires.”6

PrinceFerdinandofLiechtensteinbecamea simpleFinnishprivate.7TheagedFrenchgeneralClement-Grandcourtalsosignedupasaprivate,butwasmadeanofficerwhenhearrivedatthevolunteercenterinHelsinki.8

ManyoftheolderSwedishvolunteersin1939hadparticipatedinthewarinFinland in 1918within the Swedish Brigade and in purely Finnish units. ThemostprominentofthesewasGeneralErnstLindner,whobecamethechiefoftheSwedish Volunteer Corps for Finland (SFK). He had been the chief of theSatakundaGroupin1918andhiscorpschiefofstaff,CarlAugustEhrensvärd,hadin1918beenchiefoftheIndependentArchipelagoCorps.9AllanWinge,amajor in theSwedishBrigade in1939became the chiefof theSFKpersonnelsection.VikingTamm,theveteranfromEthiopia,becamethecommanderofII.CombatGroupofSFK.MartinEkström,theveteranfromPersiaandtheBaltic,becamethecommanderof3dCombatGroup,SFK.

ThelinkbetweentheSwedishBrigadeof1918andSFKwouldbeapparenton every SFK uniform because the insignia chosen for SFK’s collars wasidentical to the insignia of the Swedish Brigade—four arms supporting each

other, symbolizing Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. At the time, in1918, theSwedishBrigadehadnotused the insigniaon itsuniforms,butonaflag thatwas adopted shortly before the unitwas dissolved.Now the insigniawastobeputtoawideruse.

ThevastmajorityoftheyoungerSwedishvolunteersintheWinterWarhadnowarexperience,buttwentyveteransfromtheInterbrigadesinSpaincametoSFK. Olov Jansson was not only a Spanish Civil War veteran, but also thechairman of the Swedish Syndicalist Youth League. Twomore veterans fromSpain were Conny Andersson and Gösta Näslund.10 Andersson stated that hehadmetwithagroupin thecorps thathadbeenontheoppositeside inSpain,withFranco.11

ThevolunteersforFinland is thecategoryofSwedes inforeignwarservicethat is most well-documented. In this book we focus on the less well-knowncategoriesofwarvolunteers,sowehavechosentosummarizethischapter.

TheSwedishVolunteerCorpsSFKwas the result of discussions on volunteer assistance to Finland that hadbegunbefore theSovietUnion’s firstassaulton theBalticStates in the fallof1939.Itwaspossible, therefore, toopentherecruitingstationinStockholmonthesamedaythewarbrokeout.

Themajority of the applicants belonged to theSwedishmilitary forces andaccordinglycouldnottraveloutofSwedeninwartimewithoutofficialapproval.Manydifferentagencieswantedtobepartoftheapprovalprocess.Thestackofapplicationsgrewquickly.InStockholmalone1,750personshadappliedasof5December.Torationalizetheprocess,thecommanderinchiefrequestedthatthegovernmentdropthecommitmentproceduresforallexceptcareerofficers.

On 4 December the Finland Committee was set up as a permanentorganization for the funding of the volunteer effort. The first transport ofSwedish volunteers to Finland occurred on 21 December. A slow but steadystreamofSwedishvolunteersflowedtoFinlanduptotheNewYear.Uptothatpointtheslowstreamofvolunteerswasinpartduetotheinitialofficialsecrecybehind the invitation to the volunteer corps. Many were interested, but howcould they get information? The secrecy behind the SFK gradually began tolessen, due to vigorous requests from the Finland Committee to the Swedishgovernment on 18December. The presentationwas approved three days laterandafterthetransportationofthefirstvolunteersbegantherewasgreatpublicityaboutthecorps.

After the start of the new year the Finland Committee and the localcommittees set up a standard recruiting campaign. Within a short time therewereover100registrationsperday.Atotalof12,705personsjoinedtheSFK.12Thenumberactuallyacceptedwas8,260.Inadditiontothatnumbertherewere500 Swedish citizens that went into other regular Finnish units. Due to theshortage of officers in Norway a total of 727Norwegians also came into thecorps, under Swedish command. The Norwegians were the least militarilytrainedinSFKasNorwayhadvirtuallydisarmedduringtheinterwaryears.

OnpostersfortheSFKonecouldread“Finland’sCauseIsYours—JointheVolunteerCorps!”Onthevolunteers’reasonsforjoining,SvenRabe,himselfavolunteer, reflected, “There were all sorts of variations, pure idealists, familyconnections,careerenhancement,desireforadventureandprobablyalsoadesiretogetanhonorableendtoahopelesslife.”13

Ofthe8,260acceptedtherewere1,500whowerenotabletoarrivebeforetheendof theWinterWar.14 Inaddition to themilitaryvolunteers therewere900otherSwedeswhowereorganizedby theSwedishLaborOrganizationand theNational Association of Employers to perform voluntary labor projects inFinland, such as construction of fortifications.15 Then there were those whocametohelptheFinnishpeopleinotherways,suchasseveralhundredsfromtheRedCross,veterinarians,technicians,firemen,andprofessionaldrivers.

AmongthosewhowereacceptedforSFKwere460careermilitarymadeupof122officersand348non-commissionedofficersandenlistedmen.Fromthereservesthereweresixty-fiveofficersandtwelvenon-commissionedofficers.

SFK’s organization was established by the Volunteer Committee incooperation with the Finnish Army. The work was led, for the most part, byhigherrankingSwedishcareerofficers,whoatanearlystagerequestedreleasefromtheirSwedishservice.Evenearlyon,thedirectionwastopositiontheSFKin Finnish Lapland. The final organization of the Corps was: a corpsheadquarters with a headquarters company and signal company; three combatgroups (reinforced battalions) each consisting of a headquarters company, asnowplow platoon, three rifle companies, a company of jägar troops (lightinfantry, compare with Jäger in German), a heavy company, a 7 cm artillerybattery,andsupplyunit.

Beyond the three combat groups, often called only “groups,” severalspecializedunitswouldbeplacedindirectlyunder thecorpscommander,suchas an independent jägar company and two motorized antitank platoons.Moreover,theAirWingF19cametobepartoftheSFK.Overtwentyaircraftofdifferentmodels were planned to be part of the air wing, but ultimately onlytwelveattackfighteraircraftandfourlightbombersoperatedoverabouthalfofFinland’sterritory!AlloftheFinnishaircraftwereconcentratedintheKarelianIsthmusandinthelarger,built-upareas.Asaresultthelargertownsinthenorth,such as Rovaniemi and Oulu, and the Finnish troops in that area could bebombedalmostatwilluntilF19couldbedeployedinthearea.16

EvenintheUnitedStatestheF19airmenwerecelebritiesinearly1940.LifemagazinehadF19pilotsonthecoverofits5February1940issueanddescribedthemas“thespearheadofworldwidereinforcementsfortheFinns.”

ThefirstmajorproblemfortheSFKleadershipwastogetallthevolunteersandtheirequipmenttoFinland.TothiswasaddedaseverelycoldwinterandalackofFinnishspeakers(SwedishisverymuchclosertoEnglishthanFinnish).In order tomaster these challenges a group under the direction of Lieutenant

ColonelMagnusDyrssenwassent to theFinnish townofTornio.Therehesetup a depot where the incoming volunteers would assemble, be equipped, andsentouttotheirassignedunits.

On 17 January 1940 the Swedish Air Wing F 19, led by Major HugoBeckhammar,engagedincombatforthefirsttimeoverthetownofMärkäjärvi(nowSalla).WingCommanderBeckhammarwrotehowhepersonallyattackedgroundtargetsthatday,“TheshellburstsgavetheillusionofasparklingstringofpearlsamongtheRussiantroops.”17AtthesametimeSecondLieutenantIanIacobigotadirecthitonaSoviet I-15fighterwithhisGlosterGladiator.Thatwas the very first victory in air combat for personnel from the Swedish AirForce.

TheplanesoftheSwedishvolunteerairelement,F19Squadron,werepaintedwiththeFinnishAirForceblueswastikaemblem.TheemblembeganwiththefirstaircraftintheFinnishAirForce,agiftfrom

SwedishCountEricvonRosen.Thisformoftheswastikawashispersonalgoodlucksymbol.Shownisa1:6.5-scalemodelofaB-4HawkerHart—aBritishaircrafttype(modelisattheSwedishAirForceWingF

21’smuseum).(LG)

InthebeginningofFebruarythegroundunitsoftheSFKwerereadytobeputintocombatat thefront.Theyhadnotcompletedall thetrainingexercises,butcouldconductlimitedmissions.GeneralLinder,thecorpscommander,receivedanorder fromtheFinnishheadquarters for themainelementsof theVolunteerCorpstotakeuppositionswestofMärkäjärvianddefendagainstSoviettroops

advancingfromthetownofKandalaksha.TheseforceswereestimatedtobetwoSoviet rifle divisions. 1st Group of the SFK, commanded byMajor Dryssen,begantheirmovementfromKemitoRovaniemi.

The deployment of 2d Group under the command of Lieutenant ColonelVikingTamm,wasnotdoneasquicklyashoped.OntheotherhandtheCorp’ssmallerunitwasforthemostpartready.AtthesametimetheRedArmymadeasignificantbreakthroughoftheFinnishlinesintheKarelianPeninsula.ThelackofreservesinsouthernFinlandmadeitnecessarytoquicklypulloutandregroupfiveFinnishbattalionsthathadbeenpartofthedefenselineintheSallaarea.

On22February1stGroupbeganmovingfromKemijärvi,followedtwodayslater by 2d Group. A forced march during daylight hours had to be avoidedbecause of the threat from enemy aircraft.At night the temperature sankwellbelowminusfortydegreesFahrenheit(minusfortydegreesCelsius),withsomereports showing from minus fifty-three to minus fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit(minus forty-seven to forty-nine degrees Celsius). In these temperatures thevolunteersskiedforward,butwithmanysufferingfrostbite.

ThewithdrawaloftheFinnishunitsbeganon25February.TheSwedeswerenow only 80 to 300 meters from the Soviet forward positions. The Swedesimmediately began combat activities such as defense of strong points, patrols,andpreparationsforaSwedishattackto theeast.NowandthentheSFKwerefired upon by Soviet artillery and mortars. The SFK responded with blazingburstsoffirefromheavyandlightinfantryweapons.

DuringthistimetheysoughttoimprovethedefensivepositionsstartedbytheFinnishtroops.On3to4MarchtheJägarCompany“Grafström”conductedareconnaissancebehindtheSovietfrontlinesandcameintoaheavyfirefight—called “Grafström’s Raid”—on 10 March against a Soviet company-sizedcombat patrol. This enemy patrol was forced back with substantial losses.During the Swedish raid at least one Soviet prisoner of war was executed:“Severalweretakenprisoner,theremainderwereexecuted.”18

On1March1stGroupsuffereditsfirstfatality.Thecommander,LieutenantColonel Magnus Dryssen, was killed by Soviet grenade shrapnel. He wasreplacedbyLieutenantColonelCarl-OscarAgell.

InTornioandKemitheycontinuedtoworkpreparingtwonewunits,the16thIndependentJägarCompanyand3dGroup.Thelatterunitwasnotreadyuntilafterthearmisticewasdeclared,whilethe16thIndependentJägarCompanydidarriveatthefrontlines.Suchwasthesituationon13March1940whenFinlandandtheSovietUnionconcludedapeaceagreement.

Accordingtotheagreementallhostileactivitywouldceaseasof1100hours,however, thatmorningwasnotmarkedbypeace.TheSovietartillery firedoffalltheammunitionithad,sothattheSFKsuffereditsgreatestlossesonthatlastdayof thewar.The total losses for theCorpswere thirty-eightkilled (most inaction),overfiftywounded,andover130withseverefrostbite.

Disappointment over the hard peace conditions for Finlandwas very great.On 14March 1940 the newspaper for theCorps,DenFrivillige, published anextra edition consisting of only one page framed by black edges. Under theheadline“BottomlessDespairfortheLeadershipoftheCorps”werethelines:

WeSwedesintheVolunteerCorpshavenotbeenallowedtoaccomplishanythingofvalue.WestandhereinwintryLaplandnotknowingwhatweshoulddonext.Paralyzedandindespairwenowmustwitnessthelossofthecausethatbroughtushere,beforewecouldbringinourmodesthelp,thatwaspossiblegivenoursmallnumbers.19

FinlandwasobligedtowithdrawfromtheKarelianPeninsulaandfromtwoareasinLapland.Itwasnotcertainwhethertheotherpartsofthecountrywouldbeabletoremainindependent.Thevolunteers,whoriskedtheirlivesforFinlandsawinMarch1940thatallthecountriesintheworld,especiallySweden,shouldhave done more for Finland. After the end of the SecondWorldWar it wasdisclosed thatSweden, in fact, haddonemuchmore,with secret shipmentsofarms to Finland during the Winter War, much more than was healthy forSweden’s own defense. The SFK personnel were not aware of this inMarch1940,however.

BasedonaproposalfromtheSFKleadership,FinnishFieldMarshalGustafMannerheimliquidatedtheCorps.On26MarchMannerheimthankedthemaingroupsoftheSFKinPaikansälkäandthe3dGroupinKemi.

OnthecombatworthinessoftheSFKBörjeFurtenbachwrote:

Withjudgment…onemustrememberthatthestandardofmilitarytrainingwasverylowforthemostpart.GiventhebasisforrecruitinginSwedenatthattimeitcouldnothavebeenotherwise.Since1926onlyhalfoftheconscriptedyouthsinSwedenweregivenweaponstraining,andfromthisnumbermosthadaveryshortperiodoftraining.WhatismostlikelywasthatgiventheconditionsplacedontheSFKonlyaveryfewpersonnelhadundergonewintertraining.Insummary,onecansaythattheunitswithintheSFKrepresentedthebestofwhatonecouldexpectatthattime,andin

certainaspects,likethequalificationsandaccesstopersonnelforcommandpositions,SFKwasbetterthanwasthecaseforourownmobilizedunits.Thepersonnelcadresituationcanbecharacterizedasfollows:

a)Acoreofnumerousandwellqualifiedofficers.b)Alargenumberofprivateswithextendedexperienceinthemilitary

whohadacceptabletrainingandwerefairlywellaccustomedtofieldoperations.

c)Alargegroupofconscriptswhohadundergonethenormalconscripttraining,whoaftersomecontinuationtraining,especiallyforwinteroperations,wereacceptablefortheirassignedpositions.

d)Thesecondgroupofprivateswasmadeupofcivilianswhohadnotundergonepreviousmilitarytraining,butbecauseoftheircivilprofessionswereabletofillmanyrequirementssuchasvehicledrivers,involvementinmedicalcare,andmaintenancesupport.

e)Thelastbutmuchtoolargeagroupwerethosewhoweretotallyuntrained,butwereacceptedbecauseoftheiryouthfulenthusiasmandidealism.HadtheCorpsengagedinmoreseriouscombat,andthatwaslikelyifthewarhadcontinued,thelosseswouldhavebeenmuchhigherduetothelowstandardsoftrainingfortheaveragesoldier.20

OnecanaddtoFurtenbach’sobservationsthattheSovietsoldiers,too,werepoorly trained.Theyhad the advantageof significant artillery and air support,andarmoredvehicles.TheSFKdidnothaveasinglearmoredvehicle.

AsoldierfromtheheavycompanyofSFBwithaGermanstickgrenade.OntheSwedish-madesteelhelmettheletters“TK”canbeseen,paintedinyellowwithinashield,signifyingtheheavycompany.(Arne

Pettersson)

ASovietT-26tankoutofactionthankstotheSFKattheSallafront.Thesoldiersarewearingtheusualmixofvolunteercorpswinterclothing.(BjørnRæder)

ThenumberofmentrainedinartilleryandinthenavywhojoinedtheSFKwas large.That led to thesettingupofmultiple independentunits.The largestwas an artillery unit in the coastal town of Vaasa. Led by Major BengtBengtsson, it servedasa trainingcenteranddepot fornewfieldartilleryunitsandassistedintheairdefenseofVaasa.TherewerethirtySwedishofficersand

200 Swedish non-commissioned officers and privateswho served in this unit.Most of the privates were conscripted Finns. The unit established sevenbatteries, ofwhich threewere howitzer batteries thatwere sent to the front atSumma.

TheairdefensedivisioninTurkuwasmadeupofthreeairdefensebatteriesthat the city of Turku had purchased from Sweden. The first was ready forcombat when Turku was attacked by the Soviets on 3March. Of the twelveSovietaircraftthatwereshotdownsixwereduetothatairdefensebattery.On6Marchafurtherbatterywasreadyfordeployment.TherewereeightySwedesinthedivisionandalltherestwereFinnish.

TheSwedishnavalvolunteerssetuptwounits,partoftheNavalDetachmentinTurkuandpartofwhatwascalledthePellinkiGroup.ThePellinkiGroupwasmade up of Coast Artillery personnel from Sweden who manned sea frontbatteries in the Pellinki District. The first unit manned a Finnish air defensebatterysetuponanislandoutsidethetown.Duringtheperiod15Januaryto13March 1940 they participated in the defense against nineteen air attacks. TheSwedish volunteer Captain Bengt Lind af Hageby was the flotilla vicecommanderintheFinnishtorpedoboatfleet,wherehewasinvolvedinanumberofcombatactions.21TheChiefofStaffofSFK,CarlAugustEhrensvärd,relatedsome of his thoughts about the time in Lapland. “Not of any demonstrableimportance” he wrote of the Swedish volunteer contribution in the WinterWar.22Ehrensvärd,however, tookup thepossibility that theSwedishpresencehad gotten the Soviet leadership to refrain from continuing the attack to theSwedishborder.Had theyengaged inexpandedconflict,perhapsat theborderwith the Swedish volunteers, it would have increased the possibility of theinvolvement of all of Sweden’smilitary forces. Ehrensvärdwas one ofmanySFKveteranswhorose tohighpositions in theSwedishDefenseForces in the1950s.HefinishedhismilitarycareerastheChiefoftheSwedishArmyin1957.

SoldiersoftheheavycompanywithaMaxim.ThefireobserverwearsaCzechhelmetwhiletheothershaveGermanWWIhelmets.(ArnePettersson)

Howhave theFinns judged thevalueof theSwedishvolunteers during theWinterWar?At that time naturally the participantswere richly decorated andappropriately thanked with impressive speeches. Given the facts in hand andaftersomanydecadeshavepassed,however,theFinnisheditorialboardbehindthethree-volumeencyclopediaonthewar,Finlandikrig(2001),hasconcluded:

TheSwedishvolunteerscarriedoutmanycompetentactionsindifferentareastoenhanceFinland’smilitarycapability,buttheydidnotcontributeanythingofsignificancefortheoutcomeofthewar.NeitherthedefenseofthetransportofwartimesuppliesontheimportantraillinebetweenTornioandOulu,northefactthattheSFKwasabletoreplacefiveFinnishbattalions…thatcouldbeusedtoothermissions,changedanythinginthatrespect.Butthevolunteerscouldcontentthemselvesthatmanyinthecivilianpopulationsawtheiractionsasanespeciallystrongmoralsupportinadifficulttime.23

In addition, for the inhabitants of northern Finland the Swedish volunteeraviators provided much more than purely moral support—Soviet bombersavoided F 19’s operational area. The Swedish pilots shot down nine Sovietaircraft in air combat and destroyed another three aircraft on the ground. Incomparison, the Swedes lost two aircraft, and were able to rescue one of itspilots.24

Aside from Swedish volunteers for Finland there existed a yet unknownnumberofSwedishArmyofficerswhoweresecretlyorderedtotraveltoFinlandand to train Finnish troops in the use and maintenance of foreign (Swedish)

weaponry. In a yet unpublishedmanuscript the secret FinnishmissionofFirstLieutenantBjörnZachrissonhas beendocumented. It is clear that the trainingthatZachrissonprovided just twoweeks after the outbreakof theWinterWarwasvitalforthesuccessoftheFinnishantitankguncrewswhohadjustreceivedanewtypeofAT-gunfromSweden.

TheSocietyofSwedishVolunteers forFinlandconducteda comprehensivedocumentation and memoirs program from 1940 until 2000 and published asocietynewsletteraswellasabookcoveringtheSFK,theotherSwedishunitsinFinland, and the Swedish volunteers in purely Finnish units.25 The book isentitled Svenska frivilliga i Finland 1939–1944. The 727Norwegians in SFKweredescribedinDenkaldefronten(2000)writtenbytheNorwegianSFKandRAF veteranBirger Tidemand-Johannessen.26 F 19, the SwedishAirWing inFinland, has been well documented in F 19—en krönika (1998) written byGregerFalk.

TheHangöBattalionInconnectionwiththestartoftheGerman-Sovietwaron22June1941FinlandwasattackedbySovietbombers.TherewereGermantroopsandaircraftalreadyinFinlandat that time.Afteraweekofdebate—andmoreSovietairattacks—FinlanddeclaredwaragainsttheSovietUnion.TheFinnssawthenewwarasacontinuationoftheWinterWarandthereforecalledit“theContinuationWar.”TheyhopedtoregaintheterritorylosttotheSovietsin1940,notleastbecausethere were 300,000 refugees from the border areas who wanted their homesback. There was also a not inconsequential number of Finns, however, whodesired to go further and extend the border to include Soviet Karelia and theKolaPeninsulainanew“GreaterFinland.”

Finland did not enter a full military alliance with Germany, but contenteditselftocoordinatewiththeWehrmachtinitsmilitaryoperationsagainsttheRedArmy.InFinlandandSwedenthisrelationshipwascalleda“fraternityofarms,”butthisdescriptionwasdeemedasirrelevantbymanySwedes.Besides,Finlandcame to participate in operations east of its old border.Although theSwedishpublicin1941waslessenthusiastictohelpFinlandthanduringtheWinterWar,one still found recruiting announcements in the newspapers, even social-democraticones.

Conny Andersson, a veteran of Spain and Norway and a volunteer in theWinterWar,wasoneof thedriving forcesbehindacampaignagainst thenew

volunteer movement for Finland.27 The campaign was conducted mainly bymeansofleafletdistributionatworkplaces.

Despite the new mood, several hundred volunteers soon reported to theFinnishEmbassy in Stockholm.When the Swedish SupremeCommanderwasinformed of the situation he proposed that the government should follow theprocedureusedintheWinterWarandstatethatthosewhowishedsoshouldbereleasedfromtheir jobs.Thegovernmentfollowedthisproposalon4Julyandthemaximumnumberofthosewhowerereleasedroseto5,200men.

A “Finland Committee for 1941” was set up to facilitate a new volunteerprogram. It was partlymade up of persons who had been in theWinterWarcommittee.Whenthenewgroupbegantowork,however,theworkersweremetbyaproblemthat theydidnothave in1939and1940—mainlybecauseof thepublic’s lukewarm reception of the new war. It was natural that the greatestinterest for the cause of Finland would be found among those who hadparticipated in the Winter War, so the veterans of that war were addressedthrough their association, the Förbundet Svenska Frivilligakåren. TheAssociationthenmadethefollowingofficialstatement,inthebeginningofJuly1941:

Despitethenewsituation,comparedwith1939–1940,andalthoughthecircumstanceshavemadeitimpossibletoresurrecttheSwedishVolunteerCorps,manyformermembersoftheCorps—officers,noncommissionedofficers,andsoldiers—stillhavewillinglysoughttoserveagainfortheFinnishmilitary.WehopethatevenmoreshallfollowtheirexampletothebenefitofthelinksbetweenSwedenandFinlandandinloyaltytowardsthecenturies-oldobligationtosecuretheNordicRegion’seasternborder.InthecurrentsituationoneseesnobetterwayforSwedishmentofurtherFinland’scauseandthedefenseoffreedomintheNordicRegion.28

By4July1,600menhadreportedtothevolunteeroffice.Asexpected,manyof the SFK veterans who thought that they had left “unfinished business” inMarch 1940, turned up, but the FinnishArmy this time applied stiffer qualityrequirementsontheparticipants.TheordersindicatedthatFinnishHeadquarterswishedtohaveaSwedishunitreadyfordirectemploymentonthefrontlineassoonaspossible.Theplanwastoorganizeaninfantrybattalionstrengthenedbysmallerspecialunits.Theplanwasrealizedforthemostpart.

ThevolunteerstraveledtoTurkuincivilianclothes.Afterthefinalsortingoutandequipping, thegroupsweresent to theHangöFront.About9August they

began replacingFinnishunits.By themiddleof themonth theyhadorganizedthree companies to form a battalion. A fourth company came later. Thecommander of the battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Hans Berggren and thecompany commanders were Harald Bråkenhielm, Anders Grafström, GunnarGyllenhaal, Jon Liljedahl, and Malcolm Murray. One of the most colorfulcharacters in thewholebattalionwasMurray,who laterbecameageneral—“arenaissanceman”—accordingtoSecondLieutenantArnePettersson.29MalcolmMurray gave an outlet for his artistic streak by designing the insignia for thebattalion, crossedbranchesofpinewith threecrowns.Thismetal insigniawaslateralsowornbytheSvirCompanyandisthusnowconsideredasnotonlytheemblemofthebattalion,butofalltheSwedishvolunteersforFinlandfrom1941to1944.30

ThesecondvictoryreportfromSuomussalmiwassentwhenthisphotographwastakenintheSwedishVolunteerCorpsDepotinTornioon14January1940.TheuniformedofficerinprofileisFirstLieutenantGunnarGyllenhaal,aSwedishcareerofficerwiththeSveaLifeGuardsandthecommanderofthe5th

(heavy)Companyinthe1stGroupoftheSFK.(Gyllenhaalfamilyarchive)

The name given to the battalion was Svenska Frivilligbataljonen (SFB)(Swedishvolunteerbattalion).Over4,000menvolunteeredforit,butintheendonly 811 could pass the standards to enter the battalion.31 Because of thosehigher standards of training and basic qualities theSFBwas inmany respectsbetterthantheSFK.Regardingtrainingitcanbesaidthattheofficercorpswaseven over-qualified.Despite this fact it took timebefore the unitwas in goodshape. A contributing cause to the delay was the wide range of weapons

provided—theSFB received Finnish, Swedish, French, and confiscated Sovietweapons. Helmets were of different types as well (as was the case for theFinnishArmy):Swedish,German,andCzechofseveralmodels.

As thebattaliondeveloped itwasemployedat theHangöFront (inextremesouthernFinland),notontheKarelianIsthmus,whichwasthesceneofthemostheavyfighting.Thiswasadisappointmentformany.FromtheendofJulyuntilthemiddleofSeptemberitsmajoractivityconsistedofworkatthefortressandpatrols. Thereafter the battalionwas drawn back into a reserve formation andunderwentintensivetrainingtoprepareitforstaticwarfare.

In the first days of October the battalion was committed to the front line.Uncertainty on the future of the SFB remained and influenced most of thepersonnel,however.Autumnstormsstrengthenedthenegativefeelings.

TheFinnishHeadquartersstaffthendecidedthattheSFBshouldbeorganizedas “Combat Group Ekström” under the Swedish volunteer officer MartinEkström, who was well known for his combat experience. Ekström was alieutenant colonel at that time and commander of a Finnish coastal battalion.Nils Palme, one of the key people involved in the 1941 volunteermovement;Viking Tamm; and the others in the Finland Committee had nothing againstEkström from amilitary standpoint, butwanted to avoid the political (media)consequencesofaformerSwedishNaziPartyleaderincommandoftheSFB.32PalmethenconvincedtheFinnishmilitaryleadershiptocountermandtheorder.

SeveraloftheSwedishvolunteersweredispleasedwithagroupofoutspoken,right-wingextremiststhatwaspartofSFB,sotheyrequestedtobereleasedandreturned to Sweden. At the same time the most German-oriented of the SFBwent in the opposite direction—to theWaffen-SS. Consequently, unit moraleimproved.

Howmany Nazis served in the SFB? The Finland Committee took up thequestion in its review of 1941 and wrote that “only a few” belonged to theSvensksocialistiskSamling(SSS),thatis,totheNazi-orientedLindholmParty.33PartyleaderSvenOlovLindholmandthecommunistnewspaperinSweden,NyDag, both had an opposite viewpoint and maintained—for diametricallydifferentreasons!—thattheSFBwasfullofNazis.34

It iscertain thatmembersof theHangöBattalionestablished“Sveaborg,”amilitarysectionoftheSSSatHangö,on3August1941.Thepersontakingtheinitiative for this action was the SFB member and SSS functionary, OttoHallberg.35Thishistorical factdoesnotprovide the fullanswer,however.TheSwedishDefenseMinister commissioned a studyof the numberofNaziswho

wereintheSFBatthetime.ColonelGöstavonStedingk,theSwedishMilitaryAttaché in Helsinki, carried out the study and found that the number wasbetween220and230persons,oronequarteroftheSFB.36

In thebeginningofNovemberonecouldbegin toseesigns that theSovietswere evacuating the Hangö area. At the same time the intensity of Sovietartillery fire increased. Justas theyhaddone inMärkäjärvi,before leaving theSovietsfiredoffalltheammunitiontheyhadavailableonsite.Thefiringwentonfortwoweeks!ShortlythereaftertheSovietsleftHangöandon4Decemberthe third company of the SFB under Anders Grafström was the first unit tooccupy theburningvillageofHangöand raise theFinnishwar flag in thecitycenter.

Havingfulfilledtheirmission,on15DecemberthebattalionwasthankedinpersonbyMannerheim.ThecombinedlossesfortheSFBwerethirty-onekilled,onlysevenmenfewer than theentireSFKKIAloss in theWinterWar.Whenthe SFB returned to Stockholm on 20 December, still wearing their Finnishuniforms,theyweremetbyanhonorcompany,amilitaryband,andcrowdswhowelcomed them with cheers for Finland and Sweden. From the dock atSkeppsbron they marched directly to the largest church in the Old Town ofStockholm,foramemorialserviceattendedbymembersoftheroyalfamilyandthe government.37 Several members of the cabinet, however, chose not toparticipatetoshowtheiroppositiontotheevent.

After a march in review for the Supreme Commander and Crown PrinceGustafAdolf theSFBcontinuedonto theStockholmCityHallanditsGoldenRoomforamemorialbanquet.Thebattalioninactivatedafterthefestivedinner.

EighteenSFBveteransworkedtogethertowriteacollectivememoiroftheirexperiencesinFinland,FrontennärmastStockholm(2003).TheSFBisalsowelldescribedinUmeåsBlåDragoner(1994).

TheSvirCompanyAfter theHangöBattalionwas disestablishedmany of themembers sought tocontinue their volunteer service for Finland. Completely new volunteers alsoappeared.MostwereabletotraveltoFinlandduringtheperiodfromJanuarytoFebruary 1942 andwere organized into their own companywithin a SwedishFinnishregiment,theInfantryRegiment13(IR13),ormorepreciselyinitsFirstBattalion,commandedbytheSwedishMajorCarlCarlsonBonde.

On2February1942thecompanyarrivedattheSvirFront,whereitquicklytookover itspositionby theSvirRiver, a riverbetween the two lakes,OnegaandLadoga,thatgavethecompanyitsunofficialname.

Thestrengthofthecompanyvariedduringtheensuingyears.Newvolunteerscame in good numbers during 1942, but more slowly thereafter. In February1942thestrengthwas125men,andinMayofthesameyearitroseto160,thehighest level of active strength reached. The complete unit roster (includingreplacements)ultimatelytotalled412men.38

From the Swedish authorities’ viewpoint the Svir Company was simply acontinuation of the Hangö Battalion. The Swedish government process forapproval toservewiththeSFBwasthuscontinuedfor theSvirCompany.Thepersonnel in the company were to a great extent “politically incorrect” inSweden, especially after Stalingrad, but nevertheless they got the Swedishgovernment’s “blessing” for their involvement in Finland. Their induction,administration, transport, correspondence, and funding were handled by theFinlandCommittee.

1stLieutenantHarryJärv,atwenty-two-year-oldSwedishFinn,2July1943,justbeforeactionagainstaSovietsniperbySvirinKarelia.Järvcommandedhand-pickedcombatreconpatrolsintheSwedish-Finnish61stInfantryRegiment,takingoutSovietMGpositionsandbunkers.HelosthislegtoamineinSeptember1943.Thefilm“BeyondtheFrontLine”wasbasedonJärv’smemoirs.Photo:ErikKaustinen.(HarryJärv)

The position of company commander was held by Lieutenant Arne Uggla(January 1942);CaptainRichardNilsson (February 1942–June 1942);CavalryCaptain StigMöllersvärd (July 1942–April 1943) and finally First LieutenantAxelHårdafSegerstad(May1943–September1944).39

Inthebeginningthecompanywasorganizedintotworifleplatoonsandoneheavy platoon.During 1942 the unit carried out patrols,moved the front lineforward, and conducted counterattacks. The latter operations obviously led tolosses,whichresultedinthecompanybeingreorganized.In1943andthespringof 1944 time passed without any major changes to the front lines. By mid-summer1944 theSvirCompany consisted of staff, supply, one jägar platoon,andonerifleplatoon—thelattertwogreatlyreducedinstrength.

SoldiersfromtheSwedishVolunteerCompany(SvirCompany)intheFinnishArmyduringapatrolinKareliainsoutheasternFinland.Thepicturewastakenshortlyafterthearmisticein1944.Standing(fromleft):Nils“Djurgården”Eklund,Lars(“Jag”)Björklund,Karl-JohanLindelöw,ÅkeElf,andPerHöglund

(seated).ThecrashedSovietplanetypeisunknown.(LarsBjörklund)

After the Red Army succeeded in breaking the siege of Leningrad the

situationinFinlandchangedfortheworse.AfterD-day—thereestablishmentoftheWesternFront—alargeSovietinvasionofFinlandwasexpected.IR13,withtheSwedishcompany,wasmovedtothestrategicKarelianIsthmustobepartofthe defense against the expected assault. There IR 13 fought a series of hardbattles that were certainly among the most difficult that Swedes have everexperienced. They took part in the biggest battle ever fought in the Nordicregion:theBattleofTali-Ihantala.TheSwedishVolunteerCompanywasnotedonseveraloccasionsforcourageinthebattle.Thelossesalsowerelargerduringthatsummer:elevenkilledinaction,twenty-sevenwounded,andtwomissinginaction.Theintensityofthemid-summerbattlein1944wasdescribedbyOrvarNilsson,thecompany’ssecondincommandfrom1943to1944:

Theretheycameintightformations.Athardlytwenty-fivestepsdistance,cheeringandwithmountedandshinybayonets,theenemystormedtowardsus.Noweverythinghappenedbyinstinctandreflex.Uprightfiringpositionagainstthenearesttreeorstoneorwithoutsupport.AquickshowerofshotsatthenearestRussian,lowaimingpoint,thenthenextone,thenthenext.Oursubmachinegunsfilledtheairwithlead.Theclosestweremoweddownlikehay,butmorecameforwardfromtheback.Someofthemtriedtotakepositionsbythetreesorstones,andtheyweremoppedupwithnewburstsofgunfire.Weshot,wescreamed,wethrewhandgrenades.Thenoiseofwarwasindescribable.40

The greatly-reduced company fought its last battle inAugust 1944when itwastaskedtoconductreconnaissancetoidentifythenewSovietpositions.

AfterthearmisticebetweentheSovietUnionandFinlandtheSvirCompanywasdissolvedinTurkuon26September1944.Fromwhatwasonceacompanytherewereonlytwoofficersandfourteenenlistedmen,sevenofthemwounded.Allinall,thirty-ninecompanymemberswerekilledinaction.41

Therehavenot been anydetailed studiesmadeof thenumberofLindholmPartymembers,thatis,Nazisympathizers,withintheSvirCompany,butthereismuchevidence that itwasat leastas largeapercentageaswas thecase in theHangöBattalion(SFB).42Thefollowingextractfromthebook,Frivilligsoldat(volunteersoldier)(1972)reflectsthepoliticalmoodinthecompanyinthefallof1944.TheconversationwasbetweenHansÅkerhielmand thewriterof thememoir,FilipRytterås.Åkerhielmhadbeenalongasauniformedfieldchaplainat bothSalla andHangö.Hewasno longer a volunteer himself, butwason avisittoFinlandtogivereligioussupport:

“ManySwedishnewspaperswritethatyouareallNazis,”[Åkerhielmcommented.]

“CertainlytherearesomeinthecompanywhofollowLindholm’sideals,”wastheanswer.“Buttherestarenotspotlessdemocratsofthetypethatisacceptedbackhome.AllofusareNationalistsandbelievethatwearedoingsomethingforSweden,andthatissomethingthatstandshighabovethepoliticalpartiesintheRiksdag[SwedishParliament]andtheirdisgustingpettybickering.”

“Isn’tfreedomofthoughtsogreatinademocraticcountrythatanhonestidealistwholoveshisowncountrycanliveanddieforhisbeliefsifhesowishes?”

“Andwhoarethosewhocareaboutus,whosenduspackagesandletters,andinotherwaysdemonstratethatwearenottotallyforgottenouthereontheeasternrimoftheNordicregion?Isitthedemocraticnewspapersperhaps?Wouldwenotshowmoresolidaritywiththosethatshowanappreciationforourcontribution?”

Theministerwasquietandlistenedandoccasionallysmiled.Wedidnotknowwhathereallythoughtaboutourconversation,buteventhoughhedidnotshareallopinionsthatwerevoiced,wefeltthathewasoneofus,abrotherinarms.43

Knut Friang expressed virtually the same sentiments in his book,Dogo deförgäves?(1944).Hesaidthattheyfelttheywere“politicaloutsiders.”

AlbertFogder,borninStockholmin1899,waspartoftheSwedishBrigadein1918.HeservedasasergeantinFinland,1939–44intheSFK,SFB,andSvirCompany.Phototaken2October1944in

Stockholm.OverhisrightbreastisthebadgeforSwedishvolunteersinFinlandintroducedbytheSFB.(MaritaOlsson)

The actions during the Continuation War, particularly with respect to theKarelian Isthmus during the summer of 1944 came into a new light in 2001when the Finnish historian Martti Turtola found a previously unknowncapitulation protocol in theRussian archives.The radical demands onFinlandtherein strengthen the thesis that “Finland’s post-war destiny was determinedduring the five weeks in June and July 1944 ” as the Finnish newspaperHufvudstadsbladet summarized it.44This reevaluationwasmarkedbyDefenseMinister Björn von Sydow, Swedish cabinet minister, who for the first timehonored the Swedish volunteers during his official visit to Finland. In thefollowing year Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf also honored the Swedishvolunteers on his state visit. In November 2002 the Swedish Prime MinisterGöran Persson commented on the summer battles of 1944 during a televisionprogramthat“FinlandatthattimeavertedwhatcouldhavebeenafatefulSovietexpansiontothewest.”45

KommendörkaptenRagnarThoréninamixedSwedish-Finnishuniforminthelatesummerof1941nearTerijokiatthenortheastpartoftheGulfofFinland.Thorénwasanearlypioneerwiththelong-rangephotoreconnaissanceunitintheSwedishNavyandservedasahighlyplacedintelligencespecialistwiththeFinnishnavalforcesduringtheContinuationWarwiththeSovietUnionin1941.(ClaesThorén)

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Nofewerthan479SwedishofficersandmanydifferentspecialistsservedintheContinuationWarinunitsotherthantheSFBandSvirCompany,inotherwords,with the ethnicFinns.Spacedoesnot allow todo themall justicehere,but atleast themost legendary of themmust bementioned:BoNilsson fromKalix,nicknamed“Jandeba-Nisse”bytheFinns.HewasoneoftheveryfewSwedishcitizens to serve in the most elite units of the Finnish Army, the long-rangereconnaissancepatrols.NilssonwasaplatooncommanderinthiseliteforceandwasheldinhighesteemamongtheFinnsforhistalenttoperformsensitivetasksandstillbringbackhissubordinatesalive.

The Swedish specialist volunteers attracted the attention of the BritishForeign Office. The British were of the opinion that the Swedish DefenseMinistry was behind it all and had secretly provided the Finns with 170mechanics, of which 100 were specialized on armored vehicles (of whichFinland had little experience), and sent a written protest to the Swedish

Government.46ThepilotsGustaf-MauritzArmfeldtandSten-ÅkeHaraldssonweretheonly

foreigncitizensintheFinnishAirForceduringtheContinuationWar.47All together about 1,500 Swedish citizens belonged to the Finnish Armed

ForcesduringtheContinuationWar,ofwhicheighty-threewerekilled.

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Themainreferenceworkson theSwedishVolunteerCompanyareSvenskarnavidJandeba(2007)byNicolasvonSchmidt-LaussitzandNärFinlandssakblevmin(2002)byOrvarNilsson,whowasavolunteerofficerinboththeSFKandthe Svir Company. Two works of special interest about Swedes serving inFinland after 1941 andoutside theSvirCompany areLitenorsak, stor verkan(1987) by Björn Forslund; and Från Vaggeryd till Biscaya (1996) by StigAxelsson,acaptainintheSwedishNavy.AxelssonwasonloantotheSwedishsignalsintelligenceorganization,Försvaretsradioanstalt(FRA),butbyorderofMajor Carl Petersén, Chief of the C-Bureau, he was attached to the FinnishArmedForcesinthesummerof1944.AxelssonservedwiththeSecondFinnishPartisan Company [sic!] and was ordered to Rovaniemi to accompany theFinnishunitsastheyfoughtthefinalbattleforFinlandinthetwentiethcentury,“TheLaplandWar”againstGermany,1944to1945.

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ThereareanumberofmemorialmarkersinhonorofalltheSwedishvolunteersforFinlandduringWWII, in bothSweden andFinland.Of central importanceare the Volunteer Monument at the Värta Harbor in Stockholm, and thememorial in the Swedish Army Museum, also in Stockholm, where all 121names are listed of those Swedish volunteerswho died for Finland (includingfournon-SwedishcitizenswhoneverthelessbelongedtoSwedishvolunteerunitsinFinland).

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There is no space here to cover the various units thatweremanned by about30,000 Swedish Finns in the FinnishArmed Forces duringWWII.We can atleastmention, however, that sixteen Swedish Finnswere awarded the highestdecoration of the Finnish Army, theMannerheim Cross. Bearing inmind the

smallsizeoftheSwedishminorityinFinland(tenpercentofthepopulation)andthattherewereonly191recipientsoftheMannerheimCross,thisfigureinitselfindicates that theSwedishFinnsdid their part.48TheWWII experienceof theSwedish Finns is summarized in the bookKrigsvägar (War roads) (1995), byLars Stenström and more recently on the educational CD-ROM “Dengemensamma fronten” (The common front) (2003). The first motion pictureaboutSwedishFinnsandSwedishsoldiersinWWII,wasFramomfrämstalinjen(Beyond the front line) (2004), and was followed up by Tali-Ihantala 1944(2007).

10.IntheServiceoftheThirdReich,1939–1945:TowardthePrecipice

withtheWaffen-SSandWehrmachtTheFührervoicedharshcriticismoftheSwedesfortheverymeagervolunteercontingenttheyhadprovidedforthestruggleagainstCommunismintheEast,andevenReichsmarschallGöringdescribedtheSwedesasdecadent.TheFinnsontheotherhandearnedbroadpraisefortheirpluck.

—OttoBräutigam,armyliaisonofficerforAlfredRosenbergatHitler’sHQ,inhisdiary,

16July1941

TherewereSwedeswhosworeeternalloyaltytotheleaderoftheThirdReich.Mostworeadeath’sheademblemintheiruniformcaps.Atotalof200Swedishcitizens were in German uniform in the Second World War. The poorrecruitment fromSwedenwas a fiasco forBerlin. The Swedes on theEasternFront, however, participated in the largest battles that Swedes have everexperienced.SeveralofthemwitnessedtheHolocaust.

TwoWaffen-SSsoldiersonthefrontcoveroftheGermanperiodicalTyskaRöster(Germanvoices)inNovember1942.Thispropagandapublication,issuedeverymonthbytheGermanInformationCenterin

Stockholm,hadacirculationof60,000.(LG)

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“UnderGermany’s leadershipEuropeisgoingintoawarof thepeopleagainstthe Red Empire. On the flanks march Finland and Romania. It has becomeFinland’sgreatandnoblemissiontosecureabridgeheadintheNorthagainsttheRed Czarism,” wrote the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet following Hitler’ssurpriseattackontheSovietUnionon22June1941.

FormanyinhabitantsintheNorthitappearedinthelatesummerof1941thatNaziGermanywouldhavecontrolofEurope fromfarnorthernNorway to theFrench-Spanishborderforaprotractedperiodoftime.ThedefeatoftheSovietUnionwasexpected,eveninLondon,tobeonlyamatteroftime.1RommelandhisAfrikaKorpswouldsoonbeinCairo.AndthenthevictoriousGermantankarmieswouldreachthePersianGulffromthewestandnorthandtheoilsupplyforGermanywouldbesecure.

WhentheThirdReich’swarsuccessesreversedintheEastandtheRedArmyfoughtbackwith itsmassesofarmorandmen, thedivisionsof theWaffen-SSgot the reputation to be the elite “fire brigade” of the German Eastern Front.

Both the quality and motivation among the Swedes and other foreign SSvolunteers varied greatly, however, a complex blend of political fanaticism,idealism,andmoreprosaicmotives.ThemultinationalWaffen-SSmustbeseenin the context of the European fascist movements of the time, and thepolarization between communism and fascism during the years between theworldwars.

Amajority of theSwedes in theWaffen-SSweremembers of theSwedishNaziparty.“IfIfall,mybloodwillhavebeenshedfortheAryanfellowshipandIwillhavediedformyideals,”wroteHansLindénfromStockholminhisdiaryin 1941. Others were traditionally pro-German through their upbringing andseveralhadGermanfamilyconnections.Remarkably—incontrasttothefactthatmany were “believers” in the Nazi cause before they joined the SS—manySwedeswouldultimatelybecomedeserters,disillusionedwiththerealityoftheWaffen-SS.

HansLindénfromStockholmasanantiaircraftsoldierintheSS-Division“Wiking”intheUkraineinAugust1941.Lindénwaskilledon30December1941neartheMiusRiverandwasburiedatthewarcemeteryinStalino.LindénhadearlierbeenactiveintheSwedishNaziLindholmMovement“Nordic

Youth.”(NARA)

The low number of Swedish SS volunteers was a disappointment for the

governmentinBerlin.Itwasconsiderednearlyafiasco.Ofthetotal180SwedeswhoatsometimewerepartoftheWaffen-SSonlyaboutonehundredweresenttothefrontline,mainlyontheEasternFront.Theseindividualsexperiencedthemostextremecombatagainstanunmercifulopponent.TheSSvolunteerGöstaBorg,fromStockholm,describedtheRedArmy’soffensives in thefinalphaseof the war as “earthquakes of TNT and masses of tanks, that smashed aparteverythingintheway:terrain,weapons,andpeople.”

ItwasontheEasternFront that themajorityofHitler’sWehrmachtandtheWaffen-SS was mowed down and crushed—more than seventy percent ofGermany’spermanentlossofpersonneloccurredintheEast.2OftheSwedesatthefronttwenty-eightwerekilled.

DuringtheirserviceintheEastmanyoftheSwedesbecameawareofGermanmass executions of Jews, other civilians, and prisoners of war. When theyreturnedtoSwedentheywereconfrontedwiththefactthattheyhadfoughtforaregimethathadsystematicallymurderedsixmillionEuropeanJewsandatleastfivemillionothercivilians.

HimmlerandtheWaffen-SSNationalSocialism’stheoryof“thehistoricmissionoftheGermanicrace”andtheSSplansfor“aGreaterGermanEmpire”madeSSchiefHeinrichHimmlerregardNorthandWestEuropeasarecruitingpotentialforhisWaffen-SS.3

The origin of the Waffen-SS was a hand-picked bodyguard that protectedAdolfHitleraspartyleaderduringthetimesofviolentstreetdemonstrationsintheWeimar Republic of Germany. This group of body guards was expandedafter the Nazi takeover of power in 1933 to a Life Guard Regiment, theLeibstandarte “Adolf Hitler” (LAH). Even before the takeover, Himmler hadsucceeded in expanding theSSmission as a bodyguard force tobecome“theParty Police” of National Socialism. He thereby laid the foundation for aremarkable expansion.Between 1935 and 1938Himmler set up an SS Junkerschool for the training of officers and a further three SS infantry regiments,whichtogetherwithLAHformedtheSS-Verfügungstruppe(SS-VT).

Duringthepre-waryearsthisforcewasanideologicallyprofiledparamilitaryformation with both domestic political functions and wartime tasks.With theoutbreakoftheSecondWorldWartheSS-VTwasmergedwithpersonnelfromtheSS-Totenkopfverbände(SS-TV;trans.SSDeath’sHead)units,thathadbeenassignedtoconcentrationcamps,aswellasfromreservepoliceunits.Himmler

named thismixture “Waffen-SS” and sent it both to the front and behind thefrontlines, toperform“special tasks.”When thewarbegan theWaffen-SShad50,000politicallyindoctrinatedsoldiers,partlyofanelitecharacter.4

Hitler,whoanticipatedashortwarandquickvictory,opposedanexpansionoftheWaffen-SSuptothesummerof1942,viewingitmainlyasamilitarizedeliteofGermanNationalSocialists.Himmler,however,searchedfornewwaysto radicallyexpand theWaffen-SSand found twopossibilities.Onepossibilitywas to recruitVolksdeutsche, those of German stock abroad. Another was toattract ideologically motivated volunteers from the parts of North and WestEuropethathadbeenoccupiedbytheThirdReichin1940.Thus,beginninginthefallof1940theWaffen-SSactivelybegantorecruit“GermanicvolunteersofNordic blood,” meaning first and foremost Norwegians, Danes, Swedes,Flemish,andDutch.5

In thephilosophicalworldofHitlerandHimmler theracialcommunitywasthefundamentalbasisforrelationsbetweenpeople,andnotthetraditionalnationstate.OutofthearmedmilitarybrotherhoodintheWaffen-SSwouldbeformeda“raciallysupremePan-GermanicArmy.”

That the SS favored Scandinavia as a recruiting base depended on theespeciallydominant“Germanic”characterthere.6HimmlerhadbeencompetingwiththeWehrmachtforanumberofyearsbeforethewarforGermanconscriptsforhisSSunits.7ForhimtheNordicvolunteersweremorethanwelcome.ThentherewasanotherreasonforrecruitingofforeignvolunteerstotheWaffen-SS.The dynamic SS wanted to create a politically powerful influence in theoccupiedEuropeancountriesforthefuture.

Thenon-Germanvolunteershadwidelyvaryingreasons to join theWaffen-SS. Each individual was motivated by a mix of ideological, national, andpersonalfactors.Hitler’scampaignagainsttheSovietUnionwasamajorfactorfortheappealoftheWaffen-SSabroad.Thusamotleymixofnationalitiesandindividuals fought on the Eastern Front under the German flag—from Nazicollaborators in the occupied countries, to conscripted cannon fodder to pureadventurers. Joining this motley assortment were many East Europeans whomainly wanted to avoid a new Soviet occupation or preferred GermandominationtothatoftheSoviets.

During the campaign against the Soviet Union the Waffen-SS was mostrapidlyexpandedandbytheendof thewaraboutonemillionmenhadpassedthroughitsranks.By1945therewere,orratherhadbeen,nominallythirty-eightfielddivisionsintheWaffen-SSsubordinatetoHimmlerbutthatwereultimately

ledinthefieldbytheregularGermanArmy.BytheendofthewartheWaffen-SS had, in fact, developed into a sort of unofficial branch of theWehrmacht,alongsidethethreeofficialbranchesofHeer(Army),Luftwaffe(AirForce),andKriegsmarine(Navy).TheWaffen-SSparticipatedinallofHitler’scampaigns,exceptinNorthAfrica,andsuffered253,000killed.8

Field units from the Waffen-SS were organizationally separate fromHimmler’sconcentrationcampstaffsandpoliceagenciesalthoughinApril1941Himmler extended the notion of Waffen-SS administratively to includeconcentration camps, their administrative staffs, and guard personnel (campguardswore the sameuniformas fieldunits in theWaffen-SS). InaccordancewithHimmler’sattempttoconductauniformpersonnelpolicywiththeSStherewerealsomanyimportantpersonnelandideologicalpointsincommonbetweenthe different parts of the SS. The ideological indoctrination initially played alargerole.Aboveall,thoseintheofficercorpsintheWaffen-SSsawthemselvesnotastraditionalmilitarymenbutratheras“politicalsoldiers.”

IntheSSconceptoftheworldtheimageoftheenemywasfixed,regardlessofwhetheritwaspeaceorwar.TheconstantenemiesweretheBolsheviksandtheJews,whichhadtobeexterminated.Gypsies,homosexuals,mentallyill,andslavic peoples were of “less value” and had to be removed, and preferablyliquidated.9

The Waffen-SS ultimately encompassed a total of about 400,000 Germancitizensaswellas300,000Volksdeutsche,thatis,ethnicGermansfromEasternEurope, and 250,000whowere not even ethnicGermans, for example 22,000Dutchmen, 6,000 Norwegians, 1,400 Finns, 180 Swedes, and even a handfulfromGreatBritain.

During thecampaignagainst theSovietUnionmanyEastEuropeans joinedthe Waffen-SS, both voluntarily and through conscription, including 60,000Latvians,50,000Hungarians,30,000Estonians,and20,000Ukrainians.

SS-General Gottlob Berger, the dynamic head of Waffen-SS recruitment,understood how to win over Himmler to the idea of utilizing all possiblereservoirs of personnel despite issues of race. Especially after Himmler wasappointedchiefoftheGermanReserveArmyin1944manykindsofnewnon-Germanvolunteerswere transferred into theWaffen-SS, includingFrenchmen,Italians,Cossacks, Indians,Russians, Spaniards,Tartars, andother groups onewouldneverhaveexpectedtoseeinSSuniform.

Thus,by the endof thewar, theWaffen-SShad lostmuchof its profile asHitler’spolitical-military,Aryanavant-garde.Not leastdue to thegreat losses,

whenmanyGermanvolunteerswerereplacedbyforeignonesandthenevenbyideologicallyindifferentconscripts,bothforeignandGerman.10

IntheWaffen-SStherewereconsequently,from1942,bothelitetroopsandsecond-classunits.The“Germanic”strainintheWaffen-SShad,despiteallthepropaganda, always been rather thin. The “Wiking” Division, which waspresentedby theSSasanoverwhelminglymultinational“Germanic”unit,wasin fact made up of over ninety percent German personnel at the time of theinvasionoftheSovietUnionin1941.Scandinavianvolunteersmadeuponlytenpercentof the“Nordland”Division in theperiod from1943 to1944,with theremaindermadeupofGermancitizensandethnicGermansfromRomania.11

TheApocalypseinBerlin.TheThirdReichhasgonedowninastormoffireandsteel.TheSovietwarphotographerTimofeyMelnikon2May1945photographedkilledScandinavianandGermanSSsoldiersontheFriedrichstrasseinnorthBerlinafterafailedattempttobreakoutfromthecity.Totheleftaretheremainsofashot-uphalftrackfromtheSS-Division“Nordland”withitsdeadcrewlyingonthestreet.

CompanyCommanderHans-GöstaPehrsson’shalftrackwasshotupclose-by.Hisdriver,RagnarJohansson,wasthenkilledandmaywellbeamongthedeadinthephotograph.(TimofeyMelnik,Museum

Berlin-Karlshorst)

BARBAROSSAandSSRecruitinginSweden

ThirdReich foreignpolicyhad twomajorobjectives.The firstwas tocreatea“Greater German Empire,” encompassing the major parts of western andnorthern Europe. The second goal was to expand to the east, achievingmoreLebensraum (living space), by way of war and extermination of “subhuman”peoples. TheWaffen-SS played an important role in support of both goals byrecruitingandtrainingnon-Germans,andmakingtheeasternterritoriesmilitarilysecure.

Earlyinthemorningof22June1941GermanyattackedtheSovietUnion—OperationBARBAROSSA.Hitler,inpreparationfortheattack,hadassembledagigantic,multinational invasion force.Over threemillionGerman troops fromtheWehrmachtandtheWaffen-SSwereaugmentedbytwelvedivisionsandtenbrigadesfromRomania;threebrigadesfromHungary;andtwoSlovakdivisions.Later this force was joined by three Italian divisions, the Spanish “BlueDivision,”Croatianunits,andeighteenFinnishdivisions.12

Hitler’s formations quickly broke through the Red Army’s defense lines.They advanced inexorably towards Leningrad and the Baltic, through WhiteRussia towards Moscow, and across the wheat fields and industrial areas ofUkrainetowardstheCaucasus.ThecampaignintheEastwasproclaimedas“acrusadeagainstAsiatic-JewishBolshevism.”RecruitingintotheWaffen-SSwasenhanced and expanded by the anticommunist theme in the new campaign,amplified by very able German spin doctors. The 1939 Hitler-Stalin Pact—whichmanyScandinavianshadfoundincomprehensible—wassuddenlythrownaway.

ForHitler and the SS,OperationBARBAROSSAwas not an ordinarywarbetweentwostates,butratherastrugglebetweentwoideologiesandraces.Thenormalcodeofmilitaryhonor,whichforthemostpartwasfollowedinthe1940campaignagainstFrance,wasnotfollowedontheEasternFront.“Allofficers”saidHitler,“mustfreethemselvesfromoldfashionedwaysofthinking.”13TheGermansandSovietsprosecutedthebattlewithanewandunexpectedbrutality.Because many Soviet citizens turned against Stalin or joined independentnationalist guerrillamovements, theGerman-Sovietwar also developed into agrim,Sovietcivilwar.AccordingtobothWesternandSovietresearchersatleastonemillionSovietcitizensvolunteeredfororwereconscriptedintotheGermanArmedForcesorGermanPoliceunitsontheEasternFront.14

During a conference in the early summer of 1941 between the SS and theGermanForeignMinistryitwasdecidedthattheSSwouldhaveamonopolyforrecruiting of “Nordic” volunteers for use in thewar against the SovietUnion.

The SS, according to the protocol from thatmeeting, already had plans for aSwedishvolunteerformationintheEast.BerlinalsowantedtoinfluenceFinnishauthorities tohandover to theWaffen-SSsomeof theSwedishvolunteers thatwerefightingforFinland.15

The SwedishGovernmentwas floodedwithGerman offers to join thewaragainsttheSovietUnion.ItwouldbehighlybeneficialforSwedenattheendofthe war, the Germans said. The German regime was also well aware ofemphasizing that the choice was between Berlin and Moscow, not betweenBerlin and London. Through a flexible propaganda program Berlin thenattempted toattractsupport fromall factionsof theSwedishextremeright, theparliamentaryconservatives,andtraditionalGerman-friendlycircles,fortheideaofananticommunistcrusadeintheEast.16

On4and5July1941aspecialGermanemissarytoSweden,KarlSchnurre,presentednewandradicalpoliticalproposalsinconversationswiththeSwedishForeignMinister,ChristianGünther.BerlinwantedSwedentojoinwiththeAxisPowers(Germany,Italy,andJapan).GünthermaintainedthatsuchanactionwascompletelyincompatiblewithSwedishneutralityandflatlyrejectedtheGermanproposal.17

During a long conversation on 5 July Schnurre “rather energetically”marketed theGermanGovernment’sdesire thatSwedishvolunteers,preferablyin theformofavolunteercorps,wouldbeallowednevertheless tofight in theGermanArmedForcesintheEast,liketheSpanishvolunteer“BlueDivision.”18Güntherwasagainnegative inhis response,“Swedishvolunteersother than inthe Finnish Army were not imaginable.” He recorded further from hisconversationwithSchnurre,“ToSchnurre’squestion,ifhethenshouldreportapurelynegativereplytoBerlin,Iansweredintheaffirmative.”

Schnurreappeared tobe“verysurprisedanddisappointedover thenegativeresponse and did not restrain himself from describing the strong reaction thatwouldcomefromGermany,whenitwouldbecomeknownthatSwedenwasnotatallwillingtogiveeventhismoral—andforSwedenharmlessandinexpensive—supportforthecrusadeagainstBolshevism.”19

“Schnurre nevertheless said he wanted to forward a proposal from theGermangovernment topermitSwedishofficers [emphasisadded] toparticipatein the German campaign in Russia for reasons of experience. I promised toforwardthatofferandaddedthatIdidnotseeanyproblemsofapoliticalnatureinthatidea,”wroteGünther.20

TheSwedishCommander inChief,GeneralOlofThörnell,and theDefenseStaffinStockholmseizedupontheproposalofSchnurreforSwedishofficerstoserveontheEasternFront,especiallyasGüntherandtheSwedishMinistryforForeignAffairshadsanctioned it.Theproposalmeant thatSwedishofficers inGerman uniform could participate as combatants against theRedArmy.On 7JulySchnurrereportedtoBerlin:

Fromthe[Swedish]militarysidetheyhaveworkedoutthefollowingplan:TheSwedishDefenseForceswillselectagroupofespeciallycapableSwedishofficersandbasedontheirapplicationsseparatethemfromtheSwedishArmytomakeitpossibleforthemtoperformanactiveroleinGermanunitsengagedinthewaragainsttheRussia.TheSwedishCommanderinChiefconsideredinthisconnectionageneral,acolonel,aswellasofficersofallranksfromlieutenantcoloneldowntolieutenants,includinggeneralstaffofficersandairforceofficers.21

On14 July1941 it hadgone so far that theSwedishArmy staff sentout a“strictlyconfidentialcircular” toover fortyselectedofficers.According to thiscirculartheywouldallowatotaloftenSwedishofficerstoactivelyparticipateintheGermancampaignintheeast,aspaidcommandersinregularfightingArmyunits.TheofficerswereofferedtheopportunitytobereleasedfromtheSwedishArmyandacceptserviceintheGermanmilitary,butwithaguaranteeofbeingacceptedbackintheSwedishArmyaftertheirdutiesintheeast.22

TheissuequicklyfadedawayafteradecisionbyHitler,however,whototallyopposed the idea of such Swedish officers on the Eastern Front. TheGermanForeignMinister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, instructed the German legation inStockholm on 14 July 1941 to “in a friendlymanner decline the offer of theSwedish Government to provide a group of Swedish officers to the GermanWehrmacht.”ThereasonvonRibbentropgavewasthattheSwedes,unlikeothercountries,didnothaveavolunteercontingentofitsowntocommand.23

On17 July theArmyStaff sentout a concisemessage that “thementionedpossibleforeignappointmentsforSwedishofficerswouldnotberealized.”Thewritten responses thathadalreadyarrived to theArmyStaff from the selectedofficershadbeennegative.

The negotiations in Sweden about officer participation in the east had alsocometotheattentionofHimmler.HisremarkwasthatifSwedishofficersweretobeacceptedtheyshouldbeplacedwithintheWaffen-SS.24

On 16 July Schnurre passed on the German “No, thanks” to Günther andreportedthat“GüntherexpressedhisspecialregretandemphasizedthatSwedenwould have sent its most qualified officers. He [Günther] would have likedSwedentotherebyprovideacontributiontothevolunteerquestion.TheSwedishDefense Forces had furthermore looked forward to this exceptionalpossibility.”25

Hitler’s decision to reject the idea of Swedish career officers transferred toGermanwar service saved theSwedishGovernment from a lot of agony overthis controversialquestion.Ultimatelynothingcameof this idea,but it canbenoted that both Foreign Minister Günther and Commander in Chief Thörnellsupportedtheidea,whiletheFührerwasopposedtoit.

On17July1941theSwedishCommander inChiefThörnellwrotea tellingmemorandum to the government on Sweden’s situation since the start ofBARBAROSSA.Init,Thörnellwrote:

Aconsiderationforourownmilitary-politicalsituationfollowingaGerman-FinnishvictoryovertheSovietUnionwouldsuggestthatwealreadynowshouldpreparegoodfuturerelationswith[GermanyandFinland]tothebestextentpossible.Whatspeaksagainst[suchapolicy]istheanti-GermanattitudethatisprevalentinmanygroupsinSweden.

Duringthelatesummerof1941toughdiplomaticcorrespondencewaspassedbetween theGermanandSwedish foreignpolicy leadershipon thequestionofthepossibilityofindividualSwedesjoiningtheWaffen-SSoftheirownaccord.ThechiefoftheGermanlegationinStockholmhadmisunderstood,orpurposelychose to misunderstand, Cabinet Secretary Erik Boheman when, on 25 July1941, he explained that the government’s “no” only concerned Swedishvolunteerunits,notindividualSwedesbeingrecruitedbytheWaffen-SS.26TheGermanMilitary Attaché in Stockholm, Major General Bruno von Uthmann,therefore actively engaged himself during July and August 1941 in recruitingSwedishvolunteersfortheEasternFront.Theresultwasverymeager,however,withonlythirty-oneapplicationsduringthatperiod.27

AftertherecruitingeffortshadbeennotedandcriticizedintheSwedishpressand applications began to appear formilitary service in theAllied forces, theDefense Minister Per-Edvin Sköld announced on 2 September 1941 thatapplications for travel abroad (suchwere obligatory in wartime) in the futurewouldbeapprovedonlyforthosewishingtoserveintheFinnishArmy.Duringa conversation at the end of September 1941 with the chief of the Swedish

diplomatic mission in Berlin, Arvid Richert, German Foreign Minister vonRibbentrop, in strong words criticized the Swedish policy on volunteers andpointedoutthatearlierenemiesofGermany,forexample,Frenchmen,currentlywereservinginGermanuniformsontheEasternFront.TheSwedishdecisionon2 September 1941 regarding volunteers was seen by von Ribbentrop as “acompletely incomprehensible position with respect to Europe’s struggle withdestiny.”28

The negative attitude of the Swedes in the volunteer issue most probablybecame for the leadership in Berlin a revelation of Sweden’s true politicalsympathies. It shows in Hitler’s comments from this time on that he foundSwedenlackedanunderstandingofthe“Germanicidea”andthe“struggleintheeast.”SwedishAmbassadorGunnarHägglöfdescribedthereactioninBerlininalettertotheauthor(LW):

DuringavisitinBerlininthefallof1941IgotastrongimpressionofthecriticismdirectedatSwedennotonlyinthepressbutinindividualconversations.TheyweredisturbedthattheSwedesweretotallypassiveobserversoftheviolentfightintheeast:“ThereareonlyafewSwedeswhohaveappliedtoparticipate.Danes,NorwegiansandDutchmenhavejoinedupinthethousands—onlySwedesandSwissstayhome!”29

Even back on 26 July 1941 had theGerman ForeignMinistry liaisonmanwithHitler’smilitary headquarters,AmbassadorHasso von Etzdorf,made thefollowingnote,“Swedenshallbeleftonthesideafter theyhavenotchosentojointheAxisPowers.TheFührer’snegativepositiononSwedishofficersontheEasternFront.SwedenandSwitzerland—countriesthatarealwaysonvacation.”Inaletterdated7September1941theGermanMilitaryAttachéinStockholm,BrunovonUthmann,complainedbitterlytoaGermanofficerschoolclassmatethat “Sweden holds itself completely outside the war, yes, stands in directrejection of the struggle against Bolshevism.”30 Hitler’s vision threatenedSweden’s future: “TheFührer has come to the conclusion that the small trashstatesthatonestillfindsinEuropeshallbeliquidatedassoonaspossible,”notedJosephGoebbelsinhisdiaryon8May1943.31TheGermanNaziPartydeclaredinahandbookin1943that“thosewhodonotparticipateinEurope’sNewOrdercannotclaimtohaveavoiceheardafterthefinalvictory.”32

MostoftheSwedishvolunteeraspirantsfortheSScrossedoverthebordertoNorway in 1941 and 1942 and enlisted in Oslo. There units were formed to

volunteer“forthebattleontheEasternFrontagainstBolshevismandJews.”Thevolunteersshouldbeof“Aryanstock,”at least170centimeters tall, in theagerangeof seventeen to fortyyears, andhavenocriminal record.ContractswiththeSSwerefortwo,four,ortwelveyears.AftercompletionofthecontracttheScandinavian SS volunteer would automatically receive German citizenship.TheyhademploymentrightsforpositionswiththeNorwegiangovernmentandpolice. The SS went further and offered the carrot of a farm in a conqueredprovince in the east, where theywould be established asWehrbauer (defensefarmers).33 “The Germans promised us both land and political posts such asGauleiterintheCaucasus,”reportedElisHöglund,aformervolunteerintheSS-Division“Wiking,”duringaninterviewwiththeauthor(LW).34

IncontrasttotheWehrmachtandmostotherEuropeanarmiestheSSofferedofficer training without any demands of high school graduation. Documentedleadershipskillsandbraveryatthefrontwereseenasmorevital.WarserviceintheWaffen-SSincludedalsoprovisionsforgenerousGermaneconomicsupportfor the volunteer’s family back home, which would be paid by the GermanConsulateinSweden.Thevolunteersthemselvesweresupportedwithadditionalpayforfrontlineduty.35

SwedishvolunteersinaconversationwithHeinrichHimmlerattheSStrainingcampSennheim,spring1943.FromrightKarl-OlofHolm,23,fromSvappavaara;EmilLindström,aSwedishEstonian;Karl

Ågrahn,21,fromLycksele;andWalterNilsson,24,fromBoden.AllthreeSwedeshaddesertedfromtheirSwedishmilitaryunitstotheSS.InNovember1943thephotowaspublishedintheNaziLindholm

Movementpublicationwiththetext“HeinrichHimmlerhaslonghadawarmadmirationfortheSwedes.HestillconsiderstheSwedesasthemostraciallypurepeopleinEurope.”(MartinMånsson)

Volunteerswere given amedical examination at theSS recruiting office inOslo,providingtheimportantraceclassification,andthenwereequippedwithauniform. Thereafter the Swedes travelled, often with the German specialpermissiontrains,throughSwedenbywayofBerlintotheSStrainingcenteratSennheim inAlsace for political schooling and basic exercises. The course atSennheim varied from several weeks to three months depending on languagecomprehension(Germanlanguageskills)andearliermilitarytraining.FollowingthistrainingwasthreetosixmonthswithpureweaponandcombattrainingatSScampsintheAustriancityofGrazorKlagenfurtbeforetransporttothefront.

TheSwedesin“Wiking”Between1941and1943mostoftheSSSwedes,somefortymen,servedintheMotorized Infantry Division “Wiking,” that was reorganized into a panzerdivisionin1942.DuringtheentireEasterncampaign“Wiking”wasconstantlyengaged at the German-Soviet front and participated in combat at locationsincluding Lviv, Rostov, the Sea of Azov, Charkov, Crimea, Maykop, theCaucasus,Cherkassy,Kovel,Warsaw, and theAustrianAlps.Theunit’s routeillustrated theGermansuccessesbeginningwith thesummeroffensiveof1941and into1942up to thepointwhen the tideofwar turned in favorof theRedArmy against the Wehrmacht. Over fifteen Swedes were killed in “Wiking”duringthehardbattlesintheUkraine,Caucasus,Poland,Hungary,andAustriafrom1941to1945.

In July 1942 the Swedes in “Wiking” participated in the great GermansummeroffensiveintheCaucasusovertheDon-Kubansector.InMay1942theDivision was reinforced by a battalion of about 1,000 Finnish volunteers. InAugust“Wiking”tookthecityofMaykopnortheastoftheBlackSea.Thedrivefailed to reach Grozny and the oil city of Baku as well as the coast of theCaspianSea.“Wiking”andotherGermanunitsbrokeofftheiroffensiveintheCaucasus in November 1942 after suffering severe losses. The Germancampaignhadreacheditsclimaxandfurthestpositionintheeast.

Tor Samuelsson from Gothenburg was an infantry soldier in the regiment“Germania”within“Wiking.”Hewroteinhisdairyaboutthelargelossesintheweek-long German attack against the heights at Malgobek in the CaucasusMountains,westofGrozny,duringOctoberandNovember1942:

OurvehiclesmovedforwardtowardsMalgobek,protectedbythehighground.TheRussiantroopsweredugin350metersawayontheotherside

ofaravinethatdividedus.ThebattalionattemptedtotaketheRussianpositioninfrontofusbyadirectassault.On15Octoberwedidtheassaultandduringthedayafurtherfourtofiveadditionalassaults,butwithoutgoodresults.Duringtheentiredaytherewasastreamofwounded,whichweattemptedtotaketotherear.Byeveningwebrokeoffourassaults.Thoseofusleftwentintoapositionbehindastonewall.DuringthenightwecouldhearthecriesfromtheGermanwoundedatthemedicalaidstation.TheentiretimewewaitedforaRussiancounterattack.Earlyinthemorningacompanywasdrawnforwardtoattackagainstthecenter.ThemostimportantthingwastogetpastthehighgroundwhereonewasclearlyvisibletotheRussiansandgetdowntotheprotectionofacreviceintheravine.Weinthemortargroupmadeamoveforward,butcouldonlygetasfarasaflatareajustunderthecrest.Therewewerehaltedbyintenseartilleryfire.

Wehadnochancetosetupourmortars.Wedugin.Thewholetimeartilleryroundsexplodedaroundus.Howmanyhoursthatwentonwasimpossibleforustosay.AsthesandandgravelpouredovermeIthoughtthatthiswastobemylastmomentoflife.ButitdraggedonintimeanditwasdecidedthatseveralofuscouldbesentbacktooursupplybaseinMalgobekeverymorningtoshave,bathe,andchangeunderclothing.Duringourretreatthatbeganearlyinthemorningof7NovemberIreceivedashrapnelwoundintherightsideofmyjaw.Myreturntripwasmadesittinginthesidecarofamotorcycle,drivingzigzagbecauseoftheenemyfire.36

In a rifle squad with five Swedes in the SS-RegimentGermania only onesurvived thehardcombatof1942and1943.Thesurvivor,SS-PanzergrenadierBoWikströmfromStockholm,reportedinthefallof1943abouthisexperiencesinthenewspaperDenSvenskeFolksocialisten:

SjögårdwaswoundedinoneofthemostfierceattacksatKeresino.Hehadgonewithamachine-gunsquadonpatroltowardsatown.Thesquadwentintopositionbehindahaystack.ThencametheRussiantanksandtheyfired.Sjögård’ssquadleaderandthecompanycommander,whowaswiththepatrol,werekilled,andSjögårdreceivedthewoundthatledtohisdeathinthefieldhospital.Whenwesawwhathappenedforthepatrolwhentheywenttowardsthewoodstheentirecompanygotanordertoreinforcethepatrolforwardthrust.Wefoughtthroughthewholecity.On

thosestreetsIsawforthefirsttimethebodiesofdeadGermansoldiers.Theywerelaidoutstrippednaked.TheRussianshadplunderedthebodiesforeverythingandbadlymutilatedthem.Justasmysquadleaderlookedfrombehindacornerofahouseashellexplodedandblewhimapart.Theplatooncommander,whowascloseby,wasbadlywounded.ThenwelostHagberg,Nisseby,andSjögård,andIbecametheonlySwedeinthecompany.37

TorSamuelssonfromGothenburgasacorporalintheSS-RegimentGermania.Thephotowastakeninthelatesummerof1942byaRussianvillagephotographerduringtheGermanoffensiveintheCaucasus.

(MartinMånsson)

The fate of the few remaining Swedes in “Wiking” can only be followedsporadically during the final phase of thewar. The last year of thewar, from1944to1945,wasfor theGermansasteadyretreatbeforeawellsuppliedandevermoretacticallycapableopposition.GöranStålhammarwaslostinFebruary1944 after “Wiking,” under threat and with great losses in manpower andmateriel,brokeoutoftheSovietencirclementatCherkassy,westofPoltava.On20 July 1944 Nils Eriksson from Uppsala was killed. He had been anOberscharführer (sergeant) and halftrack commander in the “Germania”RegimentduringanattacknearthetownofSiedlceinPoland.Thetwenty-six-

year-old Patrik Mineur from Haparanda was killed in combat on 13 October1944atarailwaystationinNieporetdirectlynorthofWarsaw.

Gösta Borg, from Stockholm, was a war correspondent in the Waffen-SSfrom1944to1945.HewasaneyewitnesswhentheIVSS-PanzerCorps,withtheTankDivisions“Wiking”and“Totenkopf,”attemptedtostoptheRedArmyat the fortress townofModlinnearWarsaw in the late summerof1944.Borgdescribedhisobservations inabookpublished in1951,Detrödamassanfallet(TheRedtide),duringhistriptowardtheforwardcombatlines:

DuringJulyandAugust1944theRedArmypressedhardagainsttheGermanpositionsatRadzymineastoffWarsaw.Twobattle-wornGermanpanzer-grenadierdivisionshadaboutthirtyReddivisionsagainstthem.Therewastensionintheairthatafternoon.IntheCorpsstaffthedefendersareawareofthesituation.Reconnaissancepilotsleavetheirphotos.Theroadsontheenemysidearefullofcolumns,everyclusteroftreesisfilledwithtanks,infantry,andheavyweapons.Artillerytearsuptheroads.Astreamofvehiclesofallsortsandsizesloadedwithshells,shells,shells.…

Duringthenightthepressuregrows.FrommidnightnewSovietartilleryunitsfireagainstroadintersections,batterypositions,andstaffs.Theirowninfantrymenarewideawake,theydigandimprovetheirpositions;prepareammobelts;adjusthandgrenades;pileuproundsandantitankweapons;maintainmateriel.…

At0300agiantflamerisesabovetheeasternhorizon,theforestsseemtobowdownbeforethestorm.Acurtainofshellsshootupinthemorningsky.Ithasbegun!Fromthemostforwardinfantryfoxholesbacktenkilometerstotherearragesahurricaneoffire.

Howdoesabattlearealookonadaywhenalargeattackshakesthelandscape?Letusgothereandtakealook!

Theskyisclear,theheatisstrongandtheheavytrafficstirsupacloudofdust.AlreadywestofModlinonehearsunbrokenthunderthatgrowswitheverykilometer,shakingthebuilding.WiththecrossingoftheRiverBugthedinisalreadyallencompassing.Itslamsinovertheterrain,sidesofvehiclesshake,onehastospeakloudly.Antiaircraftfireshootsgraystreaksofcloudsfromthepropellanttowardsthebluesky,thecrackingburstsweardownontheears.

Thecarrusheson,passingammunitiontruckswithatahighspeedunderthescreenoffire,meetingothers,coveredwithinchdeeplayersof

dust.Oftenapairoflegsdangleoutofthevehicles.Thelong-rangeenemyartillerybesiegetheterrainwithharassingfire.Ontheroadavehicleisburning,blackclumps,thestenchofburntflesh—blood,shreds,sun,dust,andfliesalready.Avillageisburning,wejumpintoaditch,aboveandoverusareblackground-attackaircraft.Outofthesmokydinalineofbrownishyellowhulks,thelongguntubesswingtowardstheburningvillage.Thetankroundsexplodeadozentimes.Machine-gunfireseemslikemusiccomparedtothewidercontextofsounds.…

Thecommanderofthebattlegroupisathirty-year-oldmajor.Thereservesenterthebattle:Tigertanks,assaultartillery,andarmoredinfantry.Terrain,personnel,andmaterielislost,butwiththemostextremeeffortanewdefenselineisorganized,onlytobesmashedapartagain.…38

TheFanaticGöstaBorgOn8May1945thepeopleofEuropecelebratedthedefeatoftheNazis.Onthesame day an ordinary train from Oslo rumbled into Charlottenberg’s borderstation.OnboardwasapersonthathadnoreasontocelebratetheAlliedvictory.His name was Gösta Borg from Stockholm. He was a fanatical NationalSocialist,anofficerintheWaffen-SSandhadmilitaryserviceonmanydifferentfrontsectors.Untersturmführer(secondlieutenant)GöstaBorgwasundoubtedlyagiftedandobservantmilitaryman,but inMay1945hewasoneofhistory’slosers.

Gösta Borg was born in Estuna, near Norrtälje, in 1915. His father was amunicipal worker. During the greater part of the 1930s Borg was active indifferentSwedishNaziparties.WhenSvenOlovLindholmreorganizedhispartyin 1938 to become Svensksocialistisk Samling (Swedish-Socialist Assembly)Borg,asacommittedNazi,leftthePartyinprotestbecauseLindholmhadalsoswitchedthePartyemblemfromaswastikatoaSwedishVasacross.39

InNovember1935Borgbecamea regularsoldierwith theRoyalSveaLifeGuard Regiment in Stockholm. He received outstanding grades in theRegiment’s school for corporals and sergeants. Borg, therefore, had earlyprospectsofbecominganofficer.Becauseofhisdispleasurewiththeslowpaceofpromotions,though,hetookajobwithcustomsin1939.DuringtheFinnishWinterWarBorgwasa senior sergeant and trainer for theSwedishVolunteerCorps.Laterheparticipated incombatatMärkäjärvi inFinnishLapland.Withhisfreshwartimeexperienceandhismedalforbraveryhewaswelcomedback

to theRoyalSveaLifeGuards in thefallof1940andbecameasergeant thereandwasmobilizedforfieldserviceinthemostnortherlyprovince,Norrbotten.

WhenHitlerattackedtheSovietUnioninJune1941,however,Borgtraveledillegallyover theborder toNorwayandvolunteeredforservice in theWaffen-SS.AftertraininginBreslau,BorgandanotherSwedishNCOcolleague,RagnarLinnér,were attached to theSS-Division“Wiking” on14August1941, at thetime in western Ukraine. Linnér and Borg participated in the fighting on theEasternFrontuntilOctober1941whentheybothreturnedtoSweden.

Despite the fact that Borg was an active Nazi and SS volunteer he wasacceptedasanofficercadetatthemilitaryacademyatKarlberginOctober1942.From there he graduated in April 1943, sharing the number one place withanother graduate, which would normally have guaranteed his selection forofficer training at Karlberg. In the meantime the press learned that he mightbecome an officer, despite his background. Borg’s regimental commandercontacted both the Chief of the Army, General Douglas, and the SupremeCommanderoftheSwedishDefenseForces,GeneralThornell,aboutthematter.They decided to allowBorg to go on to officer training at Karlberg with theprovisothathesignacontract.ThiswasapoliticalletterofindulgencemeaningaguaranteefromBorg’ssideofpoliticalrestraint,ofholdingnosympathiesforGermany. Despite several attempts by the regimental commander to persuadehim,Borg refused to sign. In July1943he resigned from theRoyalSveaLifeGuards.

In September 1943 Borg again illegally crossed the border into Norway,volunteeringforGermanwarservice.HewenttotheWaffen-SSofficer’sschoolinBadTölzandwaspromotedtoUntersturmführerinthesummerof1944.Hehad finally reachedhis goal, to become anofficer. In hisSS applicationBorgwrote, “It ismy view that the fate of Sweden is tied toGermany’s victory ordefeat.”

Borgwasmoregiftedinstaffworkthaninpractical,leadershipmatters.InhispersonalSSdossierthereareshiftingopinionsabouthimfromBadTölzandthePanzer-GrenadierSchoolnearPrague, somequestioning theappropriatenessofhisbecomingafrontlineofficer.Inthefallof1944,therefore,Borgwasassignedas awar reporterwith thepropaganda regiment,SS-Standarte“KurtEggers,”where he served until the end of the war. In the Swedish Security PoliceinterrogationofBorginthesummerof1945hedescribedhiswarservicewiththeSS:

DuringhisemploymentwiththeSS-Standarte“KurtEggers”Borggottovisitdifferentsectorsofthefront,amongthem,NarvainEstonia,IhantalainFinland,DaugavpilsinLatvia,theareanorthofWarsawandEastPrussia.HealsovisitedtheGermanWesternFrontforamonthstarting16December1944,observingtheArdennescounterattack[thatis,theBattleoftheBulge].Borgrecordedhisobservationsonthevariouswarsectorsgivinghiscommentaryonthewarsituation.TherecordwithhiscommentarywassenttoBerlinforreviewandappropriatesectionswereselectedfortransmissionovertheradiobytheNaziSwedishlanguageservicepropagandaprogramemanatingfromfromtheirpowerfultransmitteratKönigsberg.DuringhisserviceasawarreporterfortheWaffen-SSBorghadtheoccasiontomeetFeldmarschall[FieldMarshal]WalterModel,SS-Oberstgruppenführer[ColonelGeneral,thehighestrankintheWaffen-SS]SeppDietrich,andFeldmarschallFerdinandSchörner.40

AsawarreporterBorgaccompanied theGermanforces that reoccupied thetown ofNemmersdorf inEast Prussiawhere theRussian soldiers had brutallymurdered German women and children.41 Borg served as reporter also in thePolishnationaluprisinginWarsawin1944.ThisrevoltwasbrutallycrushedbytheinfamousObergruppenführer(General)ErichvondemBach-Zelewskiwithalossof150,000Polishlives.

GöstaBorgfromStockholmasanewly-appointedUntersturmführer(secondlieutenant)intheWaffen-SSin1944.BorglefttheSwedishofficercadetschoolin1943despitehisstandingasnumberoneintheclass,

becauseherefusedtorejecthissupportforNazism.HeservedasawarreporterintheWaffen-SSondifferentfrontsin1944and1945.(NARA)

FromApriltoMay1945BorgservedasapropagandacommentatorwiththeGermanradiostationEuropasenderinOslo.On8May1945BorgleftthewarbytakingthetraintoCharlottenbergtogetherwithhisGerman-bornwife,whomhehadrecentlymarriedinOslo.

After the war Gösta Borg worked as a businessman in Stockholm withvarying degrees of success. In the summer of 1948 he turned to the SwedishDefense Staff seeking to be reinstated into military service. Among Borg’searlier friends from theRoyalSveaLifeGuardsandvolunteer time inFinlandwereanumberofpeoplewhohadreachedseniorpositionsintheSwedishArmyandperhapswould supporthisapplicationbehind the scene. InFebruary1948theCommuniststookpowerinPragueinacoupandnowruledCzechoslovakia.TheColdWarbecameafactandtheSovietthreatagainstSwedenwasperceivedas great. After an examination by the security service in June 1948 on hispoliticalattitudeandactivity,Borg’sdossierstressed“thathewantedtohavetheopportunitytohaveanactiveimpactonthetrainingwithintheSwedishmilitaryforces.Hehadatthattimeconsideredbeingassignedasamilitarytraineratthe

infantry marksmanship school at Rosersberg.” The matter closed with theconcisenotesinBorg’sdossierfromthemilitarysecurityservice:“NotapprovedbytheSecretaryofState,14August1948.”

Borg’sbookontheRedArmywaspublishedin1951DetRödamassanfallet(TheRedmassassault)wasahandbookwithananalysis,brilliant inparts,onthe tactics of theRedArmy. Itwaswritten in the extra strong anticommunistspiritof theKoreanWarandwasbasedonBorg’spersonalexperiences in theWaffen-SS.

InDetRödamassanfalletBorgmentionedonlytheRedArmy’sexcessesandnothingonNaziatrocities.Inthelatesummerandfallof1941Borgservedwithhis friend from the Royal Svea Life Guards, Ragnar Linnér, with the SS-Division“Wiking”intheUkraine.LinnérvisitedtheSwedishmilitaryattachéinBerlin in October 1941 and reported that his division had carried out massexecutionsofJewsandprisonersofwar.Borghad,aswellasLinnér,detailedknowledgeofthesemassmurdersalreadyin1941.ThebookattractedattentioninSwedishmilitarycirclesbecauseofhisprofessionalanalysisoftheRedArmy.Itbecamewidelyread,butdidnotgetanyofficialstatusasahandbookforuseinSwedishmilitaryschools.BorglecturedforanumberofyearsonthecontentsofthebookinvariousSwedishmilitaryunits.

GöstaBorgdied in2000 inStockholm.During theauthor’s interviewswithhim in the 1980s he appeared as an intellectually giftedworking class personwithadesireforsocialrevenge.HisearlyandstrongNaziinvolvementledhimona trackthatcrushedhisdreamsofbecomingaSwedishofficer.NorwasheabletogetanassignmentintheWaffen-SSasafrontlineofficer.

On 14May 1945 the security police examination of Borg ended with thiscomment: “In reply to a direct question,Borg states that although he is not amemberofanyNazimovement,heneverthelessisadevotedNationalSocialist.”

TheSwedesin“Nordland”OneofthereasonsforthehighlossesintheWaffen-SSwasashortageoftheirownarmoredunitsduringtheoffensivemissionsthatSSunitsoftenweregiven.In 1943 Hitler and Himmler, therefore, decided to assemble the “Germanic”volunteers into amore powerful armored corps. The III SS-PanzerCorpswasmade up in 1943 of the newly formed 11th SS-Panzer-Grenadier Division“Nordland,” which was partly formed from Scandinavian volunteers and thenewlyorganizedPanzer-GrenadierBrigade4“Nederland.”

The Germans concentrated most of the remaining Swedes into SS-Panzeraufklärungsabteilung (SS-Armored Reconnaissance Battalion) 11Nordland.Twenty-eightSwedesjoinedwitheighteenSwedishEstoniansinthebattalion’s 3d Panzer-Grenadier Company, most of these serving in itsSchwedenzug (Swedish Platoon).42 Their company was totally motorized andequippedwiththirtyarmoredhalftracksthatwerearmedwith7.92mmmachineguns and 80 mm mortars. In this reconnaissance battalion were officers andsoldiers from Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, andSwitzerland,butthemajorityofthe800soldiersassignedwereethnicGermansfromRomania.

TherealitybehindtheWaffen-SSsuggestiverecruitingbrochures:AlongrowofdeadSSsoldiers,someofthemScandinavian,lieinthesnowbehindawoodenshedontheoutskirtsoftheEstoniancityofNarva.

Thebodiesawaitidentificationandasummaryburial.ThetimeisFebruary1944afterthegreatoffensiveoftheRedArmythroughIngermanlandtowardtheNarvaRiver,whereentirecompaniesandevenbattalions

fromIIISS-ArmoredCorpswerewipedout.(GeirBrenden)

Areportfocusingonthebattalion’sfirepowerwasmadeinJune1944bytheAssistantMilitaryAttachéinBerlin,CaptainSigvardDrakeafHagelsrum,andsent to the SwedishDefense staff following a conversation inBerlinwith thethree Swedish SS men, Sven Alm, Kurt Fagerström, and Karl-Erik Pehrsson.Thereport,nowattheSwedishWarArchives,reads:

WithintheArmoredReconnaissanceBattalionare300machinegunsofvariouscalibers.Ineachhalftrackaretwoactivemachinegunsandtwoinreserveaswellassevensparebarrelspermachinegun.Thegunshaveatheoreticalrateoffireof3,000roundsperminute,butinpracticeonly1,500roundsperminute.Afterabout250roundsarefiredthebarrelmustbechangedtopermitcooling.Thiscanbedoneinonlyfourseconds.As

anexampleofthefirepowerofanArmoredReconnaissanceBattalionitwasreportedtomethatduringcombatontheEasternFrontononeoccasionatownwastoberetakenfromtheRussians.Thewholebattalionwouldbecommittedfortheattack.Inlessthanfiveminutestheentiretownwastotallyonfire.

ThedifferentunitsintheIIISS-PanzerCorpsweretrainedinCroatiainthefallof1943andwereputinactionfightingagainstthepartisansintheregionatthe same time. The Swedish Platoon was temporarily based in the city ofTopolovac.InDecember1943thecorpswasmovedtothefrontatOranienbaumdirectlywest of Leningrad. On 14 January 1944 the Russians started amajoroffensive against the III SS-Panzer Corps’ front sector and crushed twoinexperiencedLuftwaffefielddivisionsinitsway.DuringincessantfightingtheDivision“Nordland”wasforcedtoretiretothewesttowardsNarva,wherenewdefense lineswereestablished.TheSwedishPlatoonandotherelementsof theSS-Reconnaissance Battalion 11 became one of the corps most mobile andpowerfullyarmedunits.TheythenweresentagainsttheattackingSovietunitsinthe breach to cover other German units retreat through Ingria (as the regionaroundLeningradwascalled).Howthatwentisdescribedinaletterfrom1978byoneoftheethnicGermansfromRomania,FranzBereznyak:

On16January1944allhellbrokeloose.Withaten-foldadvantagetheRussiansbrokethroughtheadjacentLuftwaffefielddivisionsandthreatenedthepositionsofthe“Nordland”Division.ReconnaissanceBattalion11wassentin“toputoutfires”everywhere.ItwashardfightingatWolossowoandOrlowo.Thecompanyhadgreatlossesandalmosteveryoneofthesurvivorswaswounded.Onlyduringthenightswereweabletogettogether.On25JanuaryourSwedishPlatooncommander,WalterNilsson,waskilledbySovietrocketlauncherfireatRogowitzky.On30JanuarywereachedtheNarvaRiver,buteventheRussianreservesdriedup,sowelaunchedacounterattackandsucceededinforcingbacktheweakenedSovietforces.43

AnewGermandefenselinewassetuparoundthecityofNarvaandalongtheRiverNarova. FieldMarshallWalterModel took command over theNorthernArmyGroupandreorganizedtheGermandefensesintheNorthEastBalticarea.InthatregionragedextraordinarilyhardcombatfromFebruarytoJuly1944andIIISS-PanzerCorpswasreinforcedbyWehrmachttankandinfantryunits.

TheSwedishPlatoonwassenttoMummasaareontheGulfofFinlandtorestandre-equip.AfterthattheSwedesparticipatedinthestruggleatNarvaandwiththeRussianattemptsatabreakthroughatLakePeipus.DuringApril1944thestruggleebbedaway.TheRedArmyfailedtotakeNarva.DuringtheperiodjustfromMarch toApril theRedArmy losses atNarvawere150,000,ofwhich athirddied;theGermanforcesalsoreceivedheavylossesof40,000men.44

In June 1944 theRedArmy inWhiteRussia launched amassive offensiveagainst the German divisions in the Central Army Group, threatening theGermanflankontheBalticwitharapidlymovingarmoredcolumn.Onabroadfront of several hundred kilometers the Soviet armored formations stormedforward along the Lithuanian-Latvian border area between Vilnius andDaugavpilsandagainst theGulfofRiga.AmongthefewmotorizedandpartlyarmoredunitsthattheGermanscouldsendtothesouthfromtheNarvafrontwasSS-ReconnaissanceBattalion11inwhichthefewremainingSwedeswerepart.Through actions, including this reconnaissance unit from theWaffen-SS,RigawassavedforawhilefrombeingtakenbytheRedArmy.

SixSwedishSSofficersbyNarva,Estonia,in1944.Fromleft:SSwarcorrespondentGöstaBorg;hiscolleagueHans-CasparKrueger;commanderofthe3rdCompany,AA11Hans-GöstaPehrsson;hisplatoon

commanderGunnarEklöf;andtheSSwarcorrespondentsCarlSvenssonandThorkelTillman.(LW)

InAugust1944theRedArmyreturnedinforce,thistimeatLakePeipus,andon13AugusttheSwedesweremovedtothisportionofthefrontforcontinuousfighting at the cities of Tartu and Valga in southeastern Estonia. In the early1950s Hans-Gösta Pehrsson wrote down some memories from this defensive

combat:

20August[1944]:MotorizedmarchtoDorpat,arrivedintheevening.

22August:OurreinforcedreconnaissancesectionstatedthattheRussianinfantrywithantitankweaponsweretwokilometerstothesouthonaforcedmarchinourdirection.Theregimentalcommanderoftheadjacentunitarrivedatmystafflocation(amanagertype,veryjovialbutnotindependent).Hewasimpossibletoshakeoff,smokedmycigarettes,andappearedverysecureinourcompany.AtmiddaythedivisionreportedthattheRussianshadtakenatownonthewesternflank—uncertain,noshotsfired.IdroveareconnaissancesectionwiththeSchimmvagen(Volkswagenamphibian),gottodrivebythetownanreceivedmachinegunfirefromtwosides.Finishedwithnofurthergrandeffortsandcamebackwithoutdamageorinjury.45

InSeptember1944theIIISS-PanzerCorpsleftEstoniaandwasdeployedinCourland.Pehrsson’scompanywasobliteratedinaGermancounterattackon27October1944nearPriekuleinLatvia.FranzBereznyak,Hans-GöstaPehrsson’sethnicGermanmessenger,wrotethefollowingletterin1978:

ThevillagewascalledTrekni.ObersturmführerPehrssongotanorderdirectlyfromthecommanderofthedivision,BrigadeführerZiegler:“AstrategicallyimportantpointfortheprotectionofLibau.Itmustbetakenandheld—againstalloddsandtothelastman!”Aftertheattack,whenwewereonthehighgroundandintheRussianbunkers,Pehrsson’scompanywasreducedtoonly25men.Therewasaterriblemassacreinman-to-manfighting.TheRussiansshowedwhatwasneededandthrewinalltheyhadtoretakethehighground.Forfourdayswefoughtbackalltheirassaults.Onthefifthdaywehadtofold.Pehrsson’sstafflocationwas100metersbehindthebunkerline.Ishallneverforgetthemomentwhenhesawusrunningtotherear.“Weaklings!”Heroaredandthenheledusinacounterattackagainsttheopposition.DuringanadditionalweekwewereabletoholdthehighgroundagainstRussianassaultsbeforeournumbersweresoreducedthatourcompanywasrelieved.46

The price was high, however. Pehrsson’s company was, for all practicalpurposes, annihilated. All but twenty-five men had been killed or so badlywounded that they were unable to continue fighting. On 30 October 1944

Obersturmführer(firstlieutenant)RuneAhlgrenfromRökinÖstergötlandwaskilled near Priekule. He was the platoon commander in the reconnaissancebattalionandhadreportedfordutyasavolunteerfromhisofficercourseattheKarlbergMilitaryAcademyinStockholm.Bytheturnoftheyearfrom1944to1945therewereonlytensurvivingSwedesandSwedishEstoniansremaininginthe whole battalion. Sinking combat morale and desertions had also furtherreducedtheSwedishPlatoon.ThesurvivorswereengagedinpositionalwarfareneartheLatviantownofBunkas,nearLiepaja.

At the end of January 1945 what remained of III SS-Panzer Corps wasevacuatedbyseatransportfromCourlandtoStettin.DuringarestinPomeraniathe units in “Nordland” got personnel replacements and new equipment. Asearlyas12January1945,however, theGermanFrontatWeichselwasbrokenthrough. The Soviet units advanced towards the important German industrialarea inSilesia.“Nordland”and their reconnaissancebattalionwassent inasablockingunitinthefightinsouthernPomerania.

Onthetraintodeath.SwedishsoldiersfromSS-Division“Nordland”duringastopattheRigatrainstationon12July1944onthewaytoJakobstadtandDünaburginLatviawheretheRedArmyhadbrokenthrough.OnthetrainisalongrowofhalftrackedvehicleswiththeirSwedishcrews.Sittingwithhisbarebacktothe

cameraisKarl-ErikPehrssonfromHärnösand.FivedayslaterhewaskilledwhenhishalftrackwashitbyaroundfromaRussianantitankgunwhileoutonareconnaissancemissiontowardsthetownofKunigiskyin

Latvia.(LW)

ThebattlesinPomeraniaweremarkedbytheoverwhelmingsuperiorityoftheRed Army, which was carried out so that the few remaining Swedesparticipating in intense day to day combat found it hard to comprehend thesituation. The possibilities for rest now were minimal for the soldiers in“Nordland” as they were involved in steady withdrawal to the west onPomerania’s flat agricultural landscape. In the middle of March 1945 theGermans succeeded in establishing a bridgehead atAltdamm, a suburb of theimportantportcityofStettin.

Erik Wallin from Stockholm, was the commander of the remnants of theSwedish Platoon. He presented his memories, among them the action atAltdamm from 16 to 20 March 1945, in Thorolf Hillblad’s book Ragnarök(availableinEnglishasTwilightoftheGods):

Theplatoonwentintoapositionsettingupsixmortarsinayardnexttoatotallydestroyedblockofapartments.Ourforwardobserver,anUnterscharführer[sergeant],waslocatedinacellarfurtherforwardinthedefenselines.Aslongasthefieldtelephonefunctionedwesentasteadystreamofmortarroundsuptotheskyfromourmortartubes.TheringaroundAltdamm’sdefenderswasdrawntighter.AfterthreedaysofragingbattlefromhousetohousetheorderfinallycametopullbackacrossthebridgeovertheOder.Thesituationhadbecomeverydangerous.ItwasatthattimethataverybadlybatteredArmoredReconnaissanceBattalion“Nordland”clatteredthroughStettintowardsthewest.InthealreadybombravagedcitytheRussianartillerylaunchedafull-blownbombardmenttocompletetheworkofdestruction.47

AfterStettinwasconqueredbytheRedArmy“Nordland”wassentforrestandreorganizationtothewestoftheOderandnorthofthetownofKüstrin.TheEastern Front nowwas in reality framed by theOder andNeisseRivers. TheBerliners,whowerereadyforbattle,jokedaboutnowbeingabletotakealocaltrainfromtheWesterntotheEasternFront.EventheRedArmy,however,hadsufferedgreatlossesduringthefightinginPomerania.Stalinneededtoregrouphisforcesbeforethelastgreatstrategicgoal,toconquerthecapitoloftheThirdReich,Berlin.The remainsof theSwedishPlatoon,nowahandfulofSwedes,gotarestperiodofnearlyamonthbytheOderduringMarchandApril.During

thattimeacuriousthinghappened.SeveralBritishvolunteersintheWaffen-SSwereplacedintheSwedescompany!

On16April1945theRedArmy,underFieldMarshalGeorgyZhukov,begantheir great offensive towards Berlin at the Oder and Seelow heights east ofBerlin.Becauseofatacticalmisunderstanding,Zhukov’soffensiveranintoverytoughGermanresistanceandheavylosses,despiteanoverwhelmingsuperiorityin Soviet firepower. The SS-Panzer Divisions “Nordland” and “Nederland”weremade into a mobile reserve forGeneraloberst Gotthard Henrici’s ArmyGroup “Weichsel.” On 17 April Hitler directly ordered both divisions toreinforcethethreatenedportionofthefrontbetweenSeelowandMüncheberg.48

TheSwedish companyarrived at the townofWulkow,directlywest of theSeelow heights on the morning of 18 April after a night march. During themotorizedmarch toWulkow theSwedes saw thenight sky illuminatedby theSovietartilleryfireintheeastandheardontheirvehicleradiosthevoicesofthecommanders of the Soviet fighting vehicles on the other side of theOder. 3dCompany got an order on the same day to launch a counterattack with thesupport or in cooperation with the Tiger tanks unit. A concentrated salvo ofSoviet artillery and rockets were fired into Wulkow, however; the storm ofartillery pulverized half of the Swedish company. Platoon commander ErikWallinrecalled:

Wewereawakenedwithaviolentshaking,withasoundthatseemedasthoughthegroundwasopeningforavolcaniceruption!Thatwasfollowedbyrepeatedtightseriesofexplosionsinourimmediatevicinity.Igotupinaflashandstuckmyheadoutofthevehicleturret.Itwasadreadfulsight!Therecentlypeacefultownwasinjustafewmomentschangedtoahellbeyonddescription.SalvoaftersalvofromtheSovietrocketlaunchersandheavyartillerycausedahorriblebloodbath.Brokenfountainsandwaterlines,closebyeachother,spewedwateroutontothetownstreetsandhouses,somewerefilledwithsleepingsoldiersperforatedandblownouttogether.Somewerescaredoutoftheirsensesandtumbledoutofwindowsanddoors,otherscamestaggeringoutwiththeirhandsontheirbleedingheadsorsplitopenstomachs,someshuffledwithonelegorbothlegscutoff,leavingbehindatrailofblood.Manywereleftinsidetheburninghouses,though,deadordying.Quicklytheentirestreetbecameabewilderingconfusionofbodies.Hundredsofmenlaymutilatedandlacerated.Ofalloftheforcethatshouldhavebeenthebatteringram

againsttheCommunistbridgeheadwhatremainedwastornapartpiecesofbodies.Theentireattackhadbeensmashedapartbeforeitcouldbecarriedout.Ourreconnaissanceunit,akeytroop,hadoneofitsbloodiestdaysintheentirewar.IunderstoodatthatmomentthattheOderFrontwaslost.“Howshallitend?”IaskedmyselfoverandoverwhilewithhammeringheartIranoverthefieldawaytowardsasmallgroupofarmoredvehiclesthatwereinaclumpoftrees.Theyweresomeofourown!Thegroupwascommandedbythecompanyadjutant.Thecompanycommander—anewmanwhowegotinplaceofHans-GöstaPehrsson,whowaspromotedtothedivisionstaff—hadbeenkilled,aswellastwoplatoonleaders.Twelvemenoutofmyownplatoonhadbeenkilledinthetown.49

Onlyhalf of the ten armored infantryvehicles in theSwedishPlatoonwiththeircrewsdecimated,weresavedoutoftherainstormofexplodingshells.ThemenretreatedtothewestfromFieldMarshalZhukov’sattackingunitsandthefew Swedes remaining in“Nordland” drew themselves back over the city ofStrausberg.TheyreachedthecitylimitsofBerlinon24April1945.Theweek-longfinalbattleforthecapitoloftheThirdReichhadbegun.ItwasbizarrethatBerlin, with the final collapse, was defended by so many foreign SS troops,madeupofFrenchmen,Danes,Norwegians,Swedes,Swiss,andLatvians.50

During the continuous fighting in suburbs, the “Nordland” was pressedunbroken into the center of Berlin. On 25 April the Soviets closed theencirclementofBerlin.Whatwas left of“Nordland”waspositionedon thoselast days just south of the Reich Chancellery and the government quarter onWilhelmstrassearoundtheAnhaltertrainstation.

A few of the remaining Swedes and Swedish Estonians were killed in anunsuccessful breakout attempt byway of theWeidendammer Bridge over theRiverSpreeduringthenightof1/2May1945.Pehrssonhadbeenpromotedtointelligenceofficeratthedivisionalstaffat17April1945,buttookoverhisoldcompany from 25 April to 2 May. Pehrsson’s command vehicle was hit andcaughtfireonFriedrichstrassewherethedriver,RagnarJohanssonfromSkövde,waskilled.

InaletterwrittenbyFranzBereznyak,Hans-GöstaPehrsson’sethnicGermanorderly,wasthisfinalvignettefromtheapocalypseinBerlin:

Ontheeveningof27AprilcompanycommanderPehrssonandIweredirectlyplacedtodefendtheReichChancellerywiththreearmoredvehiclesfromourbattaliontostayincontactwithotherunitsaroundthe

governmentquarter.On29and30AprilwesearchedforourownarmoredtroopersinthecityandfoughtourwayoutwithseveralarmoredvehiclesthathadbeenencircledbytheRussians.Whatmadethebiggestimpressiononmewerethethirteen-andfourteen-year-oldHitleryouthboyswiththeirantitankweapons,thePanzerfaust,whohadbeenorderedtoblowupRussiancombatvehicles.Formeitwasincomprehensiblethatofficersweresittinginbunkersdrinkingwhiletheyorderedthesechildrenintobattle.

On1MaywegotanordertogatherattheFreidrichstrassetrainstationforanattempttobreakoutovertheWeidendammerBridgeandSpree.Pehrssonassembledeveryoneandsaidthat“Thewarisover.Saveyourselfifyoucan!”MostofusgatheredattheWeidendammerBridgeatmidnighttotryabreakouttotheGermanforcesnorthofBerlin.Theattemptwasdoomedtofail.ThebridgealreadywasundercontrolbyRussianmachine-gunfire.At0400wedrovemyvehicleoverthebridgeunderheavyRussianfiring.Manyofourmenalreadyhadbeenslaughteredbytheirdefensivefires.WedrovelikecrazyandsucceededtobreakthroughanddrivetotheStettintrainstationinnorthBerlin.

Afterseveralminutesanotherofourarmoredvehiclesarrived.ItwasBrunoSprintzwithamortarvehiclefromtheSwedishPlatoon.Theyhadreceivedadirecthitintheradiatorandweputthemintow.TheSwedishcrewstayedinthevehicle.Atastreetintersectionwecutthetowcable.AtthesametimeIsawRussiancombatvehiclesatacrossstreet100metersaway.Icriedout“Forward!”tomydriver,butitwastoolate.Isawmanyflamesfromgunsandbothofourvehicleswerehitandinfire.TheSwedishtankdroveonfurther,withawoundedordeaddriveratthewheel,asatorchinthewind.51

Karl-ErikHolm(left)fromSvappavaaraandErikWallinfromStockholm,Swedishvolunteersfrom“Nordland”onreconnaissancenearDünaburg,LatviainJuly1944.BothwearspeckledSScamouflage.Behindthemisanarmoredhalftrack.HolmdesertedfromtheSSshortlyafterthiswastakenandprobablywaskilledinactioninaSSpunishmentunitinCourland;WallinsurvivedthefinalbattleinBerlinin1945

andreturnedtoSweden.(LW)

Hans-Gösta Pehrsson and Erik Wallin survived the offensive inferno inBerlin.TheyweretakenprisonersbytheRedArmy,butsucceededinescapingfromtheSovietoccupiedcityafterabriefcaptivity.EquippedwithSwedishblueandyellowarmbandstheyrodeonatransportvehicletothetownofNauenandwalkedfromtheretoHamburginordertogettoSwedenduringthesummerof1945.

AtleasttwoSwedishcitizenswereconscriptedintoGermanWWIIservice.OneofthemwasBertilHansson,bornin1928nearBremerhaven,Germany.DespitethefactthatHanssonwasSwedishandnotaGermancitizen,hewasconscriptedinlate1944bytheWehrmacht.AtsixteenhewastrainedtousethePanzerfaustandSturmgewehr44.InFebruary1945severalboysfromhistrainingcompanyweresenttofighttheSovietsontheOderfront.“Inevermetanysurvivors,”hesaid.InApril1945hewasorderedtofightBritishtroopsinnorthernGermanybuttriedretreatingtothewesttoavoidbattle,“Thiswouldonlyhavebeensuicide.”HereturnedtoSwedeninSeptember1945,wherehelaterwasappointedcaptainintheSwedishArmoredCorps’Reserve.Thisphotofrom1955showshimasa2ndlieutenant.(BertilHansson)

SwedesinOtherSSUnitsDespite the fact that very few Swedes were volunteers in the SS, individualSwedesparticipatedincombatinalmostallthefrontsectorswheretheWaffen-SSwasrepresented.FromthenorthernareaofScandinaviatotheBaltic,intheSovietUnion,intheBalkans,Hungary,andNormandy.

At Bavarian Bad Tölz the Waffen-SS had its military school for officers.Twenty Swedeswere trained to be SS officers there between 1942 and 1945.Tenofthemoreintellectuallygroundedandlinguisticallyskilledwereassignedas war reporters in the Waffen-SS. They served with the SS-PropagandaRegiment“KurtEggers”andweredispatchedalloveroccupiedEurope.Theirarticleswere often published in SwedishNazimagazines and newspapers andwere a tool for recruiting new Swedes to the Waffen-SS.52 Swedish warreportersfromtheWaffen-SSservedaswellwiththeKönigsbergRadioStationwhereGoebbelshadhiscenterforthedailypropagandaprogramsdirectedattheSwedishaudience.CarlSvensson fromStockholmwas raised inHamburg.HebecameanNCOintheSwedishNavyandorganizedNazisduringthe1930s.AsawarreporterintheWaffen-SShewasactiveonmanydifferentsectorsofthevarious frontsandmade front reports from theairwith theLuftwaffeover thecombatareasoftheMediterraneanin1942,amongotherthings.

AdozenSwedesfoughtagainsttheWesternAlliedtroopsinFranceandtheNetherlandsbothbeforeandafterD-day.Evenbytheendof1942theSwedishNazi newspaperDen Svenske Folksocialisten stated that SS Swedes from theLindholm Movement in Sweden had participated in the defensive fightingagainstBritish-CanadiantroopsduringtheirraidonDieppeinAugust1942.

Sven-ErikOlssonwasborninEstonia,butasaSwedishcitizen.Asearlyas1940hewasaradiospecialistintheWaffen-SS.In1944headvancedtobecomethepersonal signalist forBrigadeführerHeinzHarmel,Commanderof theSS-Panzer Division “Frundsberg.” Olsson participated in combat in Galicia,Alsace,Pomerania,andSaxonyin1944and1945,aswellasfightingagainsttheWesternAllied landings inNormandy.Hecame toSweden in1946,becamealeadingcomputerspecialistwithalargeinsurancecompany,anddiedin1980.

Normandy,July1944.InthefrontseatofhiscamouflagedVWKübelwagen,BrigadeführerHeinzHarmel,commanderofthe10thSS-Panzer-Division“Frundsberg.”Inthebackseatishispersonalradioman,

SwedishEstonianOberscharführerSven-ErikOlsson.ThelatterwaswoundedduringthebreakoutoftheGermansfromtheFalaisepocket.(NARA)

ThorkelTillmanfromÖrebrowaskilledon20June1944byBritisharmoredtroops near theCity ofCheux inNormandy.Tillmanwas, at that time, awarreporter in the12thSS-PanzerDivision“Hitlerjugend.”Tillman’smotherwasGerman and hisSwedish father belonged to awell-knownprofessional familyfrom the province of Närke. After his parents’ divorce he was raised inPomeraniafrom1922 to1935,went toaGermansecondaryschool,andwasaleader in theHitlerYouth.During theyears from1938 to1942heservedasasergeantintheSignalRegimentbasedatFrösunda,northofStockholm.

LarsBlomwas a Swedish expatriate fromBerlin,who had been an officercadetinSwedeninthe1920s.LaterinGermanyheservedasanofficerandchiefofmaintenancewith the SS-Panzer Regiment 1 of theLeibstandarte Division“AdolfHitler” during the battles along theNormandy front in the summer of1944.He remained inGermany after thewarwith hisGermanwife, and diedtherein1978.

YngveNordborgwasthesonofaministerfromTimråoutsideofSundsvall.Earlyon,hejoinedtheright-wingextremistmovementofPerEngdahlandinthe1930slivedandgotmarriedinVienna.Duringtheyears1942to1944hewasanannouncer on the German Propaganda Ministry radio programs directed atSweden and translated thepropagandaphotojournalSignal toSwedish.YngveNordborg joined theWaffen-SS in1944as awar reporter andwas sent to theinvasionfrontinthewest.HeparticipatedinthebattleofArnheminSeptember1944 andwas decoratedwith an Iron Cross after he destroyed twoAmericantanks with a Panzerfaust. At the end of the war Nordborg found himself inBavariaandreturnedtoSwedenbyadventurousroutesin1945.Afterthewarhewas active in Per Engdahl’s Neo-Fascist movement in Malmö. He died in1972.53

TherewereanumberofSwedesin6thSS-MountainDivision“Nord.”HarryGauffin fromKatrineholmwas killed as an SS-Gebirgsjäger in“Nord” on 7April 1944 atAhtahma inKarelia.When theRedArmy conducted a surpriseattackagainstthedivision’sNorwegianSS-SkiBattalionattheendofJune1944nearKaprolat120Norwegianswerekilled in twodays.Thirty-ninemoreweretakenprisoner.TheSwedeJeanF.fromVästervikwasoneofthoseabletosavehimself from the catastrophe by swimming over the Kaprolat Lake to theGermanlineswhilebeingfiredatby theSoviets.Laterhewasassigned to theWaffen-SSofficer’sschoolatBadTölz.HewascapturedbytheUSArmyon5May1945 in theBavariancityofBadReichenhallwhenhewasservingasanofficerinthe38thSS-Division“Nibelungen.”54

Robert Bengtsson from Örebro was a soldier in the Leibstandarte “AdolfHitler”from1941to1943.HebeganasanairdefensesoldierduringtheEasternFrontfightingatMariopolandattheSeaofAzov.Hethenwentthroughtrainingin France and in 1943 was assigned as a non-commissioned officer to theLeibstandarte’spanzerregimentduringthefightingatKharkov.Heparticipatedas the only Swede inGerman uniform in the largest tank battle in history, atKursk, in the summer of 1943.When Leibstandarte was sent to the invasionfront inNormandy in thesummerof1944,Bengtsson,unlikeOlsson,Tillman,and Blom, applied for another front, pointing out that his contract statedemploymentonlyagainst theRedArmy.Hewas thenordered to aSSvehicledepot inBaden,Germany, until hewas sent to fight against theRedArmy inAustria.On7May1945hewascapturedbytheUSArmyinsouthernGermanyandreturnedtoSwedeninthesummerof1946.55

RobertBengtssonfromÖrebro(inwhiteshorts),intheUkrainianflatland,summer1943.BengtssonwasoneofthefewforeigncitizensintheLeibstandarte“AdolfHitler,”wherehewasasergeantinanantiaircraftbattalion.Thevehiclespicturedtowedtheunit’sheavy88mmantiaircraftguns.(LW)

Johan Westrin, from Stockholm, deserted to Norway from his SwedishinfantryregimentinÖstersund,inMay1943,inordertojointheWaffen-SS.Hewas killed in an ambush on 5 October 1944, as a sergeant in the SS-PanzerBrigade“Gross,”duringanadvancetowardsthetownofSaukenaiinLithuania.Standartenführer (Colonel) Otto Skorzeny was the commander of the

renownedcommandoandsabotageunitintheSSandbecamefamouswhenherescuedMussolini in 1943. The only Swede that served with Skorzeny’s SS-Jagdverbände wasUntersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) Gunnar Eklöf fromMalmberget.Attheturnoftheyear,1944/45,EklöfwascompanycommanderintheSS-Jagdverband“Nordwest”inNeustrelitz,northofBerlin.56

AnSS-officerofthearmoredreconnaissancebattalionofthe11thSS-Panzer-GrenadierDivision“Nordland”givesordersfromhiscommandhalftrack,ontheEstonia/Latviaborder,July1944.Tohis

rightisSwedishUntersturmführerGunnarEklöf,wearingthe1944patternSScamouflageuniform.(MartinMånsson)

ArneBernhardsson-Pettersson, fromSödertälje, deserted at the endof1944fromhisSSunitinHungary,traveledtoBerlin,andtheremanagedtogetworkas the chauffeur for the pastor of the SwedishVictoriaCongregation.Hewaskilled by a low-flying American fighter bomber in Mecklenburg while on amissionfortheSwedishchurch.57

During the fighting on 6 March 1945 Second Lieutenant Johan-RagnarGustavssonwaskilledatthevillageofMassowinPomerania.HewasaSwedishcitizen from Norway who was a platoon leader in the SS-Combat Group“Scheibe.”JustbeforehehadgottenhisreleaseoutoftheWaffen-SSherippedupthereleasepaperatthefrontinPomeraniawiththecomment,“Icannotleavethe sinking ship andmy comrades in this difficult situation.” This is an earlyexampleofhowtheoriginalmotivationprobablychangedduringthelastyearofthewarandwasreplacedwith loyaltywith thefrontlineunitwhereone’sownplatoon and the companybecame, in reality, “the home” formanyvolunteers.ThiscombinedwiththefactthattherewasnoonewaitingforthembackhomebecausetheyburnedmanybridgesbyjoiningtheSS.

HansLindström,fromStockholm,wastrainedin1944inthelegendaryTigertankintheNetherlands.SigurdBaecklundfromHelsingborggraduatedfromtheWaffen-SSofficers’schoolatBadTölzandwastrainedonPanthertanksattheWaffen-SSArmoredSchoolSeelagerat theLatviancityofDondangen(today,

Kolka). It is not certain if Lindström or Baecklund actually fought in activecombatwiththesetanks.

Were there any Swedish SS doctors? At least two have been identified.Journalist Bertram Linding from Lysekil was stationed at an SS hospital inViennatobetrainedasadoctorintheWaffen-SS.OlafJürgenssenwasbornasaSwedishcitizenintheSiberiancityofVladivostokandlaterbecameaGermancitizen.He studied to become aGermanmedical doctor, and as early as 1936wasintheSSandNSDAP.Hebelongedtooneofthe“Totenkopf”regimentsin1940,attheBuchenwaldconcentrationcamp.Dr.JürgenssenwasanSSdoctorinViennaandPragueandwaspromotedtoUntersturmführerin1944.

PerJarlfromKristianstadwasagoodfriendofthewell-knownpro-GermanexplorerSvenHedin,andaftertheFirstWorldWarhemovedtoGermanyandwasafreightmanagerandridinginstructor.Duringthe1930sJarlgottoknowanumberofcompetitiveridersfromtheSS,amongthem,HermanFegelein,laterthe commander of the SS-Cavalry Division “Florian Geyer” and Himmler’sliaison officer in the headquarters of the Führer. After Jarl’s riding school inHamburg was destroyed by Allied bombing he became a civilian ridinginstructor at the main riding school of the Waffen-SS in Munich where heworked from 1942 to 1945. The school became the remount depot for thecavalrydivisionsoftheWaffen-SSontheEasternFront.

Per Jarl was in active combat on two occasions. In the fall of 1944 hesucceededinevacuatingalargenumberofhorsesfromtheHungarianstatestudfarmwiththeaidofaSScavalryescort.Duringtheweek-longexpedition,partlyonfootandundersteadyfightingwiththeRedArmy,theescortwastornup,butallthehorsesreachedPressburg(modernBratislava)unharmed.Therethehorseswereloadedontoa train.InApril1945Jarl triedtostopanAmericanadvancetowards Munich with a mounted combat group and on 8 May 1945 hesurrenderedtotheUSArmynearKufsteinandreturnedpennilessattheageofsixtytoSwedeninthesameyear.Hediedin1963inMalmöafterworkingasaridinginstructorinSaltsjöbadenandFalkenberg.

Probably the lastSwede to join theWaffen-SSwas thecareerofficerGöstaHjalmarScholzfromHuddinge.ThatwasinFebruary1945!HehadaGermanfather andwasmoreovermarried to aNazi-oriented sister of StandartenführerMaxSollmann,Chiefof theLebensbornbureauintheSS.Himmlerpersonallydecided that Scholz should be made an officer in theWaffen-SS. His fate isunknown.58

SS-PanzergrenadierCountKnutPossefromSödraViandBengtLofthammar

fromKarlstadwere the lastSwedeskilled inactionduring thewaraside fromthosekilled in the battle ofBerlin.Theywere lost after fightingwith theRedArmyinAustriaaftertheendofthewar.ProbablybothSwedeswereinahastilyimprovisedCombatGroup“Schweitzer”fromtheSStrainingbattalioninGraz.ThisemergencyforcewastorntotallyapartduringbattleinthecityofRechnitzon the border with Hungary in April 1945. Themany dead SS soldiers wereburiedafter thebattleby the localcivilpopulation ina forestand in the fieldswheretheydiedwithoutanybeingidentified.

CountKnutPosse,born1925,inFinnishuniformin1944.HeparticipatedinthedefensivebattlesatVierumäkiandTalinearViborg,summer1944.AfterthearmisticewiththeSovietUnion,hevolunteeredfortheWaffen-SSinDecember1944.HewaslastseeninJanuary1945intheSSbarracksinGraz,Austria.HewasprobablyKIAinRechnitzbytheAustrian-HungarianborderinApril1945.(MartinMånsson)

CompanyCommanderHans-GöstaPehrssonHans-Gösta Pehrsson fromKarlskronawith his southernEuropean appearancewas hardly the stereotype of a nordic SS officer, but he became the mostdecorated and promoted Swede in the Waffen-SS. In three years PehrssonadvancedfromaprivateintheWaffen-SSin1941toacaptainincommandofamotorized armored rifle company during the conflict in the Baltic States and

Pomerania in 1944 and 1945. He was one of a group of the last survivingSwedeswho participated in the defense of theReichChancellery andHitler’sbunkerinthefinalbattleforBerlinin1945.59

Pehrsson was born in 1910, the son of a soldier in Karlskrona. Aftercompleting secondary education andhis required conscription servicewith theinfantry regiment in Eksjö, he moved to Denmark in 1933 to get a job. HemarriedaDanish-Austrianwomanin1936inCopenhagen.Pehrssonhadbeenamember of the National Socialist Lindholm Party and the Nordic Youth inSweden.InCopenhagenhejoinedtheDanishNaziPartyandassociatedactivelywiththelocalNazisbothbeforeandduringtheGermanoccupationofDenmarkin1940.

On 21 July 1941, amonth after theGerman invasion of the SovietUnion,Pehrsson joined theWaffen-SS as a volunteer.After eightmonths of infantryandsergeanttraininginPosenhewassenttoIlmenLakesouthofNovgorodontheEasternFrontinMay1942.Therehebecamecommanderofamachine-gunandmortarplatooninFreikorpsDanmark,whichwasintacticalsupportoftheSS-Division“Totenkopf.” He made a good impression with his superiors andwas promoted toOberscharführer (sergeant). Pehrsson then completed officercadet training at theWaffen-SSofficer’s school atBadTölz inOctober 1943.That fall as a newly appointed Untersturmführer he became a rifle platooncommander in the recently organized 11th SS-Panzer-Grenadier Division“Nordland.”

Hans-GöstaPehrssonatBadTölz.[BerlinDocumentCenter(BDC)]

PehrssonwaswoundedinIngriaon16January1944duringthegreatSovietoffensive.After treatmentatahospital inTartuon19April1944hetookoverthe3dCompanyintheDivision’sarmoredreconnaissancebattalion.Withonlyashort break Pehrsson commanded that company until the Red Army’s lastoffensiveovertheOdertowardsBerlininApril1945.

Surviving soldiers from his company have described Pehrsson as a personwho tried as much as possible to avoid unnecessary casualties within hiscompany,butwasambitiousandruthlessincertainsituations.Inthesummerof1944PehrssonhelpedSwedishandEstonian-Swedishsoldiersinhiscompanytodesert to Sweden.His actionswere described in interrogation by the SwedishSecurityServiceinOctober1945:

PehrssonhadunderstoodearlyonthatthewarwaslostforGermany.Duringabreak[incombataction]intheBalticarea,therefore,hedevelopedsomeplanstohelpthoseinthecompanywhowantedtogettoSweden.HeissuedleaveordersforhismentogetrecreationandrestinHapsal,wheretheSwedeswereabletomakefriendswithsomeofthepeopleinthearea.ItwasalsoduringthistimethattheywereabletofleetoSweden.Sowhensomeofthemenfailedtoreturntotheunitafterthe

leavehadexpiredherealizedthattheplanhadsucceeded.HenaturallyreportedthesituationandwenttoHapsalandsearchedforthemissingmen.Thereportofthedesertionswenttothehighestlevel,butmuchtimehadpassedandhisunitalreadyhadlefttheBalticarea.PehrssonacceptedthatmanyoftheSwedesinthedivisionhadsuccessfullyfledtoSwedeninthatmanner.60

Pehrsson’scompanywaspracticallyannihilatedduringacounterattackon19October1944atPreekuln.Pehrssonandwhatwasleftofhiscompanymanaged—inaweekofbitterfighting—toseizeandholdanimportantpositiononhighground near the town of Trekne in Courland. For this action Pehrsson wasdecorated with the rare Ehrenblattspange des deutsches Heeres (Honor RollClaspoftheGermanArmy).Pehrsson’sotherwarmedalsandawardsincludedtheIronCrosses,FirstandSecondClass;theArmoredCombatMedalinSilver;theCloseCombatMedalinSilver;andtheMedalforWoundedinSilver.61

Alady’smanintheunitmanagedtogetagroupofEstoniancivilianwomeninto Pehrsson’s company supply vehicles. These women left Estonia togetherwiththeSwedishPlatoonhiddeninthecompany’shalftrackvehicleswhenthebattalion was evacuated from Courland over the Baltic Sea to Pomerania inJanuary1945.

After sustaining major losses in combat in Pomerania the unit wasreorganizedattheOderinMarch1945Pehrssonwasdismissedasthecompanycommander. The reason for this action is not clear. The desertions from hiscompany in 1944, with Pehrsson’s involvement, could have been the cause.Another, andperhapsmore significant reason,was that secret reports from theSwedishmilitaryattachéinBerlinfromJanuary1945fellintothehandsoftheGermans.ThesituationwasbroughttotheattentionofHeinrichHimmlerbySS-Obergruppenführer (SS-General) Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Chief of theReichssicherheitshauptamt.Thesereports,amongotherthings,showedthatthreesoldiers inPehrsson’scompanyinJune1944passedsensitiveGermanmilitarysecretstotheSwedishmilitaryattachéinBerlin.TwooftheseSwedesdesertedfrom the company while the third was killed in action in July 1944 nearDünaburg.62

Hans-GöstaPehrsson(withbinoculars)standsinhishalftracknearMummasaareontheflatnorthcoastofEstoniainMarch1944.AsoldierinfrontofPehrssontestfiresthevehicle’sMG42machinegun.This

multifunctionalcombatvehiclewasusedbothfortransportandmobilecombat.Pehrsson’s5.7-tonvehiclewasarmedwithtwomachinegunsandcarriedthevehiclecommander,adriver,andfourinfantrysoldiers.

(LW)

After theRedArmy’sgreatoffensive towardsBerlin,Pehrssonwasorderedon 17 April 1945 to be an intelligence officer with the “Nordland” Divisionstaff.63OnthesamedayPehrssonwasbrought inonsensitivesecretandriskyplans. The division commander, Brigadeführer (Major General) JoachimZiegler,who earlier had been a general staff officer in theWehrmacht,was arealist.He did notwant to sacrifice the foreign volunteers in themeaninglessfinalbattle forBerlin. In themiddleofApril1945an improvisedmeetingwasheld between Ziegler and his corps chief,Obergruppenführer (General) FelixSteiner, atwhich Pehrssonwas also present.A secret planwas drawn up andgivenouttosave“Nordland,”avoidingthecombataroundBerlinbysendingitnorthward to Schleswig-Holstein. The Swiss SS captain Günther Greeff,Pehrsson’spredecessorastheintelligenceofficeronthedivisionstaff,describedtheplaninaletterin1987:

OnthesamedaythatPehrssonwasselectedasmysuccessor,SteinerandZieglerconferred,withPehrssonandmyselfpresent,aswellasthedivisionstaff,onthefollowingplan:“Nordland”must,inthegreatestsecrecy,drivenorthofBerlintowardstheBritishlines.Sincethatwasindirectviolationofanorder,puremutinyagainstBerlin,thedivisionleadershiphadtoweightheconsequences.Itmeantthatthedivisionhadtoreachitsgoalintheshortestpossibletime.Itwasimperativeforustoget

toalargefuelstoragearea.IpersonallygotaspecialorderfromZieglertorequisitionfuelfor“Nordland”whilePehrssontookovermypostonthedivisionstaff.64

On the other hand bothHitler in theReichChancellery andArmyGeneralHelmutWeidling,theCommandantofBerlin,demandedafighttothelastbulletfor the Capitol of the Reich. Steiner and Ziegler’s scheme was disclosed,however,andZieglerwasrelievedas thedivisioncommanderon25AprilandplacedunderhousearrestintheReichChancellerybyHitler.PehrssontookoverhisoldcompanyandinavainattempttotryandgetanescaperouteforhimselfandtheremainingSwedesin“Nordland,”visitedtheSwedishlegationinBerlinin civilian clothing at the end ofApril 1945. The pastor of the legation, ErikMyrgren,metPehrssonintheSwedishdiplomaticstaffbunkerinTiergartenon1May 1945. In an interview in 1993Myrgren described how Pehrsson gavenewstothediplomaticstaffwithinadayafterHitler’sdeathinthebunker:

ThenewsthatHitlerhadcommittedsuicidewasobtainedbyaSwedishSSofficer,whobrieflyvisitedthebunkertonegotiateforprotectionandasaferouteoutforthesurvivingSSSwedesandhimself.InappearancethatofficerwasidenticalwithPehrsson(theofficer,incivilianclothes,wasthinanddark).HeandhiscompanywereindirectsupportoftheReichChancelleryduringthefinalfightingandstatedthathehadbeentotheChancellerytoattendabriefingandthenhadbeentoldthatHitlerwasdead.Ourlegalgroupthusobtainedthisnewsbeforeitbecameofficial!65

During interrogation by the Swedish Security Service in October 1945,Pehrsson described how soldiers who involuntarily had lost touch with theirunits during the final struggle, often were executed by SS summary courtsmartial:

Gestapocarriedoutduringthesedaysanintolerablepressonthetroopsthroughincessantarrestsandtransportofoldfrontfightersandofficers,whoforonereasonoranotherwereviewedasunreliable.Oftenthepolicetroopsshottheofficerswithoutfurtherdeliberation.

WhenPehrsson’shalftrackwashitbyaSoviet tankon1May1945hefledwounded to protection in a nearby apartment house while his driver, RagnarJohansson, was killed by a Soviet hand grenade and lay dead in the street.Pehrssonsucceeded ingettingoutofBerlin in the summerof1945bywayof

WittenbergtoLübeckandthen,withthehelpoftheRedCross,tohishomeinCopenhagen.There theDanish resistance arrested him as a formerSSofficer.Since he was a Swedish citizen he was deported after a few days to SwedenwherewasreunitedwithhiswifeandchildrenatVetlandainSmåland.

ThepersonalpricePehrssonpaidforhisinvolvementintheSSwashigh.HisDanishwifewasdisinheritedandthrownoutbyherparentsinCopenhagen.Sheand her children fled to Sweden. Pehrsson never was able to get over hisexperiencesinthewarandthecouplewasdivorcedin1949.

PehrssongavealectureonhisexperienceswiththeRedArmyforaSwedishArmyunitundergoingtrainingin1953:

Russiansassoldiers:InordertobeabletojudgetheSovietsoldierasanenemyonemustfirstunderstandhischaracter.Heisruthlesswhenitconcernsreachingthegoal,butatthesametimealittlecunningandsuspiciousabouttriflingmatters.Hehasnofeelingforhumansuffering;heishardenedandunafraid.Why?InthelastthirtyyearstheRussianpeoplehavelivedunderlatentdangertotheirlivesunderavastnumberofpurgesandotheractionsrelatedtotheupbringingofpeople.Theirnormalfearofdeathhasbeenblunted.Heishardenedafteralifeinpovertyanddeprivation.Militarytrainingbuildsfurtheruponthathardnesstogetmilitaryeffectiveness.Snipersandforwardobserverscan,forexample,hidethemselvesunderrottenhorsecadaversorsitforalongwhileinthegrubbytopofapinetree.

TheRussiansoldierhasnofeelingforhumansuffering.OnlyonafewoccasionshaveIseentheoften-described“Russianfolksoul”displayed.AtWittenberginGermany,afterthecapitulationtheyhadjustrapedayounggirltodeath,andthensuddenlygottheideatogivethelastcanofAmericanjamtoheroldmother.

TheRussiancandigdeepfoxholes.Theyhavejokedalotaboutit.Onesaid,“GiveIvanaspadeandturnawayforseveralminutes,andsoheisgoneandyouseehimneveragain.”Soldiersarefromthefirstdayintrainingschooledtodiginacertainway,andtheyalwaysdoit.WhenIvanhadthetimetodiginproperlyitwasnoteasytogethimoutifonecouldnottakehimwithcunning.

Russianweaponsdevelopments,1941to1945:Their7.62cmantitankcanoninindirectfiring.Fantasticaccuracy.Greateffectonthemorale.The8and12cmmortars:Tacticalmassfiringmasterlyanddevastating.

StatisticsshowthatthemortarscausedmorecasualtiesintheGermanArmythanalltheotherweaponscombined.66

AfterthewarHans-GöstaPehrssonbecameasalesmanforafirmproducingandrepairingtechnicalandscientificinstruments.Afterhisdivorcewithhisfirstwife he remarried and built a new family.He died of cancer in Stockholm in1974attheageof64.67

WarCrimesThewarbetweenGermanyandtheSovietUnionfrom1941to1945wasmorethanthelargestmilitary-politicalconflictinhistory.Intermsofmassmurderofprisonersofwarandcivilians,theEasternFrontsurpassedtheothertheatersofwar in sheer brutality and barbarism. When “traditional” war crimes areconcerned—forexample,thesummaryexecutionofprisonersofwaratthefront—the role of the Waffen-SS in such crimes has been much debated.68 ThesubjectiscomplicatedbythefactthatcommontypesofwarcrimesmergedwithNazi politics of genocide, the slaveworker system, and reprisal actions in thepartisanwar.69ItshouldbekeptinmindthatthespecialbrutalizingcharacteroftheEasternFrontwasaconsequencealsooftheNKVD’s,RedArmy’s,andthepartisans’ extremely brutal combat methods, revenge actions, and massdeportations.70ThespecialstatusoftheWaffen-SSasideologicallytrainedandindoctrinated political soldiers contributed in both big and smallways to givedestructivityafreehandandtomakeallmattersworse.AnimportantfactorwasalsothewaysomepersonnelwererotatedbetweenfieldunitsoftheWaffen-SS,the concentration/extermination camps, and Einsatzgruppen (murder squads).Theresultwastheimplantingofadestructivementality.ThatthesoldiersoftheWaffen-SSwerethereforenotquite“soldierslikeanyothers”isapparent.Thismayhavebeenlesstrueaboutthepartlydraftedlate-warsoldiersoftheWaffen-SS, but it was true to a higher degree referring to the officer’s corps of theWaffen-SS.71

ThefirstdocumentedwarcrimesbyaunitoftheWaffen-SShappenedduringthe French field campaign of 1940 when a company commander in the SS-Division“Totenkopf”usedmachineguns tomurderninetyBritishprisonersofwar in the village of Le Paradis. Hitler’s Leibstandarte (life guard) in theWaffen-SSonthesameday,27May1940,murderednearlyonehundredBritishprisonersofwar in theBelgian townofWormhoudt.72Otherexamplesofwarcrimes in Western Europe byWaffen-SS units are the massacres in Oradour(France),Marzabotto(Italy),andKlisura(Bulgaria).73

The execution of thewar against theSovietUnion becamemore andmorecriminal in nature. Hitler’s general order to all units of the Wehrmacht andWaffen-SS on the handling of prisoners ofwar included, among other things,liquidating all of the Red Army’s political commissars. Recent research has

shown that German regular Army units complied and summarily executedpolitical commissars in accordance with Hitler’s order. Immediately after thewaraSwedishvolunteerin“Wiking”reported,“CapturedpoliticalcommissarsandNKVDsoldiersnormallydidnotbecomeold.”74

How much did the approximately one hundred Swedes that served withfrontlineunitsof theWaffen-SSknowaboutwarcrimeson theEasternFront?Weretheythemselvesinvolved?

There is much documentation that supports that the SS-Division“Wiking”followed Hitler’s “commissar order” in the summer of 1941 and, moreover,systematicallyshotSovietprisonersofwaralreadyonthebattlefield.75Areportthat theSwedishMilitaryAttachéinBerlin,ColonelCurtJuhlin-Dannfelt,senttoStockholmon29October1941isveryrevealing.ItisbasedonanexhaustiveconversationwithaSwedishvolunteerintheSS-Division“Wiking”whowasonhiswaybacktoSweden,probablythesergeantwiththeRoyalSveaLifeGuardswhowasmentionedearlier,RagnarLinnér:

TheSSseldomtookprisoners,onlywhentheRussiansgaveupinunitslargerthanacompany,otherwisetheywereshotinplace.Prisonerswerehandledruthlesslyandweredrivenforwardwithkicksandblows.Sovietfemalesoldierswereshotimmediately.InthistheSSwerenotalone,theGermanarmydidlikewise.76

Kurt Lundin, a volunteer from Borås, told the Swedish Security Police atChristmas 1943 about his 1941–43 service with “Wiking”: “During a fieldoperationhefoundthatthe‘Wiking’Divisionhadnottakenanyprisonersforalongtime,buthadkilledeveryonethathadcomeinthedivision’sway.”77Therearemanyclaimsaboutpartsof“Wiking”performingmassexecutions in1941and1942.78TheSwedishmilitaryattachéinBerlinalsospokewiththreeSwedesfrom“Nordland”in1944who“confirmedthattheSStakesnoprisoners.”79

If,andtowhatdegree,individualSwedesactivelytookpartinthesemurdersorknewaboutthem,is,intheabsenceofsourcematerial,difficulttodetermine.

Inthelatesummerof1943fortySwedesandSwedishEstoniansintheIIISS-PanzerCorpswent toCroatia for training, but also to fight partisans.SwedishparticipationinthefightingagainstthepartisansinCroatiaiswelldocumented;forexample,theSecurityPoliceinterrogationofSS-Unterscharführer(sergeant)KarlMartinÅgrahninNovember1943states:“Ågrahn’ssectionof“Nordland”wasbasedatSisak.Combatwiththepartisanshadthereaftercontinueduntilthe

beginningofthemonthofAugust.Combattookplacedailybetweenthedivisionandthepartisans.”80

RecentresearchhasshownthatDanesfrom“Nordland”tookpartinpartisanoperationsthatentailedbothexecutionsofciviliansaswellas theburningofatowninCroatia.81 IthasnotyetbeenestablishedwithcertaintywhetherornotSwedes,too,activelytookpartinsuchmassactions.82

ThereexiststestimonybyanSwedishEstonianWaffen-SSsoldieronmurderofSovietprisonersofwarbyaSwedishWaffen-SSofficer:

DuringthefightinginsoutheastEstoniainAugust1944ourcompanyhadveryheavylosses.ImmediatelyafterthebattlefiveSovietprisonersofwarweretakenbackfromthefrontline.ASwedishofficer,[nameheredeleted],“wasoutofcontrol”andbegantothreatenthem.TheprisonershelduppapersthatshowedtheywerenotRussians,butwerefromIngria,andhadbeenrecruitedbyforceintotheRedArmy.TheyalsospokeinadialectthatremindedmeofFinnishorourownSwedish-Estoniandialect,whichtogetherwiththedocumentsintheirhandsconfirmedthattheywerenotRussians.Theprisonerscried,“WearenotRussians!WeareFinns!”TheSwedishofficerstoodupononeoftheplatoon’shalftrackvehiclesandshottodeaththethreeimmediatelywithhisautomaticcarbine.Theremainingtwoprisonersweretakenfiftymeterstotheback.TheretheywereshotbyaGermanofficerfromourcompany.IstillrememberthatweSwedishEstoniansinthecompanywere“damnedfurious”overthisincidentthathasleftamostunpleasantmemory.83

TheHolocaustThe Holocaust, the annihilation of the Jews in Europe, secures for the ThirdReichamosthorribleandghastlyplaceinthehistorybooks.DidtheSwedishSSvolunteers know about the mass war crimes and did they participate in thecrimesthemselves?

ThereoughttobeseveralfieldunitsoftheWaffen-SSthatdidnotengageinlargewarcrimesat the frontandwerenotnear toHolocaustactivities.Recentresearch, however, has shown that more units, both from theWaffen-SS andWehrmacht,were participants in these actions than previously believed.Thereare different explanations for this, in the first-hand recruiting of alreadyconvincedNazistotheofficercorpsintheWaffen-SSandthespecialmentalitythatwentwith it. Inadditioncame the ideologicaleducation in theWaffen-SSand finallyHimmler’s conscious rotationof personnel between theWaffen-SSand units that were specifically assigned to mass murder, like theEinsatzgruppen.

AfterHitler’s attack on the Soviet union on 22 June 1941 the SS-Division“Wiking” receivedanorder toseize thecapitalofwesternUkraine,Lviv, thenmove further toward the city of Tarnopol to cut off the Soviet forces by theDnieperRiver.The formerlyPolish region,Galicia, hadbeenoccupied by theSovietUnionafterthepactwithHitlerandLvivwasastrongcenterofOrthodoxJewish culture. At Lviv there were not only ideologically motivated soldiersfrom“Wiking,”butalsounitsfromtheGermansecuritypoliceusedbehindthelines to enforce Nazi policy. The latter, in the form of mobile murdercommandos,carriedoutextensivemassmurdersoftheSovietJewsin1941and1942, well before the Nazis resorted to murder by industrial means of otherEuropeanJewswithgasfrom1942through1944.84

TheSS-Division“Wiking”tookpartinthemassmurdersintheLvivregioninthelatesummerof1941.On11July1941,ReinhardHeydrich,ChiefoftheSecurityService for theReich,wrotea reportdescribing themass liquidationscarried out in the East. “In Zborow the Waffen-SS liquidated 600 Jews inreprisalfortheRussianoutrages.”85Earlier,on2July,theoperationsofficerinaWehrmachtdivisionlocatednearthe“Wiking”notedinhisdailybattlelog“thattheSS,withoutdiscretion,shotmassesofRussiansoldiersandalsocivilians.”86

Why did “Wiking” take an active role in the mass liquidations instead ofcarryingoutits tacticalmission,whichwastomarcheastwardandencirclethe

Russian forces? The reasons aremany. In the evening of 2 July a regimentalcommander from“Wiking,” Standartenführer (colonel)HilmarWäckerle,waskilledbyasnipernearthetownofZborow.87Theeventwastakenasanexcusefortheunit,“Westland,”toshootalargenumberofJewsandotherciviliansinreprisal.88 Another reason was that the Soviet Security Service (NKVD)murdered 3,000 Ukrainians and a number of German prisoners of warimmediately after the Germans took Lviv and Tarnopol. The discoveryunleashed a pogrom against the local Jewish population carried out by anti-SemiticmindedUkrainiancivilians,whoforalongtimehadaccusedtheJewsofsupportingStalin.ThepogromswereactivelyencouragedbytheGermans.

News of the NKVD’s massacres reached the Führer’s headquarters. HitlerpersonallygotinvolvedintheresponseandorderedacomprehensiveretaliatoryactionagainstthetownandplacesinLviv.ItisprobablethatthisorderfromtheFührer personally also caused units from“Wiking” to be active for so long atimeinthesemassmurders.89

On 29October 1941 the SwedishMilitaryAttaché in Berlin, Colonel CurtJuhlin-Dannfelt,senta“topsecret”report to theChiefof theSwedishDefenseStaff Intelligence Division, Colonel Carlos Adlercreutz. According to Juhlin-Danfelt, the sourceof the reportwasaSwedish sergeant from theRoyalSveaLifeGuards inStockholmwhowasservingin theWaffen-SS.Thereportsaid:“In the beset area the so-called ‘SS-Sonderkommandos’ [murder squads]demanded information onwhowere Jews,whereafter thosewere immediatelyexecutedbyfiringsquad,evenwomenandchildren.Ononeoccasiononereadinthemilitaryfrontnewspaperthat‘theJewishquestioninRussiawasburningbutwouldbesolvedinaradicalway’.”90

Two years later, on 24 December 1943, the Security Police in StockholminterrogatedKurt Lundin on his experiences as a volunteer in“Wiking” from1941to1943.LundinwasabletoprovidedetailsanduniqueinformationontheNazimassmurdersintheeast:

DuringthecampaignhehadcometorethinkNazismbut,inmyopinion,notagainstthetheoreticalidealsandthepropagandathatwasspread.HerealizedthisafterhisunittookthetownofHusiatyn.InthecellarofthetownhalltheGermantroopsfoundthemutilatedbodiesofabout800formerKulaks(Ukrainianfarmerswhohadownedtheirownland,andwereoftenvictimsofStalinistliquidation).ThecompanythatLundinbelongedtohadreceivedanordertoclearthetownofallpartisans.Before

theyhadcomeintothetownanotherWaffen-SScompanyhadbeguntoassemblepeoplewhoweretobeexecutedinreprisalforthebodiesfoundinthetownhallcellar.

MostofthoseciviliansherdedtogetherwereJews.Thentheywereorderedtocarryoutthecorpsesfromthecellar—mostinanadvancedstateofdecomposition—andburythem.AtthattimeLundinnoticedanoldJewwhowasnotstrongenoughtocarryoutthecorpses.AnSSsoldierforcedhimtolaydownnexttothebodiesandthenheshothimintheneck.Afterthecorpseshadbeenburiedthosewhohadbeentakenashostageswereforcedtodigtheirowngraves.Apartofthegroupwasthenshotintheneck.Theremainderhadtostandinalargegravewheretheywerebeatentodeathwithriflebutts.…

Duringthecampaignhehadfurtherexperienceswiththe“Wiking”Division,towhichwebelonged,relatedtoprisonersofwar.Thedivisionhadnottakenanyprisonersforalongtime.ThosewhowerecapturedbytheDivisionwereallkilledinstantly.[author’semphasis]ThatpolicyhaditsorigininacasewhereofficersandmenonareconnaissancepatrolweresurprisedbytheRussiansandtakenprisoner,andthenwerefounddeadandmutilated.ThisbrutaldeedgreatlyupsetthetroopsintheDivisionandforseveralmonthsthereaftertheDivisiontooknoprisoners.

LundinhadonanumberofoccasionsbeenwitnesstothemassacreofJews,upto800atatime.Amemberofa“specialcompany”fromtheSSwassaidtobeinthe“Jewishcompany”becauseithadthemissiontohuntdownJewsandkillthem.Lundinsaidthatthecompanyhadkilledover300,000JewsinfivemonthsintheoccupiedareasouthofKiev.Theyshotthemwithmachinegunsorlockedtheminbussesandkilledthemwiththeexhaustgasfromtheengine.TheWehrmachthadseentheseWaffen-SSmethodsanddidnotlikethem.ThisledtodissensionbetweentheWaffen-SSandtheWehrmacht.Finallythecommanderofthe“Wiking”Divisionreceivedtheordertotakeprisonersandnotexecutethem.91

TheinterrogationsofthesergeantfromtheSwedishinfantryregimentbytheMilitaryAttachéinBerlinin1942andofKurtLundinbytheSecurityPoliceinStockholm in 1943 confirmed the mass executions carried out by units of“Wiking”againstJewsandprisonersofwarinthelatesummerandfallof1941inGaliciaandWesternUkraine.

The questions of if and to what degree individual Swedes in “Wiking”

personallyparticipatedinthesemassmurdersaremorecomplicated.Whenoneconsidersthestronglyanti-SemiticpropagandathatthevolunteerseekingtojointheWaffen-SSfacedattheirrecruitingofficeinOsloandthenlaterideologicaltraining in theWaffen-SS, suchparticipation cannot be excluded. It shouldbenoted, however, that at this point in the war there were very few Swedes in“Wiking.”92 The fact that both of theSSvolunteers so openly reported to theSwedishauthoritieson themassmurderssuggests that theydidnot themselvesparticipateinthem.

Atleast1,500personnelfromtheWaffen-SSwhohaddisciplinaryinfractionswerepermanentlytransferredtocampdutyortoEinsatzgruppen.93

ItisalsonoteworthythataDanishsurveyof625DanishSSvolunteersfoundthatatleasttenhadservedatconcentrationcamps;itisestimated,therefore,thatsome 100 Danes performed some time in such duties.94 A 1945 newspaperarticle claims that at least one Swede served as a guard in a Germanconcentrationcamp,theGross-Rosencamp.95SincemanyofthelargerWaffen-SS training, replacement, and equipment depots were located close to theconcentrationcampsatBuchenwaldandDachau,itisreasonabletopresumethatmanyof theSwedishvolunteershadeitherdirector indirectknowledgeof theactivitiesandcharacterofthesecamps.96

Intheyear2000theSwedishjournalistBosseSchönreportedthattheSwedeHarald Sundin had served as a guard at the extermination camp Treblinka.Historians responded with serious doubts about the story. Historian PeterEnglundstressedthatTreblinkaceasedsuchactivitybefore1944, the timethatSundinstatedhehadbeenaguardatthecamp.97

DuringtheSwedishSecurityPoliceinterrogationinMarch1943ofWaffen-SS deserter,Obersturmführer (first lieutenant) Curt BirgerNorberg, regardingthethen-still-ongoingexterminationoftheJews,stated,“ThepersecutionoftheJews has increased because Hitler proclaimed that they should be completelyeradicated. All Jews behind the front in Russia are shot. In Germany theyexterminatethosewhoareunabletoperformworkwhilethosemenandwomenwho can work are strictly separated and sent out as workers in the easternterritories.InFebruarytherewasalargecleaningoutofBerlin.”98

Insummary,thefieldunitsoftheWaffen-SSparticipatedbothinwarcrimesand actionswithin theHolocaust, to a higher degree than formerly thought.99These activities happeneddirectly at the front and indirectly as a result of therotation of personnel between the different sections of the whole SS. That

individual Swedes committed war crimes against prisoners at the front iscertain.100 That a number of Swedes in the Waffen-SS at least had directknowledgeofwar crimes—for example, themassmurdersofSoviet Jewsandtheuseofmobilegaschambersin1941and1942—isalsocertain.101

SwedishNazisandtheSSAmajorityoftheSwedishSSvolunteers,some120to130men,belongedtotheSwedish Nazi Organization, Svensksocialistisk Samling (SSS) or “LindholmParty.”On2May1945theSwedishSecurityPolicestatedthat“thereisampleevidence that at least most of the Swedish citizens that are or have beenmembers of the German military took that step because of their Naziattitudes.”102

Before and during the SecondWorldWar the SSSwas the dominantNaziparty in Sweden under its party leader, Sven Olov Lindholm. According toresearch the Lindholm Party was somewhat unstable with respect to itsrelationshiptoNaziGermany.AdmirationandideologicalsolidaritywithBerlinwasmixed with concern for being closely associated with Germany.Withoutdoubt,however,theSSSwasnationalsocialist,anti-democratic,anticommunist,andanti-Jewishincharacter.103

ModeledaftertheGermanSS,theSSShadaspecial“elite”organization,an“armed fraternity” for the front soldiers within the SSS. Ten Nazis in theSwedish Volunteer Battalion in Finland (SFB) on 3 August 1941 created the“elite” fraternity, and called it Sveaborg. The national leader of the Sveaborgmovement was the mystical and fanatical Otto Hallberg. He was directlysubordinatetothepartyleadershipoftheSSS.104TheSveaborgsectionfortheSwedishSSvolunteerswasnamedafterHansLindénfromStockholm,whohadbeen killed in action on the Eastern Front in 1941. The driving ideas behindSveaborgwere elitism, heroworship, and rites. Sveaborgwas the nearest anySwedishNaziorganizationgottoestablishingadomesticSSorganization.105

TheLindholmParty’snewspaper,DenSvenskeFolksocialisten(TheSwedishPopularSocialist),publisheda largenumberofenthusiasticandheroicarticlesduring thewar, written by Swedishwar reporters from theWaffen-SS and incombatintheeast.AtleasttenSwedesfromtheSSSwerekilledintheWaffen-SS during the war years. From Berlin a signal was sent to Lindholm in thesummer of 1942 stating that his party’s influence in the “New Order” forSwedenwouldbeindirectproportiontothenumberofvolunteersthatLindholmcouldmobilizeoutofhisparty’sranks.106

TheDesertersTwenty-five Swedish citizens deserted from their SS units, often by veryadventurous routes.Themotiveswerevaried: thehard training in theWaffen-SS,warwearinessinconnectionwiththeThirdReich’sreversesinthewar,lostillusionsonideaoftheNazi“IdealState,”orforpurelypersonalreasons.FifteenmoreSwedesfoundlegalwaystoconcludetheirvoluntaryenlistmentswiththeSSearly.TenSwedishEstoniansdesertedfromtheWaffen-SSPanzer-GrenadierDivision“Nordland” during the fighting in theBaltic States in 1944 and fledwithsomeciviliansbyboattoSweden.107

OneofthefirstandmorespectaculardesertionsfromtheWaffen-SSoccurredon the night of February 1943 at the Olskroken train station outside ofGothenburg. In a full SS uniform the nineteen-year-old Erik Jonsson, fromStockholm, jumped off theGerman special permission train fromGermany toNorway.JonssonhadbeenaverycommittedNaziin1940,buthistimeintheSStrainingcenterinSennheimhadridhimofmanyillusionsabouttheSS:

ThecommandersinSennheimtreatedmenlikeanimalsandontopofthattheirattitudetowardSwedenwaspurehostility.SSofficershadtalkedinthemostextrememockingwordsaboutSwedenandthe“SwedishArmyofTinSoldiers,”andclearlyhad,incommonwithmanyotherGermans,theunderstandingthatSwedenwasaJewishcommuniststate.108

WhentheSS-PanzerDivision“Nordland”wassentfortraininginCroatiainthe fallof1943SwedishSSsoldierswere theoneswhofired the first shotsatTito’s partisans. An entire section of five Swedes, however, went over to theYugoslav partisan side and fought with them. One of these Swedes, KarlÅgrahn, fromLyckelse,was shot in thechestduringanescapeattemptby theCroatian gendarmerie and was captured by the Germans. According tounconfirmedsourcesÅgrahnmanagedtoavoidamilitarytrialandfiringsquadonlybecauseofinterventiononhisbehalffromHimmler.109

SwedishEstonianAndersKornblomfromWormsö,anSSarmoredinfantryman,shownherein1943.KornblomwasoneofthefortySwedishEstonianswhowerebyhookorcrookrecruitedintotheWaffen-

SS.MostdesertedandfledbyboattoSwedenin1944.(LW)

DuringsomeofthebitterfightinginEstoniaatleastsixSwedishcitizens,SSsoldiers, deserted from“Nordland” during theGerman retreat fromNarva bydrivingtheirarmoredhalftrackvehiclestothecoastandtakingboatswithsomeEstonian civilians to Sweden. Even their company commander, Hans-GöstaPehrsson, saw that the war was lost and encouraged a number of youngerSwedishEstoniansoldiersfromhiscompanytofleetoSweden.

Karl-Olof Holm from Svappavaara, deserted in February 1943 from theSwedishArtilleryRegimentA 8 inBoden, to join the SS.Holmwrote to hismother in the spring of 1944 that hewas coming home “because his contractwouldsoonrunoutandhissquadleaderwouldhelphimwithallhispapers.”Inthesummerof1946 thepolicechief inOslosenta largenumberof seizedSSdocumentstotheSwedishSecurityPoliceinStockholm.WiththehelpofthesepaperstheSecurityPolicewereabletodetermineHolm’sfate:“HolmhadfledfromhisunitinAugust1944andwasarrestedbytheGermanfieldgendarmerieon 12 October 1944. The German report on Holm ends with the followingforebodingwords:‘Theaboveperson,Holm,wasthensent to theSScourtforactionbythehigherSSandpolicechief inLibau’.”That is thelastnoteabout

Holm.Itismostlikelythathewassentencedtodeathandimmediatelyexecutedbyafiringsquadorsenttoapunitiveunitwherehelaterdied.110

TheGermanSSbureaucracyinNorwayoccupieditselfeventotheendofthewarwiththecaseofnineteen-year-oldvolunteerHans-UlrikJohansson,aformersailorfromStockholm.HedesertedinJanuary1945fromtheNorwegianSS-SkiBattalion in north Norway, despite the fact that his Norwegian companycommanderhadnotedinhispersonalrecordthat“Johanssonwasanexemplarysoldier anda radicalNationalSocialist.”On11April 1945, less thanamonthbefore the capitulation of the ThirdReich, the highest SS official inNorway,Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Rediess, dismissed Johansson’s matter at themilitarycourtinOslo.111AtthattimetheSwedehadalreadybeenathomeforseveralmonths.

TheSwedesintheGestapoDid Swedes in theWaffen-SS also serve in the Gestapo? Did some of thembecometraitorsandserveasGermanspiesdirectedagainstSweden?Theanswerisyes.

The Germans maintained a large occupation army of several hundredthousand men who mainly were there to defend against a possible Alliedinvasion. The occupied countrywas ideal for an invasion of Sweden over theborder. Stockholmwas a spy center for all the countries involved in thewar.PoliticalandmilitaryespionageagainstSwedencouldthereforeprovidevaluableinformationfortheGermans.SwedishagentsandspiesinGermanservicecould,together with committed Swedish Nazis, pose a threat of a potential “fifthcolumn.” TheGerman occupation ofNorway required that theGermansmustrender harmless the different agents and resistance network that operated inNorway. Swedes understood theNorwegian language and could infiltrate intoNorwegian society better than the Germans to serve as intelligence agents orprovocateurs. There was good reason, therefore, for the Germans to recruit,besides the Norwegian Quislings (followers of Vidkun Quisling), Swedes asagentsforintelligenceactivities.

InNorwaytheSwedishagentsweredirectedbyAbwehr,theGermanmilitarycombined intelligence and counter-espionage agency, as well as by theSicherheitspolizei(Sipo,thesecuritypolicethatwasmadeupoftheGestapoandthe German criminal police) and by the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) (securityservice).112NineteenSwedesareknownbynameasagents in theAbwehr.Atleast twenty-five Swedes were agents for Sipo or SD.113 Among themwas aSwedish volunteer, Yngve Hellenborg, a provocateur for the Germans at theGriniconcentrationcampnearOslo.Outofforty-fouragentswhowerepartofAbwehr,Sipo,andSD,tenmovedwithintheWaffen-SS.Afterthewaratleastseven Swedish volunteers who previously had served in the Waffen-SS asmilitaryintelligenceagentsagainstSwedenweretriedincourtandsentenced.InNorwayoneSwedewhohadservedintheWaffen-SSwassentencedtoayearinprisonforhisserviceasaninterpreterfortheSDinFredrikstad.NorwayfurtherdeportedsometwentyNorwegian-bornSwedishcitizensbecauseoftheirillegalcooperation with the Germans. Of these five were Swedish citizens who hadbeenvolunteersintheWaffen-SS.114

InNorwayat leastoneSwede servedasacampguard.During theGerman

occupation period theNorwegianQuislingRegime (VidkunQuisling’s puppetregime under the Germans) had its own concentration camp, Berg, located atTønsberg. This camp came directly under the police commissioner of theNasjonal Samling (NS) Party. In the fall of 1942, 338 Norwegian Jews wereinternedatBergpriortotheirdeportationtoAuschwitzinthesameyear.SomeoftheJewsremainedatBerguntiltheendofthewar.Theyweresingledoutformistreatment by the guard personnel. There were a total of 800 politicalprisonersinternedatBerg.TheSwedishcitizenHåkonPalmservedasaguardatBerg during the firstmonths of 1945.He had beenwounded in Latvia on 23September1944asasolderintheSS-PanzerGrenadierRegiment“Norge”andsentforconvalescenceasaguardatBerguntiltheendofthewar.115AfterthecapitulationoftheGermansaNorwegianjudgesentencedthecommanderoftheguards and camp personnel atBerg to long imprisonments. Since Palmwas aSwedishcitizenhewasdeportedtoSwedeninthesummerof1945withouttrial.

Thorvald Calais, an ardent Nazi in the Swedish Nazi movements, was themost notoriousSwedish agent for both theAbwehr and theSicherheitspolizei.Calais went to Norway illegally in 1942 and organized espionage againstSweden with the help of a large agent network. He was also able to recruitSwedes to theWaffen-SS and slipped them over the border to Norway. TheactivitiesofCalaiscouldneverbeclearlyidentifiedbecausehewaskilledinanAlliedbombingofBerlinon26February1945.

Sven Rydén from Stockholm was an officer in the Sicherheitspolizei inBerlin.Thedetailsofhisactivitiesarealsodifficult todiscernbecausehewasfound murdered in Berlin on 19 February 1945, shot to death. The culpritprobablywasanotherSwedishSSofficer.116

PrisonandtheReturnHomeAlfons(Frans)Wahlberg,fromStockholm,hadlivedinPerubeforethewar.Hehad fought on the side ofFranco in theSpanishCivilWar (see chapter 7). InJune1941hejoinedtheWaffen-SSandsurvivednearlyfouryearsofcombatontheEasternFront in theSS-Divisions“Nordland” and“Wiking.”On21April1945Wahlberg was captured by the Red Army at Reinickendorf, one of thenorthern suburbs of Berlin. Immediately after his return from Sovietimprisonment in the fall of 1946 he wrote down his experiences in the Nazinewspaper,DenSvenskeFolksocialisten:

OurunitparticipatedinthedefenseofReinickendorfon21April1945.Itwashopeless.Everythingwasingreatconfusion.EveryonetriedtobreakouttoBerlin.AfterafewhoursIsuddenlyheardanexchangeoffirefromantitankcannons,andsawapuffofflamefromourSturmgeschütz[self-propelledartillery].ShortlythereafterIheardapowerfuldetonation.IrealizedthatsomethinghadhappenedandwhenallwentquietIwentbacktocheck.ItwasasIfeared:therewasnothingleftoftheStumgeschützbutasmokingpileofscrapwithseveralburningbodiesaroundit.

[WahlbergwasencircledbySovietsoldiersafterashortfirefight:]Theycalledouttome:“Germansoldier!Comrade!”andIstoodupfrommydefensivepositionandputupmyhands.TheytheninstructedmeonhowIshouldbehave.Theydrovemetoayardnearby.Theretheyfoundagarage.Theyopenedthedoorsandwithmachinepistolsdirectedatmeorderedmetogoin.Asoldiertookmywatch—thatisthefirstthingtheRussiansdo—andatthesametimerippedoffmyinsigniaswhiletheycheckedmeoutcarefully.…ItookitasagiventhattheRussianswouldbeatmetodeath,butthatwasjustsomuchpropaganda.TheRussianshadthesameideaaboutus,thatsuchaviolentdeathwasexpectedbyeverybody.Itisimpossibletodeterminehowmuchistrueonthatsubject.Formeatthattimeeverythinglookedverydark,becauseIwasinanSSuniform.Theyusuallypaidgreatattentiontothespecificbranchofserviceofthecaptivesoldier.CapturedpoliticalofficersandNKVDsoldiersnormallydidnotlivetobeold.

[DuringWahlberg’slaterfootmarchtowardsKüstrininacolumnof2,000Germanprisonersofwar:]Severalprisonersattemptedtoescapewhenwepassedbyaforest,butMongolian[probablytheSSmen’s

stereotypicalwordforallSovietsoldiersfromCentralAsia]werealertandshotthemdown.Manydiedontheway,perhapsoffatigue,perhapswiththethoughtofescape.Assoonassomeonefell,however,aMongolcameforwardandbayonetedhim.Ifhedidnotreacttheycrushedhisheadwithariflebuttandthrewthebodyintheditch.117

AlfonsWahlbergreturnedinMay1946,afteroneyearinaSovietprison,bywayofFinlandtoSweden,becameamailman,anddiedinStockholmin1970.

TheSwedishEstonianArturBrandt,fromtheEstoniaislandofNuckö,wasasoldier in theSwedishPlatoonduring the final fight inBerlin in 1945, but hewaslesslucky.HewascapturedinBerlinon2May1945anddiedinaSovietprisoncampafter thewar.TheSovietGovernmentconsideredallEstoniansasSovietcitizens.IftheyfellintothehandsoftheRedArmytheywerehandledasguiltytraitors.Theoddsfortheirsurvivalinthecampswereverylow.118

StenErikssonfromSkånewasawarreporterfortheWaffen-SSfrom1944to1945,andparticipatedin thefinalbattleforBerlin inAprilandMay1945.HewascapturedbytheRedArmyinthecenterofthecity:

Thenightbefore2May1945wepulledbackfromKochstrasseandassembledatasubwaystation.Theplacewashitbyartilleryandwedecidedtogetoutofthissituationandeventuallyendedupinacellarfullofcivilians.Priortothiswehaddiscardedouruniformsandreplacedthemwithcivilianclothingoutofoursupplies.Ihadonlyashirtandonepairofshortsandmusthavelookedverylamentable.WehadnotbeenintheruinedlandscapelongbeforewegotabrusquegreetingfromfourRussians.IhadnopapersandwastakentothecellarintheReichChancellery.PeoplecameandwentandaskedifIhadapositionintheReichChancellery.ThereIsatwithchatteringteethinthechillofthecellaruntilafriendlyRussianplacedaverynicesummerovercoatoverme.FinallyIbundledmyselfupwithanothercivilianmanwhohadbeenatelephoneoperatorattheChancelleryandanoldmaninanOrganisationTodtuniform.UnderverystrictguardwethreeweretakentoaprisoninOranienburgwherewewereleftinacorridortowaitforinterrogation.Bothofmyfellowprisonerscameoutoftheinterrogationroom,blackandbloodyfrommistreatment.Thenitwasmyturn.IstatedthatIwasaSwedishjournalist,whointhefearfulsituationhidoutinacellar.ThewholetimeIplayedasfoolisharoleaspossible,whichwashelpedbymyweakappearance.Theinterrogationleaderwasveryentertainedbymy

performance.Igotoutoftheprisonuninjuredandwastransportedtoacampfor

foreigners.Onedaytheguardcalledformeandshowedmetoatruck.Onthetruckbedwereseveralbadlyburnedbodies,halfcoveredbyatarpaulin.TheguardstatedjubilantlythattheywereGoebbelsandhisfamily.IwasabletomakegoodcontactwiththeguardandaftersomenegotiationwasallowedtogetoutofthecampandmakemywaytotheSwedishDiplomaticMission.Ihadstayedatthecampthreeorfourdays.IknewtheaddressoftheSwedishMission,Rauchstrasse,andinasomewhatroundaboutwaywasabletofindit.Atfirsttheydidnotwanttolistentome,butjustasIwasabouttoleaveaSwedishdiplomatcameoverandtookpityonme,soIwasabletogetaprovisionalpassportandthen[hesaid]goodbye.119

In the fall of 1946 the Swedish Foreign Ministry official Sven Grafströmwrotea letter to theSwedish legation inBerne,Switzerland.ThereasonwasaquestionfromthelegationaboutSwedishvolunteerswhowereprisonersofwaroftheWesternAlliesinGermany.Grafström’sletterprobablywascharacteristicoftheForeignMinistrypositiononimprisonedSSSwedesimmediatelyafterthewar:

WithrespecttotheearlieractivitiesofthesecharactersandthecircumstancesaroundthedepartureofthesepersonsfromSweden,anyinterventionbySwedishauthoritiesfortheirreleasefromcampsisoutofthequestion,likewisetobringaboutpermissionfortheirtravel,orthelike.Ontheotherhand,thosewhohavebeenreleasedandhavereceivedtravelpermitsarefreetoaddressourlegationsto,justlikeotherSwedes,getsupporttobeabletotravelhome.Iwonder,however,ifnottheseformerWaffen-SSmenwoulddobestbybidingtheirtime[abroad].Theirreceptionhereathomewouldcertainlybeverymixed,andIthinkthatonewouldnotbewrongabouttheatmospherehereathome,ifonesupposesthatitwilltakeaverylongtimeforthemtoassimilatebackintoSwedishsocietyandobtainwork.120

FortheSwedishSSvolunteerswhosurvivedthewar,however,theirreturntoSwedenwas quite undramatic.Mostwere given a routine interrogation by theSwedish Security Police, whowanted to get a picture of the recruiting to theWaffen-SS,theSwedishSSmens’politicalhabitatandoftheircontactswiththe

GermanlegationinStockholm.LastbutnotleasttheSecurityPolicewantedtoknowaboutanyintelligenceactivityagainstSweden.

ThepolicemenshowedadistinctlackofinterestincertainareasduringtheirtalkswiththeSSdesertersorreturnedSSvolunteers.Onthoseoccasionswhenthe formerSSmenspokeofobservationsconnected to theHolocaust,orothermassmurders,theyseldomwereaskedanyfollow-upquestions.Norwerethereanynew,morethorough,investigationsoractionsbyprosecutors.121

ForSwedishmilitarypersonnelthepenaltiesforillegalabsencesabroadwerenotuncommon.SeveraloftheSSvolunteersweresentencedtojailforespionageagainst their homeland. What about the military service itself then? In mostEuropean countries thosewhohadvolunteered for theGermanswere severelypunished. Sweden was among the few countries that did not criminalize SSserviceassuch.TherewasnogeneralprohibitioninSwedenforforeignmilitaryservice,incontrasttoSwitzerland,forexample.122

Severaloftheformervolunteersnevergotovertheirwartimeexperiencesandbecamealcoholicsorwereafflictedbymentalillness.OthersemigratedtoSpainorSouthAmerica,forpoliticalorwork-relatedreasons.Anumberofpromisingmilitary careers ended because of the political burden of having served in theWaffen-SS. Themajority of the volunteers, however, were eventually able toreintegrate themselves into Swedish society without any great problems.123 AnumberofformerSSmenfoundqualifiedpositionsinlocalgovernmentorthebusinessworld.

From1945uptothe1990stheForeignMinistryinStockholmnowandthengot reports on Swedes whowere previouslyWaffen-SS and still in Soviet orEast German camps. The investigations conducted by the Foreign Ministry,though,couldinmostcasesestablishthatthesereportsreferredtoFinns,personsfromtheBalticStatesorGermansandnotSwedishcitizens,butindividualswithSwedishsoundingnames.124

SwedishEstoniansintheWaffen-SSSwedishhabitationinEstoniawentbacktothe1200sandwasconcentratedonthe northwest coast and islands between Tallinn and Haapsalu. About 10,000Swedish Estonians lived in Estonia in 1939. During the Soviet and GermanoccupationninetypercentwereabletofleetoSweden.

When theSovietUnion annexedEstonia in 1940 there followed awave ofdeportationstotheGulagsystemandforcedconscriptionstotheRedArmy.The

Soviet view of the SwedishEstonianswas somewhat paradoxical.On the onehandapersonintheSovietUnionwasacitizen,butontheotherhandhisorhernationalitywasalsoofgreatimportanceandhadnothingtodowithone’splaceofresidence.ConsequentlytheRedArmydidnotconsiderSwedishEstoniansasEstonians,butasSwedes.Andalthoughtheymayhavebeenabitunusualthey,likeallSovietcitizens,wereobligedtocompletetheirconscriptionduties.

WhentheGermantroopsconqueredEstoniain1941theywerewelcomedasliberators.Duringthesummerof1941hundredsofconsiderSwedishEstoniansspontaneously joined localmilitias to fight against remainingSoviet units andthen guard the Estonian coastline against Soviet attempts to land new troops.The hope for better times for Estonia was dashed quickly, though. Theoppressionbythenew,German,occupationforcesandthemobilizationalsoofSwedish Estonians for theGermanwarmachine led to a flight of refugees toSweden.

InMarch1942theGermansbeganenforcedconscriptionintotheWaffen-SS.They also looked more closely at the Swedish Estonians because Himmlerpassionatelywanted to tap every “Germanic source.” The Swedish SS officerSvenRydénwassentfromBerlintoEstoniainthewinterof1943tosetupanSwedishEstonianSScompany.Rydénhadpreviouslybeenafishmerchantandactive Nazi in Stockholm, but now was an officer in the German SecurityService.Rydénmadeacarrot-and-stickpropagandacampaignfortheWaffen-SSintheSwedishethnicareas,buttheactivitywasafiasco.125TheeffortsuppliedonlyeighteenmenfortheSwedishEstoniangroupintheWaffen-SS.TheyweresenttotheSwedishPlatooninthenewlyformedSS-Panzer-GrenadierDivision“Nordland” in the summer and fall of 1943. In addition between twenty andthirtySwedishEstonianswerelaterrecruited,butitseemsasiftheyallcametothenewEstonianSSunits.

In a 1995 interview with a Swedish Estonian fromWormsö the followingmemoriesfromhistimeintheSSemerged:

In“Nordland”wewereatotalofeighteen,ninefromWormsöandninefromNuckö.Remarkablyonlyonewaskilledinaction,ArturThomson,atNarvain1944.ObersturmführerRydéncalleduscowardsanddogswhenwedidnotwanttofightintheWaffen-SS.AttheendwefinallyhadatotalofeighteenmenwhowererecruitedandsenttotheSennheimCampfortwomonthstrainingwiththepromiseof“sharp-looking”uniforms.WethenhadthechoiceofservingwiththeGermanLaborServiceorthe

Waffen-SS.IchosetheWaffen-SSbecausemostofthemenfrommyhomedistrictofnorthWormsöhadgoneintotheWaffen-SS.

AfterfurthertraininginCroatiainthefallof1943theotherSwedishEstoniansandIwereassignedtotheArmoredReconnaissanceCompanyin“Nordland”thatwaslocatedbetweenNarvaandLeningrad.InJanuary1944ourplatooncommander,WalterNilssonfromBoden,waskilledandourunitsufferedhighlosseswhenweweresurroundedbytheRussians.Iwasassignedasamachinegunner.Thewoundedlayeverywhereonthefloorsofourhalftracks.ByeveningwewereabletofightourwayoutandintimereachedthenewfrontlineattheNarvaRiver.

WewereoftensurroundedbytheRussiansduringthefightinginLatviainthesummerof1944.AspecialdangerwasRussiansnipersinthetreesoronrooftops.Onceinawhilewecouldseethemasadarkshadowagainstthetreebranchesandwewereabletoshootthemdown.OurmoralesankduringthefightinginCourland.Thefirstthoughtinourmindseverymorningwasthatwewantedtogo“hometoSweden,”whichwenowconsideredtobeourfatherland.TheSwedishcitizensinourunithadsimilarthoughtsabout“goinghome.”Oursectioncommander,RottenführerKarl-OlofHolmfromSvappavaara,becamedepressedanddesertedthefrontinCourland.

DuringthefightingintheBalticStatesin1944PehrssongaveseveralSwedishEstoniansofficialleavetotheirhomeareasandindirectlyencouragedthemtofleebyboattoSweden.IwasoneofthelastSwedishEstoniansleftinthecompanyandPehrssonsaidtome,“Gohomeanddon’tcomeback!”On1January1945IwaswoundedbyahandgrenadenearLibauinCourlandandwassentbackfromtheBalticareatoahospitalinHannover.AttheendofthewarIwaspartofabattlegroupfightingtheRussiansandAmericansinAustria.IspentthirteenmonthsinanAmericanprisoncampbeforeIwasabletotraveltoSwedenin1946.126

Among themanySwedish-Estonian refugees that arrived inSwedenduringtheperiodfrom1944 to1945wereanumberof theSwedish-Estoniansoldierswho had served in “Nordland.” Very few of these informed the Swedishauthorities that they had been in theWaffen-SS.Others claimed that they hadbeenconscriptedintotheWehrmacht,butmostwerereticentabouttheirGermanserviceandclaimedtobecivilianrefugees.127

600DaysasaPanzerOfficerNilsRosén,Jr.,asecondlieutenantwiththeSveaArtilleryRegiment,orA1,inStockholm,wasoneof thefewSwedishvolunteers inGermanmilitaryservicethat refused to be assigned to Himmler’sWaffen-SS. He instead served as avolunteerofficerintheGermanArmy’s3dPanzerDivision.HejoinednotintheGermanglorydaysof1941,butafewweeksafterthefallofStalingradin1943.NilsRosénwasoneoftheveryfew(two!)SwedishcareerofficerswhoactuallyjoinedtheGermansduringWorldWarII.AnotherremarkablefactisthatRosénhadJewishancestry!

NilsRosén,Sr.,fromStockholm(withthepeltcapandheadset),asaGermanarmysecondlieutenantandtankcommanderintheturretofaPanzerkampfwagenIV/Hofthe3rdTankDivisionnearthecityof

Zhitomir,Ukraine,January1944.Thistankhadacrewoffiveandwasarmedwiththelong7.5cmcannon,KwK40/L.Rosén’svehiclehadanextra5mmarmoredplatearoundtheturret.(NilsRosén,Jr.)

By the time Germany surrendered in May 1945 Nils Rosén had gainedcombatexperienceofarmoredwarfare likenootherSwede.He is, in fact, themostcombatexperiencedSwedisharmorofficereverbecausehe servedat theindividualtanklevel,asaplatooncommander,andfinallycompanycommanderforatotaloftwentymonthsontheGerman-SovietFront.Rosén’sreportsfromthe Eastern Front describe the effectiveness of the German panzer units. ButRosénisfarfromuncriticaloftheGermanArmyandheshowsgreatrespectforthequalitiesofhisSovietopponentsandtheirabilitytolearnfrommistakes.128

NilsRosén’sbackground,personality,andmotives reflectadeepandbroad

sympathyforGermanywithrootsintheeraoftheKaiser’sGermanEmpire.Theold Swedish sympathies from the 1800s for the reform-minded and dynamicGermansocietywasutilizedby theNazipower structure, thatmoreovercouldplayonanticommunistsentiments.Thisisnotasufficientexplanation,however,such as in the case of Nils Rosén. How could a respected and highly giftedcareer Swedish officer with Jewish ancestry volunteer for the Germans,moreoverafterthecatastropheofStalingrad?Anexplanationoughttobefoundinhisupbringingandinhisfather’sserviceintheGermanArmyduringtheFirstWorldWar.

Nils Rosén was born in Eskilstuna in 1921, the son of Nils Ivar Rosén, aSwedishArmycaptainwith theSveaArtilleryRegiment,A1,whohad joinedtheGermanArmyasavolunteer in1914on theWesternFront,wherehewasdecorated for bravery in the field as commander of an artillery unit. Later hefoughtonthesideoftheWhiteforcesinFinlandin1918.129FormoreonNilsRosénSenior—seechapter2.)

NilsRosénJuniorgrewupinhisparent’smiddle-classhomethatwasmarkedby a strong, but far from unusual, sympathy for Germany, and especially itsmilitary ideals. The family early on had an anticommunist attitude and thisundoubtedlyplayedalargerolewhenit laterhadtodealwithhowtoviewtheNazi and Fascist ideas. In like manner many Swedes in the 1930s were notcapableofcriticallyseparatingtheoldGermanculturefromthenewNazismofHitler’sGermany.

TheRosénfamilylivedinBerlinfrom1926to1929,wherethefatherwasthedirectorofaSwedishownedpublishinghouse,andthesonNilswenttoGermanelementary school until he returned to Sweden and Stocksund, north ofStockholm.During the period from1934 to 1938Nils visitedGerman friendseverysummerinacastlebyMecklenburg.In1939hegraduatedfromtheNorraRealSchool inStockholmand in thesameyearbecameanofficercadet inhisfather’s regiment, A 1. From 1940 to 1942 he went to the KarlbergMilitaryAcademy and inOctober 1942was appointed second lieutenantwith theA 1Regiment.

HeappliedforFinnishwarservicebothintheWinterWarin1939andinthelatesummerof1941.Becausehewasanofficercadet,however,hisrequestwasdeniedbytheSwedishSupremeCommander.On28February1943Rosénwentabsent from his unit while on leave in Stockholm. He crossed the Swedish-Norwegianborder atCharlottenbergwithout either a passport or special travelpermit,whichallactiveofficerswererequiredtohaveinordertoleaveSweden.

InalettertohisregimentalcommanderwrittenthesamedayRosénstated:

IhavecarefullyweighedtheappropriatenessofthestepIhavetakentodepartfromtheregiment.ThisseverecrimeagainstdisciplineIhavenowallowedmyselftobearisaheavyburden,butitisconciliatedbymyconsciencethattheservicethatIshallcometodofortheSwedishmilitaryinthefuturewillbegreatlyenrichedwhenIreturnwelltrained.Iwillreturnwiththeself-confidencethatcanonlycomefromreplacingtheorieswithpracticalexperience.AboveeverythingelseIhavebeendriventothisdecisionbymyunhappinessintheservice.Itstemsfrommyopinionthatmyowntrainingaswellasthetrainingofmymen,issubstandard.PoliticalviewshaveonlyinfluencedmydecisioninsofarasIconsidercommunismadangeralsoforSweden.130

At theSS recruitingoffice inOsloRosén refused to join theWaffen-SS inspite of the fact that itwas the only possibility offered to Swedish volunteerswishingtojointheGermanmilitary.RoséndeclaredthathewantedonlytoserveintheWehrmacht,theregularGermanArmy.AfterhisarrivalinBerlinhewasenergeticallyinterviewedbyanSSofficeratthevolunteeroffice,GermanischeLeitstelle,whotriedtochangehismindandgethimtoentertheWaffen-SS,butwithoutresult.131

On28April1943throughtheeffortsofhisfather’sGermanofficercomradesNilsRosénsucceededinjoiningtheGermanArmy.Onthesamedayheenteredas a second lieutenant into one of the armor branch training battalions in thegarrisontownofNeuruppin,nearBerlin.DuringMayandJune1943RosénwentthroughacourseforarmoredofficersinZossen.Hesworeallegianceatthattimeto the flag of Hitler in his capacity as the Chancellor of the Reich andCommander in Chief. Rosén later wrote, “For the sake of security I placed areservationonmyoathbeforethecoursechief,OberstWalterSpannenkrebs[bywayofanattachment]:“NeveragainstSwedenorinanycountryinassociationwithSweden.IhadrelativesinAmericaonbothmymother’sandfather’ssidesandthereforeIrequestedtobeusedonlyontheEasternFront.”132

NilsRosén,Sr.,asaGermansecondlieutenantduringanofficer’scourseinZossennearBerlininthesummerof1943.OnhislapelsRoséniswearingregulararmyhussardeath’sheads,whichgobacktothePrussianHussarRegimentofFredriktheGreatandGermancavalry,anddiffersfromthewartimedeath’s

headoftheSStroops.(NilsRosén,Jr.)

InSeptember1943RosénwasorderedtoPanzerRegiment6(Pz.Rgt.6),inUkraine.Rosénwroteinhismemoirsafter thewarhowhisfirstcombatactionalmostbecamehislastduetohislackofexperience:

TravelledoverBreslau-CracowtoLvivtowardsthefrontinRussiawiththeordertoreporttothePz.Rgt.6inPoltava.On5November[1943]:Becameatankgunnerwithatankcrewona50mmPanzerIIItankunderOberfeldwebelJäkle.On9November:Firstcombatengagementwentbadforour50mmversusaSoviet47mmantitankgun.Ifiredthreerounds,butonlyonehittheenemy.Itwasmymistakethatallowed“Ivan”tobeabletofireatus.IsawhimalignthecannonbutwasnotabletofireofftheroundbecauseIfailedtoremembertoorderthetankloadertocockthecannon!Inspiteofthefactthatourdrivercouldnothearthetankcommanderoverthedamagedintercomheknewwhatneededtobedone,andacceleratedthetanktowardstheenemypositionandonhisowninitiativecrushedtheantitankpiece.Ouronlydamagewasasmashedsignalshatchandminorshellfragmentinjuriestoourcommunications

crewmember.

TheGermanmilitarysituationhadturnedtotheworseinboththeEasternandWestern Front even before Nils Rosén began his front line duties in October1943.TheGerman6thArmywascrushedatStalingradinJanuary1943,causinga full retreat of German forces from the Caucasus. InMay 1943 the Germanforces in Tunisia capitulated. This surrender was followed by the invasion ofSicily by theWesternAllies. TheGerman submarinewar in theAtlanticwasdefinitely lost during the finalmonthsof1943and theGermanheartlandnowwassubjectedtosteadyattackbyBritishandAmericanbombers.TheGermanslosttheinitiativeon1theEasternFronttotheRedArmyatthebattleofKurskinJuly1943.Andby4January1944SovietsoldierscrossedtheoldPolish-SovietborderatZhitomir.133

DuringtheperiodNovember1943toMay1944NilsRosénfoughtasatankgunner and tank commander in theUkraine.At that time he belonged to tankcorpscommandedbyGeneralOttovonKnobelsdorff,partofArmyGroupSouthledbyGeneralfeldmarschallErichvonManstein.InJanuary1944Rosén’sunittookpart inaneffort toreplace twoGermanarmycorps thatwereencircledatKorsun-Cherkassy.

NilsRosénbecameaplatooncommanderon7May1944,commandingfivePanzerkampfwagen IV tanks. His company was relocated to the town ofSimonesti in northeast Romania duringMay and June 1944.During that timetheywereinvolvedintrainingofRomanianarmortroopsandwereabletorestandrecuperate.“IwasorderedtotheEasternFrontatPoltavainthefallof1943and left theSovietUnionbywayofBender [inBessarabia] in the summerof1944.While inRomania he avoided being drawn in on the destruction of theGerman6thArmy(reconstitutedafterStalingrad)by theRedArmyinamajoroffensivewhenlargepartsoftheArmyGroupSouthUkrainewerelost.DuringthisoffensiveGermanandRomanianforcessuffered270,000casualties,killed,wounded,orcaptured.”134

Rosén’s unit avoided that inferno and succeeded in pulling back fromRomaniathroughthePalancaPassandHungarytoViennaandonthetankcorpsdepot atNeuruppinnearBerlin.After taking leave and re-equippingwithnewtanksRosén’stankdivisionwasmovedduringOctoberandNovember1944intothe lineagainst theRedArmyat theNarewbridgeheadnorthofWarsaw.TheSovietforceshadannihilatedtheGermanArmyGroupCenterinJuneandJuly1944, advanced further toward the Vistula River, and establish the important

Baranovbridgehead.Rosén’snotesonthefightingarefrom1947:

On5October1944wedroveforwardinourfirstattackattheNarewbridgehead.Thebattalionwasstoppedinahollowaswewaitedforneworders.Thewholetimewewereunderheavyfirefromartillery,mortars,androcketlaunchers.Shellburstshittenmetersinfrontofthetank,thenmorefivemetersbehindit,soatthispointImovedofftheroad.QuicklytheRussiansresumedfireandthe“cat-and-mousegame”continuedforanhour.Attheendwewerestruckontheturretandcouldnotmovethetankanymore.Weclimbedoutofthevehicletocheckthedamage.JustasIdeterminedthatthetrackdrivesprocketwasdamagedamortarroundhitonlyfivemetersaway.SomehowImanagedtogetbywithoutascratcheventhoughIwasstandingupright.ThenIgaveanorderformytanktobetowedawayandwegotintoanewtank.Afterashortwhiletherewasanearsplittingcrash!Isawstarsandflashesoflightbutinstinctivelythrewmyselfoutofthevehicle.Thetankexploded,butfortunatelyonlyoneofmymenwasmissing.Ilookedaroundandfoundthedriverinhisplaceinthetankwithhisheadshotoff.NowIhadonlytwotanksintheplatoonsomycompanycommanderdirectedmetogobacktooursupplyarea.Ibandagedmycommunicationsmanandwefivesurvivorsranbackovertheflatarea.Weweresubjectedtofirefrommachineguns,rifles,artillery,androcketlaunchers.Finallyaftergoingbackonekilometerwefoundprotectioninadefiladedpositionbehindahill.Atfiveo’clockthatafternoonatthesupplystationwegottoeatforthefirsttimethatday.Ihadjustwashedmyselfwhentheadjutantcamerunningtomewiththeorder:“Roséngoimmediatelyforward,thecommanderofthesecondplatoonhasjustbeenkilled!”

Rosénwasmade the companycommander after the fighting atNarew.Thecompany had fifteen tanks.135 After a short rest period in East Prussia in themiddleofDecemberhistankdivisionwasmovedtotheCentralEuropeanFront.AfterthefallofRomaniainAugustandSeptember1944HitlerstrengthenedtheHungarian front with strong armored formations, and Rosén’s division wascommitted to hard fighting aroundLakeBalaton during January andFebruary1945.

Duringtheperiodfrom18to25January1945Rosén’sregimenttookpartinthefruitlessattempttorelieveBudapestwhereover40,000Germantroopsweresurroundedby theRedArmy.Rosén’sbattalionwaswithdrawn fromHungary

and retired toGraz,Austriaon29March1945after suffering severe lossesofboth men and tanks. The last vehicles had to be blown up because of theshortageoffuel.WhatwasleftofRosén’scompanywasusedasinfantryinthevicinity of Fürstenfeld at the Austrian-Hungarian border where there was afurtherlargelossofmen:

On3April1945therestofmy7thCompanyandpartofthemaintenancecompanywereretrainedasaninfantrycompany.Iwastheonlyofficer,besidesthebattalioncommander,whohadreceivedproperinfantrytraininginpeacetime.NowIwasespeciallythankfulformytrainingattheSwedishMilitaryAcademyatKarlbergwherewewhowereinartilleryreceivedtwoyearsofinfantrytraining!Norealinfantrytrainingoccurredexceptforatwo-daymarchbyfootfromPeggautowardsFürstenfeld.DuringthemarchIusedeveryotherreststoptotrainininfantryfundamentals(suchasdefenseandtechniquesforfiring).

AtFürstenfeldIreportedwithmycompanyon10Apriltotheoperationsofficerofthe3dPanzerDivision.Wegotanordertomountacounterattackbecausetheenemyhadjustknockedoutacompanyfromthedefensiveposition.Itoldtheoperationsofficeraboutthecatastrophictrainingsituationthecompanyhadexperienced,buttonoavail.Therewerenootherreservesavailable.Wehadtogointoaction.Ihadtherighttoreceiveawrittenorderbecausetheverbalorderwassoinappropriate.Butwhatdidallthisgetus?

Althoughtwenty-fivemenwerewounded,wesucceededinthrowingbacktheinvaderandsettingupadefensivelinetwiceaslongaswehadbeentaughtatKarlberg.Ontheothersidewehadanumberofmachineguns,theModelM42,andtheywerebetterthannormal.Afteraboutaweek,on18April,theenemybeganaheavybarrage.

OnmywayuptothefrontlinefrommycommandpostImetmycompanymovingtotherear.Istoppedthemenandgotthemtotakecoverandroared“Hurrah!”“Ivan”lostmanymenkilledinaction.Wemanagedtogetbacktoouroriginaldefenselineandheldituntiltheendofthewar.Theprice:anothertwenty-fivewoundedinadditiontothetwenty-fivealreadymentionedandHeinzWeigelt,twenty-threeyearsold,killedinaction.Thefloorinthecompanyheadquarterswassocoveredinbloodthatithadtobereplacedafterthewar(farmhouse).

Duringthenightof8/9May1945themainpartofRosén’sunitwasableto

disengage from theRedArmy,drawback200kilometersandsurrender to theAmericantroopsnearSalzburg.RosénwastransportedtoanAmericanprisonerof war camp and, after a six-week foot march and an occasional lift fromWestern Allied vehicles, made his way across occupied Germany to Sweden,arrivinginStockholmon20June1945.

NilsRosénparticipated ina totalof forty-fourdocumented tankattacksandtwoinfantryattacksduringhistimeontheEasternFront.Togetherwithhisowncrewmembershedestroyedbetween25and30Soviettanksandsome30Sovietantitank guns. In the final phase of thewar hewas promoted toOberleutnant(firstlieutenant).HisdecorationsincludetheIronCrossoftheFirstandSecondClass; the Panzerkampfabzeichen (tank combat badge) I and II; as well as amedalforhiswarwounds(equivalenttoaPurpleHeartmedal).136

Rosénsummedupthetotallossesofhisregiment:

Replacementofthetanksinacompanyfortheentirewaramountedtoseveralhundredtanks.Thetotaldeadinourregimentduringthewarwasabout100officers,380non-commissionedofficers,and600men.On20March1945Iwastheonlyofficerremaininginmy2dBattalionandtheregimentalstaffwhohadbeenatthefrontuninterruptedfortheentiretime.

Rosén’s report on his experiences from the Eastern Front illustrate theintensityandoftenchaoticnatureoftankcombat:

Evenafterbasicpreparationsonelosesmoretanksbygettingstuckorbreakingdowninroughterrainandthebadconditionoftheroads,thanbyenemyfire.DuringthefightingaroundKrivojRogintheUkraineinMarch1944ourbattalionlostonethirdofthetanksina“bottomless”mire,despitethefactthatwetriedtoavoidvalleysorwater-soakedland.InthebeginningofFebruary1945myregimentmadeacounterattackintheoutskirtsofZámolynearStuhlweissenberg.TheRussiansdrewbackandwerereplacedbyincompletelytrainedreserveunits.Inonedayourregiment(partlywithanewlyarrivedbattalionfromNormandythatwasequippedwiththePantherTank)destroyedanentireRussianregimentwitheightyAmericanShermanTanks,whichhaddrivenacrossthebattlefieldexposingtheirthinlyarmoredsides.Theyburnedallnightandlitupthebattlefield.Ourlosses:twotanks.Theactionineverynewdriveforwardbecameincreasinglyunpleasant.Wewereincreasinglyinvolvedinarduousbattles,madetougherwhenwepassedmachine-dugmass

gravesplacedbysomeclumsyGermanofficeralongtheroadswewereongoingtothefront!…InmycompanyIforbadethementomentiontheJosefStalinTanksinceeveryoneknewthattheirshellscouldpenetratedirectlythroughourtanks!

Respect for the quality of the Red Army and their ability to develop newideasfrom1943to1944wasalsomentionedinRosén’snotes:

Werespectedonlyoneofouropponentsatthefront,andthoseweretheRussians.Theirsoldierswentintobattlewithoutanyconcernforlosses—directlyforwardsasmountainlemmings.ItwasnotonlyvodkaandthecommissarsthatdrovetheRussiansteamroller.Communisticfanaticism,resistanceability,andhardnessplayedanimportantrole.HavetheSwedishsoldiersthesameglowingloveoftheirnativecountry,thesameindifferencebeforedeath,andthesamehardenedbody?…LateintheeveningonthesamedaywecapturedabigRussiantownwhereonlyonehousewasstillstanding.Asteadystreamofshotswerefiredfromthatbuildingandwhenwedrovepastonthestreettheythrewantitankhandgrenadesatus.Theyweretheenemybattalioncommanderandhisstaffwhowouldnotgiveupthebattleuntilwesmokedthemoutwithfire.Suchanexamplefromacommandermustall—friendorfoe—admire!

WhatwasthereasonthattheGermantroopswereabletostandagainst,andoftendefeat,substantiallylargerSovietforcesandinflictlargerenemylosses?137Nils Rosén maintains that it was because of the fundamental training of theGermansoldieraswellastheofficercorpsleadershipdevelopment.Theyplacedgreatimportancethatleadershipshouldrestonmutualtrustbetweentheofficersand the soldiers, not least of which was that an officer should spearhead theattack in combat and share the hardships of the soldiers. According to theGermanArmy’sservicedirectionspersonnelondifferent levels,eventhebasicsoldiers,shouldreactindependentlyandtaketheinitiative.

TheabilityoftheGermanarmoredunitstoretreatunderaseriesofattacksisemphasizedbyRosén.Henotedfurther:

Forthefirsttime,asaGermanplatooncommander,Iunderstoodmysoldierswell,andasacompanycommanderunderstoodthemevenbetter.ThereasonforthisIattributetothenecessarytrainingIhadinmySwedishofficerprogram,complementedbythepsychologicalinstructioninGermany.DuringmythreeyearsatKarlberginSwedenIreadtenhours

onmilitarypsychology.Atthethree-monthcourseatZossenweread100hours!Tacticalproblemsolvingisworthlessifdisciplineandthesoldierspiritisnotadequate.Thewillandspiritofasoldierisfarmoreimportantthantechnicalreadiness.Thelatterisworthlesswithouttheformer!TheGermanofficerhadmanypossibilitiestohelphissoldiers,thankstohishighertraining.ThattheGermanenlistedmenwereveryattachedtotheirofficerswasduetotheirgroundinginthatrelationshipoftrust.EveninpeacetimetheGermanofficershelpedtheirmenindealingwithletters,witheconomicandlegalquestions,aswellasfamilyissues.ThisspeaksveryclearlyabouttheplaceofthepersonalworldintheGermanArmy.

Becauseofthedictator’sself-censuringmyofficercolleaguesontheEasternFrontneverspokeaboutthesituationingeneralafterStalingrad.EightypercentofallsoldiershadblindfaithintheFührerasthepioneerwhowithhislifeandsoulwentintothebreachforhisdecision.Inthisfaithlivedthemilitaryforcesuntilthecollapse.

Rosén’s notes on the faith of the German soldiers in Hitler ought to becompared with more recent research on the Wehrmacht as an even moreideologicallymotivatedandstreamlined instrumentofwar.Oneof the reasonswastheacquisitionofanever-increasingnumberofyoungerofficers(fromtheHitler Youth generation) who during the 1930s and part of the 1940s weresocializedintheNazimindset.138

The paradox in the case of Nils Rosén is the fact that he was one-eighthJewish.Hisgreat-grandmotherwasaGermanJewessfromthecityofWahreninMecklenberg, but was not considered a practicing Jewish believer. Rosén’sJewishancestry,therefore,wasnotnotedinhisGermanpersonnelfilewhenhegavethemilitaryauthoritiesinBerlinhisobligatoryAriernachweis(documentsofhisAryandescent)requiredbytheNaziState.139

There are no available documents that make possible a comprehensiveanalysis of Rosén’s relationship to the Third Reich, Nazism, or for example,theirJewishpolicies.

Ina letterwritten inMarch2003Roséndescribeshis reaction inMay1945whenheheardthefirstnewsaboutthemassmurdersoftheNazis:

TendaysafterthesurrenderinMay1945IreadabouttheNaziexterminationoftheJewsforthefirsttimewhileIwasintheRhineareaonmywaytoSweden.Myfirstreactionwasthatitseemedtobepropaganda,alie.WhenIarrivedinHamburgtendayslaterImetmy

father’sgoodfriendsandtheyconfirmedthestoryastrue.WithmynormalChristianupbringingIsawthisascriminalanditcouldneverbetrivializedorbelittled.IfIhadknownitIwouldnaturallyneverhavejoinedtheWehrmacht.IamgladthatHitlerlostthewar,butamstillsadthatStalinwonit.

IntheinterrogationofNilsRosénbytheSwedishSecurityPoliceon20June1945thefollowingwasnoted:

InDecember1941hecameincontactwithSverigesNationellaFörbund,Sweden’sNationalUnion,whichhejoinedasamemberinDecember1941orJanuary1942.…BeforehebecameamemberoftheNationellaFörbundet,theNationalUnion,thereisnoindicationthathebelongedtoanypoliticalorganization,buthadforaverylongtimethehighestsympathyforGermany.…[Hehad]wantedtotraveltoGermanyinordertofightintheGermanArmyintheongoingworldwar.Thereasonforthiswasthatasanactiveofficerhesawthevalueofthetrainingofsoldiersandthedesirabilityforanofficertoparticipateinwartogainthepracticalexperienceofthemodernconductofwar.Moreoverhewasandstillisanticommunist,andthoughherecognizedthatGermanyposedacertainthreattoSweden,hefeltthatRussiaposedanevengreaterthreat;thereforeaccordingtohisthinkingitwouldbebetterifGermanywonintheongoingwar.

InRosén’sdossierwiththeSwedishSecurityPolicearenotestakenfromtheinterrogation of an earlier officer cadet in theWaffen-SS, Kurt Lundin, whostatedtotheSecurityService:“SecondLieutenantRosénhasnothingtodowithanythingpoliticalortheWaffen-SS,otherthantobeasoldierandserveassuchintheWehrmacht.”AfterRosénleftSweden,theSwedishDefenseStaffandtheSecurityServicesmadecertainnotationsonRosénintheirfiles.140

There are some noteworthy curiosities about Rosén’s classmates at NorraRealSchool inStockholm.One,LarsRooth,becamean intelligenceofficer intheBritishArmy;another,FolkeNystrandjoinedtheWaffen-SS;andthethird,HansÖström,becameatrainingofficerforNorwegiansoldiersinSweden.ThelattereventuallywasemployedbytheSwedishSecurityPolicetomonitorNazis,andhasmadethefollowingcommentsonRosén’smotivesandcharacter:

Duringtheyears1931to1939IwasaclassmateofNilsRosénattheNorraRealSchoolinStockholm.Webecamegoodfriends,butdidnot

havethesameviewsonpolitics.IwasanearlysupporteroftheLiberal[centrist]Party.NilsRosén’slaterinvolvementasavolunteerofficerforGermanyfrom1943to1945mustbeviewed,inmyopinion,againstthebackgroundofhisadmirationforhisfather.NilsRosénwasclearlyanticommunist,andspokeoutearlyinthe1930s(evenbeforethecomingtopowerofHitler)withstrongadmirationfortheGermanArmyofficercorpsandcodeofhonor.IgottheimpressionhewasfixatedbytheWehrmachtandthespiritoftheGermansoldier,whichbecamehisideal.IneverheardRosénsayanythingnegativeabouttheJewsorrevealanyanti-Semiticattitudes,notevenintheformofamorediscreet“upperclassanti-Semitism.”…

NilsRosénwasashiningtalentatNorraReal,brilliantinmathematics,andalsosuperiorinEnglish,German,andFrench.HisonlydeclaredprofessionalgoalwastobeanofficerintheSwedishArmy.…

Hitler’smadnessbecameevermoreapparenttomebytheendofthe1930sandfrom1938onIbegantoreallyunderstandtheghastlynatureofNazism.IgavemyopinionstoRoséninourconversations,whointhe1930shadvisitedinGermanyduringthesummers.DuringourdiscussionsRosénneverstatedanysympathyforHitlerorNazism,butonlycommentedontheunfairoutcomeoftheVersaillesTreatyforGermany.…

Ifoundhimtobeanexceptionallygiftedperson,completelyblindedbyhisadmirationfortheGermanArmyandhisfather;despitehishighintelligencehedidnotcomprehendthetruenatureofNazism.InalaterconversationwithmehesaidheregrettedthatasanofficerintheSwedishdefenseforces,heranawaytotheGermanArmyin1943.Itismyunderstandingthathisjudgmentmalfunctionedatthetime,butIampersonallyconfidantthathe,asaloyalSwedishofficer,wouldimmediatelyhavereturnedifGermanyhadattackedSweden.NilsRosén’srealidealwastheGermanofficercorpsandIsometimesthinkthathewasborn200yearstoolate.141

Nils Rosén became a civil engineer after the war and worked with theconstructionofroadsandwaterworks.Hetooktheinitiativeforcreatingbettereducationfor trafficengineersandarchitectsatnearlyfiftyuniversitiesboth inSwedenandoverseas. In1946Rosénwas invited to lectureonhisexperiencesfrom theEasternFront by the InfantrySchool atRosersberg.He continued togivelecturesat theMilitaryPsychologicalInstitute inStockholmfrom1949to

1956, at theArmorCombat School in Skövde from 1972 to 1980, and at theSwedishMilitaryAcademy from1956 to 1975.142 Just as his father had doneearlier,Rosénconcentratedhislecturesonquestionsrelatedtoleadership.Until1991Rosénwasareserveofficer,finallyaCaptainoftheEngineerTroops.

ÅkeAspegrénintheArcticOneofthemostextremecombatregionsduringtheSecondWorldWarwastheMurmanskFront.Itwasrockyandhillytundraterrainwithnoroadsorforests,and rich in bogs. There fought the German (Austrian) Heer and Waffen-SSGebirgsjägers, among them a handful of Waffen-SS Swedes and one singleSwedeintheHeer,ÅkeAspegrén,fromStockholm.

ÅkeAspegrénwaswellknowninSwedishoutdoorlifeinthe1930s.Hisdogkennel, “Vargåsen” in the Nacka forests and his impressive dog sled teamfigured inmanyphotographic reports andhewas called the “AlaskaMan.”143

Hisgrandchildrendescribehimasanmanofaction,areal“doer.”144The special competence he had for winter weather and dog sleds made

Aspegrén totally sympathetic to Finland, and he volunteered to fightwith theSwedishVolunteerCorpsin1939and1940.Likesomanyothersinthegroup,however,hewasnotabletogetintothefightingbeforethewarwasover.145Thefrustration over not being able to “come to the battle” probably explainswhyAspegrén later joinedwith thosewho foughtwithFinland in theContinuationWar.

WhenFinlandjoinedthewaragainsttheSovietUnionduringtheperiodfrom1941to1944ÅkeAspegréndidnotseekto join theSwedishvolunteers in thesouth of Finland. The significant winter war operations were in the mostnortherlypartoftheFinnish-Sovietfront,whichwasundertheresponsibilityofGermanunits.

ÅkeAspegrénontherightduringapatrolmissioninthewinterof1941–42inthenorthernsectoroftheSovietKolaPeninsula,withhisSamoyeddogs.InthebackgroundareGermanmountaintroops.(The

AssociationofMountainTroops,Munich)

Judging from the contents of a secretGerman telegram sent on 1February1942, intercepted by Swedish intelligence, Aspegrén informally used hiscontactstojoinGeneralEduardDietl’smountaincorpsontheBarentsSeacoastat the endof 1941.The telegram’s subject tellswhat theGermans saw in thisindividualSwede: “Dog team forwinterwar.”146TheGermanheadquarters inRovaniemiwasinformedthatAspegrénwouldarriveintheFinnishbordertownofTornioon7February1942.

KarlRuef,aretiredcolonelofthepostwarAustrianarmy,statedthat,whileinthe6thMountainDivision,Aspegrénservedinhisdivision.147RuefalsowrotethatSwedishdogsledswerefirsttestedwithinthe141stGebirgsjägerRegimentandthatthereafteraspecialdogsectionunderAspegrénwasestablished.148

TheGebirgsjäger veteranAlexBuchner stated inhismemoirs that theunitthat Aspegrén created was used for heavily armed Jagdunternehmen (raidsbehind the enemy lines). In this role the sled-dog unit supportedSkijagdverbände (ski-mounted raiding units) from both the 6th and the 2dMountain Divisions. According to Ruef and also judging from photos ofAspegrén in German service, however, he was not just an instructor. In thephotoshe is shownwearingwintercamouflageandstandsarmedwithapistol

amongagroupofcombatreadyGermansoldiers.149HessandBuchnerdescribeAspegrén’s unit as valuable, reliable, and “unique within the wholeWehrmacht.”150

Hiswar experiences apparently became a heavy burden forÅkeAspegrén,whowasextremelyreticenttotalkaboutthemwithhisfamily.OneoftheveryfewthingshetoldhisgrandchildrenwasthathewasabletotakehomeonlyoneofthemanydogshehadtakenwithhimtoFinland.Manyoftheothershadbeenkilledbymines,savingAspegrén’slife.

When Åke Aspegrén returned to Sweden he took up his old activity ofrunningadogkennelanddiedinStockholmin1962.

OtherSwedesintheWehrmachtA journalistwhopreviously had been an officer cadet in the air force,Bengt-Olof Sterner from Stenstorp, fought in the summer of 1942 in Ukraine as asoldierinthe8thLuftwaffeFieldDivision,aninfantryunitsetupwithexcessairforce personnel. Sterner died during training as a pilot in theLuftwaffe at theflightschoolinSprottauon7July1944.

Erik Barvaeus who, in 1941, was refused admittance to the British RAF,joinedinsteadtheLuftwaffeinthespringof1943!BarvaeusbecameaLuftwaffeaviationmechanicandreturnedtoSwedeninthefallof1945.

Henry Schumburg from Stockholm was a commandant for one of theLuftwaffeairbasesduringthewaryears.ItisnotknownifanySwedesbecamefullytrainedpilotsintheLuftwaffeduringthewar.151

ErnstKurtLöwen, Swedish citizen but resident ofNorway during thewar,wasavolunteerintheKriegsmarinein1944and1945.

The former corporal Curt Sjögren from Håtuna lived in Belgium at thebeginningof thewarandwasamemberofLeonDegrelle’sFascistmovement“Christus Rex.” Sjögren joined the Belgian volunteer unit Legion Wallonie,whichjoinedtheGermanArmy’s373dInfantryRegiment.Hewaskilledon22April1942attheDnieperRiver.152

Nils Rosén was not the only active Swedish officer after 1945 with abackground in theWehrmacht.At leastoneotherofficer,CaptainLarsKriforsfrom Ingria, had experiences at the Eastern Front. He had first served as aninterpreterintheFinnischeSicherungsgruppe187(Finnishsecuritydetachment),aGermanArmybattalionmadeupofFinnsfromSovietIngria(Sovietcitizens).TheunitwasusedinthepartisanwarinIngria.TherethebattalionwasrenamedOstbattalion664(Easternbattalion)andKriforsservedasanintelligenceofficerwithit.Krifors’experienceasaninterrogationleaderduringWWIIwasutilizedby the Swedish Defense Forces Interpreter School after 1945. The SwedishArmystaffsummarizedtheachievementsofKrifors:“Withoutthiscontributionan effective prisoner interrogation organization would not have been fullyactivated.”153

NilsÅngmanwasthesonofapharmacistfromKristinehamn.Asalieutenantwith theNorrlandDragoonRegiment inUmeå in 1913 he became one of theSwedishinstructorsforthePersianGendarmerie(seechapter1).DuringtheFirstWorldWarhe joined theGermanArmy in theMiddleEast,was interned ina

Russian prisoner of war camp, and returned to Sweden after the Russianrevolution. In 1920 he traveled to Berlin where he became a dentist andbusinessman.ÅngmanapparentlyhadbothaSwedishandGermanpassport.Hejoined theGerman army in 1936 as amajor and after various service, hewasreleasedfromtheWehrmachtin1944afterhesufferedeyedamageontheItalianFront.154

On19October 1945,Ångman, an exhausted fifty-nine-year-old dentist andformer lieutenant colonel in theGermanArmy, andhiswife arrivedon aRedCrosstransportfromtheruinsofGermany.ÅngmansoughtpermissiontoreturntoSwedenasaSwedishcitizen.Behindhim,hehadaverycomplicatedpastintwoworldwars.155ÅngmandeniedimportantinformationtotheSwedishPolicein1946abouthisGermanservice,duringhisinterrogationinHelsingborg.InhispersonnelfilewiththeForeignerCommission,however, thereissomeexcitinginformation: “Served within the German General Staff, where he probablyhandled the Swedish section within the military intelligence area.”156 Frommilitary sources it was found that Ångman had the following positions inGermany:“member inStahlhelm1932,acceptedby theSA in1934,SA troopleaderthesameyear…majorintheLuftwaffe[1937]withplacementinmilitaryintelligence underAdmiralWilhelmCanaris, lieutenant colonel there in 1939,placedontheLuftwaffeGeneralStaff,1940–1943.”157

OnecanfindmostofthosewhodiedintheGermanArmedForcesinboththeFirst and SecondWorldWars byway of theGermanwar graves service, theVolksbund(www.volksbund.de).IntheonlinedatabankoftheVolksbundthereareseveralhundredSwedishnamesthatarenotmentionedinthisbook;inmostcases, however, they pertain not to Swedish citizens, but to descendants ofSwedeswhoimmigratedtoGermany.Oberst(colonel)AxelNordenskiöldoftheGerman general staff, was the son of a Swede and known to have spokenSwedishfluently.Carl-AxelGyllensvärdhadaSwedishgrandfatherandservedas a first lieutenant in the Luftwaffe. The Volksbund archive tells us thatGyllensvärddiedin1946inaprisoncampinPoland.

SwedesinOrganisationTodtAs far as we know only three Swedes were members of the so-calledWehrmachtsgefolge, organizations that were not military but still, in times ofwar,partoftheGermanArmedForces.158

JanFalkwas the sonofanofficer,born in1915atKarlskrona.HisparentswereacquaintancesofthevonRosenfamilyatthefamousRockelstadestate,sothethirteen-year-oldJanFalkpersonallymetbothGöringandHitlerin1928(itwasatRockelstadthatGöringmethisSwedishwife).

Falk studied to be a mechanical engineer in Stockholm in the 1930s andparticipatedintheWinterWarandContinuationWarinFinlandasavolunteer.From thesummerof1941 to thesummerof1943Falkwasastaff sergeant inpurelyFinnishartilleryandmaintenanceunits.In1943hewasinvitedtoserveinthe GermanOrganisation Todt (OT) in Rovaniemi.OT was a military labororganizationthathadover100,000menjustinFinlandandNorway.Theywerelaborers, skilled workers, engineers, architects, construction workers, andprisonersofwarperformingforcedlabor.

JanFalkbecameresponsibleforthemaintenanceandprocurementofenginesforthemostnorthernGermanbunkers.AsaspecialistwithinOT,hereceivedanimpressive salary of 15,000 Swedish crowns amonth. Everything came to anabrupthalt,however,whenFalkmadeabusinesstriptoKirkenesinNorwayinthesummerof1944:

MyvehiclewasequippedwithaverygoodcarradiothatwasevenabletoreceiveprogramsfromLondon.IparkedmycarontheNorwegiansideoftheborder,byKirkenes,andleftthecarradioonwhileIwenttogetsomethingtoeat.WhenIlookedoutIsawoverfiftyNorwegianciviliansaroundmycar,veryhappilylisteningtotheNorwegianexileradioprogramfromLondon!SuddenlytheGermanmilitarypolicearrivedandIwastakeninforinterrogation.“IamSwedish.NoonecanforbidmetolistentoNorwegianradio,”Isaid.ThefollowingdayIwasagaintakeninforfurtherinterrogationbytheGeheimeFeldpolizei(theGermansecretmilitarypolice)whoevenhadransackedmyhotelroominRovaniemi.IthoughtthatthesituationhadgoneawrysoIquicklyleftmyjobwithOTandreturnedtoSweden!159

AfterthewarJanFalklivedinSwitzerlandanddevelopedanti-theftsystems

forrecreationalboats.HediedinStockholmin2003.Two more Swedes served in Organisation Todt: the businessman Harald

HugoOlsson,fromNybrowasactivewiththeOTinFinland1942and1943.160Finallytherewas“Sven,”aSwedishboywhowasadoptedbyamedicaldoctorandhis family inEstonia.“Sven”wasconscripted in1943 into theOTagainsthiswill.HebuiltspecialroadsforthetroopsinthemarshlandsfromBialystoktoMinsk, and after the war he commented, “Directly in front of us were thepartisans,andononeflanktheRedArmy.Occasionallywewerefiredonfromalldirections.”161

SwedishDoctorsontheEasternFrontIt is well known that influential Swedes, journalists, officers, and researchersconducted educational trips to Germany and the German-occupied countries,mainly during the period from1940 to 1943.Recent research shows that alsoSwedish doctors visited and worked for a number of weeks at a time atWehrmacht hospitals inGermany and at theGerman-Soviet Front in Finland,during1941and1942.

AtleastfourSwedishdoctorsandadentistservedwithGermanunitsduringtheperiodJuly1941toOctober1942.162TheSwedishdoctorthatgotclosesttothe front was Dr. Henrik Wrangel from Karlstad. During the period 20September to 30 October 1941 Wrangel worked partly with KriegslazarettKemi,andpartlyasasurgeonwiththeFeldlazarett67(Germanfieldhospital)inKirkenessupportingtheGerman2dMountainDivision,whereheexperiencedanumberofSovietbombingattacks.163

TheSwedishUkrainians,BetrayedbyEveryoneFrom 1782 to 1943 Gammalsvenskby was a Swedish speaking town on thelowerDnieperRiverintheUkraine.In1781CatherinetheGreathaddeportedagroupofethnicSwedesfromtheislandofDagöinEstoniatoGammalsvenskby.Many of their descendants fled to Sweden between the world wars of thetwentiethcentury.SomewereunhappyinSwedenandwentbackto theSovietUnion,othersimmigratedtoCanada.

TheinhabitantsofGammalsvenskbyare,liketheSwedishEstonians,atragicexample of a fragment of the Swedish people who were tossed about by thewindsoftheSecondWorldWar.JustliketheSwedishEstonians,theywereseen

by the Soviet Union as Swedes with Soviet passports. Sweden saw them asforeigners.TheNazissawthemassomelowerclassofGermansandafter1945theSovietspunishedthemastraitorstotheMotherland.

The Stalinist terror campaign that ravaged Gammalsvenskby from 1936 to1938 led to accusations, arrests, and executions.This created amotive for thelocalpopulationtolatercooperatewiththeGermanoccupationforces.

During Hitler’s assault on the Soviet Union the Germans seizedGammalsvenskbyon25August1941.The townhadabout500 inhabitants,ofwhich 267were SwedishUkrainians, 167GermanUkrainians (descendants ofsettlers in the eighteenth century), and 68 Ukrainians. Several SwedishUkrainians had been conscripted into the Red Army or deported to Siberiabefore the German attack. Just as many others in the Ukraine, the SwedishUkrainians saw theGermans as liberators, but this very soon proved to be anillusion.164

The Nazi occupation force considered the Swedish Ukrainians inGammalsvenskby first and foremost as Germanic.165 The SwedishUkrainiansweregivenGermancitizenshipandmanyofthemjoinedtheGermanforces—byconscription and voluntarily—during the three-year German occupation. Theyjoined the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, the German police, and the FieldGendarmerieorthelocalhomeguardsetupbytheGermans,theSelbstschutz,toprotectagainst thepartisans.Togetherwithother“raciallychosen,” likeSovietGermans and Swedish Estonians, the Swedish Ukrainians were deemedappropriate as a defense force towards the east within the Third Reich’sdevelopingempire.

As theRedArmyadvanced towards thewest inOctober1943 theGermansevacuatedtheinhabitantsofGammalsvenskbyandsentthemtodifferentareasinGermany.When theyarrived inGermany thereweremore forced recruitmentsand conscriptions into the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, Organisation Todt, andArbeitsdienst.OnGermangroundallSwedish-Ukrainianmenbetweentheagesofeighteenandsixtywerecalledintobeararms.166InJune1944,forexample,GustavSimonssonNorbergwasrecruitedintoSD(SSsecurityservice)andsenttotheNetherlands.InJune1944GammalsvenskbyinhabitantJohannesPerssonKnutas was sent to one of Germany’s highest political school, the NS-OrdensburgVogelsang(NationalSocialistSchoolofHigherEducation).

AfterthewarmanyoftheSwedishUkrainiansweresentencedbytheSovietcourts to sometimes long prison terms for claimed crimes against Sovietcivilians and partisans. In principle the Ukrainian Swedes were collectively

treatedastraitorsand“helpersofGermanImperialism.”Mostoftheinhabitantsof Gammalsvenskby who were repatriated to the Soviet Union in 1945 weredeported to infamous laborcamps inVorkutaon theArcticOcean.During the1960ssomeof thesurvivingUkrainianSwedesweregiven theoption togo toSweden.

NoSwedishSS-LegionRecruitmentofSwedesintotheWaffen-SSbecameafiascoforBerlin.TheSSlove for theSwedes “as themost importantGermanic reservoir among all theNordiccountries”remainedlargelyunanswered.

Eventhoughtherearesomedoubtfulcases,withgreatcertaintywecanstatethat about 180 Swedes wore SS uniform. Of this number approximately 100arrived at the front with weapon in hand. According to the Swedish SecurityPolice register andother sourcesa totalof twenty-eightSwedeswerekilled inactionfightingfortheThirdReich.167AtleastfifteenSwedishcitizensservedinthe Wehrmacht and its Wehrmachtsgefolge, where two of which two werekilled.

AmongthepersonswhoconsideredthemselvestobeSwedish,butwerenotSwedishcitizens,thefollowingpictureemerges:IntheWaffen-SSatleastfortySwedishEstonians fought, but it is likely that some alsowere enrolled by theWehrmacht.TherecouldhavebeenasmanyasonehundredUkrainianSwedesinGermanuniforms.WithintheFinnishbattalionintheSS-Division“Wiking”there were at least forty Swedish Finns.168 The final total then, for SwedishcitizensservinginaGermanuniforminWorldWarIIisabout200.Therewereat least 180morepersons in theGermanmilitarywho regarded themselves asSwedes,butwhowerenotSwedishcitizens.

The primary reasonwhyHimmlerwas so intent to recruit Swedes into theWaffen-SS was political. This motive emerges from the interrogation by theBritishintelligenceofKarlLeib,formerObersturmbannführerandthechiefoftheWaffen-SSrecruitingofficeinOslo:

ThelongtermpoliticalgoalwastoobtainyoungSwedesforserviceintheWaffen-SS.AftertheirfrontlineexperienceandpoliticalschoolingtheywouldreturntoSwedenandhelpbuildanucleusgroupthatcouldbecomparedtotheSSJunkerschulen(Waffen-SSofficer’sschools).AftertwoyearsintheWaffen-SStheywouldreturntotheirlandandactasa

catalystwiththe[Swedish]NationalSocialistMovement,onwhichtheGermanischeLeitstelle(SScentralrecruitmentofficeinBerlin)placedsomuchfaithandhope.Theseyoungmenwouldnotneedtogetinvolvedinpoliticalactionduringthewar,buttheirpoliticalinfluencewouldbeexpectedtobeofdecisiveimportanceaftertheendofwar[intheeast].Withthispolicyinmind,ObersturmbannführerRiedwegwaseagertorecruitthelargestpossiblenumberofSwedestotheWaffen-SS.169

TheSSviewedSwedenas themost importantcomponent in the“Germanictribe.”170 Above all, however, the SS wanted to create a nucleus group of“politicalsoldiers,”whowouldbefunctionariesintheadministrationofafuture“GermanicEmpire.”171Theywere placed above all suspicionbecauseof theirearlier military service in the field in the Waffen-SS and their loyalty tovolunteer for such service. In the eyesof theNazis after the final victorywaswon the Wehrmacht would be replaced by a racially and biologically selectgroupthathadreceivedproperpoliticalindoctrination,andthereforewouldbeabettermotivated“Pan-Germanic”SS-Army.172

Himmler,afterasuccessfulconclusionofWWII,foresawthecompletefusionoftheSSandthestate’spolicingapparatus.ThiswouldleadtothecreationofaStaatsschutzkorps (state protection corps) which would, in Himmler’s mind,form the backbone of the Pan-Germanic Reich and serve as the ultimateguarantorofitsthousand-yearexistence.

AGermanSStankofthetype“Panther”hasammunitionloadedintheruinsofthecityofNarvainlate1944.ThethirdsoldierfromtherightisSwedish,probablySigurdBaecklundfromGävlewhowasofGermanancestry.In1944hebecameasecondlieutenantintheSS-Panzer-Abteilung11“Hermannvon

Salza.”(NARA)

Militarily the Swedes in German uniformwere quantitatively insignificant,buttheytookpartinprobablythetoughestfightinganySwedishwarvolunteershave ever experienced. Most of the Swedes who saw combat fought intechnically well equipped and powerful mechanized divisions of an elitecharacter.TheyparticipatedinallphasesofthewarwiththeSovietUnion,bothinthesummeroffensivesin1941and1942aswellaslaterinthetacticallymoredifficultretreatwhenfacedbytheenormouslysuperiornumbersandfirepoweroftheRedArmy.

Among the Swedes there obviously were several who were capable atmilitarymattersandincertaincasesattainedofficerappointmentsintheirunits.Nils Rosén’s long and competent experiences in tank warfare on the EasternFrontissuchanexample.ThequalityoftheSwedishcontributionwasuneven,however.

There isonedocumentedcase, in1944,of theparticipationby theSwedishSSvolunteersinwarcrimesatthefront,buttheremusthavebeenmanymore.ThebrutalityontheEasternFrontincombinationwiththeNaziindoctrinationofboththesoldiersandofficerscouldnothavepassedbytheparticipantswithouthaving an effect. That the majority of the Swedish SS volunteers were Naziorganized and already ideologically motivated would have been an importantfactor in this connection. Individual excesses during combat were seldomdocumented.

That Swedes in the SS witnessed—or at least were aware of—the massmurdersoftheEinsatzgruppenanduseofmobilegaschambers,isclear.Weareonlessstablegroundwithrespecttothequestionofparticipationorknowledgeabout the industrial mass murders in the extermination camps. Here furtherresearchisneededtoreplacespeculationwithfacts.

Regarding themotivesof theSwedes to join theGermanmilitary, therearemanyinducementsthatintertwinewitheachother.Eachvolunteerhadhisownunique combinationof them,but apattern among theSSSwedeswas that themajority were organized Nazis or sympathetic towards Nazism before theirservice. The previously-mentioned war correspondent in theWaffen-SS, StenEriksson,wrotethefollowinginaprivateletterin1986:

AllwewhocameintoactiveservicewiththeWaffen-SShadaclear,positiveattitudetowardsGermanNationalSocialism.ThenegativecommentsthatIheardSwedesutterweremoredirectedatGermanmentalitythanthepoliticalideology.TolookforexcusesbyclaimingweonlysupportedthefightagainstRussiastrikesmeasquestionableastheclaimthatwewithintheWaffen-SSneverweresubjectedtoanyideologicalschooling.Itwasinparticularthehighlevelofidealism,socommonintheWaffen-SS,thatmadetheunitssodynamic.

NotonlyfortheFinlandvolunteers,butcertainlyforallofus,theSovietinvasionofFinlandhadafundamentalimportance:theisolatedFinnishpeopleandtheirheroicstruggle,theirbitterlosses,andtheshameinthepeaceagreementthatmanyofusregardedasSweden’streacherytowardsFinland.RegardingourviewtowardsGermany,onemustkeepinmindthattheVersaillesTreatythenwasstillverynearintime.ThenitwaseasyforustojoininwiththeGermanpeopleintheirenthusiasmoverthemiraculousupswingthatfollowedthepowertakeoverin1933.ThereweremanyyoungSwedeswhovisitedGermanyduringtheirsummervacationsinthe1930s.Ibelievethatmostofusreturnedfascinatedbywhatwehadseenandexperienced.…Thequestionwasactuallywhichauthoritarianideologythatnowofnecessitywouldtakeover—Soviet-steeredcommunismorsomeformofGerman-orientedNationalSocialism?Whenthewarerupted,itwasthemomentoftruth.

Asinalmosteverythinghumansgetinvolvedin,therewasalotthatwasquiteirrationalthataffecteddecisions.AllofuswhowantedtobewarvolunteershadcertainlyseentheGermanpropagandafilmsduringthefirstyearsofthewarandwerestronglyinfluencedbythesuggestiveexpressionsofepicdrama.Theywerefilmswithgreatpowerthathitsomethingveryelementalanddeepinsidepeopleandespeciallyyoungmen.173

Atleasttwenty-five,probablymore,oftheSSSwedeshadGermanancestry,and they therefore can be said to have fought in WWII for their father’s ormother’s homeland. Fifty of them had earlier been volunteers in Finland andperhapssawtheiractionsinGermanserviceasawayofsupportingFinland.Asurprising number of them, however, also deserted from the Waffen-SS, andtwentyhadalreadydesertedbefore,fromSwedishtoGermanwarservice.174

The average age of the Swedes inGerman service confirm the researchers

pictureofNationalSocialismasayouthphenomena:sixtypercentwere in theagegroupfromseventeentotwenty-five;andtwenty-threepercentwerebetweentwenty-sixandthirty.175

AmongSwedish career officers therewas a professional admiration for theGerman military because of its top military technology. Ultimately, however,extremely few Swedish career or reserve officers joined the Germans duringWWII: a mere five actually joined the Waffen-SS and only one joined theWehrmacht.ThusSwedishofficersympathyfor theWaffen-SSwasat leastasmarginal as the whole SS recruiting campaign in Sweden.176 Quiteunderstandably,theChiefoftheMilitaryAttachéDepartmentinGermanArmyHeadquarters,ColonelHorst vonMellenthin, bitterly complained about this inthe late summer of 1942 to the Swedish Military Attaché in Berlin, ColonelJuhlin-Dannfelt,asfollows:

He[vonMellenthin]madesomecomparisonsofSweden’sattitudetowardGermanyintheFirstWorldWarandnowinthecurrentwar,notingthatintheFirstWorldWartherewereanotinsubstantialnumberofSwedeswhofoughtasvolunteersinGermanunits,whilenowthereisnotasingleSwedishofficeratthefront.177

TheGermancolonelwouldhavebeengladlysurprisedaboutalettersenttotheGermanlegationinStockholmbyaSwedishcareerofficer.Theletter,dated8December1942,wasopenedandconfiscatedbytheSwedishSecurityPoliceand thus never reached theGermans. Itwaswritten by a twenty-four-year-oldsecondlieutenantonactiveservicewiththeSwedishtanktroops.Thelieutenantwanted to explore the possibility of becoming awar volunteerwith aGermantankorcavalryunit,eitherintheWehrmachtortheWaffen-SS.Hewroteinhisletter that he “hated communists, bolsheviks [sic], and Jews.” On his Aryanancestrytheofficerwrote,“Race,asfarasthearchiveoftheHouseofSwedishNobility and I know: no Jewish ancestry. Family: officers and governmentofficialssince the1600s.…GraduatedfromtheSwedishMilitaryAcademyon14 July 1941.…Nordic appearance.” The officerwanted also to return to theSwedishArmy(!)afterthe“NewOrderwasfullyestablished.”178

ASwedishSS-soldierwassecretlyphotographedinthefallof1944inEstoniawiththenewman-transportableantitankweaponPanzerschreck.Thephotoanddataontheweapon’scapabilitiesweregiventotheSwedishMilitaryAttachéinBerlinbythethreeSwedishSSsoldiersSvenAlm,KurtFagerström,and

Karl-ErikPehrsson.Therecoillessweaponhadanelectricalfiringmechanismoftherocketdrivenprojectile,whichcouldpenetratethroughalmostallSoviettanks.(NARA)

Finally, one must not forget that quite a few Swedes went into Germanservice for purely personal, often trivial, reasons. In this group are thosewhowereadventurers,thosewhohadtheburdenofacriminalbackground,andthosewhowere antisocial. In the Security Police interrogation protocols therewereglimpsesofeconomicandfamilyproblems;socialunhappiness;andaprimitivelustforadventure.

In the Nordic perspective it can be noted that Denmark and Norway eachprovided6,000volunteer recruits to theWaffen-SS.Finland contributed1,400men to a Finnish SS battalion in the east that became a chess piece in theGerman-Finnishwartimerelationship,as“brothersinarms.”SeeninrelationtothegreatexpectationsthattheSSoriginallyhadforabroadrecruitingof“Nordicvolunteers” thefinal results fromthesescountrieswasmeager, too. InNorwaytheSSwrestledwiththefactthatduringtheentirewarmanyoftheNorwegianvolunteers wanted to fight in on the Finnish-Soviet front rather than on theGerman-Sovietfront.

The Germans simply never established truly popular movements inScandinavia for its “crusade in the east.” The majority of the Danes,Norwegians,andSwedesintheWaffen-SScamefromgroupsthatwerealreadyNaziincharacterororientedtowardNazism.179

After the war many of the ex-volunteers in the SS, both German andScandinavian,maintained that theywere on the Eastern Front to “Defend thewestern countries against Bolshevism.” What is lacking in their version of

history is that many joined theWaffen-SS as much to to protest against, forexample, Swedish democracy, a democracy that they earlier had rejected orattackedduringtheiractivetimeasNazisinSweden.

TheGermanForeignOfficeactuallyblockedtheSSinitsambitiontorecruitasmanySwedesorSwissaspossible.Thereasonwas, in thecaseofSweden,the value of the country’s exports of high-class iron ore to the Third Reich’smilitary industries. Switzerland exported valuable special instruments toGermany and was an important transit country for Germany. Not just theGermanForeignOfficebut severalministries inBerlindidnotwant theSS todisturbthesevitaltraderelations.Thus,inbothSwedenandSwitzerlandtheSShad to restrain itself after these directives, and it illustrates in a way theconstraintsonSSinfluencewiththeGermanwartimeforeignpolicies.180

With a German victory over the Soviet Union it would have been only amatterof timebeforeGermanywouldhaveinvadedandannexedSweden.TheSS would then have done much more to realize its pan-Germanic vision ofScandinavia.

11.InSovietService,1939–1945:Stalin’sSwedishSoldiers

DuringtheseyearsIhaveacquiredtheskillsthatanofficerintheRedArmymusthaveandamreadytoserveagainshoulditberequired.

—AndersGustavsson,MajorintheRedArmy

SeveraloftheatleastthirtySwedesinSovietwarservicewereinspecialforcesorotherunitswhere language skillswerevital.Among themwasagroup thatpreparedtofightagainstfellowcountrymenintheSwedishVolunteerCorpsinFinland. In addition to Swedish citizens and former Swedish citizens, manymore ethnic Swedes fromEstonia andUkrainewere conscripted into the RedArmy.

AndersGustavssonasacaptainintheRedArmy.FromKareliatoCrimeahetalkedtoGermantroopsthroughloudspeakers.Heinterrogatedprisonersofwarandauthoredpropagandaleaflets.Gustavssonleft

theRedArmyasamajor.(Jan-OlofNilsson)

*****

TheSwedes inGermanuniformfrom1939 to1945servedbothwithin theSSand the Wehrmacht. Similarly, there were Swedes both in the Red Army ofWorkers and Peasants and the People’s Commissariat for Domestic Affairs(NKVD,latersplitintotheKGBandtheMVD).1MostoftheSwedesintheRedArmywereformerSwedishcitizens,orwerechildrenofsuch,whilethemajorityof the Swedes in the NKVD were still Swedish citizens. That was not byaccident.Both theSSand theNKVDwereoriginally instrumentsfordomesticsecurity.Both transformedintogreatlyexpandedorganizationsalsoforforeignespionage and sabotage, however, which made it logical for them to recruitforeigncitizens.

To better understand the Swedes in Stalin’s service one should first reflectupon therevolutionaryperiodfrom1918 to1919.TheSwedeswhoserved theSovietUnion inWWII hadmore predecessors than is apparent from previouschapters. Aside from the three Swedes in the brand new Red Army, and ahandful among the FinnishRedGuards, therewas a plan to set up a sizeablevolunteer force of Swedish communists for action in Finland in 1918.2 For avarietyofreasonsthisplanwasdropped—buttherewereotherplans.

Between 600 and 700 Finnish Red Guards had fled to Sweden after theirbitter defeat at the hands of theWhite forces ofGustafMannerheim in 1918.TheywerenotcontentwithsettlingdowninSweden.TheirideawastoreturntoFinland inAugust 1919, togetherwith 200 Swedish volunteers, in connectionwithaplannedworkeruprisinginallofFinland.3TheprimaryorganizerfortheSwedishcontingent,called“theSwedishBattalion,”wasEdvinThun,chairmanfor both the Communist Youth Club in Boden and of the Communist YouthLeague in north Sweden.4 Thun had completed basic training with the RoyalSveaLifeGuardsandthereafteraplatooncommander’scourse.TheexistenceoftheSwedishBattalionhasbeendenied,butabookbyArne Isakssonbasedoncomprehensive archival research, Konspiratörerna (1989) (The conspirators),shows that the unit was significantly more than a suggestion. All of thebattalion’s200volunteershadbeenSwedishconscripts.Thus,unliketheFinnishRedGuards,theyhadmilitarytraining.5

Through the Swedish policemonitoring of the refugee Finnish communiststheyfoundintherefugees’belongingsadocumentontheSwedishmilitaryandpreparationsforoperationsinFinland.AgroupofFinnishandSwedishcitizenscould be associated with the document and that led to five Swedish citizens

beingchargedwithtreasonandespionage.Fourofthefive,amongthemEdvinThun,wereacquittedin1921.6Oneofthemainreasonsfortheacquittalwasthatthe Swedish police were unable to find anything that indicated the battalionwould be employed in Sweden. One of the lawyerswho defended thosewhowere charged was Georg Branting, the very same Branting that a SwedishvolunteercompanyinSpainwaslaternamedafter.7

Two others of the five who were charged, Carl Niemi and WilliamHeikkinen, both from Norrbotten, emigrated to Soviet Karelia. Niemi was acentral figure among the Swedes in SovietKarelia until hewas seized by theNKVD and charged with espionage. According to NKVD archives he wasexecutedbyashot through theneckon22April1938,butasweshall seehisnamecomesupagainduringtheSecondWorldWar.8

ThecommunistSwedishbattalionforFinlandthusneverbecamearealitybutthe preparations for it must have been remembered within the SwedishCommunist Movement long after 1919. Without doubt another inspirationalsourceforSwedishcommunistsduringWWIIwasthefightofthe530Swedishsocialist volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, many of whom can becharacterizedasthefirstSwedishStalinistsoldiers.

DuringtheWinterWarinFinlandAgrouparoundSpanishCivilWarveteranGösta“Göken”AnderssonplannedtotraveltonorthernFinlandduringtheWinterWarandfromthatareaconductsabotage during 1939 and 1940.9 The group trained in cross-country skiing inwhite camouflaged clothing outside of Stockholm.Andersson had been a firstlieutenant inaSoviet-inspiredcommandotypeunit inSpain(seechapter7).AcarefulreviewofAndersson’smemoirsofSpain,Partisaner(1975),showsthattheinformationhegavethereinwascorrect.That,aswellas theauthor’s(LG)impressionofGöstaAndersson,makesitlikelythatthestatementsheprovidedaboutaplannedmissioninFinlandwerealsotrue.10

In 1969 journalist Göte Nilsson got Andersson to describe the “partisanexpedition” to North Finland. Nilsson stated the purpose of the expedition:“Theycalculatedthatthemostimportantthingwasthepsychologicaleffect—todemoralize the Finns during their struggle against the Soviets.”11 GöstaAnderssonmusthavebeenaware that inNorthFinlandat that time therewereonlySwedishmilitary,intheformoftheSwedishVolunteerCorps.Despitethat,

Nilsson’sdescriptionofhisreactionwhenAnderssondisclosedtheinformationisworthreading:

ManywhorememberthemoodoftheWinterWarprobablythinkthattheexpeditionwassomethingverydreadful.Ifonehadbeenayoungcommunistinthe1930s,however,andhadplacedexplosivesbehindFranco’slinestogetherwitholdFinnishRedGuardsthenonehardlyfelttheneedtotakethecauseof[FieldMarshallGustaf]Mannerheimastheirs.Inthebackgroundremainedtheyear1918andthevictoryofthebourgeoisiearmyandtheechoesofthesalvosfromtheirfiringsquads.12

TheSpanishveteranKarlStaflateraddedtoAndersson’sdescriptionsofthepreparationswithhisownautobiographyDenrödalågan(1997)(Theredflame)wherehereportedthatthementrainedwithheavybackpacks,sleptovernightinthesnow,andexperimentedwithexplosives.13WeretheseexercisesorderedbytheNKVDorwere they justGöstaAndersson’sown idea?Given that hewasunderthecommandoftheGermanmastermindoftheNKVD,ErnstWollweber,hemusthaveatleastgottenanNKVDsanctionforwhatheplanned.14

Therewere,however,SwedeswhodidmorethanjustpreparethemselvestofightontheSovietsideduringtheWinterWar.FredrikÅberg’sbackgroundisnot known, but according to Emil Nordén, another Swede in the early RedArmy, Åberg was a “Swedish comrade” and at no time did he indicate thatÅberg was a Swedish Finn or Swedish Russian.15When Nordénmet FredrikÅbergfor the first timeNordénwasworkingasan interpreterat thePetrogradWar College.16 According to Nordén, however, Åberg was later directlyinvolved in combat during the CivilWar. AfterwardÅberg received officer’straining and then an appointment to the armor troops.When theWinterWarbrokeoutÅbergwasbased in thevicinityof theFinnishborder.As an armorofficerhetookpartinabreakthroughintheKarelianIsthmus.During“theGreatPatrioticWar”hefoughtonotherfronts,amongthem,Leningrad.NordénendshisdescriptionofÅbergbynotingthatin1945hewas“decorated,demobilized,andthengivenapositionasaforemaninaporcelainfactory.”17Somecontrast.

PelleHanssonfromJukkasjärviinNorrbottenlivedforanumberofyearsinBrazil, but moved to the Soviet Union in the 1930s, and then immediatelybecameaSovietcitizen.HeparticipatedasasoldierintheWinterWarandwasreported to have “probably been killed” and was therefore stricken from theJukkasjärvi’scongregationbooksin1940.18

SwedishRazvedchikiThe next war in the Soviet Union was “The Great Fatherland War,” as theGerman-SovietWarof1941–1945isstillcalledinRussia.ThatwarstartedwithHitler’sattackon22June1941.InthatoneblowtheSovietUnionendedupintheongoinggreatwaron thesamesideasGreatBritain.During thiswarovertwentypersonswithSwedishbackgroundsservedintheNKVD,RedArmy,andNavy.

EinoRaitaandhisdaughters,EvaandLilja,wereFinnishcitizenswhohadspenttenyearsinSwedenandsought—butwererefused—Swedishcitizenship.TheyimmigratedtotheSovietUnionandallthreeservedintheWinterWarandtheContinuationWar.EinoasagroupcommanderonanarmoredtrainandEvaas a razvedchik, a reconnaissance soldierwithin the army or theNKVD.19 InEva’sreconnaissanceunittherewasSixtenNiemi,thesonoftheexecutedCarlNiemiwho in1919workedon theplannedSwedishbattalion. “DuringoneofmanydangerousmissionsbehindtheenemylinesSixtenwaskilledbyaFinnishbullet.”20EvaRaitasaidofhisdeath,“Hewasnottheonlyoneofmycomradesthatwaskilled,buthisdeathhitmethehardest.HewasfromNorrbottenandwehadbeenverygoodfriendsforsomanyyears.”21

WasSixtenNiemi aware that his father had been executed in 1938? If theNKVDkneworsuspectedthatheknewit—howcouldtheyhaveplacedhiminaunit operatingbehind the lines inFinland?Could it be thatSixten thought hisfather would be released if he did a good job as a razvedchik? An alternatehypothesisisthatthesonwassowellcertifiedasadedicatedpartyloyalistandthathewasentrustedtocarryoutthemostsensitivemissionsdespitethefactthathehisfatherhadbeenshotasaspy.

It iscertain that itwasaFinnishbullet thatkilledSixtenNiemibecausehewascondemnedtodeathforespionagebyaFinnishmilitarycourton18January1943. He had been part of the Soviet 403d Reconnaissance Unit. The Finnscondemned and executed the Soviet soldiers and hid their true identities byclothingtheminFinnishuniformsorciviliandress.22

ItisnotcertainthatKnutJonssonwasarazvedchikduringthewaryears,buthewasinanycaseaSovietsoldier.BornandraisedasaSwedishcitizenintheRussian town of Kovda, near the Kola Peninsula; his birth is documented inGällivare, Sweden.23 Kovda had a Swedish-owned sawmill for over twenty

yearsandpartoftheworkforcewasSwedish.JonssonbecameaSovietcitizenin 1935 and thenwas inducted intomilitary service.He served duringWorldWar II only on the Finnish Front where he suffered from battle fatigue. It ispossible that previously he had been involved in theWinterWar. A RussianrelativeofKnutJonssonsaidthatafterthewarJonssonhadacareerintheKGBandwasevendecoratedforhisKGBservice.24Consideringhislanguageskillsandhispost-warcareeritislikelythathebelongedtothesecurityservicesevenduringthewar.

Eino’s other daughter, Lilja, spoke Swedish well and therefore became amilitary interpreter in the Continuation War and was placed opposite theSwedishVolunteerCompanyat theSvirFront.Lilja reportedaboutoneof theSwedesshemet:

Directlyacrossfromusweretheso-calledSwedishFinlandVolunteers.IrememberonedaywhenoneofthoseSwedescameovertous.Hewasseizedandinterrogated.Iaskedhimwhyhecameovertous.Andhisanswerwas“IwanttoseeLeningrad.Thisistheonlyway.”Idon’tknowwhateventuallyhappenedtohim,ifhegottoseeLeningradornot,orithewassentbacktotheotherlineornot.IfIrememberrighthisnamewasHolmström.25

TheSwedeinquestionwasLeoHolmströmfromStockholmandwasoneofthe Swedes who fought against both the Red Army and the Wehrmacht—inNorwayin1940hehadfoughtatSelbufoughtfortheNorwegians.Hehadevenfoughtagainst theRedArmy in1940atMärkäjärvi.Whenhewentacross thelines to theRedArmyat0100on1May1943 the record shows that “hewasvery intoxicated.”Hediedof tuberculosis in aSovietprisoncampon26May1944.26

ThereweremoreSwedesintheRedArmyandNavy,butoftheseweknowless:KarlHolmströmfromHusby-LyhundraintheprovinceofUpplandmovedtotheUSSRwithhisfamilyasateenagerandbecameaSovietcitizenin1925.ThushewasdraftedintotheSovietNavyduringWWII,whereheservedasaninterpreter on a submarine. After WWII he worked for the KGB in severalcountries(KarlHolmströmandLeoHolmströmprobablywerenotrelated,asthenameiscommon).27HugoMäkiwasborninKirunaandwasactivebothinthepartyandintheater—heservedintheRedArmyforthreeyearsbeforehewaskilled.28AnotherpersonwhowasfromKirunaandwhoemigratedtotheSoviet

Union was Sixten Tuorila. He succeeded in deserting from the Red Army in1941 and found his way back to Sweden. After the war he emigrated toCanada.29 It is not clear if Tyyne Jaako was born in Sweden, but she hadSwedishparentsandservedintheSecondWorldWarinvariousSovietmilitaryhospitals.30 The only thing we know about a certain Yngve Markstedt fromKirunaisthathewaskilledinSovietserviceduringthewar.31

ThiscertificateisanexampleofaSovietleafletthatwasspreadovertheSwedishBattalion(SFB)atHangöin1941.ItwasasafepassagecertificatethatmaywellhavebeenwrittenbyAndersGustavssonintheRed

Army,sincehedealtwithfrontlinepropaganda.(LG)

ANorwegianSturmmann(meaningstormtrooperaswellasarankwithintheWaffen-SS) “TJ,” from theSS-Division“Nord,” stated that hehad aSwedishofficerintheRedArmytothankforsavinghislife.32“TJ,”fromBodø,wasoneof the nine soldiers that survived at the incredible battle of the Kaprolat Hillfought on 26 June 1944 in Soviet Karelia. He had just been in one of thebloodiest battles that any Scandinavian has ever experienced and had beencapturedandexpectedtobeexecuted.Amachinegunwasplacedtenmetersinfrontof theNorwegianSSmen.Thena red-haired andbeardedofficer rushedforward and stopped the execution to ask if the soldiers were German orNorwegian.“TJ”said that theofficerspokesuchperfectSwedish thathemusthave been a real Swede. After the Swede got the answer that the men wereNorwegians he offered them an alternative to death—“to work in the SovietUnion.”“TJ”immediatelyacceptedtheoffer,andsurvivedthewar.33

MajorGustavssonThe Swedish emigrant that went the furthest in the Red Army was AndersGustavsson.Hewasafarmer’ssonfromasmallfarminTvååkerintheprovinceof Halland. He worked as a military interpreter and front line propagandistwithin the RedArmy during the entire period from 1941 to 1945, ending hisserviceasamajor.

Gustavsson was born in 1889 and after attending elementary school heworked in a brick yard and then moved on to a more stimulating job as atypesetteratthenewspaperFalkenbergs-Posten.Asateenagerhewasinvolvedwith the Social Democratic Youth Association and the largest Swedishtemperancemovement.34WhentheSocialDemocratssplit in1917GustavssonchosetofollowthosebreakingouttoformtheSwedishSocialDemocraticLeftPartywhich later became theCommunist Party.A delegation of 300SwedishcommunistsvisitedtheSovietUnionin1925andamongthosewasGustavsson.Hewasimpressedthat“therightsoftheworkerswereguaranteedintheSovietUnion.”35 When he was offered a chance to study in the Moscow in thefollowingyearheaccepted,andafterfouryearsofstudyinRussianhefeltevenmoreathomeintheSovietUnion.36HeconductedalecturetourinSwedenandthereafter moved to the east for good. He was given the challenging job oftranslating the works of Lenin. According to his brother the most influentialreasonforhismoveeastandchangeofhiscitizenshipwasthathemettheloveofhislife,Ludmila,duringhistimeasastudentinMoscow.37

Asa resultof the takeoverofpowerbyHitler inGermany, thedemand fortranslations ofGermanworks—hismain job at the time—had diminished andAnderswasobligedtochangehiswork.AnderswasgivenanewjobasaseniorinstructorattheLeningradInternationalSeamensClub,Interklub.

The so-called “cleansing” of Soviet society in the middle of the 1930saffectedevenAndersGustavssonbywayofachargeof“connectionswith theenemyof the people.”Hewas expelled from theCommunist Party and to hissurprise was unemployed in the country where unemployment had beenabolished.“NoonecancomprehendhowIsuffered,innocentlysuffered,duringthattime,”hewroteinhisdiary.38AnadamantconfidenceintherightnessofhiscommunistideasandineventuallybeingwelcomedbacktothePartyclearlywasnotsufficient:“ButIdidnotgiveuphope,eventhoughIknewthatIwasright,

anddespiteeverything,IdidnotlosemyfaithintheParty.”AttheendofAugust1939Gustavssonwasinformedthathe“hadbeentaken

backintothePartywithoutanypartypunishment.”Throughthesamediaryonecan follow all the ups and downs of the thinking of a committed SwedishcommunistduringtheSecondWorldWar.On14October1939hewrote,“Thenewworldwarhasbegun.Itisabeginningforwhichnoonecanseeanend.LetitbethelastbattleofCapitalismandFascism—theirdeathstruggle.”

AsaSovietcitizenGustavssonwasinductedtotheArmyandparticipatedinthedefenseofLeningradinthefallof1941.HeaccompaniedacapturedGermanarmorofficerand ledhimpast thedefensivepositions for thecity.Gustavssonwrote that the officer offhandedly said “this city we will never take.”39 TheFalkenberg historian Jan-Olof Nilsson was the first to get permission fromGustavssontopublishexcerptsfromhisdiaryrelatedtothesiegeofLeningrad,such as the following from 15 February 1942: “On the streets one seesprocessionsofwagonseverydaycarryingawaycorpses,butnotlikeithadbeenearlier.Hearses, funeralprocessions,andevencaskets,nolongeravailable,arenownotseen.Mostofthebodiesaredraggedawayonordinarysledscoveredbyablanket,acoveringcloth,oroldclothing.”40

Gustavsson collapsed from starvation and was sent to a hospital where hesurvived,unlikethemorethan632,000otherLeningradinhabitants.GustavssonwastakenoutofthecityonaniceroadacrossLakeLadoga—Leningrad’sonlysupply route during the siege. TheRedArmy placed a value on his languageabilityand,afterhe recovered,hadhim interrogateprisonersofwar,broadcastpropagandaat thefrontusinga loudspeaker,andwrite leaflets inbothGermanandSwedish.Among thosehemetwhileengaged in thisworkwasEvaRaita,mentioned earlier in this book.41 He did not like to write texts in Germanbecause he felt his skill in German was not good enough. The Red Army,however, was very pleased with his work and promoted him to captain inNovember1942.

ManyofGustavsson’sleafletsfelldownontheGermansinStalingrad,wherehealsospentsometime.Hewaswestofthecity,amongotherlocations,whereprobablyatleastoneSwedeinGermanuniformcouldhavebeen,HarrySternerfromLandskrona.GustavssonsawhowtheGermanrescueflightstoLeningrad“wereforthemostpartshotdown”andwerefullyoccupiedwiththelargeunitsthathadcapitulated.Ithappenedthathealsofiredupontheenemy:“Iwasalongwhenwe,bythewayofPerekopPeninsula,liberatedCrimea.InfactIwaswithoneofthefirstunitsthatmovedinonSevastopolanddroveouttheGermans.I

participated in the shooting at the boats that the Germans used to try toescape.”42

On7June1944henotedinhisdiary:“YesterdaywegotamessagethatourAlliedtroopshadenteredRomeandthatthesocalledsecondfronthadopened,thatistosay,thatourAlliedtroopshadlandedinnorthernFrance.”

AfterCrimeaAnderschangedbattlefields,joinedanarmycorpsintheBalticarea, and was involved in the seizure of Lithuania. On 17 October 1944 hewrote:“TherearerumorsthattheGermansareplanningtogoontheoffensiveon our front to try and link upwith the ‘AdolfHitler’Division surrounded inMemel.Thatwouldbeahopelesseffortthatwouldonlybringthemmanymorelosses.”

Königsberg, Tilsit, and Ragnits in East Prussia were the last towns hemarched into. When the fighting in Europe was over there followed afrustratinglylongwaittobedemobilized.ForGustavssonthiswasanespeciallypainful time as he then only could think of his motherless children, as hisbelovedwife,Ludmila,hadbecomeillanddiedinthefallof1944.

Of the Soviet decorations that Major Gustavsson received he placed themedal for thedefenseofLeningradhigher than the formallyhighest awardhewasgiven:TheOrderoftheGreatPatrioticWar.

Gustavsson followed theParty line faithfully throughout his entire life as auniversityinstructorofSwedishandleftStalinismwhenKhrushchevintroducedhis “thaw.”43 He died in 1990 in Leningrad, but requested to be buried in achurchyardoutsideofFalkenberg.

Itcanbementioned inpassing that theonlySwedeafter theSecondWorldWar to join a socialist army in war was born in the same town as AndersGustavsson: Tvååker. That was Svante Grände who served in 1973 as alieutenantinthemountaincompany“RamonRosaJimenez,”aguerrillaunitinArgentina.44

TheBernhardOrganizationNo one can operate as a saboteur in Sweden more easily than a Swede.Therefore theBritishSOE—andlateralso theAmericanCIA—wanted tohaveaccesstoSwedishcitizensforspecialoperationsinSweden.Forthesamereasonthe NKVD created a sabotage network using Swedes who lived in Sweden.NKVDwas very successful in the beginning, butwas struck by a catastrophethattookthemmanyyearstoovercome.

Onmidsummerevein1941theSpanishveteranGöstaAnderssonwantedtobringhomeafriend,andtogetherwithhislive-ingirlfriendDagmar,enjoyoneof thewartime’s celebratorymeals: pork sausageswithmashedpotatoes.45HenevercamehometohisplaceonPilgrimsvägeninAspudden,however.Onthecontrary, twopolicemencameandransackedhishome.TheyfoundnothingofinterestinhisapartmentandastheyleftabruptlytoldDagmarthatshewouldnotseehimagainfortentofifteenyears.

The police later did find what they were looking for—metal chests withexplosives—buriedintheareaofLangbrohospital.46AlargepartoftheNKVDSwedishBernhardOrganizationwasrolledupbytheSwedishpoliceduringthesummer,incoordinationwiththeGestapo,whichbecameinvolvedatthetimeoftheGermanattackontheSovietUnion.47Theyhadbeencarefulnottoarrestallthe“Bernhardmen,”or“Wollweberligan,”astheyhadbeencalledinthepressafter their German leader, Ernst Wollweber. The purpose of this selectivedetention had been to get information on the group at the time OperationBARBAROSSAbegan.

WollwebermovedtheBernhardnetworkinDenmarkbyseainthemiddleofthe 1930s. Bernhard had two main missions: sabotage in peacetime andpreparations for German expansion; for example, to prepare sabotage ofSweden’s harbors involved in ironore transport in the event thatSwedenwasoccupiedbyGermany.

Bernhard’s peacetime sabotage was directed at the merchant fleets inGermany,Italy,Japan,andPoland—nations thatStalinwantedtoworkagainstinpeacetimewithouttheactionbeingdirectlytiedtotheSovietUnion.Plansforactivities in the times of both peace and war called for explosives and time-delayedfirebombsofthetypesthatwerenotmadeintheSovietUnion.

It is likely that thecraneoperatorEdvardNybergfromKirunawas thefirstSwedethatwasrecruitedbyWollweber.ThedaysbeforeJuly1936Wollweber’s

NorwegianrepresentativedrovetoKirunaandmadecontactwithNyberg,whocould not only repair cranes, but practically anything—he was a technicalgenius.After anothermeeting inFebruary 1937Nybergbegan tomanufacturefusesforbombswithtime-delaymechanismsinstalledanddeliveredexplosivesthat were “gifts” from the northernmost mines in Sweden, obtained by threefriendswhoweremineworkers.48

By delivering explosives and detonating mechanisms a number of Swedesparticipated in active NKVD operations even before 1939, primarily againstships that carried goods to Franco during the Spanish Civil War. ErnstWollweber’s biographer has given an approximate estimation of how manygrosstonsweresunkbytheBernhardnetwork:aquartermilliontons—matchingwhat many of Germany’s most successful submarines had achieved.49According to the journalist Alf Lövenborg, Wollweber himself stated in aconversationwithLövenborginthe1950sthat“alotofSwedishironoreneverweremadeintoGermanweaponsthankstothejoboftheresistancemovement.AndNyberginKirunawasoneofourmostimportant.Hissystemwasusedbyanti-FascistsalloverEurope.”50

InFebruary1940,inthewakeoftheWinterWar,theSwedishpolicecarriedout an extensive action against SKP offices and private homes and found inprinciple nothing compromising. At that time, however, they apprehended aNorwegianforinterrogationwhorevealedthathewasWollweber’sclosestman,the Norwegian Martin Hjelmen. A short time later, on 7 April 1940, GöstaAndersson, from Stockholm, was selected to take over Hjelmen’s role.Andersson “and hundreds of men all over Sweden” continued the work bypreparing to blow up strategic harbors and hydroelectric power stations.51 ABernhardman,Gustav Ceder from Luleå, however, had voluntarily become apolice informer inFebruary1939.Whilehe“worked”withAnderssonandhismenheactuallyprovidedinformationtothepolice.52

GöstaAnderssonwassentencedtoeighteenmonths inprisonfor“acquiringand storing explosives with the knowledge that others intended to use thematerials to create damage, aswell as for illegal possession ofweapons.”Hesaid in court and later that he had no regrets because he saw his work as acontinuation of the anti-Fascist battle in Spain. Four decades after thewar heemphasized that theplans foractions inSwedenwouldhaveonlyhappened intheeventofaGermaninvasion.53

EdvardNyberg, thebuilderof thebombs,wassentenced to threeyearsand

six months for “participation in the causing of damage to ships, theft ofdynamite,andillegaltransferofapistolwithitsammunition.”54AfurtherninetySwedeswerearrested,butmostwerereleased.Twelvewerechargedandelevenof themwereactuallysentenced.ThetwoNorwegianBernhardmenwhowerearrested in Sweden were turned over to the Gestapo and executed bydecapitationaftertheyhadbeentortured.55

Anderssonsummeduphis timein theBernhardorganizationasfollows:“Itended tragically. Or perhaps it ended well—I don’t know. We were caughtbeforewecoulddomuch.AndSwedenneverwasoccupied,otherwisenoneofuse would be alive today, none of us who were imprisoned.We would havebecomeheadless.”56

Quite inexplicably ErnstWollweberwas branded a criminal and extraditedfrom Sweden to the USSR—possibly after a tip from the Swedish CabinetSecretary Erik Boheman to make Wollweber a Soviet citizen and thereafterchargehimforpretendedcrimesintheSovietUnion.57HecametoBerlinlater,between1953and1957asChiefoftheStasiintheGDR.

AtleastfourSwedishSpanishveteransbelongedtotheBernhardorganization—and from that group twoweremembers of spetsnaz units.58 It is likely thattherewereseveralSwedesinthemilitarytwinoftheBernhardorganization.Justas is the case with most states, the Soviet security service, NKVD, and themilitaryintelligenceorganization,GRU,wereparallelnetworks.59

ThereisaninterestingdocumentontheSpanishvolunteersinthearchivesofCarlos Adlercreutz, Chief of Swedish military intelligence during the SecondWorldWar.Onefindstheremark:“Therewaseveryreasontosuspectthatthosewho had enrolled in the International Brigade became so fixed in the woollyfabric of theKomintern that their possibilities to release themselves from thatfabricwereended.”OnewondersalsohowSwedishmilitarycouldknow“thatagoodnumberoftheSpanishveteranscontinuedtheirtraining(toincludespecialtraining) in the Soviet Union, where their stay was almost impossible todetermine.”60

SwedishEstoniansintheRedArmyOne of the German avenues of attack in the summer of 1941went north, upthroughtheBalticSea.InthemiddleofJulytheRussianssentoutmobilizationorders to certain age groups in the northern part of Estonia.According to the

announcement if anyof them refused to comply theirhomeswouldbeburnedandtheirfamilydeported.Thoseinductedgotorderstotakewiththemenoughfoodforseveraldaysaswellasachangeofunderclothing.

Together with fifty-one from his village the Swedish Estonian ArvidWesterstenfromGutanäsobeyedtheorder,“becauseofthethreat.”61Insteadofbeing soldiers, however, they were used as slave laborers in the province ofArkhangelsk.Theprovisionof foodwascatastrophicand theworkhourswentfromseveninthemorninguntileightatnightwithoutanydaysforrest.ThefirstSwedishEstonian“soldiers”diedofstarvationbyChristmasin1941.

In the spring of 1942 those that survived finished their “military training”with trouble instead of rifles. Two Soviet-Estonian divisions were formedbeyond the Urals and in these were placed the Swedish Estonians. Foodrationing improved—canned food from theWest—and theywere permitted tobuildasauna:“Therewelaughedateachother;thighswerenarrowerthankneesand the stomachs were large and swollen from undernourishment.” Britishuniformswerepassedout—apartoftheBritishLend-Leasedeliveries.“WehadEnglishbootsandclothes,buttheliceinthemwereRussian.”

After more than two months in transport and waiting the men receivedSwedishweaponsandwereplacedincombaton15December1942atVelikiyeLuki. Westersten remembers his baptism of fire: “Two of our artillery drafthorseswerekilledandtheboysrushedoutoftheirtrenchestocutawayapieceofrawhorsemeat.”

One dayWestersten got togetherwith a pair ofmen fromNuckö and theyspokeSwedishbetweenthemselves.“Thenanofficercameoverandintroducedhimself as a Swede from Ormsö. Soon we split up, and I don’t know whathappenedtotheother.”

On 20 December the Red Army withdrew from the area, but ArvidWestersten remained in the most forward line. He was captured there by theWehrmacht,receivedashowerandwasfed“asakid.Iweighedonlyforty-ninekilogramsatthetime.”IntheendofMarch1943WesterstenwasreleasedandlimpedhometoGutanäs.“AtthechurchImetmysistersonthewaytoaprayermeetingatParsklop.ItwasaSunday.”

OtherSwedishEstoniansserved in theRedArmyto theend.OskarFribergfrom the Island ofOrmsö stands out as he took part as an infantryman in thebattle of Stalingrad and is most probably the only Swede to have done so;survivedthathell-on-earthandcamehomein1946.Incredibly,heisstillaliveathetimeofthiswriting.62

SwedishUkrainiansintheSoviet“HomeGuard”Swedish Ukrainians were also mobilized by the Red Army in 1941.GammalsvenskbyintheUkrainebecameasceneofbattleinfourdifferentwars—theCrimeanWar,theFirstWorldWar,theRussianCivilWar,andtheSecondWorldWar.Therewere remarkably fewSwedishUkrainianswho remained intheRedArmyafterthesummerof1941,itseemstheyalldeserted.

During the 1930s many of the men of the Swedish minority inGammalsvenskby became part of Osoaviachim—comparable to the SwedishHomeGuard.ThecommanderoftheunitwasJohannesPetterssonKnutas.Itsohappenedthat themenwerenotatall loyal to theSovietUnionandafter theirtown had been occupied by theGermans theywere reorganized as aGermanHomeGuardunitunderthesamecommander,Knutas!63

JanFalkfromStockholmwasavolunteerintheGermanOrganisationTodt,theparamilitaryGermanconstructionorganization.FarupinFinnishLapplandFalk met a number of prisoners of the Germans whose mother tongue wasSwedish!TheywereagroupfromGammalsvenskbywhohaddesertedfromtheRed Army. They were not handled as ordinary Soviet prisoners of war—untermenschen—but as “somethingbetweenaprisoner andan employee.”64According to Falk the Swedish Ukrainians ate the same food as the Germansoldiers, but were not paid for their work. On the other had they got dailyinstructionfortwohours,whichFalkviewedas“thesamethingaspropaganda,”andwerepermittedtimeforsports.UnlikethePolishprisonerstheywereabletoplaysoccerwithGermansoldiers.

AtleastoneoftheSwedishUkrainianswhohadservedinboththeRedArmyand theWehrmacht ended up in Sweden in 1945: Emil JohanssonUtas, whofinishedthewarasaGermanmilitaryinterpreter.65

Swedish Finns in theRedArmy during the SecondWorldWar are for themost part an unresearched category, category,with one remarkable exception:EyolfMattsonfromÅland.MattsonbelongedtooneofthewealthiestfamiliesinÅland,butwasattractedtoleftistcircles inhisstudentyears.Anobligationbywayof thewar in1918broughthim to theSovietUnion.After trainingat theWarAcademyinMoscowhebecameabattalioncommander.AsanewGeneralStaff officer he was given the mission in 1922 to build up the Soviet borderwatch against Finland. At the end he was promoted to brigadier general andchief of tactical instruction at the War Academy. In 1936, however, he wasaffectedbyStalin’spurgesandwasaccusedof“Finnishnationalism”andsentto

Siberia.Hewas released in1946fromtheGulagcampatNorilsk. In thiswayGeneral Mattson spent the entire war in captivity—but his students from theAcademywereabletoapplywhattheyhadlearnedfromhim.66

12.AftertheSecondWorldWar:SequelsandSuccessors

TheSecondWorldWarformallyendedon2September1945withthesigningofthecapitulationdocumentbyJapan’sForeignMinister.MostofSweden’swarparticipants had by that time returned to civilian life, but some of themproceededtonewconflicts.

Since1945peacekeepingandpeace-enforcingoperationsinexoticlocationshaveprobablyattractedquiteafewSwedeswhootherwisemighthavesoughtforeignmilitaryservice.TheseSwedishmarinesinChad,

2008,wereonamissionfortheUNaspartofthemilitaryforcesoftheEuropeanUnion(asindicatedbytheEUinsignia).ThearmoredcarinthebackgroundisaSwedishpansarterrängbil203ofFinnishorigin.The

machinegunisaSwedish-madeversionofthevenerableM2Browning.(KimLarsson)

*****

Anti-GuerrillaOperationsinSoutheastAsiaAslateasAugust1945,CountErikG:sonLewenhaupt,SwedishCaptaininthe

British airborne troops, prepared to jump over Japanese-occupied Singapore.OperationZIPPER,asthewar’slastparachuteoperationwasknown,wascalledoff, however, after the US dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.1 The BritishforcesinSoutheastAsiacouldtheninsteadbeemployedagainsttheguerrillasofMalaysia and Indonesia, who had recently been allies in the war against theJapanese! As an area commander Lewenhaupt was heavily involved in theseanti-guerrillaoperationsuntil1946.

SwedesinSupportofIsraelIn the same year Ulf Christiernsson left the Royal Air Force and joined thecivilian aviation company, Skandinaviska Aero. When that company waspurchased by ScandinavianAirlines (SAS), though, he began to work for theJewish Agency. He helped Jews leave Europe, but also flew riskier covertmissionsinvolvingcargosuchasvariousweapons,fromCzechoslovakiatotheyoung Israelimilitary force.After these flights itwas not such a large step tosign up as a bomber pilot for Israel in its War for Independence in 1948.Christiernsson was a major in the Israeli Air Force from 1948 to 1949, thenbecomingacivilianpilot,atfirstwithIsraeliElAl.2ChristiernssonwasnottheonlySwedeinIsraeliuniform.AtleastsixteenmoreSwedishcitizensfoughtforIsrael in the same war, but because of security have chosen not to go publicabout their war service. It is known, however, that several of them were notJewish,andoneofthemwaskilledinaction.3

ReadyforWorldWarThreeImmediatelyaftertheSecondWorldWarasecretcooperationemergedinwhichwartimeopponentsmet:formermembersoftheAmericanOSSandtheGermanSS. All around Europe the CIA—the newOSS—helped by former spy chief,ReinhardGehlen,recruitedpreviousmembersoftheWehrmachtandSS.Inthefirstplacetheywantedthosewhohadworkedinintelligenceorganizationsandspecialforces,butalsoinfrontlinedivisionsoftheWaffen-SS.4Theseveteranswere seen as especially staunch anti-communists, and therefore appropriate tohelp create so-called “stay-behind” movements in the event of Sovietoccupation. These resistance groups would evacuate key personnel and wageguerrillawaragainsttheSoviets.

Asaconsequence,theSwedishDefenseStaffanditsT-office(covertmilitaryintelligenceservice) in1946and1947contactedanumberofSwedeswhohadservedinGermanorFinnishuniform,mainlythroughMajorAndersGrafström,who had been a volunteer for Finland. The aim was to identify suitable andwillingveteransfromboththeWaffen-SSandFinnishwarservice,toestablishastay-behind structure for Sweden in case the Soviet Union occupied thecountry.5

Throughstay-behind,SSveteransgotanewraisond’étreandaconfirmationthattheirearlieractivitywasnotonlyforgiven,butalsoappreciatedbythenewsecurity elite. The different European varieties of stay-behind were for manyyearstheCIA’sandNATO’sbest-protectedsecrets.

Did theSovietUnionestablishanynewsabotagenetworks inSwedenafterboth the NKVD and GRU Swedish sabotage networks had been rolled up in1941?ConsideringtheSovietactionsinotherstatesit ismorethanlikely.It islessprobable,however, that theycontinued touseSwedishSpanishCivilWarvolunteers toman the networks. That category was probably too risky to useafter1941,eveniftherewereexamplesinothernationsofInterbrigadeveteranswhoworkedfortheNKVDsuccessorsafterWWII.6

KoreanWarTwoSwedishcitizensservedasvolunteers in theUSArmyduring theKoreanWarfrom1950 to1953:StenCedergren, later internationallyknownasawildgamehunter,andBertilHarding,GruppFritjof’s leader.7Harding’smotivationforparticipationwas“thesamemonster thathasanose inEuropehasa tail inKoreaandifIdrawalittlebloodfromthetailitwillhavethesameusefulnessasanosebleed.”8BertilHardingwaswoundedincombatandgottwomedalsafterwhich he became a tourist entrepreneur inAfrica. There is vague informationthatsomemoremembersofGruppFritjofservedinUSuniforminKorea.Theyprobably did not fight, however, but served at the Swedish Red Cross FieldHospitalthere,whichworkedinsupportoftheUS8thArmyinKoreafrom1950to1953.Totally,1,124SwedesworkedatthishospitalandearnedthepraiseoftheUSArmy,whichconferredonittheMeritoriousUnitCommendation.9

WiththeUSMCinVietnamOnly two Swedish citizens are known to have fought for theUnited States inVietnam.BjörnDahlinandPer-OlofÖdmanbothjoinedtheUSMarineCorps.Both have stressed that their driving force for joining was neither anti-communism nor solidarity with the US or Vietnam, but simply a search foradventure,flightfromproblems,andadesiretoexperienceafull-scalewar.10

Therewere,however,severalhundred,perhapsevenmore,who inVietnamwere called “Swede”: second-or third-generation Swedish-Americans. One ofthese being a relative of themain author (LG), Green Beret Richard Simons,whowasposthumouslyawardedaSilverStar.TheSwedishAmericanCaptain,andlaterColonel,CarlGustavFinstromevenfeltalittleextraSwedishwhileinVietnambecausehetherecarriedaSwedish-madeweapon:anm/45submachinegun, incidentally with the export name of “Carl Gustaf” (known by the USsoldiersasthe“SwedishK”).11

Swedish-AmericanCaptainCarlGustavFinstrominVietnamwithhisSwedish-madeCarlGustafm/45submachinegun,atypeusedbymostoftheUSSpecialForcesworkingwithindigenousRVNtroops.

(Finstromfamilyarchive)

PublicprotestsinSwedenoverthesituationinVietnamgreatlyexceededtheprotest storm against Franco in the 1930s yet, as far aswe know, no SwedesjoinedtheFNL(VietCong)ortheNorthVietnameseArmy.12ItappearsthattheonlySwedewhotrulyfought inasocialistunitafter1945wasSvanteGrände,

the sonof aminister.Grände joined theChileanMIRguerrillas in1973.Twoyears later he was killed serving as a lieutenant in the mountain company“RamonRosaJimenez,”aguerrillaunitinArgentina.13Insummarythen,therehavebeenalmostnoSwedesinforeignwarsafter1945forpoliticalconvictions.

SwedishVolunteersforBiafraCount Carl Gustaf von Rosen, with war experience stretching back to aidingEthiopiaagainstMussolini,againtookpartinwarsafter1945,forhumanitarianreasons.AfterWWIIvonRosenspentyearsinEthiopiaasaninstructorfortheImperial Ethiopian Air Force. He left to fly UN Secretary General DagHammarskjöld.Byatwistoffate,HammarskjöldwaskilledinanaircrashwhenvonRosenwasgroundedbyillness.CountvonRosenthenflewreliefmissionsfor aid organizations into war-torn Biafra, a break-away republic of Nigeria.Horrifiedby theharassmentby theNigerianAirForce,hehatchedaplanwiththeFrenchsecretservicetostrikeback.Hepurchasedfiveciviliansingle-engineairplanes that he knew had been designed for ground attack, had the planespaintedincamouflage,andarmedthemwithrockets.Startingon22May1969,vonRosen,his fiveaircraft,andahandfulofSwedishvolunteersandBiafransattackedtheairfieldsfromwhichtheNigerianAirForce(NAF)launchedtheirattacks against theBiafranpopulation.TheNigerians lost severalSoviet-madefightersandbombersagainstfewBiafranlosses(noSwedes).CountvonRosensaw action once again in 1977 during thewar betweenEthiopia and Somalia.Flyingreliefforrefugees,hewaskilledbySomaliguerrillasandSwedenlostalegendarypilot.14

SwedesinSupportoftheUnitedNationsThe peace keeping and peace enforcing operations probably attracted manypeoplewhomighthaveotherwisesoughtforeignmilitaryservice.

Since the first United Nations (UN) observers began to work in 1948 theSwedish Department of Defense has sent some 100,000 Swedish men andwomen abroad on operations in the name of theUN, if not always under thedirectionoftheUN.Someofthemissionshadaverypeacefulcharacter,whenthecontractingpowerswerenotfightingeachother.Inothercases,however,theSwedeshavebeenobligedtoresorttocannonfireandairsupport,asinCongoandBosnia.

SwedesintheForeignLegionThoseSwedeswhohadthegreatestneedfor“action”joinedtheFrenchForeignLegion and the US armed forces. La Légion has significantly raised theirrequirementsforapplicantssincethe1930s,andafter1945onecanestimatethatatmost thirtySwedes have served for some timewith various regiments in laLégion.15ThesemenhavetakenpartinvariousconflictsinAsia,Africa,SouthAmerica,andtheBalkans.

IntheYugoslavCivilWarYugoslavia’s war in the 1990s gave a new possibility for adventure-seekingSwedeslookingforparticipationin“arealwar.”FewjoinedtheSerbianforces.ThatSwedesonlyjoinedCroatianorBosnianunitsorformationsdidnotmeanthat they committed themselves to the reasons for the conflict. The search foradventure, ethnic background, flight from problems at home, and antipathyagainsttheSerbiansseemstohavebeenthedominantmotivatingfactorsamongthoseapproximatelyonehundredpersons.16

NewSwedesinNewWarsTheconflictsintheformerrepublicsoftheSovietUnionandtheattackagainsttheWorldTradeCenteron11September2001havegivenanewbasic reasonfor young Swedish citizens to seekwar: religious conviction. Swedish citizenMohamed Moumou, aka Abu Qaswarah, was, according to the US ArmedForces,thenumbertwoleaderofal-QaidainIraquntilheblewhimselfupon5October2008duringashootoutwithUStroopsinMosul,Iraq.

13.FinalReflectionsInan internationalcomparison,was thenumberofSwedeswhoparticipated inwarsforforeignpowersfrom1914to1945unusuallyhigh?Whichofthesewarparticipantscanbesaidtohavehadthegreatestinfluenceonhistory?

*****

To begin with we can make some comparisons between Sweden andSwitzerland. There are several good reasons for casual observers to confuseSweden with Switzerland. A long history of a consistent security policy anddemocratictraditions;qualityproducts;strongeconomies;andwintersportsareassociatedwithbothcountries.Swedensince1814hasforthemostparttriedtofollowanalliancefreeandneutralpoliticalstance.AttheCongressofViennain1815theSwissweretoldthattheiralready167-year-oldpolicyofneutralitywasintheinterestofallofEurope.

Between the 1400s and 1848, however, one of Switzerland’s most soughtafter“exportgoods”hadbeensoldiers.TheconceptofSwissmercenarieswaswell-known.“Twomillionsoldiers,70,000officers,700generals—thatiswhatSwitzerland has given Europe—what a contribution!” boasted Swiss earlytwentieth-century author Gonzague de Reynold.1 A small remainder of thisepochcanstillbeseeninthespecialguardunitfortheVaticanState:theSwissGuardforthePope,withanancestrydatingfrom1506.

With the birth of the Confederation—modern Switzerland—in 1848,everythingchanged.Thenewconstitutionforbadeservinginaforeignmilitary.That brought the end to the large-scale recruitment of Swissmen, but insteadmany individual Swiss joined the French Foreign Legion. Over 50,000 SwissmensignedupwithlaLégionbetween1831(theyearthelegionwasstarted)and1900.StillmanyyearslaterhundredsofSwissjoinedlaLégioneveryyear.

WhentheSpanishCivilWarbrokeoutin1936Switzerlandhadapopulationof 4.4million compared to 6.2million in Sweden.2 Over 400 Swiss and 530Swedes served in the military forces of the Spanish Republic from 1936 to1939.3SwitzerlandthuscontributedmorevolunteersforSpainthanSweden,inrelationtoitsrespectivepopulation.

The number of Swiss in theWaffen-SS, at least 750men (several hundredmoreifonecountsdualcitizens),isfargreaterthanthe180fromSweden.Ifwe

look at the Swiss compared to Swedes in Allied service, the comparison isreversed.TheSwissmilitaryhistorianVincenzOertleestimatesthatonlyafewhundredSwissexpatriates served in theuniformsofFrance, theUnitedStates,andsoon.OertlebelievesthatbetweenonlybetweentenandtwentySwissleftSwitzerlandtojoinAlliedmilitaryforces.4

NorwegianSS-PanzergrenadierstakecoverfromSovietairattackintrenchesinCourlandinthefallof1944.DuringtheoccupationofNorway15,000NorwegiansappliedfortheWaffen-SSand6,000were

accepted.(NARA)

Howwasit,though,withthemorethantenthousandSwedishvolunteersforFinlandfrom1939to1944?Werethey,assomehavesupposed“thelargesttrulyvolunteer contribution from one country to another that has ever happened?”5Theshortanswerisno.Tobeginwiththerewerevolunteersforforeignarmiesfrom all non-aligned states during theworldwars. Portugalwith its 6millioninhabitantscontributedacorpstoFrancowithover2,000soldiers.6Spainwithapopulation of 24 million, contributed over 40,000 volunteers to the GermanArmyand theLuftwaffeon theEasternFront.7Forover threehundredyearsa

substantialpartoftheBritishArmywasmadeupofIrishmen.DuringtheFirstWorldWaranddespitetherisingmovementforIrishindependence,morethan200,000menfromthe“greenisland”servedinBritishunits,andnotentirelyforeconomic reasons. They continued to come from all of Ireland even after theIrish Free State was declared. Thus, during the Second World War at least40,000 men from independent Ireland joined the British Army.8 It is quiteremarkablethatinspiteofanti-BritishsentimentsnotevenadozenIrishjoinedtheWaffen-SSandotherGermanformations.9

DuringWWII there were many more nationalities under British commandandequippedbyBritainandtheUS.Someservedwithinregular,British-staffedunits, some in armies, navies, and air forces in exile. For example thereweresome250,000meninthePolishArmedForcesinthewestfrom1940to1945.Manyof theseunits inexileconsistedofvolunteersonly.Thiscannotbesaid,however, about the several hundred thousandAfricans that served in the FreeFrenchForces,asmanyofthemhadbeendrafted.Similarly,amongthehundredthousandLatvians duringWWIIwhoworeGerman uniform (mostly from theSS)thereweremoredraftedmenthantruevolunteers.

Theoretically, the contribution fromHungary to Finland during theWinterWarwasgreaterthanthatfromSweden,inbothabsoluteandrelativeterms.Nolessthan25,000ofHungary’sninemillioninhabitantssignedupforthedefenseofFinland.10 The treaty betweenGermany and theSovietUnion caused thoseseekingapassageacrossGermanytoFinlandtobedeniedaGermantransitvisa,however, so only 350Hungarians actually joined their “ethnic cousins” in thenorth(theHungariansandFinnsshareaprehistoricpast).

Among theoccupiedWesternEuropean countries both theNetherlands andBelgium had exceptionally high numbers of volunteers for the Eastern Front.Theywere found in theWaffen-SS,Wehrmacht,OrganisationTodt, andotherGermanformations.Ithasbeenestablishedthat22,000DutchcitizensservedintheWaffen-SSalone.TherewereatleastasmanyinotherGermanformations.11ThepopulationoftheNetherlandsatthetimewasninemillion.TherewerethusmoreDutchmenintheWaffen-SS,relativelyspeaking,thanSwedeswhojoinedtheFinnishArmedForces.12

Finally,regardingourScandinavianbrothersinforeignwarservice.Norwayhad a population of threemillion at the beginning of the SecondWorldWar,Denmark, a littlemore that3.5million.For some reason theDanishvolunteercontingent to Finland in theWinterWarwas greater than that from themore

winter-accustomed Norway. At least 944 Danes served in Finland during theWinterWar,comparedto727Norwegians.13About12,000NorwegianssoughttoservewiththeWaffen-SS,withthelastapplicationarrivingon7May1945.14

Foravarietyofreasons“only”between5,000and6,000wereaccepted.15TheDanish figures are almost identical.16 There were, however, several thousandadditional Danes and Norwegians under Heinrich Himmler’s command whenonetakesintoconsiderationthemanyDanishandNorwegianNaziparamilitaryunits under the SS. Some of these SS auxiliaries also saw some action, albeitmostlyagainstcompatriotsandonasmallscale.

*****

Who, from all the Swedish war participants that we have described, had thegreatest influenceonhistory?Probably itwas thegroupofSwedishofficers inFinlandin1918,becausetheFinnishgovernmentforcesatthetimebadlylackedtrainedofficers.Thevictoryof theWhites inFinlandquitepossiblywouldnothaveoccurredwithouttheSwedishofficers,andevenmoresowithoutPrussianJäger Battalion 27, manned by a large percentage of Swedish Finns and ahandfulofSwedishcitizens.

DuringWWIIboththeSwedishvolunteersforFinlandandtheSwedesintheAlliedconvoyswere sonumerous thatonemustconclude that theymusthavehadsomekindofimpact.Tohaveaninfluenceonhistoryhadbeenthedreamofmany Swedish war volunteers. At the same time, however, for many, thedeciding factor seems to have been to follow one’s conscience or politicalcommitment.Idealism—aswellasthesearchforadventureandtheescapefromproblemsathome—wasamotivatorinallcamps.17

Sincetheendofthe1980stheSwedesintheWaffen-SShavereceivedalotof attention.Wehope that ourbookwill contribute toputting theSwedishSSphenomenonintoproportion to theseveralotherandmuchlargercategoriesofSwedes in foreign war service.18 From our point of view these proportionsreflectthetruesympathiesoftheSwedishpeople.Thetraditionallypro-Germanorientation among certain groups in Swedish society never resulted in strongpublicsupportforGermany.Between1914and1945theoverwhelmingmajorityofSwedishcitizens in foreignwarsservedeitherunder the flagsofFinlandortheWWIIAllies.

ListofAbbreviationsADAP:AktenzurdeutschenAuswärtigenPolitik(GermanMinistryofForeignAffairs1918–1945)BAKO:BundesarchivKoblenz(GermanFederalArchives,Koblenz)BAMI:Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv(GermanFederalMilitaryArchives,Freiburgim

Breisgau)BDC-BA:BundesarchivBerlin(FormerUSBerlinDocument

Center,nowGermanFederalArchives,Berlin)FRA:FörsvaretsRadioAnstalt(NationalDefense

RadioEstablishment,Stockholm)Fst.Und.:Försvarsstabens

underrättelseavdelning(IntelligenceDepartmentoftheSwedishArmed

Forces)GPU:Glavnoie

PoliticheskoyeUpravlenie(TheStatePoliticalDirectorate,Moscow)

HK/HKV:Högkvarteret(HQoftheSwedishDefenceForces,Stockholm)KB:KungligaBiblioteket,Stockholm

(RoyalSwedishLibrary)KrA:Krigsarkivet(TheMilitaryArchivesofSweden)LG:LarsGyllenhaal(co-author)LW:LennartWestberg(co-author)MUST:MilitäraUnderrättelseochSäkerhetstjänsten(SwedishMilitaryIntelligenceandSecurity

Agency,Stockholm)NARA:NationalArchivesandRecordsAdministration,Washington,DCNHM:NorsktHjemmefrontmuseum(NorwegianResistanceMuseum,Oslo)NKVD:Narodny

KomissariatVnutrennikhDel(ThePeople’sCommisariatforInternalAffairs,Moscow)NSDAP:NationalsozialistischeDeutscheArbeiterpartei(GermanNaziParty)PRO:PublicRecordOffice,todayknownastheNationalArchives(intheUnitedKingdom)RA:Riksarkivet(NationalArchivesofSweden)

Säpo:Säkerhetspolisen(SwedishSecurityService)RAD:Reichsarbeitsdienst(ReichLaborService)RSHA:Reichssicherheitshauptamt(ReichSecurityHeadOffice,Berlin)SOE:SpecialOperations

ExecutiveSOU:StatensOffentligaUtredningar(seriesofofficialSwedishgovernmentpublications)UD:

Utrikesdepartementet(SwedishForeignMinistry)UmFA:ForskningsarkivetiUmeå(UmeåResearchArchives)UUB:UppsalaUniversitetsbibliotek(UniversityLibraryofUppsala)WASt:Wehrmachtauskunftstelle

(theformertitleoftheFederalGermanAgencyformilitarycasualtiesinWWII,Berlin)ZSt:ZentraleStellederLandesjustizverwaltungen(FederalGermanAgencyfortheprosecutionofNaziGenocide,Ludwigsburg)

Endnotes

Preface

1.BörjeFurtenbach,“Svenskafrivilligförband,”AktuelltochHistoriskt:MeddelandenfrånFörsvarsstabenskrigshistoriskaavdelning,195;andLarsEricson,Svenskafrivilliga(Lund,Sweden:HistoriskaMedia,1996).FurtenbachdealswithonlylargerSwedishunitsabroadfrom1900to1945,whileEricson’sbookcoversboththe1800sandthe1900sandincludesSwedishUNbattalions.WerecommendFurtenbach’sandEricson’sworks,towhichwereferredoftenwhenwritingthisbook.

2.TerjeW.Fredh,Svenskasjömänsomdogiandravärldskriget(Lysekil,Sweden:privatelypublished,2000),1;ArvidRundberg,Frisco-Per(Stockholm:Fram,1985),227.Fredh’stotalnumberfortheperiod1939to1945is1,886Swedishseamenwhodied.SubtractthedeadfromtheSwedishNavy(119)andthosetorpedoedinshipsfromAmerica,Norway,andothercountries(atleast300)andyougetthesumof1,467persons.SeealsoMaciejZaremba,“Vadärskyldigadedöda?”DagensNyheter,7November2003.ItshouldalsobenotedthatFredh’sfiguresfromtheyear2000wereunderstated.Fredhreportedon5February2004inaconversationwiththeauthor(LG)thatthetotalnumberofSwedishseamenwhoperishediscloserto1,950persons.

3.SeeCarl-AxelWangel,Sverigesmititaraberedskap,1939–1945(Stockholm:Militärhistoriska,1982),633.CorrespondingnumbersfortheFirstWorldWarareunknowntotheauthors,butNils-OlofFranzén,Sverigeunderförstavärldskriget(Stockholm:AlbertBonniers,2001),217,writesaboutonlytheSwedishcivilianwardead(1914–1918)that“Closerto800Swedesdiedwhen280Swedishmerchantshipswerelostatsea:bymines,torpedoes,orothershooting;throughcollisionsandlistingbecausethefireswereputout;andbycapturebyaforeignpower.”PerErikssoninRundberg,127,maintainsthattherewere290Swedishships.

4.Atleast6,000ofthoseconscriptedduringtheSecondWorldWarbecameofficiallyrecognizedashandicappedduringtheirmobilizedservice.Afurther9,000personsappliedtoberecognizedashandicappedduringtheirmobilizationservice,butwererefused;seeSe46(1946):1.Thetotalnumberofcasualtiesinthedefenseindustryduringthewaryearsisnotknown,butjustthecatastropheattheBjörkbornexplosivesfactoryin1940resultedinelevendeadandthirty-seveninjured;seeWangel,635.

Chapter1:BeforetheFirstWorldWar1.VarangianspossiblycomesfromtheearlyIcelandicwordvaeringjarandcanbeinterpretedas

meaning“thesworn.”2.ElseRoesdahl,FrånVtkingartillKorsfarare:NordenochEuropa,800–1200(Stockholm:

FöreningenNorden,1992),76;“Nordborvarkejarenslegosoldater,”PopulärHistoria2(1991).3.MarkusIneichen,DieschwedischenOffiziereinPersien(1911–1916):Friedensengel,

WeltgendarmenoderHandelsagenteneinerKleinmachtimausgehendenZeitalterdesImperialismus?(Bern:PeterLang,2002),36.

4.MargaretaBeckman,Underfranskfana!RoyalSuédois—svensktregementeifransktjänst,1690–1791(Stockholm:SvensktMilitärhistorisktBibliotek,1995),7;SvenskaDagbladet,“FullständigregementshistoriaöverRoyalSuédois,”30August1996.

5.Beckman,67;HermanLindqvist,AxelvonFersen(Stockholm:MånPocket,1992),53.6.ArteetMarte,“Cincinnatiorden—ettlevandearvidubbelbemärkelse,”2/2001.Thecolonels

receivedtheOrderin1783,thesameyearthatSwedenbecamethefirstforeigncountrytorecognizetheUnitedStatesofAmericaasanindependentcountry.

7.AmandusJohnson,SwedishContributionstoAmericanFreedom,1776–1783,vol.2.(Philadelphia:SwedishColonialFoundation,1957),3,38,141,274.

8.Ericson,Svenskafrivilliga,15;Lindqvist,51.9.Johnson,3,225.10.ForthelateststudyontheseSwedesseeMilitärhistorisktidskrift2004(Stockholm:

Försvarshögskolan,2004);formoreonRaabseePennanochSvärdet,“HugoRaab-enmilitärreformatori1800talentsSverige,”7(2003).

11.Ericson,Svenskafrivilliga,32;AlfÅberg,Svenskamaunderstjärnbaneret(Stockholm:Natur&Kultur,1994),29.

12.Åberg,160.13.Ibid.,38;Ericson,Svenskafrivilliga,36.14.Åberg,58.15.GustafThorsander,Blandkosackdolmarochpickelhuvor(Stockholm:Frölén&Comp,1906),163;

andHvar8Dag,11April1915.ThethreeSwedishcareerofficersonthesideofFrancewhohavebeenidentifiedareSixtenLewenhaupt,C.H.M.Rosencrantz,andTureThulstrup.AllthreewereSwedishnobilityandarethereforeeasilyresearchedinthearchivesoftheHouseofNobles.TheonlySwedishnameonthePrussiansidethatiscurrentlyknownisErikOlsson,whosepaintingcanbefoundinHvar8Dag,11April1915.

16.AktueltochHistoriskt1958(1959),33;H.E.Uddgren,HjältarmavidMagersfontein(Stockholm:A.B.Seelig,1924),21.

17.BrianPottinger,TheForeignVolunteers:TheyFoughtfortheBoers,1899–1902(Melville:ScriptaAfricana,1986),58;Uddgren,15.Uddgren’sbookcontainsadetailedrosterofthecorps,theambulancesection,andtheNorwegianvolunteerswithotherBoerunits.NineteenSwedeswerepartofunitsotherthanthecorps.FormoreonStålberg,seeHälsingerunor:Enhembygdsbok1970(Arbrå,Sweden:HälsingekretsenavGästrike-HälsingeHembygdsförbund,1969).AnotherverygoodsourceforbiographicaldataisAfrikafeber(2000)byK-GOlinwhich,however,wasnotusedbytheauthor(LG)ashewasnotawareofitatthetimeofwriting.

18.Uddgren,51.19.Socialdemokraten,23December1899;ErlandMossberg,Minnenfråntrekrig(Stockholm:Albert

Bonniers,1943),91.20.ThelandwheretheScandinavianswerekilledwasownedbyaScotwhodidnotwantanymemorial

erectedtohonoraformerenemy;therefore,themonumentisnotplacedexactlywherethecombattookplace.SeeUddgren,82;andSvenskaDagbladet,“EnstenavSvenskgranitiAfrika,”19June1988.

Chapter2:InPersianService,1911–19161.Ineichen,36.2.Ibid.,37;Riddarhusetsstamtavlor(thegeneologicalchartsoftheSwedishHouseofNobles);Fritt

MilitärtForum,“SvenskamilitäreriPersien,”Nr1-21975.3.Ineichen,62;WiktorAxelUnander,Påfarofylldauppdragiösterled(Malmö,Sweden:Globförlaget,

1947),127.4.Ineichen,84;Unander,43.5.Ineichen,67.6.AhmendShahwasregentduringtheSwedishserviceinthecountry,butbecausehewasaminor,the

personwhoactuallycontrolledthecountrywasagovernmentofficial.7.EricCarlberg,PåuppdragiPersien:Glimtarfrånentrettioarigvistelseundersolensochlejonets

tecken(Stockholm:NaturochKultur,1962),21,29;Ineichen,97.8.Ineichen,92.9.Ibid.,93.

10.Ibid.,94.11.Ibid.,85;Carlberg,35;PerNyström,FemåriPersiensomgendarmeriofficer(Stockholm:Albert

Bonniers,1925),85.12.KarlSchiller,Enavdesvenskeiframmandeland(Stockholm:Norstedts,1919),23.13.DeutscheTageszeitung,“SchwedenalsWeltgendarm,”2July1913.14.Times(London),“PolicingPersia,”27December1913.15.Ineichen,123.16.Ibid.,134.17.Ibid.,132.18.Nyström,84.19.Nyström,183,NyaWermlands-Tidningen,“Itjänstvidpersiskagendarmeriet,”23(September

2000);PennanochSvärdet,“Försvarsmaktensbelöningsmedaljer,”9(2003).20.NilsKällvist,lettertoauthor(LG),23May2004.TheotherawardrecipientswereErnstHill,Boris

Möller,PerNyström,andHugoSkjöldebrand.21.Carlberg,61.22.PerNyström,183;FaleF:sonBurman,Föddtillsoldat:Frånfänriktillöverste(Stockholm:

Bonniers,1969),200.23.Nyström,192.24.Burman,243.25.Militärnyheter,25April1914.Lewenhaupt’snamewaslistedonthememorialplaqueinthe

KarlbergCastlechapelforthoseSwedishofficerswhohavebeenkilledinforeignservicesince1813.26.Ineichen,128.27.Ibid.,131.28.Ibid.,147.29.GunnarandElsaKällström’sarchiveandalbumintheRiksarkivet(RA,SwedishNational

Archives,Stockholm)includesanumberofnewspaperclippingsonthe“schism.”Quotationon“theGermanthing”istakenfrom“ÖversteNyströmanländertillStockholm,”Aftonbladet,8September1916.InadditiontoIneichen,seeStephanieCronin’sTheArmyandtheCreationofthePahlaviStateinIran,1910–1926(London:TaurisAcademicStudies,1997)ofwhichtheauthorofthischapter(LG)wasnotawarewhenhewroteonthissubject.

30.Ineichen,147.31.BlekingeLänsTidning,“MarinintendentPravitzjärnkorsriddare,”27February1917.32.Ineichen,158.33.Cronin,33.34.Schiller,32.35.InadditiontoSchiller’searliermentionedEnavdesvenske,thereisSivertWester’sMartinEkström

(Stockholm:Militärhistoriska,1986),abiographywithextractsfromlettersbyEkström.36.RA,GunnarandElsaKällström’sarchive,unpublishedandundatedlecturebyElsaKällström.This

andsubsequentquotationsfromElsaKällströmaretakenfromherlecture.Townnameshavebeenupdatedbyauthor(LG).MazepawasaCossackleaderandallyofKarlXII(CharlesXII)intheUkraine.

37.Ineichen,169;Nyström,259.38.Militärhistorisktidskrift(Stockholm:Försvarshögskolan,2003),269.39.Ineichen,169;DagensNyheter,“Ungsvenskdetektivpersisköverdomare,”3May1960.40.FilipRytterås,Frivilligsoldat(Piteå,Sweden:Förlagsvenskafrivilliga.com,2003),52.41.Inmanyearlierworks,suchasErikaSchwarze’sKodnamnOnkel(Stockholm:Bonniers,1993),one

canreadthatPetersénwasinBritishserviceatGallipoli.ExtensiveresearchonthematterattheKrigsarkivet(KrA)(TheMilitaryArchivesofSweden)bythearchivist,PerClason,showshoweverthatPetersénmostlikelywasinOttoman(Turkish)servicebecauseinJuly1915hereceivedanOttomanmeritoriousservicemedalinsilver,andinhisSwedishservicerecordfrom1921onecanread“1915April25–May4.VisitedtheTurkishfieldcampaignsatGallipoliandSaors.”

42.Militärhistorisktidskrift1999(Stockholm:Försvarshögskolan,1999),83.

Chapter3:IntheServiceoftheKaiser,1914–19181.Franzén,133.2.ForadescriptionofthepreludetotheFirstWorldWar,JanOlof“Jolo”Olsson’smasterlywork1914

(Stockholm:Bonniers,1964)isrecommended.TheBritishmilitaryhistorianJohnKeegandescribedthe“TheGreatWar”inhisbook,TheFirstWorldWar(London:Hutchinson,1998).RichardM.Watt’sclassicTheKingsDepart:TheTragedyofGermany—VersaillesandtheGermanRevolution(NewYork:WeidenfeldandNicolson,1969),isrecommendedfortheVersaillesPeaceConference,theNovemberRevolution,theGermanSpartacusMovement,andthedevelopmentoftheFreikorps.TheIrishhistoriansJohnHorneandAlanKramerdescribetheGermanwarcrimesagainstthecivilianpopulationinBelgiumandFranceintheirpioneeringresearchgiveninGermanAtrocities1914:AHistoryofDenial(NewHaven,Conn.:YaleUniv.Press,2001).ForasummaryofthelatestresearchontheFirstWorldWarseethespecialissue“DieUr-Katastrophedes20.Jahrhunderts,”derSpiegel1(2004).

3.Franzén,82;WilhelmCarlgren,NeutralitätoderAllianz:DeutschlandsBeziehungenzuSchwedenindenAnfangsjahrendeserstenWeltkrieges(Stockholm:Almqvist&Wiksell,1962),58.

4.Carlgren,NeutralitätoderAllianz,62,102.5.WilhelmCarlgren,Svenskutrikespolitik,1939–1945(Stockholm:Allmänna,1973),315,note69:

“Schnurre’sappeal[5July1941]isreminiscentofthecertainlystrongersirensongonasimilarthemethatwasplayedoutfromBerlintoStockholminconnectionwithanattempttoformanalliancein1915duringtheongoingGerman-Russianwar.”

6.ThetotalnumbershavebeenobtainedfromtheKrigsarkiv,Riddarhusetsstamtavlor,memoirs,andIneichen’spioneeringbookontheSwedesinPersia.Thetwolargestcategoriesarethetwenty-twoSwedesinthe“KöniginVictoria”andthesamenumberofSwedesfromPersia(ex-GG).Wehaveidentifiedwithcertaintysixty-oneSwedishcitizensinGermanservicebetween1914and1918.Unfortunately,theGermanarchivalmaterialonSwedishvolunteersinGermanWWIserviceisverylimited.TheBritishbombingofPotsdaminthespringof1945totallydestroyedtheGermanStatemilitaryhistoricaldepot,theHeeresarchiv.

7.EricWennerholm,SvenHedin:Enbiografi(Stockholm:Bonniers,1978),174.8.Wennerholm,179.9.CarlHerlitz,“Tyskaregementenmedsvenskatraditioner,”MeddelandenfrånArmémuseum43–44

(Stockholm,FöreningenArmémuseiVänner,1985),208.10.Meddelanden43–44,209.11.MattiLauerma,KuninkaalinenPreussinJääkäiiripataljoona27:vaiheetjavaikutus(Helsinki:

Jääkäriliitto,1966),262.12.BengtBehrman(officerfriendofSonesson),lettertoauthor(LG),28July2003.In1943Sonesson

wasnotallowedtobeanofficerintheinvasiondefenseforceofGotland;therefore,deeplyoffended,heresignedasareserveofficer.

13.Svenskaarménsrulla(Stockholm:Lantförsvaretskommandoexpedition,1931),151.14.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor.15.HaakonLeche,Detsvenskakavalleriet:Etttruppslagsnutidshistoriaochframtid(Stockholm:

Norstedts,1979),78;alsoNilsÅngman’sdossier,inthearchivesoftheStatensUtlänningskommission(Swedishmigrationboard),RA(transl.LW).

16.HansWernerNeulen,FeldgrauinJerusalem:DasLevantekorpsdeskaiserlichenDeutschland(Munich:UniversitasVerlag,1991),144.

17.HansWernerNeulen,MitdenWüstenlöweninderSinai:DieFliegerabteilung300imNahenOsten1916–1918[undatedmanuscriptinauthor’s(LW)possession].

18.HenrySchumburg’scentraldossierFIB:2232,StatensUtlännningskomission,RA.

19.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor;andHvar8Dag,6February1916,300.20.StaffanRunestam,Ph.D.,lettertoauthor(LW),7November2003.21.SvenskTeologiskkvartalsskrift,“NathanSöderblom,ekumenikenochEuropa,”4(2002):175.22.RösteriRadio-TV,31(1964):10.23.SvenskTeologiskkvartalsskrift,45.24.Ibid.25.Withthepermissionofhisson,NilsRosén,Jr.,Stockholm,theunpublishedmemoirsofNilsRosén,

Sr.havebeenplacedintheauthor’s(LW)custody.26.Seenote25.27.ThisandallquotationsofClaesvonRosenfromhismemoir,Detstoraädventyret:Minnenfrån

livetifält(Stockholm:LarsHökerbergs,1920).28.CarlBelfrage,Vanvettetpåvästfronten(Stockholm:SMI,2001).29.DeutschesSoldatenjahrbuch(1981),113,translatedbytheauthor(LW).Ramstad’sownpublished

warmemoirisMedtyskarnapåvästfronten(Oslo:H.Aschehoug,1930).30.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor.31.Norrbottens-Kuriren,“Dynamitsläden,”30January1917.32.InhaberderEisernenKreuzesundandererPreussicher/deutscherKriegsauszeichnungender

RosenschenFamilie[archivesofthevonRosenfamily],translatedbyauthor(LG).33.BengtSelander(ed.),KungligaSvealivgardeshistoria:Biografier1903–1981(Stockholm:

StiftelsenförSvealivgardeshistoria,1983),80.34.TheveryfirstmilitaryuseofchemicalgaswasinAugust1914whenFranceemployedteargas,

developedbytheFrenchpolice,againstGermantroopsontheWesternFront.ThegaswasnotofthedeadlyvarietythatwasusedinApril1915atYpres,wherechlorinegasproducedbyI.G.Farbenwasused.Keegan,197.

35.Ibid.36.J.Söhr,Spionerochbomber:Fraopdagelsepolitietsarbeideunderverdenskrigen(Oslo:Johan

GrundtTanum,1938),38.37.Ibid.;Jokela,justasvonRosen,hadreceivedmilitarytraininginGermany.38.SwedishpressfirstreportedthattheyoperatedfromKirkenes,butlatercorrectlywrotethatitwas

onlyfromKautokeino.39.Norrbottens-Kuriren,“Vittangi-mysteriet,”2February1917.40.Ibid.,30January1917and2February1917.41.Ibid.,“Ettrykte,”3February1917states“approximately5,000horses”whileJ.GustavSvanberg

saidthenumberwas1,800horsesand200to400reindeer“thatgottotrampuptheroad.”J.GustavSvanberg,Haparanda,1910–1920:Idyllochdramatik(Luleå,Sweden:Tornedalica,1973),316.

42.Söhr,36.43.J.GustavSvanberg,316;Söhr,43.Inthejournal,Nature,vol.393(25June1998),aNorwegian

microbiologist,BjörnP.Berdal,opinedthattheideabehindtheGermansugarlumpswasnotthoughtthroughwell.Evenifallthesugarlumpshadbeenuseditwouldmostlikelyhaveaffectedonlyoneanimalforeachsugarlump,becauseanthraxinthatformwouldnotbeabletoinfectfromoneanimaltoanother.

44.Söhr,37.45.SvenskaDagbladet,“RaoulGraf[sic]alltjämtpåfrifot,”5February1917.46.VonRosenfamilyarchive.47.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor.48.NorwegianDefenseDepartmentMicrobiologicalLaboratory,lettertotheTrondhiemPolice

Museum,17June1997[copywithauthor(LG)].49.DeutschesSoldatenjahrbuch1966(Munich:Schild-Verlag,1966),150.50.Ibid.51.Suomenjääkärienelämäkerrasko(Helsinki:Jääkäriliitto,1975),32.52.ErikAppel(ed.),Finlandikrig,1940–1944(Esbo,Finland:Schildts,2000),47.

53.ForthemostpartSweden’spolicywithrespecttotheFinlandVolunteerMovementwasunofficiallyverysympathetic.SwedishauthoritiesallowedmenfromtheFinnishResistanceMovementtoworkundisturbedinMalmö,Stockholm,Umeå,andHaparanda.

54.TheFinnishlyricsforthemarchwerewrittenbythejägerHeikkiNurmoio,theSwedishlyricsbyJ.Wegelius.

55.Lauerma,262.56.HaraldHjalmarson,MinakrigsminnenfrånFinland(Stockholm:ÅhlénochÅkerlunds,1919),85.57.InformationontheSwedesinthe27thRangerBattalion,exceptErikHallström,comesfrom

LauermaandSuomenjääkärienelämäkerrasto.58.Hjalmarson,85.59.ErikAppel,Finlandikrig,1939–1940(Esbo,Finland:Schildts,2001),64.60.FranzSchreiber,KampfunterdemNordlicht:Deutsch-finnischeWaffenbriiderschaftamPolarkreis

(Coburg,Germany:NationEuropa,1996),20.Itcanbeaddedthatuntil1959,Finlandalwayshadacommanderinchiefthathadbeenamemberofthe27thJägerBattalion.

61.Appel,Finlandikrig,1940–1944,41;MarcJ.Rikmenspoel,Waffen-SS:TheEncyclopedia(GardenCity,NY:MilitaryBookClub,2002),111;OlliWikberg,DritteNordland(Helsinki,Finland:Wiking-DivisioonaOy,2001),24.

62.ThequotationistakenfromColonelJormaJokisalos’sspeechatHohenlockstedt,25January2003.Fortheverylateststatisticsandotherinformationaboutthe27thJägersseethebookletJägarnaslivsverkpublishedinHelsinkiin2005bytheirassociation.

63.QuotationandsubsequentinformationfromGilbertHamilton,Ifält(Stockholm:Bonniers,1919),329.

64.HamiltonwasnamedonthisoccasiontoGeneralmajorderReserve(honorarymajorgeneralintheGermanArmyReserve)byHitler.

65.Barometern,11December1940.KungligaBiblioteket,Stockholm(RoyalSwedishLibrary)(KB).66.SecretdocumentsseriesFXf,vol.51,MUST:FörsvarsmaktensHögkvarter,Stockholm

[“HoffenlichgehtesIhnengutindiesenfürDeutschlandsostoltzenTagen.Esistfabelhaft!Schade,dassichnichtdabeibin!”(“Hopefullyitisgoingwellforyouthesedays,thataresomethingGermanycanbeproudof.Itisfabulous!ToobadI’mnotthere!”)].Säpo’schiefarchivisttoldtheauthor(LW)on2September2003thattheHamiltondossier,Hd.1108/40,couldnotbefoundinSäpo’sarchive.AccordingtoaSäpoadministrativenotethedossierhadbeen“takenout15May1962”andprobablydestroyed.

67.SvensktBiografisktlexikon,1971,129;KungligaSmålandshusarregementeshistoria,Eksjö,Sweden:Fören.Smålandshusarersredaktionskommitté,1975),268.ResearchbyLWonthedocumentinGermanandSwedisharchivestosupportthisinformationhasbeenfruitless.

68.AcopyofvonSeeckt’sspeechhasbeenplacedinthecustodyoftheauthor(LW)byNilsRosén,Jr.69.ThesevenSwedespositivelyidentifiedaskilledinactioninGermanWWIserviceareStig

Ankarcrona,HarryCarlsson,MarcusGrundberg,OlofHedengren,FredrikMalmsten,WillyHöglund,andAchatesvonPlaten,andalsoontheGermansideinTurkishservice,theformergendarmeofficer,EdvardEriksson.

Chapter4:IntheServiceoftheEntenteandtheUnitedStates,1914–1918

1.Aktuelltochhistoriskt:MeddelandefrånMilitärhistoriskaavdelningenvidMHS(Stockholm:Militärhistoriska,1971and1975),113(1971),157(1975).

2.ElowNilson,Svenskahjaltarvidfronten(Stockholm:Ahlen&Akerlunds,1917),16;AlwynSanden,Närfiendemaäroilandet:Brevfrånkamraternavidfronten(Stockholm:Tryckeri&förlagEwe,1928),13.AphotographoftheSwedishvolunteersassembledaroundtheirflagwaspublishedinHvar8Dagon13September1914.Sincetheresearchworkforthisbookwascompletedanewsourcehasappearedabout

ElowNilson,theessay“Vårmanikulregnet”byLinaSturfelt,publishedinForskningsfrontenflyttasfram(2003).

3.ElowNilson,16.4.Sanden,12.Unfortunatelynotmanypersonalnamesaregiveninthebook.Itstill,however,givesa

credibleimpression.5.AnotherpersonwithanartisticprofessionmentionedbyElowNilson(113)istheauthorSvenBlom

fromNorrköping.6.Ibid.,18.7.Utrikesdepartementet(SwedishForeignMinistry)(UD),U2138,9/222,“efterforskningarang.i

krigetdeltagandesevenskaundersåtar,”25April1918.8.ElowNilson,78.9.Ibid.,107.10.Sanden,75.UnfortunatelythewriteroftheletterisnotnamedinSanden’sbook.11.ElowNilson,143.12.RolandHortlund,SwedishChurchinParis,lettertoauthor(LG),10May2003.Ofthesixteen

namedtherearefiveonthelistfromtheSwedishConsulatedatingfrom1915.Atotaloftwenty-fiveSwedishcitizensinFrenchmilitaryservicehavebeenpositivelyidentified.

13.Re.Sundstedt:WichitaStateUniversity,SpecialCollections,UniversityLibraries,HugoSundstedtAviationCollection,MS95-30Box1,FF1.Re.Lönnberg,seeHvar8Dag,2June1918,andSvensktkonstnärslexikon(Malmö:Allhem,1952),vol.4,51.ThelattersourceonLönnbergdoesnotmentionatransferfromtheLegiontotheFrenchAirForce.Thereforetheclaimaboutatransfershouldbefurtherinvestigated.RegardingSwedesservingintheBelgianCongoduringWWI,seeVeckojournalen,“DesvenskakrigarneiKongo,”37(1915).

14.Inhisafter-actionmemoir,CaptainPerCederbaum,aSwedishexchangeofficerinFrancefrom1919to1920,describeshowheandhisSwedishofficercolleaguesservedwithanumberofFrenchunitsafter1919.SubmittedbyEllenCederbaum,hisgranddaughter.

15.KrA,Chefenkustartilleriet/Inspektörenförkustartillerrietsarkiv,serieD1,uppgifterförkompletteringavgeneralrullan,theofficialSwedishArmyroster.Informationfrom1920to1922.

16.UD,R37Ua,pärmmärkt“Doubtful-draft-case-list,”memofromtheSwedishLegationinWashington,DC,12May1924(names2,300applications)andthememofromthesamelegation23June1944(upto20November1918withnotlessthan1,956applicationsreceived).

17.UD,R37Ua,foldermarked“Tobesavedasacuriosity,”theletterwriterbelongedtothe341stFieldArtillery,BatteryB,CampFunston,Kansas.

18.PostcardfromCorporalJohnStockhousetoMatildaStockhouse25October1918,inMikaelSundberg’sfamilyarchive.

19.Beijbom,245;Lindmark,123.20.AlfW.Johansson,PerAlbinochkriget:Samlingsregeringenochutrikespolitikenunderandra

världskriget(Stockholm:Tiden,1984),113.21.BerntJohansson,Tillbakahem(Lönashult,Sweden:Författarens,1959),143.22.DouglasV.Meed,SoldierofFortune:AdventuringinLatinAmericaandMexicowithEmil

Holmdahl(Houston:Halcyon,2003),x.23.TheTimesHistoryoftheWorld(London:TimesBooks,1999),250.24.Populationstatisticsfor1920fromSvenskupplagsbok(Malmö,Sweden:Baltiska,1932).25.T.W.Schönberg,lettertotheUD,17June1942,UD,R37Ua.26.UD,R37Ua,foldermarked“Doubtful-draft-case-list,”memofromtheSwedishlegationin

Washington,D.C.,12May1924:ofthe2,300personsthataskedtobe“exempted”atotaloffiftywerekilledinactioninthewar.

27.HelsingborgsDagblad,“Förhonomharmedaljenmångasidor,”6March2004.28.UD,U2138,29/238,“svenskiJohannesburgvidtagaråtgärderisyfteattbildaenskandinavisk

kontingent,”21August1914.

29.UD,U2138,29/21,“upprättandeavskandinavisk-candensiskbattljon,”19March1916.30.JohanNilsson,lettertoauthor(LG),15July2004,withattachmentsfromtheNationalArchivesof

Canada.31.Re.BlixenseeUlfAschan,BaronBlixen:EttporträitavbaronBrorvonBlixen-Finecke(Höganäs,

Sweden:Wiken,1986),80.Re:SwedesinAustralianuniformseethearticle“Australiensvenskarpåvästfrontenunderförstavärldskriget”byÅkeAdolfssoninSläktforskarnasÅrsbok2007.TheSwedeinBritishserviceinChinawasone“E.Nordström”fromStockholm,describedintextandphotosinHvar8Dag,21June1914.HereCarlTaubeshouldalsobementioned,whofrom1924andduringseveralyearsaccompaniedtheManchurianArmyasamilitaryexpert.SeehismemoirsFrånLiaoHotillGulafloden(Stockholm:AlbertBonniers,1928).

32.UD,U2138,43/7491,24September1916.33.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor.34.Re:WesterbergseeHvar8Dag,“Fallnapåsinpost,”24September1916.Re.Strömwall,who

servedinthe8thBattalionoftheLeicestershireRegiment,seeBirgittaBergströmRegborn,lettertoauthor(LG),20March2005.Botharealsoinwww.cwgc.org.

35.TerryCarlbom,lettertoauthor(LG),11May2005,andRogerE.Nixon,lettertoAnthonyCarlbom,6December1999.

36.HewasmadeanhonorarydoctorofphilosophybyUppsalaUniversityforhisacademicachievements.

37.BirgerHultstrand,Destoraäventyren(Stockholm:Bonnier,1968),142.38.GustafHallströmcollection,UmFA,C2:7;DagensNyheter,“IvorThord-Graysägenompunnen

krigare,”21August1964.39.Mossberg,284.40.JörgenHedmanandLarsÅhlander,Gammalsvenskby:HistorienomsvenskarnaiUkraina

(Stockholm:Norstedts,1993),11.41.JörgenHedmanandLarsÅhlander,HistorienomGammalsvenskbyochsvenskarnaiUkraina

(Stockholm:Dialogos,2003),126.42.RusskyInvalid,3,30October1916.

Chapter5:AtWarinFormerCzaristRussia,1917–19221.DagensNyheter,“DetevigaRysslandärsigliktocholikt,”28June1993;DagensNyheter,

“Erikssonvardet,inteKarlsson,”1July1993;DagensNyheter,“SlutordomAurora,”21July1993.2.Hjalmarson,345.3.PopulärHistoria,“Inbördeskrigetsofferutreds,”8(2001).4.Militärhistorisktidskrift1998(Stockholm:Försvarshögskolan,1998),29.5.LarsWesterlund,ed.NordenochkrigeniFinlandochBaltikum,1918–19(Helsinki:Stats-rådets

kansli,2004),36.6.EvertBaudou,GustafHallström:arkeologivärldskrigensepok(Stockholm:NaturochKultur,

1997),189.7.AxelBoëthius,Svenskabrigaden(Helsinki:Söderström,1920),258;Westerlund,40.8.DensvenskainsatseniFinlandsfrihetskrigår1918(Stockholm:BörtzellsTryckeri,1928),70;

Westerlund,39.9.Militärhistorisktidskrift1998,61.10.Westerlund,64.11.Aktuelltochhistoriskt(1959),41.12.Militärhistorisktidskrift1998,59.13.Jan-OlovNäsman,TillFinlandsräddningochSverigesheder.C-essay,historyC(Falun,Sweden:

UniversityofDalarna,1998),56;Westerlund,76.

14.Boëthius,223;DensvenskainsatseniFinlandsfrihetskrigår1918,54;Westerlund,63.15.DensvenskainsatseniFinlandsfrihetskrigår1918,54.16.DagensNyheter,“OlofPalme(1884–1918),”26November1995.17.E.WalterHülphers,MedSvenskabrigaden:personligaupplevelserunderFinlandsfrihetsstrid

1918(Stockholm:Svithiod,1918),41.18.Militärhistorisktidskrift1998,41.19.Ibid.,45,Westerlund,69.20.AkuelltochHistoriskt1969,123.21.Näsman,66.22.Schiller,84;Wester,92.23.Wester,93.24.Ibid.,94.25.Ibid.,98.26.“SvenskariEstland.”PANSAR,partI–IIIstartingwithissue3/1986.27.Ericson,Svenskafrivilliga,83.28.Ibid.,87.29.MorningPost,30December1919.30.AmadeusBianchini,IdetrödaRyssland(Stockholm:Svenskaandelsförlaget,1921),10;Svenska

frivilligaiFinland,1939–1944(Stockholm:Militärhistoriska,1989),446.HasselströmhadbeenaplatooncommanderinEstoniain1918underMartinEkström.DuringtheSecondWorldWarheservedinSFKaswellasinMartinEkström’sstaffontheHangöFrontin1941.

31.Carlsson,190.32.Ibid.,175.33.WeeklyTankNotes,66/1919.34.Westerlund,128.35.EmilNordén,FrånstatarstugantillRödaarmén(Stockholm:arbetarkultur,1962),253.36.Ibid.,82.37.AntonNilson,FrånAmaltheatillryskarevolutionen(Stockholm:Pogo,1980),283;Nordén,140;

LG’sinterviewwithAntonNilson,1988.38.AntonNilson,163;LG’sinterviewwithAntonNilson,1988.39.AntonNilson,165.40.ZinovyevwasthePartyChiefofPetrogradfortenyearsandbecameamemberofthePolitbureauin

1921,butfellfromgraceandwasfinallyexecutedin1936asa“conspiratoragainsttheSovietUnion.”41.ThiscommentandthosefollowingarefromNilson,177.42.Ibid.,179.BjörklundreturnedlatertothepostaschiefeditorforBrand.43.Ibid.,182.44.Ibid.,159;LG’sinterviewwithAntonNilson1988;Expressen,“Amalthea-mannen,100rymdefrån

sjukhuset,”8November1988;FolketiBildKulturfront,“Enenvetenkampmotförtryckare,”18(1987);NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,“MärkligsvenskrevolutionärtrorattKollontaymördades,”16January1973.

45.FolketsDagblad,“AntonNilsonövergårtillSocialistiskaPartiet,”8May1935.46.Säpofile:tillf.P3253Nilson,A.Säpohaswritten“Nilsson”butthecorrectspellingisNilson.47.Ibid.48.Ibid.49.Expressen,“Amalthea-mannen,100rymdefrånsjukhuset,”8November1988.50.Nilson,281.51.Ibid;SvenskFlyghistorisktidskrift,“Svenskaflygareiösterled,”partsIandIIinissues3and4,

2000.

Chapter6:InEthiopianService,1934–19361.Agge,5.2.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor.3.Carlberg,67;Ineichen,170.4.MarcosCanteraCarlomagno,Ettfolkavmänskliggranit:Sverigeidenitalienskautrikespolitiken,

1932–1936(Lund:HistoriskaMedia,1995),137.Bothnames(EthiopiaandAbyssinia)areused.ForthesakeofsimplicitywewilluseEthiopia.

5.Ibid.,133.6.Ibid.,140.7.VikingTamm,ItjänsthosNegus:AdertonmanådersomkrigsskolechefiEtiopien

(Stockholm:Wahlström&Widstrand,1936),124.8.Ibid.,273;PopulärHistoria,“Svenskaofficerareikejsarenstjänst,”5(1995).9.CanteraCarlomagno,182.10.GunnarArtéus,ed.Svenskaofficersprofilerunder1900-talet(Karlskrona,Sweden:

Militärhögskolan&AxelAbrahamsons,1996),376.11.Ibid.,401;Tamm,292.12.Artéus,377.13.Ibid.14.Ibid.15.Ibid.16.Se,“LöjnantAlfredo,”12(1940).17.TheEmperor’sguardunit,trainedbySwedishofficers,wassenttotheKoreanWar.SeeBeridna

Högvaktenstidskrift,“MinnenfranEtiopien,”1(2001).AviationhistorianJanWaernberg,recognizingthattherewere160SwedishadvisorswithintheEthiopianAirForcefrom1946to1961,wrote:“WithalittleexaggerationonecansaythattheEthiopianAirForceduringthattimewasthesecondSwedishAirForce.”aquotefromhisSvenskavingaröverEtiopien(Stockholm:SvenskFlyghistoriskFörening,1999),5.

18.ErikRabo,“Svensk-norskinsatsfördemokratin,”Läkartidningen44(2003).

Chapter7:InSpanishService,1936–19391.TraditionallyitisstatedthatthenumberofWehrmachtsoldiersthatservedinSpainwasbetween

17,000and20,000.Inadditionto18,234aviators,tanktroops,artillerytroopsandotherdirectcombatforces,however,therewere8,196personnelinthe“CondorLegion”:militaryinstructors;militaryandcivilservicepersonnel;Gestapo;andothers.ThesestatisticscomefromtheofficialGermanlist(1945)ofthosewhoreceivedthe“SpanishCross,”themedalforserviceintheSpanishCivilWar.SeeHeinrichDoehle,DieAuszeichnungendesGrossdeutschenReichs:Orden,Ehrenzeichen,Abzeichen(Norderstedt,Germany:KlausD.Patzwall,2000),16.

2.G.F.Krivosheyev,ed.Grifsekretnostisnjat:PoterivooruzjennychsilSSSRvvojnach,bojezychdejstvyjachivojennychkonfliktach(Moscow:Vojennojeizdatelstvo,1993),68.Informationonthe3,000personsintheSovietmilitarymissionisnew.Westernhistorianshavebelievedtherewereonly1,000.ThenewfigurecamefromtheRussianArmedForcesofficialWhiteBookonthewarparticipationoftheSovietArmy.ItisstillunclearastohowmanySoviettankswereinSpain,butthefigureof331tanksseemswellgrounded.SeearmorhistorianStevenJ.Zaloga’sexhaustivecalculationsonthisissueinhisarticle,“SovietTankOperationsintheSpanishCivilWar”inJournalofSlavicMilitaryStudies,12(September1999):3.Histhoroughstudyconcludesthattherewereslightlymorethan300tanks.Mostofthetankswerethestandardmodel,T-26.AboutfiftywerethelightandfastmodelBT-5.TheSovietsalsosentsixtymodelBA-3armoredcars.Onthataccountthetotalcomesto407armoredvehicles.

3.BothOrwellandMalrauxwerepersonallyinvolvedasvolunteersonthesideoftheRepublicans:OrwellasacommanderinaPOUM-unitandMalrauxasanaviator.

4.TheprintedSwedishDefenseStaffreport,Detspanskainbördeskriget,vols.IandII(Stockholm:Militärlitteraturföreningens,1942and1943),isbasedinparton“conversationswithSwedeswhowereinSpainduringtheCivilWar,someofwhomweremembersoftheInternationalBrigade.”UnfortunatelytheSwedishwarparticipantswerenotidentifiedbynameorshowninanyphotographs.

5.ThenumberofSpanishgeneralsrangesfrom500to800.ThementionedfigurecomesfromJudithKeene’sFightingforFranco:InternationalVolunteersinNationalistSpainduringtheSpanishCivilWar,1936–39(LondonandNewYork:LeicesterUniversityPress,2001),19.

6.ThenameFalange(Spanishforphalanxformation)wastakenfromantiquity.FalangistsoldiersinancientGreecewereheavyinfantrywhomovedinatightgroup.

7.Insomesources18July1936isgivenasthedaywhentheinsurrectionbegan.Themilitaryrevolthadbeenplannedforthisdate,butwasinfactstartedthedaybefore,becauseageneralloyaltothegovernmentbecameawareoftheplansforacoup.Whathappenedon18JulywasthesurrenderinMoroccoofthetroopsloyaltothegovernment.OnthesamedayFrancomadehisinsurrectionmanifestopublic.SeeAntonyBeevor,TheSpanishCivilWar(London:Cassell,2002),73;LennartLundberg,Svenskarnaispanskainbördeskriget,1936–1939(Gothenburg,Sweden:TreBöcker,2001),22;andKeene,3.

8.MoreIrishwhofoughtforFrancothanagainsthim,becauseofthestrongpositionoftheRomanCatholicChurchinIreland—seeKeene,31.

9.Junkersintheearly1930sbuiltthreeStukaprototypesinSwedenatLimhamn.TheseweretakenlatertotheSovietUnion,inpieces,tobeflighttested.AllthiswasdonetocircumventtheprohibitionsoftheVersaillesTreaty,whichforbadethedevelopmentofmilitaryaircraft.SeeSvenskFlyghistorisktidskrift,4(2003).

10.NKVD,theRussianacronymforNarodnykommissariátvnútrennichdel(People’sCommissariatforInternalAffairs).Inmodernterminology:TheSovietMinistryoftheInterior.

11.KenBradley,InternationalBrigadesinSpain,1936–39(London:OspreyMilitary,1994),6;StéphaneCourtois,etal.,Kommunismenssvartabok(Stockholm:Bokförlaget,1999),301,303.

12.Whenthewarbrokeoutthegovernmentwasledbythecenter-leftistbourgeoisregimeofQuiroga.QuirogaandhisministersdepartedtwodaysafterFrancoinitiatedtheinsurrectionandtheywerereplacedbyagovernmentthatsatforonlyafewhoursbeforeanewcoalitionministertookover.InSeptembertheSocialist-CommunistgovernmentofCaballerotookoverthegovernment,whichinitsturninMay1937wasrelievedbythemoresocialistorientedNegrínregime.InthisgovernmentthestrongmanwasDefenseMinisterFrietro.Whenthisoccurrednecessaryadjustmentsweremadeinthegovernment’smilitaryforces.

13.KerstinGustafssonandMekkiKarlsson,Spanienssakvarvar(Stockholm:SvenskaFredskommittenandSvenskaspanienfrivilligaskamratförening,1992),49.

14.Lundberg,Svenskarnaispanskainbördeskriget,122.15.GustafssonandKarlsson,53.16.Ibid.;Lundberg,Svenskarnaispanskainbördeskriget,121;Rundberg,65.17.ASovietabbreviationmeaningthepartysectionresponsibleforagitatsiya(agitation),and

propaganda.18.Rundberg,65.19.GustafssonandKarlsson,54.20.FörettfrittSpanien(1980):10.21.GastoneSozziwasanItaliansocialistwhowasmurderedbyMussolini’sBlackShirts.22.FörettfrittSpanien(1980):10.23.Asearlyas24July1936therewere,accordingtoLiseLindbæk,elevenGermanvolunteersinSpain

whocalledthemselvestheThälmannGroup.TojudgefromLindbæk’sbook,Internationellabrigaden(Stockholm:Solidaritets,1939),15,however,thisgrouphadnodirectroleintheorganizationofCenturia“Thälmann”severalweekslater.AlargenumberofmilitaryandcivilianorganizationsinSpaincametobenamedafterErnstThälmann.

24.Ibid.25.Lindbæk,36.26.Anotherestimatesetsthenumberofvolunteersat40,000to50,000.Thenumberofnationalities

variesfromsourcetosource,buttheauthor(LG)chosetorelyonLieutenantColonelOlofRibbing’sreportintheKrA.Heservedwiththe“InternationalMilitaryCommissionforthestatedpurposeofwithdrawalofthenon-SpanishcombatantsfromtheSpanishRepublic.Inhisreport,dated30June1939,hestatedthathehadbeeninvolvedintheidentificationoffifty-fournationalities(23)butalsothat“notoneRussianwasdiscovered[emphasisintheoriginal]”(29),inotherwords,noSovietcitizens.Theauthor(LG)hasaddedSovietcitizenshiptothefifty-fouraswenowknowforsurethattherewerealsoSovietsamongthevolunteers,posingasPoles,amongothers.

27.Bradley,7;Lundberg,Svenskarnaispanskainbördeskriget,53;Ribbing,24.28.ThenumbercomesfromBertilLundvik,Solidaritetocbpartitaktik:Densvenskaarbetarrörelsen

ochspanskainbördeskriget,1936–1939(Uppsala,Sweden:ActaUniversitatisUpsaliensis,1980)135;Ribbing,24.Ofthe250Finnsthere,probablyonlyeightywereFinnishcitizens,therestwereAmericanorCanadiancitizens.SeeCasperAlmqvist’sgraduatethesis,Francosfinskakrigare:OmdefinskafrivilligapåFrancossidaispanskainbördeskriget,1936–1939(Helsinki:UniversityofHelsinki,Humanisticfaculty,InstitutionforHistory,2003),65.

29.“GeorgeWashington”grouphadsuchmajorlossesatBrunetethatthesurvivorsinthebattalionwereplacedinthe“AbrahamLincoln.”SeeBradley,9.

30.Rundberg,66.31.SixtenRogeby,DestupadeförSpaniensdemokrati(Stockholm:Arbetarkultur,1977),37.32.Lindbæk,68.33.Ibid.,87.34.Bradley,18.35.Lindbæk,88.36.Rogeby,41.AsRogebyalsohassaid,LisaLindbæklatergotapromisethatMeurling’snamewould

beaddedtothegravestone,butitisnotknownifthathashappened.37.ThetextwaswrittenbyLudwigUhlandin1809.38.GöteNilsson,Svenskarispanskainbördeskriget(Stockholm:Norstedts,1972),79,214;Bosse

Schön,Ena’ktaHamilton:Berdttelsenamenfamiljelogn(Stockholm:BokförlagetDN,2002),101.39.Almqvist,116.40.Keene,viii,8.TheSpanishForeignLegionchangeditsnametotheSpanishLegioninthe1920s.By

thetimetheSpanishCivilWarbrokeoutin1936,however,itwasagainknownastheSpanishForeignLegion,andkeptthatnameuntil1987.

41.JoseLuisdeMesa,Losotrosinternacionales:voluntariesextranjerosdesconocidosenelbandonationaldurantelaguerracivil,1936–1939(Madrid:Barbarroja,1998),185.ThethreenamesinXIBanderafroma1938note;Spanishmilitaryarchive,Ávila(AGMÁ),A2,L168,Cp31,D27.

42.Hamiltonapplied,bywayofaletterwritteninGerman,totheSpanishMilitaryAttachéinBerlin.TheanswerfromSpainwasinSpanish.TheletterexchangebetweenHamiltonandtheSpanishGeneralStaffislocatedintheAGMÁunderthedesignationA1,L10,Cp,D11.

43.InformationonDouglasHamilton’slifebeforetheSpanishCivilWarwasobtainedfromRiddarhusetsstamtavlor.

44.GöstaNorrbohmandBertilSkogsberg,Attflygarärattleva(Höganäs,Sweden:BraBöcker,1975),31.

45.ThereistheoreticallyanotherHamiltonwhocouldhavebeentheauthor:GustafMalcolmVilhelm(Mac)Hamilton,whowasactivewithintheAirForceandtheDefenseStaffIntelligenceSectionbeforetheSecondWorldWar.Neitherhiswifenorhisson,however,heardhimsaythathehadvisitedSpainduringtheactualyearsofthewar;fromaconversationbetweenHermanGyllenhaalandCarlandVeraHamilton,22and23January2004,andthenrelatedtotheauthor(LG).

46.Schön,Ena’ktaHamilton,46.

47.KarlRobsoninWilfridHindle,ed.,ForeignCorrespondent:PersonalAdventuresAbroadinSearchoftheNewsofTwelveBritishJournalists(London:GeorgeHarrap,1939),216.

48.CarlvonHaartman,Slagislag(Ekenas:EkenäsTryckeriAktiebolags,1971),113.49.Ibid.,136.50.Almqvist,205.51.vonHaartman,155.CasperAlmqvisthasfounddifferentsourcesthatdescribevonHaartman’s

amazingstatementsonhisroleinSpain.SeeAlmqvist’sthesis.52.Thebookwaspublishedin1939inHelsinkiand,accordingtoAlmqvist,wasreceivedverywellin

theFinnishpress.53.vonHaartman,182.54.Ibid.,193.55.Almqvist,205.56.DeMesa,184.57.CanteraCarlomagno,183.58.Almqvistworkedin2004onabookandadocumentaryfilmonFranco’sFinnishsoldiers.59.GustafssonandKarlsson,62.TheSwedishPolicedeterminedthat506Swedishcitizensjoinedthe

SpanishRepublic’smilitary(Lundvik,119).WhatemergedfromthesamesourcewasthatLundvik,inhisdoctoraldissertationontheCivilWar,sidefoundatotalof501names.TheinformationonapartofthepersonnelwastooweakforLundviktoutilize.Lundbergstatesthatthetotalwas“550men”butreportsthefigureof501men,theLundvikresult,inhisbook.

60.CarlHenrikHermansson,Kommunister,vol.II(Stockholm:Arbetarkultur,1980),16;Lundvik,143,152.

61.Lundvik,123.62.GustafssonandKarlsson,64.63.Lundvik,145.64.Ibid.,152,GustafssonandKarlsson,61.TheenlistmentsinGothenbergtookplaceinthe

Arbetarklubben,theWorker’sClub,atleastinthebeginningaccordingtothepolice.SeeLundvik,142.65.MargaretaSöderberg,Krönikaöver20:eårhundradet(Stockholm:BonnierFakta,1988),492.66.PassportcopyinLG’sarchive,bindertitled“Svenskarikrig:Ispansktjänst.”67.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,42.68.SvenBrännströmquotationfromtheradioprogram,“Påvägmotkriget,”producedbyRolf

GranstrandwithUtbildingsradionsSkellefteåredacktion,broadcast19January1989.69.GustafssonandKarlsson,62.Sandino’sguerrillawarwentonfrom1927to1932.70.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,48.71.KaaEneberg,Förnekelsensbarn:Svenskarnasomdragösterut(Stockholm:Hjälmarson&

Högberg,2003),174.72.Lindbæk,164;Lundvik,202;Rogeby,69.73.Lundvik,201,204;Rundberg,164.74.Strömholm’snameisnotfoundinLundvik’slist.ManySwedishnewspapersidentifiedhimasa

Spanishvolunteerinhisobituary.Strömholm,however,hadneverclaimedtohavebeenincombat.HecarriedoutcouriermissionswhileworkingasaphotographerforaDanishjournalist.ThiscontributionnonethelessmeantmuchforStrömholmpersonally:he“knewthathe—forthefirsttime—hadtakenastand,hisownposition.”SeeCharlottaSjöstedt,Iskugganavetthjälteland(Stockholm:Hjälmarson&Högberg,1999),25;andNorrländskaSocialdemokraten,“Fotografensomtarpersonligtansvarförsanningen,”20November1993.

75.Lundvik,123.76.Rundberg,61.77.Lundvik,152.78.Rundberg,62.79.StellanBojerud,Militärhistorisktidskrift2002(Stockholm:Försvarshögskolan,2002),237;

Rogeby,57.80.KaiBjörk,Spanienisvenskahjärtan(Stockholm:Backströms,2001),74;PeterEjewall,Detför

migytterstintressantamysterietJAG(Lund,Sweden:Ellerström,1993),76;GustafssonandKarlsson,91;RichardJändel,Kampandesolidaritet:Mötenmedsvenskaspanienfrivilliga(Stockholm:ArbetarnaskulturhistoriskasällskapochArbetarrörelsensarkivochbibliotek,1996),85,NisseLätt,Ensvenskanarkistberättar:MinnesbilderurNisseLättslivsomagitatorochkämpefördefrihetligaidéerna(Gothenburg,Sweden:NisseLättsminnesfond,1993),52.

81.Bradley,30.82.PerEriksson,taperecordedinterviewwithauthor(LG),26March1989.83.AtVerdunin1916onecouldhearthesamesloganinFrench:onnepassepas!84.PerErikssoninterview.85.Jändel,42;Lundvik,127.86.Ibid.,1387.GöteNilsson,136;SixtenOlsson,Spanskafrontminnen(Stockholm:Arbetarkulturs,1938),8;

Riddarhusetsstamtavlor;Rogeby,44.88.CommentsabouttheattackfromSixtenOlsson,27–30.89.Ibid.,33.90.Ibid.91.Ibid.,35.92.Ibid.,47.93.GöstaAndersson,Partisaner(Stockholm:Ordfront,1975),14.94.Rundberg,71.95.SixtenOlsson,39.96.Ibid.,142.97.Lindbæk,164.98.PerErikssoninterview.99.Bradley,23.100.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,227;andBradley,24.101.SixtenOlsson,66.102.PerErikssoninterview.103.Ibid.SeealsoHermansson,volII,22,regardingtheshortageofrealmaps.104.Ibid.105.GöteNilsson,118.ThecompanyspokeofEricssonastheeleventh,butthatisdoubtful.106.SixtenOlsson,68.107.Rogeby,79,83.108.Lundvik,198;Rogeby,80;Rundberg,76.109.GustafssonandKarlsson,44;Rundberg,76.110.SixtenOlsson,75.111.NordahlGrieg,Frihetochlivärett:Rapportfrantvåkrig(Stockholm:Norstedts,1983),82.112.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,293;TheTimesHistoryoftheWorld,266.113.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,94.114.CarlvanDyke,TheSovietInvasionofFinland,1939–40(LondonandPortland,Ore.:FrankCass,

1997),3,27.115.Rundberg,79.116.Ibid.,80.117.SixtenOlsson,138.118.GöteNilsson,142;SixtenOlsson,101.119.SixtenOlsson,108.120.Ibid.,121.121.Bradley,28.

122.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,292;Lindbæk,154.123.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,294.124.GöteNilsson,232.125.Lindbæk,165.126.BeimlerwasabletoescapefromDachauconcentrationcampin1933andgottotheSovietUnion.

Hewaskilled,accordingtotheoriginalversion,1December1936,duringaninspectioninthefieldofthe“Thälmann”Battalion.AccordingtoalaterversionhewasmurderedbyhisownmenforcriticizingMoscow.SeeCourtois,359;andLindbæk,23,68.TheScandinavianBattalionwasnotthefirsttobenamed“HansBeimler.”

127.Rogeby,94.128.Lindbæk,167.129.Militärhistorisktidskrift2002,237;GöteNilsson,234.Andersen-NexöwasaDanishauthor,

Egede-NissentheleaderoftheNorwegianCommunistParty,andDurrutiwasSpain’smostwellknownleaderoftheAnarchists.

130.Lindbæk,167.131.Andersson,136.132.FörettfrittSpanien,1(1979):11.133.CarlGöstaHjärpe,interviewbyGöteNilssoninhisbook,Svenskarispanskainbördeskriget,190.

Hjärpe’scommentscanbeinterpretedtomeanthatthe42ndBattalion“HansBeimler”wasstillintactduringthebattleovrEbro,butitnolongerhadaScandinaviancharacter.

134.Rogeby,115.135.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,348;WilliamH.Burgess,III,ed.InsideSpetsnaz:SovietSpecial

Operations—ACriticalAnalysis(Novato,Calif.:Presidio,1990),62.136.Bradley,46;Detspanskainbördeskriget,vol.II,141;FörettfrittSpanien(1986),5;Hermansson,

vol.I,23;Lindbæk,169;HarmsMaassen,BrigadaInternationalistunserEhrenname(Berlin:MilitarverlagderDDR,1974),vol.2,262;GöteNilsson,190.Rogeby,115.

137.FörettfrittSpanien(1986),6.138.KarlStaf,Denrödalågan(Stockholm:Hägglunds,1997),66.139.GöteNilsson,191,245;Rogeby,116.140.GöteNilsson,194,196,246.141.Rogeby,116.142.Ribbing,36.143.Ibid.,21.144.Rogeby,116.145.Lundvik,76.146.LarsWestman,“Espanienlyfterpålocket,”Vi-tidningen30,no.1(2003):20.147.ErikRabo,Läkartidningen44;andphoneconversationwithErikRabo,3February2004.148.KrA,FstUnd.,IvarHolmquistarchivevol.2,NattochDag,10.149.Ibid.,33.150.Ibid.,48.151.Riddarhusetsstamtavlor.152.Rabo,Läkartidningen,20;andWestman.153.Burgess,47;andI.G.Starinov,OvertheAbyss:MyLifeinSovietSpecialOperations(NewYork:

Ivy,1995),122.154.Andersson,54,64,99.155.Jändel,63.156.Maassen,vol.2,108.157.Ibid.,104.158.GöstaAndersson,interviewwithauthor(LG),April1989.159.Rogeby,106.

160.Lindbæk,167.161.GöteNilsson,223.162.Jändel,55.163.“Påvägmotkriget.”164.Ibid.;StefanDahlin,“SvenBrannström—aspanienfrivilligfrånVästerbottenberättar,”Oknytt1–

2(1998):35;GustafssonandKarlsson,175.165.Burgess,66;PavelSudoplatovandAnatolijSudoplatov,Direktoratet:Stalinsspionchefberättar

(Stockholm:Norstedts,1994),52.166.Dahlin,“SvenBrannström,”35.167.PerErikssoninterview.168.TheNKVDbuiltupthreeagenciesforintelligenceandsecurityservice:GI,SAH,andfinallySIM

thatreplacedGIandSAH.169.Courtois,351.AccordingtoStefanDahlininconversationwithLG,16November2006,Ninwas

arrestedbyaNorwegianmemberofBrännström’sgroup.170.KonstantinAleksandrovichZalessky,ImperijaStalina:Biografitjeskijentsiklopeditjeskijslovar

(Moscow:Veche,2000),504.FormoreinformationonEjtingon,seeBurgess,264andSudoplatovandSudoplatov,91.

171.DagensNyheter,“TyvärrharvialdrighaftnågonNürnbergprocess,”3March2003.SeealsoCourtois,21,196;aswellasAlexanderJakolev(ed.),ACenturyofViolenceinRussia(NewHaven,Conn.:YaleUniv.Press,2002)andAnneApplebaum,Gulag:AHistory(NewYork:Anchor,2003).

172.BothAntonKarlgren’sBolsjevikernasRyssland(Stockholm:Bonnier,1925),andWilliamHarteveld’sSvartochrött:sorglustigahistorierfråndetgamlaochnyaRyssland(Stockholm:Wahledow,1925)buildonarticlespublishedintheSwedishpressduringthefirstyearsofthe1920s.

173.Avantgardet13,14,18(1937).CarlHenrikHermansson,Kommunister,vol.I(Stockholm:Arbetarkultur,1977),346;Lundvik,123,143,152.SeealsoLarsGogman,“Hyckeriochrättfärdighet,”Arbetarhistoria,4(1996),1(1997),wheretheAvantgardetarticleisquotedexhaustively.GogmanpointsoutthatKenLoach’smovie“LandandFreedom,”throughtheSPpersonnelinSpainhadmorerelevanceforSwedesthanisgenerallythought.

174.Avantgardet16(1937).175.Lundvik,126.AlltendeserterswereabletogetbacktoSwedenwithorwithoutthehelpofthe

SwedishForeignOffice.176.FörettfrittSpanien(1987).177.Rundberg,8.178.Ibid,14.179.Ibid,33.180.GöteNilsson,54.181.PerErikssoninterview.182.Starinov,77.Starinovwroteincorrectly“Beniameta.”SeeaswellBurgess,54.183.PerErikssoninterview.ComparewithGöteNilsson,54,andRundberg,87.184.GöteNilsson,54.185.Ibid.;confirmedbyPerErikssoninterview.186.GustafsonandKarlsson,46;Shkadov,800;Zalessky,498.Shtern’sserviceintheFinnishWinter

Warwasmentionedbyboth,butistreatedexhaustivelybyYevgenyAleksandrovichBalashov,Prinimaynas,Suomi-Krasavitsa,vol.I(SaintPetersburg:Citadel,1999),244.SeealsoStarinov,122.

187.PerErikssoninterview.ComparewithRundberg,89.188.PerErikssoninterview.189.Ibid.190.Rundberg,93.191.PerErikssoninterview.192.Rundberg,103.

193.Beevor,SpanishCivilWar,353.194.Keene,vi,7;Beevor,167;Elstob,65,83.195.Jändel,31;Lundvik,129.196.DerSpiegel,“Zeitzureden,”43(2002):161.197.SudoplatovandSudoplatov,51.198.Hermansson,vol.I,346;Lundvik,143;GöteNilsson,228.PerErikssonsuggestedtotheauthor

(LG)thatitwastrue.199.KrA,Fst.Und.,IvarHolmquistarchivevol.2,NattochDag,48.200.PeterKemp,MineWereofTrouble(London:Cassell,1957),15.201.PeterKemp,theBritishlieutenantintheserviceofFranco,wasboldenoughtoposethequestion

“wheredotheorderscomefromthatwemustshootallprisonersoftheInternationalBrigade?”SeeKemp,169.

202.Courtois,357;GöteNilsson,173.203.Jändel,100.204.PerErikssoninterview.205.Lundberg,Svenskarnaispanskainbördeskriget,93;Lundvik,129.206.Seetheinterviewsintheabove-mentionedbooksandespeciallyHermansson,vol.II,18,28;

Lundberg,Svenskarnaispanskainbördeskriget,139;StefanDahlin’s“Spanienssakvarvår!”inPennanochSvärdet3(1999):15;aswellasMeddelandenfrånMilitärhögskolan,1985,39.

207.FörettfrittSpanien(1986),19.

Chapter8:WiththeWesternAllies,1939–19451.TheSSmenhadstormedthewrongplace.Theradiostudiothattheyshouldhavetakenwaslocated

threekilometersfromthestationitself.GleiwitzstationoperatedononlyeightkilowattspowerandwasonlyheardinGleiwitz.ThatdidnotdetertheGermanpropagandamachinefrommakinguseof“theassault”asitwasenvisioned.

2.HeinzHöhne,HitlersSSochGestapo(Stockholm:Berghs,1967),166.ThetruthaboutGleiwitzwasrevealedduringtheNurembergwarcrimestrialofAlfredNaujocks,detailinghowpersonnelfromSDandAllgemeineSSFuss-Standarte,no.23and45carriedouttheraid.

3.AliceHabsburg,Prinsessaochpartisan(Stockholm:Norstedts,1976),87.4.HansvonRosen,Igrevenstid(Stockholm:LarsHökerbergs,1952),66.5.ErikBoheman,Påvakt:Franattachétillsändebud(Stockholm:Norstedts,1963),230;Habsburg,

57.ArchdukewasthetitleforaprincewithintheHabsburgEmpire.6.Habsburg,99.7.Ibid.,103.8.SvenHedinreportsexhaustivelyonthenaturalandwarmconversationhehadwithHimmlerinhis

fascinatingbook,UtanuppdragiBerlin(Stockholm:Bonniers,1949).ThefriendshipbetweenHedinandHimmlerwasapparentlybasedonacommonpassionforTibet.

9.Hedin,190.10.Habsburg,171.TheletterislocatedintheNationalArchives,NARA,CollegePark,MD.11.Ibid.,119,andHabsburg,interviewwithauthor(LG),1988.12.Habsburg,127,130.13.Ibid.,132.14.Ibid.,93.15.Ibid.,178.16.Habsburg,interview,1988.17.LarsGyllenhaalandJamesF.Gebhardt,SlagetomNordkalåtten:Sverigesrollityskaochallierade

operationerinorr(Lund,Sweden:HistoriskaMedia,2001),124.

18.Habsburg,interview,1989.19.JozefLewandowski,TheSwedishContributiontothePolishResistanceMovementduringWorld

WarII(1939–1942)(Uppsala,Sweden:Almqvist&Wiksell,1979),8,96.Himmler’slettertoGöringandvonRibbentropontheSwedishcouriersisdated31December1942andacopyisfoundinLewandowski’sbook.

20.Svenskaarménsrulla(Stockholm:Krigsmakten,1931),99.ThisisanofficerslistoftheSwedishArmedForces.

21.Lewandowski,47.22.Ibid.,59.23.Ibid.24.Ibid.,45.25.Ibid.,8.26.Theliteraturecoveringthepreludeto“WESERUBUNGiscomprehensive.Especially

recommendedareBoHugemark(ed.),Urladdning:1940—blixtkrigensår(Stockholm:Svensktmilitärhistoriskt,2002);ThomasMunch-Petersen,TheStrategyofPhoneyWar:Britain,Sweden,andtheIronOreQuestion,1939–1940(Stockholm:Militarhistoriska,1981);HermanMullern,“DeallieradesmissslyckadeingripandeiNorgevåren1940,”Akuelltochhistoriskt,7(1959–1960);andEarlF.Ziemke,TheGermanDecisiontoInvadeNorwayandDenmark(http://openlibrary.org/b/OL14660359M/German-decision-to-invade-Norway-and-Denmark).

27.Munch-Petersen,20.ThisbookpresentsthemostvalidstatisticsontheGermanrequirementforironorethatwasmetbyimportationfromSwedenin1939,aboutfortypercent.

28.GustafHallströmcollection,UmFA,capsule7:110.29.EvertBaudou,GustafHallström—arkeologivärldskrigensepok(Stockholm:NaturochKultur,

1997),248;Hugemark,281.30.GustafHallström’scollection,UmFA,capsule7:110.31.Hugemark,289,309;Sjöstedt,29.32.Lars-G.Holmström,“Norgessakvarderas,”Söndags-Expressen(9August1981):3.33.Baudou,250;Hugemark,318.34.Hugemark,292.35.GöstaBenckert,unpublishedbookmanuscript,inBenckert’sarchive,KrA.36.Hugemark,295,311.AllanMann,interviewbyCarlLewenhaupt,1994,inauthor’s(LG)collection.37.Holmström,3.38.Ibid.,284.39.ErichBuschenhagen,formerGermangeneral,lettertoauthor(LW),1February1975.40.“SvenskerkjempetpåHegrafestning.”Aftenposten(19March2000).41.BengtÅhslund,ed.,Livhusarerna:ettsvensktkavalleriregementesnutidshistoria(Karlsborg:

Livregementetshusarershistoriekommitté,1986),395.42.Ibid.43.Hugemark,304.44.Åhslund,395.45.JohanHelgeBergandOlavVollan,Fjellkrigen1940(Trondheim,Norway:WennsbergsTrykkeri,

1999),280;translationbytheauthor(LG).46.FurtherdetailsonthiscombatactionareinMichaelTamelanderandNiklasZetterling,Dennionde

april:NazitysklandsinvasionavNorge1940(Lund:HistoriskaMedia,2000),238.47.BergandVollan,312.48.Åhslund,395.49.Ibid.50.Actionbythe6thDivision,ofwhichtheregimentwaspart,hasinrecentyearsreceivedgreater

attentionbyNorwegianmilitaryhistorians.SeeBergandVollan,4;TorkelHovland,GeneralCarlGustavFleischer:Storhetogfall(Oslo:Forum-Aschehoug,2000),7.

51.Ericson,Svenskafrivilliga,110.52.Hugemark,313;GöteNilsson,82;P.O.Andersson,“Guerillakrigetgårnattochdaginorska

fjällen,”Se41(1940):21;Sjöstedt,29.SjögrenhadbeenalieutenantinSpain,accordingtotheSearticle.53.Ericson,107;KalleGüettler,Frivilliga:Tvåungamanniskorskampunderandravärldskriget

(Stockholm:BonnierCarlsen,1997),38,63;Rikmenspoel,147;EgilUlateig,Dagbokfraeinrotnorsknazist(Oslo:DetNorskeSamlaget,1987),149.

54.SvenOlovLindholm,telephoneconversationwithauthor(LG),6November1987.55.Hugemark,327.56.Sjöstedt,25.57.GustafHallströmcollection,“Kommentarertillförsökenattordnaensvenskfrivilligrörelsetill

Norgeapril–maj1940,”UmFA,capsule7:110.58.OmarMagnergård,Iandravärldskrigetsskugga(Stockholm:SvenskaDagbladet,1985),21.59.MaxManus,Detordnarsigalltid(Stockholm:FolketiBilds,1957),13.60.HaraldStanghelle,“ByttetbarelueneiFinland,”Arbeiderbladet,9April1990,translatedbythe

author(LG).61.Sjöstedt,53.62.Ibid.,53;Güettler,106.63.AlfW.Johansson,PerAlbinochkriget,109.64.Sjöstedt,52.65.CharlesCruickshank,SOEinScandinavia(Oxford:OxfordUniv.Press,1986),50;Güettler,105;

MalcolmMunthe,Ikrigdrallttillåtet:SomsabotöriFinland,Norge,ochSverige(Stockholm:LarsHökerbergs,1954),89.

66.GeorgHolmin,lettertoauthor(LW),8February1979.HolminbecametheadjutanttotheCommanderoftheSwedishArmyandtotheArmyChiefofStaff.

67.Aschan,214;BjörnFontander,“Polly-papperefterlyses,”SvenskaDagbladet(18October2001).68.K.-G.Aasa,“Belönadfrihetskampe,”NorrländskaSocialdemokraten(27June1990).69.BeredskapsminnenfrånövreNorrland,1939–1944(Luleå,Sweden:Tornedalica,1971),126.70.StureRonnö,VisomintogNarvik:Ensvenskfrämlingslegionärsverklighetsskildring(Stockholm:

Tidens,1941),8.71.Beredskapsminnen,131.72.Ronnö,88,152,160.SeealsoPennanochSvärdet,“Frånökensandtillishavsfjord,”8(1998).73.Beredskapsminnen,135,142.74.Ibid.,141.75.Ronnö,175.76.Beredskapsminnen,155.77.TheDanishveteranfromtheFrenchForeignLegion,SvendChristensen,wroteinhisdescriptionof

Narvikabouta“Swedishsergeant,”whowouldhavebeenÖstenNilsson,“oneofthebestsergeantsintheLegion.Everyonespokewellofhim.Hewasoneofthefewpersonsincommandwhocouldtalktoboththecaptainsandtheprivates.”SeeSvendR.Christensen,Sahara-Narvik-Brest(Uppsala,Sweden:HugoGebers,1942),148.

78.Aasa.79.HarryForsberg,Jagvarfrämlingslegionär(Stockholm:FolketiBilds,1953),7.80.ThesabotageactivityinAlvikisdescribedindetailinArnfinnHaga,Skyggeroverutvær(Oslo:

Cappelen,2001).81.KrA,SFKstamrullnummer(servicenumber)8273.82.TheLingeArchive,theHjemmefrontMuseuminOslo.83.NationalArchives(ofGreatBritain),PROHS2/174(SOEHistoryvol.123):SOENorwegian

SectionHistory.84.GeorgWerner-Hansen,PavingeneforNorge(Oslo:Gyldendalnorsk,1947),67.Thisbookalso

containsafascinatingphotoofSjöbergafteramissioninNorway.

85.ErlingJensen,PerRatvik,andRagnarUlstein,eds.KompaniLinge:Egneberetningerfraandreverdenskrig,PartII(Oslo:LibriArte,1995),50.

86.ROSIN1959–1999(jubileumskrift),“Sjöbergmarschen1995”(1999).87.ItisinterestingthatMalcolmMunthedidnotgivethenationalityofSjöberginhismemoir;see

Munthe,Ikrigärallttillåtet,215.88.AllanMann,interviewedbyCarlLewenhaupt,1994.89.EgilUlateig,Degodemotdeonde(Lesja,Norway:ForlagetReportasje,1999),140,translationby

theauthor(LG);andHugemark,326.90.AsearchintheStockholmStateArchivesduringMay2003uncoverednoindicationthatBirger

SjöbergwasborninStockholmin1905.91.TerjeFredh,Utanförspårren,part2(Lysekil,Sweden:privatelypublished,1982),9;AllanMann,

interview.92.Fredh,Utanförspärren,vol.2,10.93.Ibid.,12;Værnø,101.94.KurtBjörklundandMarieBlomqvist,KurtBjörklund:enannorlundavärldsomseglare(Stockholm:

Nautiska,2003),27.95.Ibid.,28.96.Ibid.,29.97.AphotographofthePrincetogetherwithKurtBjörklundinNormandyisinBjörklund’smemoirs.98.LarsRooth,DethändepåvägentillRom:EnsvenskJesuitsminnen(Stockholm:Askelinand

Hägglund,1989),85.99.Ibid.,85.100.Ibid.,88.101.LarsRooth,lettertoauthor(LG),11December2001.102.AinaOtterbergSannetorp,telephoneconversationwithauthor(LG),21April2004.103.Güettler,133.104.Ibid.,149.FiveadditionalSwedeshavebeenidentifiedintheNorwegianNavybyAndreas

Holmberg:SvenWidellandCarlWallenius,whobothsurvivedthewar,aswellasFinnLindström,GustafMelin,andHenryErlandsson,whoallwerelostondifferentships.AndreasHolmberg,e-mailwithauthor(LG).

105.Ibid.,151.JanGüettlerwasposthumouslygiventheSaintOlavMedalwithoakleaf.106.Stanghelle.107.AtKongsvingerMannjoinedacompanyunderLieutenantEinarGamst,seeStanghelle.108.AllanMann,interview.109.AccordingtoinformationfromTor-HelgeYttervikitislikelythatonemoreSwedishcitizen

servedinthesamebattalionduringthefightinginNarvik:KarlGustavMörtzell.110.Hovland,184,translationbytheauthor(LG).111.Stanghelle.112.KarlMelin,“Enviljaavstål,”FörsvaretsForum,August1996.113.LarsAndersson,“Krigsförbandschef2000,”Projekt4/8:Enutvärderingavtre

fallskärmsjägargrupperunderettlångtuppdrag(1993).Author’s(LG)collection.114.JulHaganaes,Kurerforfriheten(Oslo:GrøndahlogDreyer,1986),146.115.Ibid.;Holmström,5.Melin.116.Thecompanywasnamedafteritsfirstcommander,MartinLinge,killed27December1941.117.ManyquestionsrelatedtoAllanMannareunanswered,buttheanswersmayeventuallybefound

intheBritishNationalArchives(formerlythePublicRecordOffice).Inconnectionwiththedevelopmentofthisbookthespecial“SOEAdvisor,”DuncanStuartwentthroughtheSOEarchives,butfoundnotraceofAllanMann.Stuartpresumes,however,thatManncouldhaveworkedfortheSOEunderacovername.HerefersfutureresearcherstotheoperationalpapersabouttheNorwegian/LingeCompanyoperationssupportedbySOEinClassH2,files126–252,andalso“theHistoryoftheNorwegianSectionandMilorg”

inClassHS7,files174–182.TherearealsotheSOEWarDiariesinClassH7.ExtractedfromStuart’slettertoauthor(LG),23November2001.

118.Thisquotation,aswellasmostoftheinformationpresentedinthissection,wastakenfromCarlLewenhaupt’sunpublishedmanuscriptonhisgrandfather’slife.Author’s(LG)collection.

119.ItisalsopossiblethatthiscouldhavebeentheSpanishLegion.120.Lewenhauptwasassignedtothe4thPlatoon,1stTransportCompany,Märkäjärvi,accordingtothe

SFKarchiveintheKrA.121.SFKrulla(SFKrecordarchive),volume122,stamkort(servicerecordcard)no.6946,KrA,for

HansMagnusThuring,whichstatesthathehadservedintheSFKdepotasacommanderoftheguardandasawriter.

122.Lewenhaupt’sachievementshavebeendescribedinTamelanderandZetterling,254.123.InadditiontoCarlLewenhaupt’smanuscriptothersourcesareArménsFallskärmsjägarskola,vol.

I,1952–1991(Karlsborg,Sweden:StiftelsenFallskarmsjägarskolansHistoria,1992),27;andGöranWestling,interviewbyauthor(LG),13April1987.WestlingcompletedhisconscriptservicewithSweden’sfirstairbornerangercompany(1952–1953).

124.“Tjänsteförteckning1940–51förframlidneryttmästaren[...]Lewenhaupt”(inCarlLewenhaupt’sarchive).

125.ErikG:sonLewenhaupt,Biografica(biographicalarchive),KrA.126.LetterfromtheBritishMinistryofDefensetoCarlLewenhaupt,6November1985,personalfile

ofCarlLewenhaupt.127.ArménsFallskärmsjägarskola,25.128.TorstenFlodén,“Jaktgårtillanfall,”FLYG,24(1947):27.129.KurtKarlsson,“JagtycktesåjävlaillaomHitler,”MACH21(1985):20.130.TheDeHavilandMosquitocameintoservicein1938asahigh-speedbomber,butcametobeused

formanyothermissionssuchasalow-levelbomber,nightfighter,andphotoreconnaissance.Theframeoftheaircraftwasmadeofwood,incontrasttomostofthecombataircraftofthatperiod.Laterversionswereusedforfiringrockets.Atotalof7,781oftheseaircraftwerebuiltfrom1940to1950.

131.Flodén,27.132.Ibid.,28,atotalof1430Me262aircraftwerebuilt.Theywerearmedwithfour30mmautomatic

cannonsinthenoseoftheaircraft.Maximumspeedwas870km/hrat6,000metersaltitude.TheplanewasaformidableopponentagainstallofthebomberaircraftoftheAllies,butwaslesseffectiveinaircombatbecauseofitslargerturningradius.

133.Ibid.134.Karlsson,20.135.UlfChristiernssonwaspromotedtoapilotofficerintheRAFon20January1944,andtoflight

lieutenant20January1946;RAF,PersonnelManagementAgency,Innsworth(RAFInnsworth,lettertoauthor(LW),15April2003.

136.SundsvallsTidning,21June1945.137.Ibid.Ståhlenberg’sunithadsixtypercentcasualties,asreportedbyRolfKolling,Oslo,

Ståhlenberg’sNorwegianpilotcolleagueinthe331stSquadron.138.BoArvidsson,lettertoauthor(LW),28October2003.139.FredrikHåkansson,interviewbytheBBC,8February1944,fromthearchiveofhisnephew,

RobertIngvarBakker,Netherlands(withtheassistanceofAndreasHolmberg,Malmö).Håkanssonwasbornin1920inHandsworth,Birmingham,butwasaSwedishcitizenandjoinedtheRoyalAirForcereserveon11June1941.TheV-1(GermanabbreviationforVergeltungswaffe,orvengeanceweapon)wasaGermanrocketweaponsystemintheformofarocket-drivenunmannedaircraftweighing2.2tons.Itwasusedforthefirsttimeon14June1944.Atotalof8,000V-1swerefired,mostlyagainstLondon(ofwhicheightypercentwereshotdownbyairdefenseartilleryorattackfighters).

140.CopyofaletterfromthearchiveofRobertIngvarBakker.Håkansson’snameisengravedontheRAFNationalMemorialinRunnymede,Surrey.

141.FLYG8(1946):8.142.ReportfromtheprivatearchiveofGustavLönnbergh,providedtoauthor(LW)byBrita

Lönnbergh,Sundbyberg.143.BritaLönnbergh,Sundbyberg,interviewwithauthor(LW),24August2003.144.InformationonLönnberghinHP39,UD,RAandFörsvarsstabensunderrättelseavdelning,

FlygattachéniLondon,B1,vol.13,KrA.RAFInnsworthlettertotheauthor(LW),14April2003,statesthatLönnberghwaspromotedtoflightlieutenant.CentralChanceryoftheOrdersofKnighthood,St.James’sPalace,lettertotheauthor(LW),5October2003,statesthatLönnberghwasawardedtheMBEon9April1946.

145.InformationaboutRoyKonrad(Conrad)NorrisHeiseinlettersfromBjørnOlsentoauthor(LG),6October,2November,15November2006.

146.CarlAschanobituary,Telegraph(London,15September2008).147.Holmberg.148.MajorGeneralDr.CarlFr.Tidemann,lettertoauthor(LG),9February2000.149.Munthe,Ikrigdrallttillåtet,199.150.ErikBoheman,Påvakt:Kabinettssekreterareunderandravärldskriget(Stockholm:Norstedts,

1964),298.151.Cruickshank,64;Güettler,133;Munthe,Ikrigärallttillåtet,205.152.Cruickshank,64.153.Whentheboatwasnotinoperationaluseitcouldbeusedforrecreation.154.Jändel,103.155.SeeRagnarRudfalk’sownbook,JagjobbadeiSovjet(Stockholm:Tidens,1951),andthebook

writtenbyhisNorwegianfriendfromthecamp,OsvaldHarjo,Moskvakänneringatårar(Stockholm:Titjens,1956).

156.PopulationstatisticsarefromtheinterwarSwedishencyclopedia,Svenskuppslagsbok.157.NationalArchivesofCanada,lettertoauthor(LG),11March2004;StenLosenborg,interview

withauthor(LG),2February2004.158.Jan-OlofNilsson,Minnenavkrig:Hallänningariandravärldskriget(Varberg,Sweden:Forlag

Utsik-ten,2000),50.ThesectiononGeorgNilssonistotallytheresultofJan-OlofNilsson’scomprehensiveresearch.

159.NationalArchivesofCanada,lettertoJuneLundgren,15September2003,inauthor’s(LG)archive.

160.HugoSörensson,interviewwithauthor(LG),20April1989.161.Ibid.;Se,“FrivilligfallskärmsjägarehemtillSverigeiJeep,”43(1945);SkånskaDagbaldet,

“YstadiensiskfallskärmssoldatmediNormandieochHolland”(5June1945).162.HelsingborgsDagblad,Familjenytt(familynewssection),7February1995;biographicalsketchof

GöstaWallininauthor’s(LG)archive.163.RonWindh,lettertoauthor(LG),24January2000.164.Vestmanlandslänstidning,“Ungsvenskamerikanskstabsofficer,”28November1944.165.PerErikssoninterview.166.Rundberg,161.PerErikssonworkedduringthepostwarperiodasaneditorfortheHungarian

EmbassyinStockholmandlaterfortheSwedish-ChineseSociety,SwedishVietnamHelp,andastringofotherorganizationswiththethirdworldandnuclearweapondisarmamentissuesontheprogram.InthelastyearsheworkedwiththeSwedishSpanishVolunteersAssociation.

167.Länstidningen(inÖstersund),“JP:sfantastiskaliv,”16July1983.JohnPaulwasbornintheDanishtownofVinderslev,butbecameaSwedishcitizenattheageoffiveandcompletedhisintermediateeducationinStockholm.AfterworkingasadirectorfortheUnitedNationsduringtheKoreanWarhereturnedtoSwedenandbecameafarmerintheprovinceofJämtland.

168.Jan-OlofNilsson,Minnenavkrig,113.169.KurtFeldtbladandWalterFeldtblad,Krigshjältarna(Örkelljunga,Sweden:Settern,1982),174.

170.Ibid.,171.171.Ibid.172.TerjeFredh,Utanförspärren,part3(Lysekil,Sweden:privatelypublished,1983),125.173.RA(UD)HP39,vol.1684.174.InformationoftheStockhaus/StockhousefamilycomesfromMikaelSundberg’sarchive.

Sundberg’sfather’smother,EmmaSundberg,wasbornStockhaus,andwasoneoftworelativeswhoremainedinSweden.TheinformationintheSundbergarchiveisbuiltonthegenealogicalresearchMikaelSundberghascarriedoutsince1995.

175.NotthecompanythatBandofBrothersrevolvesaround,CompanyE,2ndBattalion,buttheexperiencesofStockhouseandLundquistoughttohavebeenverysimilartothosedescribedinthebookandtelevisionseries.

176.RonWindh,lettertoauthor(LG),19June1996.Muchofthefollowinginformationwasdrawnfromseveralyearsofthebattalion’snewsletter(inLG’sarchive).

177.WilliamColby,HonorableMen:MyLifeintheCIA(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,1978),82.178.RonWindhandLeifOistad,bothfromOSSNORSOGroup,inauguratedamonumentin1999by

thevillageofLienintheProvinceofJämtlandcommemoratingthetimespentinSwedenbythegroup.SeealsoGyllenhaalandGebhardt,149.

179.GyllenhaalandGebhardt,149;Norrbottens-Kuriren,“EnsmålänningfortillUSA,”3December1943.

180.AllanKastrup,TheSwedishHeritageinAmerica(Minneapolis,Minn.:SwedishCouncilofAmerica,1975),737.

181.Svenskuppslagsbok;andBrittBassandLasseHolmqvist,NewSweden:EnlitenbitavAmerika(Höganäs,Sweden:BraBöcker,1988),105.InformationontheFalldinfamilycomesfromKastrup,125,andfromVirgilPersing,lettertoauthor(LG),11July2005.

182.UD,R37Ua.OfspecialinterestisT.W.Schönberg’slettertotheUD,17June1942.183.William“Swede”Anderson,lettertoauthor(LG),28February1988;andHugoTringali,interview

withauthor(LG),17August2003.184.KarlAndersAdrup,Denniondeapril(Höganäs:ABWiken,1981),134.185.Fredh,Utanförspårren,vol.2,157.186.Krigsseglargruppen,ed.,Krigsseglare(Gothenburg,Sweden:TreBöcker,1997),8.187.TerjeFredh,lettertoauthor(LG),7February2004.PerEriksson,withtheNorwegianand

SwedishSeaman’sofficeinSanFrancisco,estimatedthattherewereabout10,000SwedesintheAlliedconvoys,butFredhhasdeterminedthatthiswasanoverestimatebecausemanyseamenchangedshipsseveraltimesduringthewaryears.

188.Krigsseglargruppen,24.189.NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,“Böleynglingforvästerut-hemmaigenefter20år,”15September

1956.190.Fredh,Utanförspårren,vol.2,3.191.Fredh,Svenskasjömänsomdogiandravärldskriget,2;Krigsseglargruppen,77;DagensNyheter,

“Vadärviskyldigadedöda?”7September2003.192.Krigsseglargruppen,77.193.BjörnChristophersen,Försvaretsplassinorskhistorie(Oslo:Försvaretskrigshistoriskeavdeling,

1976),53.194.Fredh,Utanförspårren,vol.3,138.195.FörettfrittSpanien,“Intebarakolilasten,”1(1985).196.Krigsseglargruppen,18.197.Expressen,“VihjälpteHitler,”23August1992.198.Munch-Petersen,23.199.FörsvaretsForum,“SvenskhandelmedTyskland,”1(1985).200.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944(Stockholm:Militärhistoriska,1989),504.Initiallythe

numberwas92Swedeskilledinaction,butfournameshavebeenaddedsincethattimeandarelistedonanaditionalmemorialstone.IfitcanbefinallyproventhatBirgerSjöberginSOEwasn’tSwedish,thetotalnumberis95.SeetheearliertextaboutSjöberg.

201.ThemainSwedish-NorwegianvolunteerofficewaslocatedonSergelgatan2inStockholm;seeSjöstedt,157,foradescriptionoftheoffice’sfreneticactivitiesafter6April1945.

202.FörsvaretsForum,“Farligkattochråtlek”1(1994).203.Sjöstedt,102.204.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,30.205.On30April1945theSwedishcoalitiongovernmentsaid“yes”totheDefenseStaffplanto

coordinateoperationsbetweentheAllieddelegationunderGeneralAndrewThorneandtheSwedishGeneralStaff.SeeLeifLeifland,GeneralBöhmesval.SverigeochdetnazistiskaTysklandvåren1945(Stockholm:Norstedts,1992),aswellasGustafMunthe,Tennsoldaten:Minnenfrånkrigsåren(Stockholm:NaturochKultur,1960),194;PennanochSvärdet,“PerAlbinHanssonochdensvenskaD-dagen,”7(1997);andSvenskFlyghistorisktidskrift,“OperationRäddaDanmarkochOperationRäddaNorge,”5(2002).

206.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,30.207.Sjöstedt,169.208.Ibid.,157,167209.Ibid.,187.210.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,32.211.Munthe,Tennsoldaten,199.212.Ibid.,33;Sjöstedt,195.213.FörsvaretsForum,“SvenskgerillaiNorge,”1(1994).214.Sjöstedt,215.215.Ibid.216.RA(UD)HP39,vol.1684.217.MoresourcesforthissubjectareHermansson’sKommunister,vol.II;Fjället“Motståndsmani

Kirunafjällen,”2(2001);Se,“Medalajensfrånsida,”25(1946);Norrländskasocialdemokraten,“SignarfrånMåttsund—ensvenskmotståndsman,”13February1992.

218.Expressen,“HanbrändeSS-UniformenochblevmilitärpolisiUSArmy,”6July1977.219.CurtFalkenstam,Minan:Enkriminalreportersminnen(Stockholm:Askild&Kärnekull,1981),

180.Falkenstamwas,amongotherthings,thechiefofinformationfortheRikspolisstyrelsen(NationalPoliceBoard).

220.Ibid.ThisdivisionwaspartofGeneralPatton’s3rdArmy.221.Staf,147.

Chapter9:InFinland’sService,1939–19451.Appel,Finlandikrig,1939–1940,104;Vojennojedelo,“Neznamenitajavojna,”March2002;

Rodina,“Vystrelovnebylo”and“Vystrelibyli,”12(1995).2.ForthebackgroundontheWinterWarseeAppel,Finlandikrig,1939–1940.3.Ibid.,94,148.4.Ibid.,85,89,196.Attheoutbreakofthewartherewereonly115operationallyreadyFinnish

militaryaircraft.5.Duringtherevolutionin1905KuusinenwasanofficerintheRedGuard.In1918hewasthefounder

oftheFinnishCommunistParty.6.Trotter,194.7.Se,12(1940),6.8.Se,21(1940),4.

9.CarlAugustEhrensvärd,Iriketstjänst(Stockholm:Norstedts,1965),44.10.GöteNilsson,78.LarsHelgo,interviewwithauthor(LG),5March2004.Gösta“Texas”Näslund

fromSundsvallhadescapedfromoneofFranco’sprisonerofwarcamps,thenlaterescapedfromtheFinnishhospitaltowhichhehadbeenadmitted.

11.Therewasatleastoneex-FrenchForeignLegionSwedeinFinland:KarlSchreiberfromGothenburg.Hehadtwelveyearsofwarserviceindifferentcountriesbehindhim.SeehisservicerecordcardintheKrAandSe,15(1940):18.

12.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944,61.13.Ibid.,62.14.Se,27(1940):12.15.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944,227.ItisnotclearhowmanythousandsjoinedtheSwedish

WorkersCorpsinFinland,but900memberswereinFinlandwhenthewarwasstopped.16.GregerFalk,F19:enkrönika(Stockholm:SvenskFlyghistoriskFörening,1988),7.17.OrnulfTigerstedt,ed.,Iösterled:EnbokfilmomSvenskafrivilligkåren(Stockholm:

Sjalvstandighetsförbundet,1940),62.18.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944,126.19.FormoreregardingOlofLagercrantz,editorforDenFrivillige,seeErikFahlander,etal.,Det

brinnerhosgrannen:minnenochglimtarfrånvinterkriget1939–40ochberedskapsåren1939–45(Järfälla,Sweden:FöreningenHaparandapojkarna,1982),109.

20.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,21.21.AlbinEdlundhaspublishedpartsofBengtLindafHageby’swardiaryinSvenskamarinens

frivilligaiFinland,1939–1944(Karlskrona,Sweden:Marinmuseivänner,1995).22.Ehrensvärd,149.23.Appel,Finlandikrig,1939–1940,225.24.Falk,203;Tigerstedt,65.25.FörbundetSvenskaFinlandsfrivilligawasreorganizedintheyear2000totheSvenska

FinlandsfrivilligasMinnesföreninginordertocontinueitsactivitiesafterthelastwarveteranhasdied.26.Manus,aNorwegianSFKveteran,wrotemorecriticallyontheSFKinhismemoirs,Detordnarsig

alltid(1957).SeealsoKarlHenrikBergh’sunpublishedmemoirs,“Minaminnenfrånvinterkriget”(2001),inauthor’sarchive(LG).

27.GöteNilsson,87.28.Aktuelltochhistoriskt1958,23.29.ArnePettersson,interviewbyauthor(LG),1January2002.30.ThebadgewaslaterwornbyothervolunteersforFinland.31.SvenskaDagbladet,“NyasvenskafrivilligavarjeveckatillHangö,”23November1941.32.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944,332;UrbanLindström,“Nationalsocialisminomden

svenskafrivilligrörelsenunderfinskafortsättningskriget:B-uppsats,”HistoriaAB(essaywrittenattheUniversityofGothenburg,1998),9.

33.Ibid.,284.34.Lindström,essay,9.35.Meddelande45–46(Stockholm:Armémuseum,1984–86),298.36.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944,303.Reportisdated17December1941.37.vonSchmidt-Laussitz,53.38.OrvarNilsson,NärFinlandssakblevmin(Keuru:Schildts,2002),238.39.Ibid.,240.40.Ibid.,175.41.Ibid.,241.42.Lindström,essay,13.43.Rytterås,84.44.Hufvudstadsbladet,“Idag,”6December2001.

45.TheentirespeechisavailableattheSwedishgovernment’sofficialwebsite,www.regeringen.se;seealsoTidningförSvenskaFinlandsfrivilligasMinnesförening,1(2003).

46.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland1939–1944,453;UDHP39L230207/221/311.47.FLYG,“SvenskflygareiFinland,”18(1943).48.Appel,Finlandikrig,1944–1945(Esbo,Finland:Schildts,2001),162.

Chapter10:IntheServiceoftheThirdReich,1939-451.Carlgren,Svenskutrikespolitik,313;J.R.Butler,HistoryoftheSecondWorldWar(London:United

KingdomMilitarySeries,1957),544;GunnarHägglöf,Samtidavittne(Stockholm:Norstedts,1972),83.2.KeithBonn,ed.,Slaughterhouse:TheEncyclopediaoftheEasternFront(NewYork:MilitaryBook

Club,2002),11.Becauseofitsoriginsandmorepoliticalnature,theWaffen-SSishandledbytheauthor(LW)asseparatefromtheWehrmacht.

3.Forananalysisofthe“Germanic”politicsoftheSS,seeHans-DietrichLoock,“Zur‘GrossgermanischenPolitik’desDrittenReiches,”VierteljahrsheftefürZeitgeschichte,8(1960):37–63;andBerndWegner,HitlerspolitischeSoldaten,dieWaffen-SS,1933–1945:Leitbild,Struktur,undFunktioneinernationalsozialistischenElite(Paderborn,Germany:Schöningh,1982),295.

4.ThemostcompromisingimpactintheSSexpansioncamefromtheincorporationofthe“Totenkopf”unitsintotheWaffen-SS.Theyhadservedasguardpersonnelinconcentrationcampsfrom1933underthenotoriousTheodorEickeandweretrainedtotreatprisonersinespeciallyinhumaneways.CharlesW.Sydnor,Jr.,SoldiersofDestruction:TheSSDeath’sHeadDivision,1933–1945(Princeton,N.J.:PrincetonUniv.Press,1990),37.

5.AlsoSwiss,Finns,andLuxemburgerswereincludedinthiscategory.VolunteerFrenchmen,Spaniards,andWaloonswereatfirstnoteligiblefortheSS—beingnotGermanic—andthereforetheywereinitiallyplacedonlyintotheWehrmacht;T-175/105/629033,NARA.

6.InaspeechtotheWaffen-SSOfficersSchoolatBadTölzinthefallof1943ObersturmbannführerFranzRiedweg,theChiefofStaffoftheGermanischeLeitstelle(thecentralSSrecruitingbureauinBerlin)statedthatSwedenwas“themostimportantGermanichumanreservoirthattherewas,”undatedmanuscriptinRS5/310,Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv,FreiburgimBreisgau(BAMI);andDr.FranzRiedweg,Munich,lettertoauthor(LW),5February1985.

7.Asearlyas4September1940HimmlergavepermissiontotheGermanischeLeitstelletorecruitSwedishvolunteerstotheWaffen-SS;microfilm4190,formerStaatlichesArchivzentrumderDDR(nowDokumentationszentrumderStaatlichenArchivverwaltungDDR,Berlin).

8.Inadditiontothosewhowerekilledinactionatthefrontonemustalsoaddthosewhodiedofwoundsinhospitals,fromsicknessinprisonersofwarcamps,andfinallythosewhowerereportedmissinginactionbutwereprobablydead.TheWehrmachthadproportionallysimilartotallossesastheWaffen-SS:3,880,000deadoutofatotalofover12millionmen.

9.LaterresearchhasshownhowunitsfromtheWaffen-SS,Wehrmacht,andtheGermanpoliceactivelyparticipatedinmassexecutionswithintheframeworkoftheHolocaust:Sydnor,321;Höhne,328;andClaesBundgårdChristensen,NielsBoPoulsen,andPeterScharffSmith,UnderHagekorsogDannebrog:DanskereiWaffen-SS,1940–45(Copenhagen:Aschehoug,1998),247.

10.Himmlerconsistentlymadeadistinctionbetweenthefirst“coreunits”intheWaffen-SSandthosethatweredisposable“canonfodder”indifferentSSdivisionsandgradedthemfortheirfuturepoliticalandideologicalusefulness.Wegner,315.

11.InlateJune1941,in“Wiking”therewere1,143non-Germans:631Dutch,294Norwegians,216Danes,1Swede,and1Swiss;Knopp,276.Onthequestionofproportionsin“Nordland”:Michaelis,25.

12.Atotalof600,000troopsfromcountriesthatwereinsomeformofallianceorpartnershipwithGermanyparticipatedinBARBAROSSA.Thesecountriesweremotivatedbyexpansionistideasorby

revengeafterearlierlossesoftheirterritorytotheSovietUnion.Burleigh,489.13.QuotedinWernerSchmidt’sAntikommunismochkommunismunderdetkortanittonhundratalet

(Lund:NordicAcademicPress,2002),170.14.S.I.Drobjazko,Vostochnyelegionyikazachichasti(Moscow:IzdatelstvoAST,1999),4,states

thatthenumberis1.2million.AlexanderDallin,GermanRuleinRussia1941–1945:AStudyofOccupationPolicies(NewYork:Macmillan,1988);andAntonioJ.MuñozandOlegV.Romanko,Hitler’sWhiteRussians:Collaboration,Extermination,andAnti-partisanWarfareinByelorussia,1941–1944(Bayside,NY:Europa,2003)statethatthetotalnumbersare“veryuncertain,”butestimateittobebetween800,000and1.2millionSovietcitizens.

15.Meetingprotocol,30June1941,PolitischesArchiv,AuswärtigesAmt(PA,AA),Bonn,dossierforRitter,no.55,copyfromtheForeignMinistry,UD’scollection,RA.

16.AktenzurdeutschenausiwärtigenPolitik1918bis1945(ADAP),seriesBdXII:i,document184;seealsoSchmidt,174,andGunnarAselius,“Levandehistoriakräverdåtidaperspektiv,”Axess(June2002):34.

17.ChristianGünther,notesofconversationwithKarlSchnurre,5July1941,inHPICt,UD,RAaswellasRedogörelseavgiventillutrikesnämnden1942(Stockholm,1942),107.

18.Günther,conversationwithSchnurre.19.ChristianGünther,memotoCabinetSecretaryWestman,12July1946;HPiCt,UD,RA.20.Günther,conversationwithSchnurre.21.CurtKempff’sarchive,ÖVI,FörsvaretsAnstalt(FRA,NationalDefenseRadioEstablishment,

Stockholm),communicationinterceptsoftelecommunications,1941–42,KrA.Foracriticalinterpretationofthegovernment’sandmilitarybranches’roleontheideatosendofficerstotheEasternFront,seeSchmidt,177.

22.CopyofcirculatediteminHelgeJung’sarchiveFIin(correspondence),vol4,KrA.23.ADAP,seriesD,BdXIII,I,document109.24.GeorgHolmin,Stockholm,adjutanttotheChiefoftheArmyin1941,lettertoauthor(LW),8

February1978.SSleadershipcorrespondenceonSwedishofficersisinT-175/105/629028,NARA.25.CurtKempff’sarchive:ÖVI,FRA,telecommunicationsintercepts1941–42,vol2,KrA.The

MinistryofDefenseandtheMinistryofForeignAffairs,attemptin1946toexaminethequestionofSwedishofficersontheEasternFrontin1941andrecordedcommentsfromGünther,Sköld,Thörnell,andothers.SecretaryofDefenseAllanVought’sinvestigationislocatedinHPICt,UD,RA;seealsoWilhelmCarlgren,Kortenpåbordet?Svenskavitbbökeromkrigsårensutrikespolitik(Stockholm:Militärhistoriska,1989),29.

26.ThemisunderstandingbetweenBohemanandCarlvonBelow(actingchiefoftheGermanlegationinStockholm)isdescribedinmemo,30July1941byRagnarKumlin(actingchiefofthepoliticaldepartment,UD)tothelegationsinBerlinandHelsinki;HP39L,UD,RA.

27.FromthetimetheGermansattackedtheSovietUnion,22June1941,toJanuary1942,onlythirty-oneapplicationsfromSwedishcitizenstoserveintheGermanarmedforceswerereceivedbytheking.Alltheapplicationswererejectedbythegovernment.Redogörelse,108.

28.ADAP,D,BandXIII2,Doc.364,p.476;telegramRichert-Söderblom;HPiCt,UD,RA.29.FormerAmbassadorGunnarHägglöf,lettertoauthor(LW),15October1985.30.Etzdorf’snotesinADAP,D,BandXIII,2,Doc.364,p.489;vonUthmann’sletterquotedbyAlf

W.Johansson,276.31.L.P.Lochner,Goebbelsdagbocker(Zurich:n.p.,1948),325.32.DerWeltkampfdesReiches,NSDAPBerlin,1943,9.33.StandardcontractforvolunteermilitaryserviceintheSS-Regiment“Nordland”and“Westland”as

wellastheNorskelegion(NorwegianLegion)1941–42(copyinLW’spossession).34.ElisHöglundinterviewbytelephonewithauthor(LW),3October2003.35.Dependingonthevolunteer’sincome,starting1June1942hiswifereceivedamonthly

maintenancepaymentfromtheSSofbetween175and475NKr(NorwegianCrowns).

36.DiarysketchesofTorSamuelssonduringhisserviceintheWaffen-SS,copyinauthor’s(LW)possession.

37.DenSvenskeFolksocialisten,October1943,UUB.38.GöstaBorg,Detrödamassanfallet(Stockholm:Fahlcrantz&Gumaelius,1951),20.39.ThesectiononGöstaBorgisbasedonthefollowingarchives:Borg’sSäpodossierP408,RA;the

militarysecurityservicedossieronBorg,MUST,HögkvarteretStockholm;Borg’sSS-personaldossier(personalfile),BDC-BABerlinaswellastheinterrogationbytheSecurityServicewithBorg,14May1945;LandsfogdensintheVärmlandarchive,E1:79,LandsarkivetKarlstad.

40.Borg’sstatementduringtheinterrogationthatin1944hevisitedthe“frontinWarsaw”meansthathewaspresentduringthebrutalcrushingoftherebellioninthecityinAugust1944.

41.Sennerteg,46;andGöstaBorg,interviewwithauthor(LW),15May1980.42.HerbertPoller,SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung11“Nordland”(Stockholm:Leandoer&Ekholm,

2006),322.43.FranzBereznyak,lettertoauthor(LW),18November1978.44.ManuscriptbySvenHansson,Linköping,forhislecturein1988attheSwedishArmyMuseumon

thebattleofNarva.45.Hans-GöstaPehrsson,memoirnotes,copyinauthor’s(LW)possession(undated,probablyearly

1950s).46.Bereznyak.47.ErikWallinandThorolfHillblad,Ragnarök(Stockholm:DenSvenskes,1945),55.48.Telephonediary,HeeresgruppeWeichsel,17to19April1945;RH19XV/10,BAMI,andNachlass

Heinrici,N265/134,BAMI.49.WallinandHillblad,72.50.Some300FrenchSSvolunteerstookpartinthefinalbattleforBerlin.Rikmenspoel,186.51.Bereznyak.52.TheSwedishwarcorrespondents’careersintheWaffen-SSaregivenintheirpersonnelfilesin

BDC-BA.53.Nordborg’spersonaldossierHd.355/40,Säpo,RA;Nordborg’sSSpersonalfileinBDC-BA;Per

Engdahl,lettertoauthor(LW),1April1980.54.JeanF.,telephoneinterviewwithauthor(LW),10May1990.55.RobertBengtsson,interrogationbySecurityServices,3August1946,Säpo.56.Eklöf’sSSpersonalfile,BDC-BA.SS-JagdverbändeactuallybelongednottotheWaffen-SS,but

wasorganizedasaspecialunitundertheGermanNationalSecurityService,RSHA.57.ErikMyrgren,Hörby,formerSwedishLutheranpastorinBerlin1944–45,interviewwithauthor

(LW),10August1984.58.Dr.RudolfBrandt,Himmler’sofficechief,lettertoSollmannonScholzapplicationtotheWaffen-

SS,12February1945;microfilm5544/19,formerStaatlichesArchivzentrumderDDR.59.Pehrsson’spersonaldataintheWaffen-SSwastakenfromhisSSpersonalfile(BDC-BA)andthe

SecurityServicesinterrogationofPehrsson,27October1945inpersonaldossierP2768,Säpo,RA.60.Pehrsson’sclaimsheturnedablindeyetodesertions(atthisstageofthewar)fromhiscompany

wereconfirmedintheauthor’s(LW)interview4August1995,Stockholm,withaSwedish-Estonianformersoldier(whowishedtoremainanonymous)fromPehrsson’sownSScompany.

61.RH7A1351/1359,Bundesarchiv-Zentralnachweisstelle,Aachen.62.DetailsaroundthelossofJuhlin-Dannfelt’sbriefcaseandreportinginCurtKempff’sarchive,Ö

VII,Diverse1944–45,vol2,KrA.63.GüntherGreeff,Moosburg(Switzerland),lettertoauthor(LW),28March1987,confirmed

Pehrsson’spromotiontoIcon17April1945byZiegler;GreeffwasaSwissvolunteerandasHauptsturmführerhewasPehrsson’simmediatepredecessorasintelligenceofficer(Ic)onthedivisionalstaffof“Nordland.”

64.ThestatementsaboutZiegler’sandSteiner’sattemptstoopposeHitler’sandWeidling’sordersby

moving“Nordland”outofBerlintowardsSchleswig-Holsteinweremadeduringtheauthor’s(LW)telephoneinterviewwithGüntherGreeff,22February1987,andinGreeff’sletterstotheauthordated28Marchand7April1987.SeeaswellTissier,187;Tieke,240;andtheauthor’scorrespondencewiththeformerChiefofStaffoftheGerman56thPanzerCorpsduringthefinalcombatinBerlin,Obersti.G.a.D.TheodorvonDufving.ThejournalistBosseSchön’sassertioninSvenskarnasomstredförHitler(Stockholm:BokförlagetDN,1999),302,thatPehrssonwasinvolvedinacoupattempt“totakeHitlerprisonerorkillhim”isnotsupportedinthesourcematerial,butonlyfantasy.

65.PastorErikMyrgren,Hörby,interviewwithauthor(LW),10April1993.Schön’swildstatementinSvenskarnasomstredförHitler(306)thattheSSofficerYngveNordborgwasintheFührerbunkerand“withhisowneyessawAdolfHitlermarryEvaBraun”and[“togetherwithMartinBormann”;sic!]thenpassedbythecraterwherebothoftheirremainswerelocatedcanberejectedthroughasimplecheckofNordborg’sSäpodossier,wheretheinterrogationrecordsstatethatNordborg“visitedBerlinforthelasttimeinJanuary1945.”

66.Pehrsson,typednotes,copyinauthor’s(LW)archive.67.EdithK.,Pehrsson’sfirstwifefromDenmark,telephoneinterviewwithauthor(LW),19November

1984.68.Despitemanydetailedinvestigationsthereisstillalackofamodern,comprehensiveresearchonthe

Waffen-SSandtheirrolein“regular”warcrimes,thelatestattemptbeingKnopp,284.69.“TheRussianshaveorderedapartisanwarbehindthefrontlines.Thispartisanwarhasits

advantagesbecauseitgivesusthepossibilitytoexterminatethosewhoopposeus,”Nurembergdoc.PS-I22I,NARA.OnthebasicdifferencebetweentraditionalwarcrimescommittedbyallpartiesatthefrontandtheNazifundamentalethniccleansingplansandmassmurdersbehindthefront,seeHeinzArtzt,ZurAbgrenzungvonKriegsverbrechenandNS-VerbrecheninRückerl,163.

70.RegardingthequestionoftheRedArmy’smassexecutionofGermanprisonersofwar1941,seeHoffmann,216.

71.ForthestillmostreliableanalysisoftheofficercorpsintheWaffen-SSfromanideologicalandsocialpointofview,seeWegner,67.

72.OnthemassacreinLeParadis,seeSydnor,106.OnthemurderinWormhodtonthesamedaybytheLeibstandarte,seeWeingarrter,112.

73.ThebestanalysisoftheWaffen-SSandwarcrimestodateisinStein,250.SeealsoSydnor,313.74.Asearlyas1October1941theSwedishMilitaryAttachéinBerlin,Juhlin-Dannfelt,reportedtothe

SwedishDefenseStaffaremarkbyaGermanRegimentalCommanderontheEasternFront:“Prisonersaregenerallynottaken,except[under]thelargeencirclements,”Försvarsstabensunderrättelseavdelning,seriesEI:18,vol.14,KrA.

75.BundgårdChristensen,98.76.Försvarsstabensunderrättelseavdelning,seriesEII:18,vol.5–6,KrA.Thereportwasevidently

readbyThörnell,theSwedishSupremeCommander;Åkerhielm,theChiefoftheDefenseStaff;andmentionedtoColonelBjörk,theChiefoftheDefenseStaffOperationsDepartment.

77.KurtLundin,SecurityServicesinterrogation,24December1943,inStockholm;Hd.767/43,Säpo,RA.

78.When“Wiking”andtheGermanArmyunitsinFebruary1942retookthecityofGrischinoontheDnieperRivertheGermansclaimedthattheRedArmyhadinashorttimemurdered600Germansandcivilians,includingalargenumberofGermanRedCrosssisters;deSayas,187.Asareprisalforthisdeed,partsof“Wiking”andtheWehrmachtmurderedalargenumberofSovietprisonersduringthenextfewdays;BundgårdChristensen,203.

79.CurtKempff’sarchive,ÖIII,vol4,KrA.80.KarlMartinÅgrahn,SecurityServicesinterrogation,13November1943;Luleå

Luftvärnsregementeskrigsrättsprotokoll,KrA.81.BundgårdChristensen,203.82.ChiefJudgeDoctorAdalbertRückerl,ChiefoftheGermanStateCommissioninLudwigsburgfor

theinvestigationofNazimassannihilations,lettertoauthor(LW),8November1979.Rückerlstatesthataccordingtotheirarchives,atthattimetherewasnoknowninformationaboutunitsfromtheIIIPanzerCorpsinCroatiaparticipatinginanycriminalactivity.

83.[Namewithheld],aSwedish-Estonianformersoldierinthe3dCompany,SS-Panzer-Aufklärungsabteilung(ReconnaissanceBattalion)11“Nordland,”interviewwithauthor(LW),4August1995inStockholm.Hewasinterviewedforovertwohoursinhishomeandgavedetailedandcredibleinformationonthetime,persons,placeandotherconditionsrelatedtothemurdersofthosewarprisoners.Wehaverespectedthewishforanonymityforanyonewhoisnotsuspectedofhavingcommittedacrime.

84.HelmutKrausnick,HitlersEinsatzgruppen:DieTruppedesWeltanschauungskrieges,1938–1942(FrankfurtamMain:Fischer,1998),151.

85.R58/214,Bl.127,BundesarchivBerlin.86.Kriegstagebuch(wardiary)fortheGermanArmy’s4thArmyCorps,notesfrom2July1941;RH

24-14/33,Bl.27,BAMI.87.TypicalforpersonnelrotationwithintheWaffen-SSwasthatHilmarWäckerle,in1933,wasthe

firstCommandantoftheConcentrationCampDachau;AppealsJudgeWilliDressen,ZentraleStellederLandesjustizverwaltungen,Ludwigsburg,lettertoauthor(LW),15February1994.

88.ThesemassexecutionsbytheSS-Division“Wiking”becametheobjectofacomprehensiveinvestigationbytheWestGermancourtsandcriminalpoliceduringthe1970sand1980swithoutanychargesagainstindividualpersons;seeasummaryofthisinvestigationthroughZentraleStelleinLudwigsburginAR-Z12/86,dnr.204[copyinauthor’s(LW)possession].NoSwedishcitizensarementionedinthepoliceinvestigations.

89.Hitlerissuedaspecial“Führerorder”onespeciallycomprehensivereprisals(massexecutions)aftertheNKVDmassacreatLviv-Tarnopolandsomeothertowns.Hitler’sorderwasrelayedbyradioortelegraphfromahighWehrmachtstaffintheregion;Ogorreck,129.ProfessorMaunoJokipii,authoroftheFinnishSSBattalion’shistory,1941–43,telephoneinterviewwithauthor(LW),8August2004.JokipiistatedthatFinnishSSsoldierswerewitnessestotheJuly1941murderof500to600maleinhabitantsofthetownofHusiantynbyGermanSSsoldiers,probablyfrom“Wiking.”JokipiidoesnotknowiftheFinnishvolunteerswereactivelyinvolvedinthisorsimilarmurdersontheEasternFront.SecurityPolicememo,2May1945,islocatedinthepersonaldossierforMarkusLedin,HA115/44,Säpo,RA.SvenOlovLindholm,lettertoIngemarCarlssonatRiksarkivet,16March1984.LindholmstatedthatthenumberofSSSmembersintheWaffen-SSwas130persons;SvenOlovLindholm’sarchive,vol.5,RA.

90.Försvarsstabensunderrättelseavdelning,EII:18,vol5–6,KrA.91.KurtLundin,interrogation,dossierP3895,Säpo.Lundin’sinformationonkillingbytheuseof

poisongasisalsouniquebecauseitprobablywasthefirstinformationthatcametoSwedenonthisphaseoftheHolocaust.Thefirstmobilegaschamberswererebuiltbussesinwhichthevictimswerekilledbythecarbonmonoxidefromthebusengine.TheyweresetintousebytheSSinthespringof1942attheChelmnoexterminationcampandduringtheearlysummerof1942intheareaofMinsk;ProfessorGeraldFleming,London,lettertoauthor(LW),28January2004.TheplaceLundincalled“Husiantin”[correctnamewasHusiantyn;todayGusiatinintheUkraine]islocatedveryneartoLvivandTarnopol.

92.Manyexamplesofanti-SemitismarefoundinpublicationspublishedbytheSSandNasjonalSamling(theNorwegianNaziParty),writteninNorwegian,asinthepublicationSSSkolehefte,8“Jödeneimellomkrigstiden”;GermanskBudstikke,“Jödiskutvikling,”5–7(1943);Oppbrudd:Breverfragermanskekrigsfrivillige(1943);andSkuggsjå:Förerorganforungdomsfylkingen,“Jödedomochbolsjevismen,”May–June1944.AccordingtoofficialSSstatisticstherewasonlyoneSwedein“Wiking”on22June1941;Strassner,434,andinthemiddleofJuly1941therewerefiveSwedes;AkteSS440,BAMI,quotedinStrassner,433.IntheprivatediaryofthecommanderoftheSS-Regiment“Westland,”ArthurPhleps,hewrotedownthatduringtheperiodApriltoDecember1941thefollowingnumberofSwedeswereintheregiment:18September:5Swedes;30December:2Swedes;extractsfromcopyofthediaryinauthor’s(LW)possessionwiththehelpofDr.ReinhardPhleps.

93.Seenote73.

94.BundgårdChristensen,250,435.Attheendof1941,HimmlerorderedtheSStostopusingvolunteersfromreplacementdepotsbelongingtoforeignlegionsasguardpersonnelintheconcentrationcamps;orderfromSS-Führungshauptamt,17November1941,toallSSreplacementunitsN756/234,BAMI.Whilenotalwaysfollowed,ChristensensupposesthatthemotivebehindtheorderwasHimmler’sfearthatinformationonthenew,systematicexecutiontechniquewiththemobilegaschambers“wouldbespreadacrossallofEuropebywayofthevolunteers”(249).

95.NyDag,29September1945,KB.Gross-Rosenwasestablishedin1940asapartofSachsenhausenandin1941becameanindependentconcentrationcamp;GudrunSchwarz,DienationalsozialistischenLager(FrankfurtamMain:Fischer,1997),196.

96.DirectlyconnectedtotheconcentrationcampatDachauwere,forexample,amanagementschoolfortheWaffen-SS,alargetrainingbattalion,andanequipmentdepotfortheSS.ANorwegianvolunteer,whowasaclassmateoftheSwedesHans-GöstaPehrssonandGunnarEklöfattheWaffen-SSofficer’sschoolinBadTölzhasstatedthatthecourseincludedavisittotheconcentrationcampatDachau;historianTommyNatedal,telephoneinterviewwithauthor(LW),29May2004.

97.Schön,SvenskarnasomstredförHitler,394.SeethehistorianPeterEnglund’scriticalarticleinDagensNyheter,“MenvarhanverkligeniTreblinka?”14January2000;JensChristianBrandt’sarticleinDagensNyheter,“Krigsförbrytarensomvävdesinegenmyt,”18January2000;aswellasthereviewsinNerikesAllebanda,18March2000,17June2000,14November,2001,and13May2004.RegardingSwedishcitizenHaraldSundin,whowassaidtohavebeenacampguardatTreblinka,inletterstotheauthor(LW)threeseparatearchiveseachstatedthatSundinwasnotintheirarchivesorregisters:theRepublicofPolandStateCommissionfortheInvestigationofNaziMassWarCrimes(letter,dated22September2003),thespecialGermanStateCommissioninLudwigsburgfortheinvestigationofNazimassexecutions(24October2003),andtheCzechRepublic’smilitaryhistoryarchivesinPrague(4March2004).IntheinterrogationwiththeSwedishpolice3January1946SundinstatedhewassenttotheSundbyMentalHospitalin1941afteracourtsmartialandon17May1943escapedfromthisfacilityandwentoverthebordertoNorwaytojointheGermanArmy.AfterastayinFlensburg,SundinwasplacedinahospitalinGrazandafterastayatthehospitalSundinwasreleasedasacivilianworker.InJanuary1944SundinrequestedtheGermanauthoritiestosendhimtoNorwayasacivilianworker.TheapplicationwasagreedtoandhewassenttotheGermanWaffen-SSbattalioninHolmestrandoutsideofOslo.HehadbeeninHöyAngernearBergenforaboutthreemonthsservingguardduty,afterwhichhewasreturnedtoHolmestrandwhereheworkedasanautomobilemechanicandchauffeurfortheGermanArmy.(SundinreturnedfromNorwaytoSweden26September1944);Sundin’sdossier,Ha.1360/45,Säpo,RA.

98.SecurityServiceinterrogationofCurtBirgerNorberg,31March1943;personaldossierP3796,Säpo.

99.Browning,105.100.[Namewithheld],seenote83.101.Lundininterrogation.102.SecurityPolicememo,2May1945islocatedinthepersonaldossierforMarkusLedin,HA

115/44,Säpo,RA.SvenOlovLindholmstates(lettertoIngemarCarlsson,16March1984)that130membersoftheSSSweremembersoftheWaffen-SS;seethearchiveofSvenOlovLindholm,vol.5,RA.

103.Lööw,115;EricWärenstam,FascismenochnazismeniSverige(Stockholm:Geber,1972),230.104.Dossier8YK,Sveaborg,Säpo,RA.105.Lööw,129.106.ThorolfHillblad,lettertoSvenOlovLindholm,21July1942,copyinauthor’s(LW)possession.107.UnderspecialcircumstancesSwedescouldgethelpfromtheMilitaryAttachéinBerlintobe

dischargedfromtheWaffen-SS;HP39:L,vol.1684–1685,UDRA.108.SecurityServicesinterrogationofErikHaraldJonsson,2February1943,Säpo,RA.109.JanDufwa,lettertoGöstaStawåsen,fall1943(copyinLW’spossession).110.DocumentonHolmisinDossier50:6/4A,Nazism,Säpo,RA.111.Johansson’scourtmartialfileisinthearchiveofDerHöhereSS-undPolizeiführerNord,(the

HigherSS-andPoliceLeaderNorth),RiksarkivetOslo.112.Abwehr,whosechiefupto1944wasAdmiralCanaris,wassubordinatetoOKW,theGerman

combatforcessupremecommand.SDwasoriginallythesecurityservicefortheNaziParty.SipoandSDweresubordinatetotheGermanStateSecurityServiceinBerlin,theRSHA.

113.TorePryser,Hitlershemmeligeagenter(Oslo:Universitetsforlaget,2001),337,390.AdditionalinformationontheSSSwedesisbasedontheirrespectivedossiersinSäpo’sarchiveandinBDC-BAinBerlin.

114.SwedishLegationinOslototheUD,letter27February1946,withattachment“MemoconcerningSwedishcitizensimprisonedandsentencedinorexpelledfromNorwayafter8May1945ongroundsofcollaboratingwithandotherwisesupportingtheGermans”;Sandlerkommissionensarkiv(archivesoftheSandlercommission),F3:1–2,RA.

115.Christophersen,180;andmemowiththelistofnamesinthememodescribedinendnote114.116.OnCalaisaction,seePryser,123.OnRyden’sdeath:personakt(dossier)Hd.3815/41,Säpo,RA.117.ArticleinDenSvenskeFolksocialisten,“Fångenhosryssarna,”October1946,UUB.118.UlfNorman,lettertoauthor(LW),1993.119.StenEriksson,lettertoauthor(LW),14February1993.120.SvenGrafström(UD),lettertotheSwedishlegationinBern,6September1946;HP39L,UD,

RA.121.Seenote91.122.Accordingtoa1937law,recruitingonSwedishterritoryforaforeignmilitarypowerwas

forbiddenwithoutthepermissionoftheSwedishgovernment.123.TheGermanconsulateinSwedenpaidpunctuallyunderthetermsoftheSSvolunteerscontractthe

salaryandmaintenancetotheirfamiliesbywayoftheirbankaccounts;dossierP3796,Säpo,RA.124.MemodrawnupbytheSwedishForeignOfficeon12March1956:“Compilationofvarious

sourcesaboutsupposedSwedishcitizensinworkcampsorprisonsintheSovietUnion”;HP39L,UD,RA.125.ObersturmbannführerDr.Riedweg,lettertoHimmler,20November1942;NS19/neu2177,

BAKO.126.[Namewithheld],aWaffen-SSsoldierfrom1943to1945,interviewbyauthor(LW),1September

1995.127.DossierXVIIFS,vol.539,Säpo,RA,anddifferentfilesattheUtlänningskommissionen(Swedish

MigrationBoard)archive,RA.128.SectiononNilsRosénisbasedon:hisdossierswithMUSTandSäpo,RA,P4110;alsohisletters

andinterviewswithauthor(LW).129.NilsRosén,Sr.(1887–1966)servedasavolunteerofficerintheGermanArmyattheWestern

Frontfrom1914to1918.130.NilsRosen,lettertotheChiefoftheA1Regiment,copyinauthor’s(LW)archive.131.HauptsturmführerHorst-HenningKühnattheSS-Hauptamtcontinuallyreturnedtothequestion,

“Whydon’tyoucometousintheSS?”Theanswerwasalwaysaboutthesame,“Idonotwanttobeapoliticalofficer;”NilsRosén,lettertoauthor(LW),22May2003.Rosén’srefusaltojointheSSwasconfirmedduringtheauthor’sinterviewwithRegierungsdirektora.D.(theformerfederaldirector)Kühn,22May1983.

132.NilsRosén,SecurityServiceinterrogation,22June1945;dossierP4110,Säpo,RA.WalterSpannenkrebs,formerChiefofthePanzerSchool,telephoneinterviewwithauthor(LW),12November1983.SpannenkrebsconfirmedinformationonRosén’sreservationsaboutSwedenintheGermanoathofallegiance.

133.ThemajorityofGermancombatpowerwasconcentratedontheGerman-Sovietfront.InJuly1943,theWehrmachtandtheWaffen-SShad3.1millionmen,andon30June1943therewere2,500tanksandanti-tankvehiclesontheEasternFront.TheRedArmystrengthduringthecorrespondingperiod,7millionmenand12,700tanksandanti-tankvehiclesontheEasternFront;FranksonandZetterling,117.

134.AlexBuchner,VomEismeerbiszumKaukasus:DiedeutscheGebirgstruppeimZweiten

Weltkrieg,1941/42(Wolfersheim-Berstadt:Podzun-Pallas,1988),330.135.NilsRosén,lettertoauthor(LW),13March2003.136.Rosénservedinthe6thTankRegimentasaplatooncommanderfromMaytoNovember1944and

asacompanycommanderfromDecember1944toMay1945.137.AccordingtorecentresearchontheGermandefeatinthetankbattleatKurskinJuly1943theRed

Armylost177,000men(ofwhich40,000werekilledinaction)andbetween1,600and1,900tanksoranti-tankvehiclesthatweredestroyedorcapturedbytheGermans.TheGermanlossesatthesamebattlewere56,000men(ofwhich9,400werekilledinaction)and280tanksoranti-tankvehicles;Frankson&Zetterling,220.

138.Bartov,15.139.TheGermanRacialLawsfrom1935forbadethosethathadaJewishmotherorwhosefatherhad

parentswhowereJewishfrombecomingaGermanofficer.140.SeeNilsRosén’sdossier,P4110,Säpo,RA.Inthisdossierthereisnomaterialorevidenceofany

Naziorotherpoliticalactivities,sympathies,ormembershipinSwedenorGermanyrelatedtoRosén.141.DirectorHansÖström,Stockholm,letterexchangesandinterviewswithauthor(LW),2003;

ÖströmwasareserveofficerandpolicemaninStockholmfrom1941to1959(from1949to1959workedinSäpowiththeNaziandRussianfiles).From1943to1945ÖströmwasaninstructorfortheNorwegianPoliceTroopsinSwedenandlateractiveinahighpositioninSwedishbusiness.ÖströmwasawardedtheKingHaakonVIIFreedommedal.

142.RosénwasreactivatedasareserveofficerwithA1in1953.143.Twotypicalexamplesarethearticles“AlaskaliviNackaskogarna”inStockholmsDagblad,11

February1937,andaphotoreportintheperiodical,Se,6(1939).144.MostoftheinformationonthecivilianÅkeAspegréncomesfromhisgranddaughter,Inger

Eklund,interviewbyauthor(LG),25May2003.145.Testimonialswere“3+,”inotherwords,thehighestpossiblecredibility;SvenskaFrivilligkårens

archive,KrA.146.CurtKempff’sachive,ÖVI,FRA1941–42,vol.2,KrA.147.KarlRuef,GebirgsjagerZwischenKretaundMurmansk:DieSchicksaleder6.Gebirgsdivision

(Graz,Austria:LeopoldStocker,1970),252;andKarlRuef,interviewandcorrespondencewithauthor(LG),2001and2002.

148.Aspegrénmostprobablybelongedtothe141stGebirgsjägerRegimentwithinthe6thMountainDivision.

149.Buchner,140.150.Buchner,151;Hess,146.151.TheGermanAirForcewasveryrestrictiveaboutrecruitmentofforeigners;Neulen,252.152.InformationfromtheGermanStateBureauforWarCasualties,WASt,Berlin,aswellasSäpo

documentsintheRA.153.ChiefoftheArmy,lettertoLarsKrifors,14October1981;quotedinKrifors,147.154.NilsÅngman’sdossier,StatensUtlänningskommissionsarchive,RA.155.NilsÅngman,SecurityServiceinterrogationinHelsingborg,25October1945,Säpo,RA.156.ViceConsularSchylanderwiththeUD,ForeignMinistry,lettertotheFirstSecretaryinthe

Legation,TorstenBrandel,Lübeck,BureauforGermanliquidationquestions,1October1945,NilsÅngmansdossier,StatensUtlänningskommissionsarchive,RA.

157.NorrlandsDragonregementesarchive,seriesÖIII,vol1–9,KrA;Leche,145.158.Wehrmachtsgefolgewasmadeupof,forexample,OT,Reichsarbeitsdienst(RAD),andVolkssturm

(GermanHomeGuard,orTerritorialArmypersonnel)andusedascombatantswiththeprotectionoftheGenevaConvention.

159.JanFalk,interviewwithauthor(LW),Stockholm,30September2002.160.Dossier9B,Tyskland,Säpo,RA.161.Falkenstam,170.

162.Rehn,77.163.Itcanbeworthnotingthattherearenoknowncasesofdoctorsvisitinghospitalsandthefrontsof

theWesternAlliesduringthesametimeperiod.164.HedmanandÅhlander,Gammalsvenskby,286.165.VolksdeutscheweremadeupofGermanspeakingminoritygroupswhowerecitizensinother

countries.166.HedmanandÅhlander,Gammalsvenskby,295.167.“TheresultoftheattempttorecruitSwedestotheSSmustalsobedescribedasafiasco,”said

GunnarÅseliusinStigEkmanandKlasAmark,Sweden’sRelationswithNazism,NaziGermany,andtheHolocaust(Stockholm:Almqvist&Wiksell,2003),65.MostSSSwedeswhowentoverthebordertoNorwaywererecruitedbytheSSinOslo.On4October1944theSSinNorwayreportedtoBerlinthattherecruitingofficeinOslohadrecruited109Swedes;NS19/2135,BAMI.ObergruppenführerGottlobBergermentionedinhisspeechinBerlininFebruary1944thatthetotalnumberofrecruitedSwedesfortheSSasof1Januarywentupto101men;NS19/3987,BAKO.On26April1944theSecurityPoliceshowedthatthetotalofSwedeswhohadtakenpositionsintheGermanmilitaryserviceshadrisento116men;Säpo,Äldreaktbeståndet,dossier9B,Tyskland,Värvningtilltyskakrigsmakten,RA.TheSecurityPolicehadregisteredatotaloftwentypersonswho,fromthetimethewarbeganuntilApril1944,legallyorillegallyattemptedtocrossthebordertoanothercountryforthepurposeofjoiningGermanmilitaryservice,butwerestoppedbythepoliceormilitaryandreturnedtoSweden.DuringtheperiodJune1941toJune1943theSecurityPolicehadregisteredforty-sevenenquiriesbyletterortelephonefromSwedishcitizenstotheGermanLegationinStockholmortotheGeneralConsulate/ConsulatesrespectivetotheGermanMilitaryAttachéonthepossibilityofgoingintoGermanwarservice;Säpo,Äldreaktbeståndet,dossier9B.Tyskland,RA.Aslateas1954theSecurityPolicecarriedoutarenewedsummaryofthenumberofSwedesintheWaffen-SSandcametothetotalof150Swedesintheperiodfrom1941to1945;Säpo,dossier50:6/4A1,variousmemosandnotes1954,RPS;quotesinSOU2002:94,56.Fromthesamesourcematerial(personalarchivesintheSS,Säpo,interview,andsoon)apossibleobscurenumberofthirtymencouldbeaddedtotheSäpototalof150SwedishcitizensintheSS.ThejournalistBosseSchön’simaginativeassertioninHitlerssvenskasoldaterthat“Wemaintainthatitisnotunlikelythattherewereover500SwedishSSsoldiers…”(14)hasnoproofbasedonsourcematerial.OtherspeculativenumbersfromSchönarehisinformationthattherewere1,000menfromLiechtensteinintheWaffen-SS(265).Theactualnumberwassixtymen[sic!];VincenzOertle,“SollteichausRusslandnichtzurückkehren…”:SchweizerFreiwlligeandeutscherSeite,1939–1945(Zurich:Thesis,1997),52.

168.Rikmenspoel,112.169.KarlLeib,interrogationbyBritishintelligence16November1945;PWIS(Norway)/36,NHM.170.Seechapter10,note5.171.ThatthevolunteersintheWaffen-SSwouldbecomeacoreinapoliticalfunctionariescorpswithin

thenew“GreaterGermanReich”isstatedinObergruppenführerGottlobBerger’sspeechinBerlininFebruary1944;NS19/3987,BAKO.

172.Wegner,310.173.StenEriksson,lettertoauthor(LW),7March1986.174.Expressen,30October1945,KB.175.Thepercentagecalculationsdonebytheauthor(LW)werebasedontheSwedishSecurityPolice

dataofregisteredSwedesinGermanuniform(withrespectivebirthdatesandprofessions)asofApril1944;olderestablishedlaws,suchasDossier9B,recruitmenttotheGermanwarfightingforces,Säpo,RA.AccordingtothesamesourcematerialwerethirtypercentoftheSwedishSSwereworkers;twentypercentprofessionalmilitary;twelvepercentstudentsoracademics;whileonlytwopercentwereindependentfarmers.

176.Bojerud,161.ThesixprofessionalandreserveofficersinGermanuniformwere:intheWaffen-SS:ArneLaggberg,asecondlieutenantintheSödermanlandRegiment;BengtHassler,asecondlieutenantintheHälsingeRegiment;CarlOlofWrang,afirstlieutenantintheHälsingeRegiment;RuneAhlgren,a

secondlieutenantintheDalregementet;andCurtBirgerNorberg,afirstlieutenantintheIntendenturtrupperna(QuartermasterCorps).(Laggberg,Hassler,Ahlgren,andNorbergwereinthereserves.)Finally,intheWehrmacht,NilsRosénservedasthesecondlieutenantintheSveaArtilleryRegiment.AlltheinformationfromSäpo’sregisterandarchive,RA.OnthecaseofWrang,seealsoBeredskapsverket,documentsfromPer-EdvinSköld,vol.I,KrA.

177.ReportbyJuhlin-Dannfelt,31August1942;Försvarsstabensarchive,Underrättelseavdelningen,EII:18,KrA.

178.TheoriginallettersweresecuredinSäpo’scommunicationscontrol,Äldreaktbeståndet,dossier24,Nationalsocialismeninomförsvarsmakten(postkontroll)(NationalSocialismintheSwedishDefenseForces(censuringpostcontrol),vol.144,RA.TheletterneverreachedtheGermanaddresseeandthesecondlieutenantdidnotjointheWehrmachtorWaffen-SS.Anydisadvantagesarisingfromthelettercouldnotbeseenintheofficer’slatermilitarycareer.Hewaspromotedtofirstlieutenantinthetanktroopsbythegovernmentin1943,tocaptaininthetanktroopsin1950,andtomajorinthetanktroopsreservein1972.Thenameisnotdisclosedinconsiderationofhisfamily[LW].

179.RecentlytheNorwegiangovernmentinitiatedaresearchprojectbasedattheOsloCenterforStudiesoftheHolocaustandreligiousminorities(Dr.TerjeEmberland,Dr.MatthewKott,etal.)ontheNorwegianSSvolunteers,theHolocaust,andSSpoliciesinoccupiedNorway.Thisambitiousprojectismakingverygoodprogressandpromisestostimulatenewinterpretations;forexample,Himmler’sambitionsof“greaterGermanic”politicsinNorwayandrelatedissues.

180.OntheimportanceofSwedenasabusinesspartnerforGermany,seeAlfW.Johansson,273,andHägglöf,127.

Chapter11:InSovietService,1939–19451.JustaswasthecasewiththeSS,theNKVDwasamuchlargerandbroaderorganizationthanis

generallyknown.ThemodernestimateforthenumberofNKVDsoldiersfrom1941to1945variesfromone-halftoonemillionmen.Theywereequippedwiththeirownartillery,tanks,engineertroops,aviationunits,andsoon.Alargepartofthisforcewasnotusedforconventionalgroundcombat,butdealtwithanti-partisanoperations,specialoperations,andnottheleast,to“strengthenthemoraleofRedArmythroughsocalled‘barrierunits’.”WithintheNKVDtherewasalsothenormalpoliceandfirebrigadeandotherfullylegitimateorganizations;seeJanRutkiewicz,WojskaNKWT,1917–1945:Historia,organizacja,umundurowanie(Warsaw:BarwaiBron,Lampart,1998),104;Zaloga,22.

2.Näsman,16.3.ArneIsaksson,Konspiratorerna(Bollstabruk,Sweden:privatelypublished,1989),253.4.Isaksson,89.5.Ibid.,253.6.Ibid.,278.7.Ibid.,178.8.Eneberg,157.Enebergstatesalsothatin1958NiemiwasjudgednotguiltybytheSovietNorthern

MilitaryDistrictmilitarycourt.9.GöteNilsson,112.10.GöstaAndersson,interviewwithauthor(LG),April1989.11.GöteNilsson,112.12.Ibid.13.Staf,76.StafimpliedthattheSpanishveterans,EinarRistoandHarryEriksson,alsojoinedthe

group.14.NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,“Wollweber-affären(3):Säpo&Gestapo,”28June1993.15.Nordén,253.16.Moreprecisely,“krigsskolanpåVasiljevskijön”(thewarcollegesituatedontheVasilevskyIsland).

Therewerepresumablymoreofthem.17.Nordén,254.18.Eneberg,115.19.Ibid.,114,186;SvenBjelf,Anna,Erika,TureochandrasvenskariSovjetunionen(Moscow:

Progress,1984),61.EinoRaitawasfifty-twoyearsoldwhenhevolunteeredtojointheRedArmy.Hewaskilledinthefallof1941.

20.Bjelf,65.21.Ibid.22.Eneberg,180.23.KarlJonsson,Sågverksarbetarareiösterled(Örnsköldsvik:privatelypublished,1981),22.24.LeonidKhrisanfov,KnutJonsson’srelative,lettertoauthor(LG),9April2003.25.Bjelf,63.26.Hugemark,321.HolmströmwasmorepreciselyfromEdsviken.SeeHolmström’sservicerecord

cardinKrA.27.Eneberg,165.28.Ibid.,179.29.Ibid.,194.30.Ibid.,167.31.Bjelf,76.32.[TJ],lettertoauthor(LG),12January2003.“TJ”wishestoremainanonymous.33.As“TJ”wasnotawareoftheprofileofthisbook,onemustsayitishighlyunlikelythatthestoryis

fantasy.34.Bjelf,125.35.Ibid.,126.36.Jan-OlofNilsson,Minnenavkrig,63.37.Ibid.,67.38.AndersGustavsson,diary.TheoriginaliswithhisfamilyinSaintPetersburg;copiesofthediaryare

inthearchivesofJan-OlofNilssonandtheauthor(LG).39.Bjelf,129.40.Jan-OlofNilsson,Minnenavkrig,75.41.Ibid.42.Ibid.,130.43.AndersGustavssonisalsotheco-authorofthelargeRussian-Swedishdictionarythatwaspublished

inMoscowin1976,aswellastwoinstructorbooksonconversationalSwedish.44.Per-UlfNilsson,LöjnantJulio:SvanteGrande—prästsonibefrielsekampen(Stockholm:UBV,

1989),185.45.GustafssonandKarlsson,149.46.NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,Wollweber-affären(3).47.JanvonFlockenandMichaelScholz,ErnstWollweber(Berlin:Aufbau-Verlag,1994),64;Björn

Markinhuhta,NKVD:sförlängdaarmellerenantifascistiskmotståndsrörelse?EnstudieavWollweber-organisationen,1936–41.C-essay,historyC(Luleå,Sweden:LuleåUniversityofTechnology,2000).

48.NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,“Wollweber-affären(2):Bombmannen,”24June1993.49.vonFlockenandScholz,70;seeMarkinhuhta’sessayabouttheship.50.NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,“Wollweber-affären(4):Rättegången,”29June1993.51.GöteNilsson,111;seeMarkinhuhtaaboutthehydroelectricpowerworksatPorjus.52.Inthesameyear,1939,aGermanBernhardmemberinSwedenwasarrested:HermannKnüfken,

whostatedtotheSwedishpolicethatAnton“Amalthemannen”NilsoncametoSwedenthroughthemeansoftheSovietGPU.

53.GöstaAndersson,interviewwithauthor(LG),April1989.54.Markinhuhta,attachment5.

55.NorrländskaSocialdemokraten,Wollweber-affären(4).56.GöteNilsson,111.57.Boheman,Påvakt(1964),300.58.GöstaAnderssonandHarryEricssonhadbelongedtoaspetsnazunitandEinarRistoandKarlStaf

werepartoftheusualInterbrigade.59.WilhelmAgrell,Fredochfruktan:Sverigessäkerhetspolitiskahistoria,1918–2000(Lund,Sweden:

HistoriskaMedia,2000),198.60.KrA,CarlosAdlercreutz’sarchive,“Aktionenmotspanienkamparna.”61.Kustbon,“Ettsoldatöde,”December1959.62.Officerstidningen,July2008.63.HedmanandÅhlander,Gammalsvenskby,281.64.Veckojournalen,September1944;JanFalk,lettertoauthor(LW),14October1987.65.HedmanandÅhlander,Gammalsvenskby,301.66.ErkkiKivaloandRaoulMittler,EyolfMattson:frånåländskteknologtillgeneraliRödaarmén

(Mariehamn,Finland:Ålandskulturstiftelse,2001),1.

Chapter12:AftertheSecondWorldWar1.CarlLewenhaupt’sunpublishedmanuscriptonhisgrandfather’slifeinauthor’s(LG)possession.2.From1951tohisretirementin1978UlfChristiernssonwasapilotandconsultantforanumberof

EuropeanandAmericanaviationcompanies.3.In1990sixteenofthemreceiveddecorationsfortheiractionsataceremonyattheIsraeliEmbassyin

Stockholm—SeeDagensNyheter,“Medaljminneromkriget,”20August1990.4.Onthestay-behindphenomena,see:Colby,94;Arbetaren50(1990);Världenidag,1(2003).5.TheSwedishDefenseStaffandMajorGrafström’scontactswithSwedishveteransoftheSSin1946

and1947wasdiscussedduringtheauthor’s(LW)interviewswithGöstaBorg,3August1988;ÅkeJ.Ek,interviewbytheauthor(LW),25September2003;andElisHöglund,4October2003.AccordingtoHöglund,AndersGrafströmandsomeotherofficersheldaconferencein1947withHöglundandotherformerSSvolunteersintheManhemsAssociationbuildinginStockholm(CarlErnfridCarlbergwasalsopresent).HöglundsaidthatHans-GöstaPehrsson,theearliercompanycommanderinSS-Division“Nordland,”wasdesignatedcommanderforthetenorsoSwedishSSveteranswhowerecontactedbytheSwedishDefenseStafftobepartofthe“stay-behind”movement.Grafström’searliercontactswiththeveteransintheWaffen-SSwereconfirmedbythepoliceinterrogationson16October1952withLieutenantPaulAndersLindströminUppsala;thelegalcaseagainstOttoHallberg.SeeaswellSOU1994:11,272.

6.ChristopherAndrewandVasiliMitrokhin,TheMitrokhinArchive:TheKGBinEuropeandtheWest(London:PenguinBooks,2000),173,193.AtleastoneformerSwedishvolunteerintheWaffen-SSwasrecruitedbytheStaatssicherheitsdienst(Stasi),theEastGermanintelligenceservice.Thiscaseisstillclassified.

7.StenCedergrenismentionedinnostalgichuntingbookssuchasBrianHerne’sWhiteHunters:TheGoldenAgeofAfricanSafaris(NewYork:Holt,2001),andhashimselfwrittenabouthismilitaryserviceandsafarilifeinTheAdventurousLifeofaVagabondHunter(LongBeach,Calif.:Safari,2000),wherehealsodescribeshisinvolvementinthewarinRhodesia.

8.Sjöstedt,227;FörsvaretsForum,“Farligkattochråtalek.”9.KurtHåkanson,KampenomKorea(Stockholm:Hörsta,1951),54;Söderberg,732.10.BassandHolmqvist,232;Befäl,“Jaghadestorrespektförfienden,”6/2001;Sydsvenska

Dagbladet,“TillbakatillettannatVietnam,”3January1994;BjörnDahlinhaswrittenabouthiswarexperiencesinhisbook,ForHisGlory(Fairfax,Va.:Xulon,2003).StaffanH.Westerberg’sautobiographicalnovel,Fågelbröstet(Stockholm:Bonnier,1996),describestheauthor’sactualexperiences

intheUSArmy,butthesectiononparticipationintheinvasionofGrenadain1983isfiction,becauseWesterbergdidnotparticipateinthataction.

11.CarlGustavFinstrom,lettertoauthor(LG),29April2004.12.SwedishpublicopinionwasmadeclearwhenallthemembersoftheSwedishParliamentsigneda

petitionappealingtotheUStostopthebombinginVietnamatChristmasin1972.Asidefromtheparliamentarians,atotalof2.5millionSwedessignedthepetition.

13.Per-UlfNilsson,185.14.Haglund,138.15.Expressen,“TonyrymdefrånFrämlingslegionen,”3January1986;Värnpliktsnyttsupplement,

“Legionen,mannenbakommyten,”April1988;Värnpliktsnytt,“SparkadurFrämlingslegionen,”September1991.TheSpanishforeignlegionbecamemoreSpanishandlessforeignafter1945.Sincethe1990s,however,theyhavetakeninlargenumbersofSouthAmericans.AsfarasweknowonlythreeSwedesservedintheSpanishforeignlegionsince1945(LG).

16.Värnpliktsnytt,“Jägarentestadesinakunskaper”and“LegosoldatenLarskomaldrighemfrånkriget,”October1996.AlsoafterVärnpliktsnytt’sexamination,SwedishcitizenscontinuedtoentertheconflictintheBalkans.AtleasttwoSwedishcitizensfoughtasKosovoLiberationArmyguerrillasinKosovoin1999.

Chapter13:FinalReflections1.MargarethaBürki-Romdahl,Schweizinärbild(Stockholm:GeneralstabensLitografiskaAnstalt,

1965),44.2.TheseandthefollowingstatisticsaretakenmainlyfromSvenskuppslagsbok.3.Lundvik,135;accordingtoRichardDindo’sdocumentaryfilm,“Schwiezerimspanischen

Bürgerkrig”(1973),therewere600SwisscitizensintheInterbrigades,ofwhich200werekilled.4.VincenzOertle,communicationswithauthor(LG),16and24March2004;6April2004;and24

May2006.5.SvenskafrivilligaiFinland,1939–1944,5.6.Keene,7.7.Rikmenspoel,192.In1943,especiallyafterStalingrad,theWesternAlliessucceededininfluencing

Francotocallhomehiscountrymen.ThosewhorefusedtoobeyformedavolunteercompanywithintheWaffen-SSthatfinallywasincorporatedintotheIII(Germanic)SS-PanzerCorps,wheremostoftheSwedesservedattheend.

8.TidningförFinlandsfrivilligasminnesförening,“Omirländskafrivilliga,”nr1/2003.9.Rikmenspoel,188.10.Appel,Finlandikrig,1939–1940,226.11.Ibid.,130,146,179.Over2,000outof20,000werenotvolunteersbutconscripts;seeRikmenspoel,

134.12.AsacuriosityitcanbenotedthatthenumberofpeoplefromLiechtensteinintheWaffen-SSwas

sixtyaccordingtoOertle.ConsideringthepopulationoftheGrandDuchy,11,000persons,morethanthreetimesasmanyfromLiechtensteinjoinedtheWaffen-SSincomparisontothenumberofSwedishcitizensintheFinnishmilitaryforces.

13.Appel,Finlandikrig,1939–1940,226.UnliketheNorwegianstheDanesdidnotengageincombat.14.SveinBlindheim,NordmennunderHitlersfane:deinorskefrontkjemparane(Oslo:Noregs,1977),

7;Ulateig(1987),16.Applicationsreceivedafter7May1945werereturnedtosender.15.ItisnotquitecorrecttoclassifytheNorwegiansinBritishuniformsassoldiersinforeignmilitary

servicebecausetheywerepartoftheNorwegianArmedForcesinexileandtheirgoalwastoliberateNorway.Itisinterestingtonote,however,thatover30,000NorwegianseamenworkedintheAlliedconvoysandover15,000servedinBritish-ledNorwegianunitsaswellas15,000inSwedish-Norwegianuniforminthesocalled“policetroops”inSweden.

16.MetteBastholmJensenandStevenL.B.Jensen,ed.DenmarkandtheHolocaust(Copenhagen:InstituteforInternationalStudies,DepartmentforHolocaustandGenocideStudies,2003),64.OneshouldaddthatoftheDanishSSvolunteers,about1,500werefromDenmark’sGermanminority.AninterestingdifferencebetweentheNorwegianandDanishcontingentsintheWaffen-SSwasthatthelawfulDanishkingandgovernment(whodidnotgointoexile)approvedDanishparticipationintheWaffen-SS.

17.Inconclusionwecannotignoreacurioussimilaritybetweenthetwomostideologicallymotivatedvolunteergroupsinthisbook.MostoftheSwedishvolunteersinSpainfirstwerepartofCaptainPerEriksson’scompany,whichwasthe3rdCompany,11thBattalion,11thDivision.Theso-called“SwedishCompany”underSS-CaptainHans-GöstaPehrssonconstitutedthe3rdCompany,11thBattalion,11thSS-Division.

18.OneexampleofhowmuchthoseSwedeswhoservedtheAlliesinWWIIareforgottenisevidentintheSwedishnewspaperAftonbladet,whichstatedon16September2003,“InanycasealmostnooneinSwedengottheideaofvolunteeringwiththewesternAllieddemocraciesagainstHitler.”Presumably,thisderivesfromthejournalistBosseSchön’sstatementinSvenskarnasomstredförHitler(18),“OntheotherhandtherewasonlyahandfulthatfoughtonthesideoftheAllies.”Thisassertionclearlydemonstrates

Schön’signoranceandutterunreliability.

Sources

ArchivesArbetarrörelsensarkiv(ARAB)

SpanishvolunteersarchiveBundesarchiv-Militärarchiv,FreiburgimBreisgau(BAMI),GermanyN265/134;NachlassGotthardHeinriciRH19XV/6;TelefonkladdeKTBHeeresgruppeWeichsel

CzechStateMilitaryArchives(Vojenskiustredniarchiv),PragueFragmentsoftheWaffen-SSwararchivesinBohemia

DeutscheDienststelle(Wehrmachtauskunftstelle),Berlin(WASt)Personnel,deaths,andlistofgravesformilitarypersonnelintheWehrmachtandWaffen-SS,1940–45

DokumentationszentrumderStaatlichenArchivverwaltungDDR,BerlinCopiesofmicrofilmfromHeinrichHimmler’sHauptamtPersönlicherStabReichsführer-SS

FörsvarsmaktensHögkvarter,Stockholm(HK)MilitäraUnderrättelse-ochSäkerhetstjänstensarkiv(MUST)FörsvarsstabensInrikesavdelning,1940–45(DefenseStaffInteriorDepartment,1940–45)Individualpersonnelfilesinaccordancewithnotes

FörsvaretsRadioanstalt,Bromma(FRA)DecipheredGermantelegrams,1940–45(nowtransferredtoKrigsarkivet)

Krigsarkivet,Stockholm(KrA)CarlosAdlercreutz’sarchiveGöstaBenckert’sarchiveCurt-HermanJuhlin-Dannfelt’sarchiveCurtKempff’sarchiveFörsvarsstabensunderrättelseavdelningMilitaryAttachéreportsfromBerlin,1940–43EIII:26,1938–39,vol.I:ObservationsbyHamiltonfromhisjourneyinSpain

FörsvarsstabensUtrikesavdelningMilitaryAttachéreportsfromBerlin,1943–45

IvarHolmquist’sarchivevol.2:reportofMajorB.H.NattochDagNilsSwedlund’sarchiveSvenskaFrivilligkårensarchive

SvenskaFrivilligakkkompanietsarchiveOlofRibbing’sarchive,reportdated30June1939,onhisservicewiththeInternationalMilitary

CommissionNationalArchives,CollegePark,Md.(NARA)RecordsoftheReichLeaderofSSandChiefoftheGermanPolice,1940–45:T-I75,Personalbefehleder11.SS-Freiw.Pz.Gren.Division“Nordland”1944T-I75,ArchivesoftheSS-

Hauptamt(GermanischeLeitstelle);SS-Führungshauptamt;HauptamtSS-Gericht;5.SS-Pz.Division“Wiking”;23.SS-Freiw.Pz.Gren.Brigade“Nederland”;SS-JunkerschuleBadTölzNationalArchives(ofGreatBritain),SOENorwegianSectionHistory

NorgesHjemmefrontmuseum,Oslo(NHM)Prisoner-of-War-report(PWISNorway):No36,KarlLeibNo38,ibidNo40,HansWolfvonHerderNo66,Hans-GeorgMueller-LiebenauNo115,ArturGrönheim

OhioUniversityLibraries,Athens,OhioVernonR.AldenLibrary

CorneliusRyanCollectionPublicRecordOffice,London(PRO)SpecialOperationsExecutive(SOE)

Riddarhuset,StockholmRiddarhusetsstamtavloronCD-ROM

Riksarkivet,Stockholm(RA)OttoHallberg’sarchiveSvenOlovLindholm’scollectionEricWärenstam’scollectionSäpo’sarchiveinRAActionsfortheyears1933–1948(since2003transferredfromSäpotoRiksarkivetinArninge,Sweden)

accordingtocommentsinthenotesAssistantJusticeoftheCourtofAppealsOlofRibensinvestigationNationalsocialismeniSverige(NationalSocialisminSweden(completedinJune1941)TheScandinavianCenter,CalifornianLutheranUniversity,ThousandOaks,Calif.

CarlSandburgCollectionStockholmsStadsarkiv(SSA)StockholmsRådhusrätt,Hemligamål,RättegångenmotElsaBartelSäkerhetspolisen,Stockholm(Säpo)Persondossierer,1933–48(Personaldossiersinaccordancewithnotes)TrondheimPolitikammerLetterfromCityArchiveofTromsø,dated8July1997(dnr1233/97,004.1)LetterfromNorwegianArmedForcesmicrobiologicallaboratorytotheTrondheimPoliceMuseum,17

June1997Umeåuniversitet,Forskningsarkivet(UmFA)GustafHallström’scollection

Uppsalalandsarkiv(ULA)RättegångshandlingarimåletmotOttoHallberg,1953

UppsalaUniversitetsbibliotek(UUB)DenSvenskeNationalsocialisten/DenSvenskeFolksocialisten1938–50(namechangein1939)USBerlin

DocumentCenter(BDC)PersonnelrecordsfortheSS,Waffen-SS,Gestapo,SD,andNSDAP(archivenowtransferredtothe

Bundesarchiv,AbteilungBerlin-Lichterfelde)Utrikesdepartementetsarkiv,Stockholm(UD)PolitischesArchiv,AuswärtigesAmt(PA,AA),copiesofdocumentsfromtheBürodesStaatssekretars,

etc.R37Ua—USconcriptioncasesSwedishlegationinBerlinarchive1933–45

WichitaStateUniversity,SpecialCollections,UniversityLibraries,HugoSundstedtAviationCollection,MS95-30Box1,FF1.

ZentraleStellederLandesjustizverwaltungen,Ludwigsburg(ZStLudwigsburg)Trialmaterial,examinations,etc.,frominvestigationsandtrialsconcerningNazimasscrimesPrivate

CollectionsCasperAlmqvistcollection,HelsinkiGeirBrenden’sphotoarchive,NorwayAlexanderDolezalekcollection,Vlotho,CzechRepublicTheodorvonDufving’sarchive,Nümbrecht,GermanyGeraldFleming’sarchive,LondonLarsGyllenhaal’sarchive,SwedenKurtKarlsson’sarchive,StockholmPeterKjellander’sarchive,StockholmCarlLewenhaupt’sarchive,SwedenJohnP.Moore’sarchive,USErikMygren’sarchive,HörbyMartinMånsson’sarchive,Kode,SwedenTommyNatedalcollection,Jevnaker,NorwayHansWernerNeulen’sarchive,Cologne,GermanyBjörnÖstring’sarchive,OsloMarcRikmenspoel’sarchive,USNilsRosén’sarchive,StockholmvonRosenFamilyarchive,StockholmKnutSivertsenarchive,Trondheim,NorwayClaesThorén’sarchive,StockholmWolfgangVenghaus’sarchive,Siegen,Germany

EssaysAlmqvist,Casper.“Francosfinskakrigare:OmdefinskafrivilligapåFrancossidaispanska

inbördeskriget,1936–1939.”Graduatethesis,Helsinki:UniversityofHelsinki,Humanisticfaculty,InstitutionforHistory,2003.

Holmberg,Andreas.“Svenskafrivilligaunder2:aväirldskriget.”Essay,SPSA3,VarnhemSchool,Malmö,Sweden,2000.

Johansson,Torbjörn.“Ignotomiliti—åtenokändsoldat:SvenskafrivilligaiutländskakrigsmakterochrapporteringenomdessaiAftonbladetunderandravärldskriget.”C-essay,historyC,Kalmar,Sweden:KalmarUniversity,2006.

Lindström,Urban.“Nationalsocialisminomdensvenskafrivilligrörelsenunderfinskafortsättningskriget.”B-essay,historyAB,Gothenburg,Sweden:UniversityofGothenburg,1998.

Markinhuhta,Björn.“NKVD:sförlängdaarmellerenantifascistiskmotståndsrörelse?EnstudieavWollweber-organisationen,1936–41.”C-essay,historyC,Luleå,Sweden:LuleåUniversityofTechnology,2000.

Näsman,Jan-Olov.“TillFinlandsräddningochSverigesheder.”C-essay,historyC,Falun,Sweden:UniversityofDalarna,1998.

Norman,Ulf.“SvenskakrigsfrivilligaiWaffen-SSsomkrigsfångar:EnkällkritiskstudieavUD:shandlingar.”B-essay,Luleå,Sweden:LuleåUniversityofTechnology,1997.

InterviewsandTransferofDocumentsAhlander,Jussi-Pekka,militaryhistorianAlmqvist,Casper,authorAnderson,William,formermemberoftheLRDGAnderson,WilliamY.,fighteraceoftheUSAFAndersson,Gösta,formerfirstlieutenantinSpainandNKVD-saboteurAndolf,Göran,militaryhistorianBackström,Leif,historybuffBehrman,Bengt,relativeofSvenSonessonBergström,Rolf,historybuffBorg,Gösta,formerwarreporterintheWaffen-SSBuskas,Ove,sonofMattiasBuskasCarlbom,Terry,grandsonofAxelPoignantCederbaum,Per,SwedishexchangeofficerinFrance,1919to1920,submittedbyhisgranddaughter,Ellen

CederbaumDalin,Stefan,historianDanielsen,Jan,formerlieutenantintheSFKandNorwegianArmyDufving,Theodorvon,formercolonelintheGermanarmyEk,ÅkeJ.,volunteerintheFinnish-SovietWarEklund,Inger,granddaughterofÅkeAspegrénElming,Torbjörn,formercommanderoftheSwedishAirborneRangerSchoolEriksson,Per,formerfirstlieutenantintheInterbrigadesEriksson,Sten,formerwarreporterintheWaffen-SSFerguson,Ragnhild,relativeofValfridLundgrenFinstrom,CarlGustav,USArmy(Retired)Fredh,Terje,authorGoranson,Ralph,USArmy(Retired)Gyllenhaal,Herman,transferofdocumentstotheauthorsHabsburg,Karl,princeandformersoldierintheFirstPolishTankDivisionHamilton,CarlandVera,relativesofGustafM.V.Hamilton.Heikka,Sven-Göran,formersoldierintheSFBHelgö,Lars,entrepreneurHenanger,HansOlav,historybuffHillblad,Thorolf,formerwarreporterintheWaffen-SSHiller,Lennart,historybuffHolmberg,Andreas,historybuffHägglöf,Gunnar,formerambassadorHöglund,Elis,formersoldierintheWaffen-SSHöglund,Lennart,relativeofErikGunnarGibsonHolmberg,AndreasKhrisanfov,Leonid,relativeofKnutJonssonKlaesson,Ivan,archivistKrueger,Hans-Caspar,formerwarreporterintheWaffen-SSKühn,Horst-Henning,formerofficerintheWaffen-SSKällkvist,Nils,authorLampinen,Roger,historybuffLeo,Björn,relativeofCarlLeoLewenhaupt,Carl,ErikG:sonLewenhaupt’sgrandson

Lewenhaupt,Erik,relativeofErikG:sonLewenhauptLeib,Karl,formerchiefGermanischeLeitstelle,OsloLindholm,SvenOlov,formerpartyleaderforNSAP/SSSLosenborg,Sten,relativeofHugoLindskogLundgren,Helmer,brotherofValfridLundgrenLundström,Carl-Oskar,relativeofRobertLundströmMalmsten,Olof,RAFvolunteerMann,Allan,formerairbornetrooperintheSOEMartens,Per,formerprivateintheInterbrigadesMeyer,Heino,formerofficerintheWaffen-SSNäsman,Jan-Olov,historianNattochDag,Folke,grandsonofBjarneNattochDagNedström,Håkan,formermemberoftheSpanishForeignLegionNilson,Anton,formeraviatorNilsson,Jan-Olof,authorNilsson,Johan,historybuffNilsson,Sam,relativeofColonelStoneChristopher[Namewithheld],Swedish-EstoniansoldierNorman,Mikael,historybuffÖsterlund,Sven-Erik,relativeofJohanAdrianÖsterlundOtterbergSannetorp,Aina,daughterofElofPerssonPåhlson-Möller,Toste,relativeofPålMontgomeryPåhlssonPersing,Virgil,friendoftheFalldinfamilyPettersson,Arne,formersecondlieutenantintheSFBRavn,Olav,Major,NorwegianArmedForcesRabo,Erik,Dr.,medicaldoctorRiedweg,Franz,Dr.,formerchiefofstaffofGermanischeLeitstelle,BerlinRooth,Lars,formersecondlieutenantintheBritishIntelligenceCorpsRosén,Nils,formerfirstlieutenantintheGermanArmytanktroopsRunestam,Staffan,Ph.D.,relativetoSvenSöderblomSchmidt-Laussitz,Nicolasvon,webmaster,svenskafrivilliga.comSchulze-Kossens,Richard,formeradjutanttoHitlerintheWaffen-SSStigson,Sture,formersecondlieutenantintheSFBSundberg,Mikael,relativeofRichardStockhouseandLennartLundquistTidemann,CarlFr.,MD,MCh,FACS,MajorGeneral[TJ],formersoldierinSS-Division“Nord”Tringali,Hugo,formersoldierintheUS8thInfantryDivisionUlrich,Fritz,formermajorintheGermanischeLeitstelle,BerlinViberg,Bertil,formermemberoftheEstonianHomeGuardWaernberg,Jan,aviationhistorianWallin,Erik,formersoldierintheWaffen-SSWallström,Bengt,historybuffWedin,Cenneth,familyhistorianWessman,Brita,relativeofÅkeAspegrénWestling,Göran,formerSwedishairbornerangerWikström,Thorbjörn,historianWindh,Ron,formerairbornetrooper,OSSNORSOGroupWollin,Gösta,formersergeant,82ndAirborneDivisionYttervik,Tor-Helge,historybuff

OfficialReportsDentyskapropagandaniSverigeunderkrigsåren,1939–1945,SOU1946:86.Omkrigetkommit…Förberedelserförmottagandeavmilitärtbistånd,1949–1969:Betänkandeav

Neutralitetskommissionen,SOU1994:11.Riketssäkerhetochdenpersonligaintegriteten.Desvenskasäkerhetstjänsternasförfattningsskyddande

verksamhetsedanår1945.BetänkandeavSäkerhetstjänstkommissionen,SOU2002:87Övervakningenavnazisterochhögerextremister.ForskarrapportertillSäkerhetstjänstkommissionen.SOU

2002:94.

OtherOfficialPublicationsandDocumentCollectionsAktenzurdeutschenausiwärtigenPolitik1918bis1945.SeriesD-E.Baden-BadenochGöt-tingen,1954.AktenzurdeutschenausiwärtigenPolitik1918bis1945(ADAP)AktstyckenutgivnaavKungl.

Utrikesdepartementet.FörbindelsernamellanchefenförlantsförsvaretskommandoexpeditionochtyskemilitärattachéniStockholm,1939–1945.Stockholm:Norstedts,1946.

Redogörelseavgiventillutrikesnämnden1942.Stockholm,1942.

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Websiteswww.ancestry.comwww.bibliotek.sewww.wwiimemorial.comwww.regeringen.sewww.skalman.nuwww.svenskafrivilliga.comwww.volksbund.de

AbouttheAuthorsLarsGyllenhaal’sinterestforthesubjectbeganinhisteenswhenhebecameawareofthefactthatfamilymembershadserved

inAmerican,British,Finnish,NorwegianandGermanunits.HehaswrittenseveralbooksaboutNordicmilitaryhistory.LarsisanelectedmemberoftheSwedishMilitary

HistoryCommission.LennartWestbergisaDetectiveLieutenantintheSwedishPoliceForce.Hehaswritten a number of arcticles about the Swedes in the Waffen-SS. His USrelativesservedintheUSNavyinWWIIandintheKoreanWar.LennartisalsoanelectedmemberoftheSwedishMilitaryHistoryCommission.

Editor:PatriciaK.BonnCartographer:TomHoulihan

© 2004 Historiska Media, Lars Gyllenhaal, and Lennart Westberg FirstpublishedinSwedenbyHistoriskaMedia©2010Englishlanguagetranslation,The Aberjona Press E-book edition © 2014 by Historiska Media, LarsGyllenhaal, and LennartWestberg TheAberjona Press is an imprint ofAegisConsultingGroup,Inc.,Bedford,Pennsylvania15522Website:www.aberjonapress.comAllrightsreserved.

ISBN13:978-1-93884-7-02-8(ePubversion)ISBN13:978-1-93884-7-03-5(Kindleversion)Onthecover:Top:CaptainWilliamYngveAndersonwasoneofthefewUSAAFpilotsfromSwedenandisthetop-scoringSweden-bornpilotofalltime.HewasborninthenorthernSwedish townofKramfors in1921andmovedtoChicagoasachild.He enlisted in the USArmyAir Corps on 11 September 1941 to become anaircraftmechanic,butendedupasafighterpilotescortingbombersonthefirstraidsoverBerlinandgivingair supportonD-day.Anderson flew120combatsorties, scored at least seven aerial victories over enemy aircraft, and downedthreeV-1missiles.HisawardsincludetheSilverStar,theDistinguishedFlyingCross,andtheAirMedal.ThepicturedMustangprobablywasnamed“Swede’sSteed”asheflewatleastthreeaircraftwiththatname.Bottom:Recruitingposter for theall-Swedish“NorwayBattalion”witha largeSwedishhelmet in the foregroundandNorwegian flag in thebackground.Thewordsmean“FORNORWAY’SPEOPLE—becomeavolunteer!”ThisunitwasthelargestSwedishvolunteerunitfortheAllies.Itdidnotseecombatbutitwasthelargest,withoversixthousandapplicants.(Repro-ochfotoenheten/Kungligabiblioteket)Photosusedwithpermissionof:Armémuseum;BoArvidsson;TheAssociation ofMountainTroops,Munich;ErnstBahrke/HansWernerNeulen;Robert IngvarBakker;BerlinDocumentCenter (BDC);BengtBelfrage;LaborMovement Archive, Sweden; Lars Björklund; Hjalmar Block; Geir Brenden;Hans Brusewitz; Ove Buskas; Deutsches Soldatenjarhbuch (DSJ); JanDanielsen; Roger W. Davis; Per Eriksson; Mary Farron; Finstrom familyarchive; Terje Fredh;BobGoranson; TorstenGrundberg; EdGyllenhaal; LarsGyllenhaal (LG); Gyllenhaal family archive; Haartmann family archive; Karl

Habsburg;GustafHallströmarchive;Hamiltonfamilyarchives;BertilHansson;Harper’s Weekly; Lennart Hasselström; Bill Holland; Hvar 8 Dag (H8D);Annchen Jäderlund; Harry Järv; Kurt Karlsson; Lars Killander; Krigsarkivet;Kungliga biblioteket; Labor Movement Archive of Sweden (ARAB); LaborMovement Archive in Landskrona; Björn Leo; Claes Lewenhaupt’s archive;Bengt Lindgren; Per Lisell; Ludvigsson family archive; Helmer Lundgren;MartinMånsson; AllanMann;Militärverlag der DDR; A.Möllman; NationalArchiveandRecordAdminstration(NARA);ElowNilson;MaritaOlsson;Sven-ErikÖsterlund;ArnePettersson;Reichenbergfamilyarchive;Riksarkivet;BengtRinaldo;BjørnRæder;LarsRooth;NilsRosén, Jr.; Självständighetsförbundet;MaxSjöbergarchive;BengtStrömgrenviaStenLosenborg;MikaelSundberg;ClaesThorén;TrondheimPoliceMuseum;Utrikesdepartementet (UD);USAirForce; Vasagymnasiet; Frans Wahlberg; Lennart Westberg (LW); GöstaWiksten;RonWindh;DavidWirmark;KarinWollin