Swedes at War Willing Warriors of a Neutral Nation, Wydawnictwa anglo i rosyjskojęzyczne
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//-->Swedes at WarWilling Warriors of a Neutral Nation, 1914–1945Lars GyllenhaalLennart WestbergTranslation byCarl Gustav FinstromThe Aberjona PressBedford, Pennsylvania© 2014ContentsForewordPreface: Far from NeutralityCrucial Events in Nordic History, 1914–19451. Before the First World War: Varangians and Other Forerunners2. In Persian Service, 1911–1916: The Shah’s Swedish Gendarmes3. In the Service of the Kaiser, 1914–1918: “Germany’s Victory—Sweden’sFuture”4. In the Service of the Entente and the United States, 1914–1918: “Until theEnd”5. At War in Former Czarist Russia, 1917–1922: In the Ruins of an Empire6. In Ethiopian Service, 1934–1936: For the Lion of Judah7. In Spanish Service, 1936–1939: The First Clash of the Titans8. With the Western Allies, 1939–1945: “A Moral Duty”9. In Finland’s Service, 1939–1945: Finland’s Cause Was Theirs10. In the Service of the Third Reich, 1939–1945: Toward the Precipice withthe Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht11. In Soviet Service, 1939–1945: Stalin’s Swedish Soldiers12. After the Second World War: Sequels and Successors13. Final ReflectionsList of AbbreviationsEndnotesSourcesAbout the AuthorsCopyrightIn 1916 the following words about Swedes in foreign uniforms were written—very much inthe spirit of the times—by the Swedish Count, diplomat, and globetrotter Carl BirgerMörner af Morlanda:[Swedish] newspapermen and politicians have been cordially treated by Entente andGermans alike. That so few Swedish military men have been able to get to thebattlegrounds is no fault of theirs. Nevertheless there are right now Swedish menfighting on both sides. We have always been so inclined as to show solidaritytowards people that have been hospitable towards us. The Swedish students andother Swedes in France who have eagerly volunteered for the trenches are just ashonorable as the Swedes in Germany who have done likewise.ForewordA surprising number of Swedes participated in war during the decisive years from 1914 to1945. Were these people adventurers or ruthless fanatics? Unsuspecting idealists? Self-sacrificing people with a profound sense of duty? Social misfits? Or just weary of life?Here we meet Swedes who fought for Persia, the German Kaiser, France, the SpanishRepublic, Ethiopia, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Third Reich, and many otherstates. The two largest groups were the volunteers for Finland, who have been the moststudied, and the so-called “War Sailors,” Swedish seamen who worked for the Alliesduring WWII, who are almost unknown. Over the last twenty years the authors, LarsGyllenhaal and Lennart Westberg, have investigated all these groups and have establishedthe numbers in each; they have also found the names and sometimes the personal detailsof many of those involved. A good number of these are described in detail and some speakfor themselves through quotations from letters, diaries, or reports.Swedes at War is a book packed full of facts and human drama, stories that cause one toreflect. One’s curiosity is stimulated—there is a full list of sources in the bibliography forthose who wish to research further. Simultaneously, it is a serious book which presents thefacts soberly and refrains from preaching.The greatest interest is probably aroused by those Swedes who fought for Hitler andStalin. Those Swedes are among the losers of the twentieth century. They can, in today’sworld, easily be judged as narrow-minded, fanatical, or morally defective. The manyhorrible crimes of Hitler and Stalin warrant such judgments. The involvement of theseparticular Swedes must, however, be seen in the context of the prevailing knowledge andspirit of the time. The convictions which moved them were widespread in leading circlesacross Europe. These ideas included the notion of “might is right,” the “degeneration ofdemocracy,” the justification of revolution, and the need for “living space” as well as“racial hygiene.”Youthful enthusiasts who believed that it was possible to turn around the structure ofsocieties and let them be governed by people with new and “more modern” concepts werefound in all countries. They believed that in due course new technology and large-scaleproduction would result in universal bliss, provided that bourgeois prejudices werepermanently removed, by drastic means, if necessary.In this sort of perspective Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin were seen in a differentlight from today. Many saw them as the leaders with the most successful labormovements. They were not shunned for taking the most drastic actions to impose aclassless society, at first under the leadership of an elite, a “vanguard”: the Party of theState. They were ready to evict royalty, the aristocracy, the church, the bourgeoisie, andtopple the bureaucracy. The industrial worker, the farmer, and other physical laborers, atlast, would become the bedrock of society. In Russia, the ideal was “Soviet Man,” and inGermany, “the Aryan.”Initially, a fair number of young Swedes were drawn by these new political appeals.
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