WW2 From Sweden's Perspective | Animated History

in 1939 War swept across Europe as conflict Advanced toward its borders Sweden managed to maintain its neutrality situated in The Frigid North the country was no stranger to harsh Winters yet with its neighbors falling under occupation and external pressure mounting the swedes were compelled to consider if their accustomed resilience to the cold could parallel their ability to withstand the storms of War though it had once been a great power in Europe Sweden had long been absent from the chessboard of European conflict the traumatic loss of Finland to the Russians and the session of Sweden's final manland possessions following the Napoleonic Wars pushed Sweden to pursue a policy of neutrality aided by its strategic position in northern Europe and lack of entanglement in European military alliances Sweden was able to successfully remain neutral throughout the first world war though its government favored the Central Powers despite suffering some economic hardship and political Strife Sweden avoided the post-war Devastation of many other European States and public consensus strongly backed continued neutrality in future conflicts however as the 1930s came to an end and the clouds of War once more gathered above Europe Sweden's resolve would be put to the test before we continue I'd like to thank the sponsor of today's video H Karen the world's leader in watches jewelry and accessories made from natural materials as any good leader knows it's better waiting for the opportunity to take action than missing the chance and you won't want to miss the chance for Father's Day H Karen watches are unque time pieces merging classic Elegance with modern Ingenuity and natural materials their highquality watches jewelry and accessories are the perfect gift for any occasion or style especially for Father's Day and each individual piece is an unforgettable expression of the Timeless connection you have with a loved one our animation director recently picked out the beautiful alus watch for Father's Day while I got my dad the mysterious a sleek paent of zebra wood and black Havana sunglasses all pieces are guaranteed for 24 months and ordering online is easy with free express shipping to the US and most products arrive within just 2 to 5 business days customs fees are also covered it's that simple followers who use our special discount code armchair F checkout will receive 15% off of all products take advantage of this opportunity to support our Channel and get your dad his own personal p P of nature for everyday life by holar by clicking our Link in the description below or by scanning the QR code on screen on September 1st 1939 Germany began its invasion of Poland despite its immediate Declaration of neutrality Sweden had already indirectly contributed to the war from The panzers Dashing across the border to the fighter bombers strafing polish refugees it's estimated that almost 6 % of the iron used to build these deadly machines came from Swedish mines recognizing the importance of Sweden's iron supply to the Nazi war machine both Britain and Germany rushed to negotiate with the swedes who assured the British that they wouldn't increase iron exports to Germany above their pre-war level however by slightly including the now occupied territories of Czechoslovakia and Poland Within their definition of German pre-war Imports Sweden was able to simultaneously satisfy the German desire for increased iron deliveries following the fall of Poland Sweden was faced with a threat much closer to home as the Soviet Union began its invasion of Finland as Sweden and Finland enjoyed close cultural and historic ties the Soviet invasion led to widespread outrage amongst the Swedish public additionally Stockholm was well aware that a Soviet victory in Finland would place the Red Army at Sweden's doorstep therefore deviating slightly from its traditional neutrality Sweden declared itself a non-belligerent in the unfolding winter War which allowed Sweden to transfer considerable quantities of weapons to the fins while avoiding war with the Soviet Union drawing from its limited stockpiles Sweden provided Finland with 84,000 rifles 112 artillery pieces and 25 aircraft additionally over 8,000 Swedish volunteers successfully fought alongside the outnumbered Finnish Army though Swedish Aid helped prevent finland's complete collapse the tiny Nordic nation was still forced to yield to Soviet territorial demands in a Swedish brokered peace deal in the chaos of the winter War Britain saw an opportunity to disrupt Sweden's continued iron exports to Germany under the guise of aiding Finland Britain offered to land thousands of troops in Norway before transporting them over Swedish Railway to the front lines of Finland once within Sweden however these British troops would be directed to seize iron mines and other critical infrastructure shutting down Swedish trade with Germany but to Britain's displeasure both Sweden and Norway saw through this ruse and denied British permission to carry out this wouldbe double cross nevertheless War would come to Scandinavia all the same on April 9th 1940 less than a month after the conclusion of the winter War Germany launched simultaneous invasions of Denmark and Norway Sweden's two Western neighbors while Denmark was immediately overrun Norway fought on long enough for an Allied expeditionary Force to arrive though this two was soon defeated by the Germans despite the battles raging across the border Sweden itself was not invaded as Germany felt no need to risk its current stable Swedish iron Supply regardless Swedish diplomats and politicians were deeply intimidated by Germany's show of force with both of its neutral neighbors suffering unprovoked invasions it was becoming increasingly clear that the fate of Sweden's neutrality might be decided not in Stockholm but in Berlin for all their outrage at Germany's invasions there would be no Swedish intervention Swedish politicians were divided on how to respond to the conflict unfolding all around them but were ultimately fearful of German retribution while many in Sweden's government government advocated for continued neutrality a notable voice in favor of intervention was Sweden's Crown Prince Gustaf adol who argued that Sweden's moral duty to defend against Injustice should take precedence over its desire for peace in the end the voices of neutrality proved louder similarly to the political situation the Swedish military response to the German invasion of Denmark and Norway was mixed Sweden had long assumed that the Soviet Union posed the greatest threat to Swedish Independence and had given relatively little attention to German aggression though fortifications had been constructed along the Southern Coastline Sweden failed to mobilize its military before the German assault meaning that their borders were initially only lightly defended within less than a month however Sweden had called up an additional 230,000 men to defend the southern coast and the long Frontier with Norway with the effectiveness of Germany's War Machine displayed right before its eyes Sweden quickly realized that its own military forces were inadequate Sweden's conscript based Army was highly motivated and well suited for local defense but lacked any significant amount of heavy equipment the Swedish Air Force was additionally in poor shape with only 80 outdated aircraft compared to more than 4,000 commanded by the German Luft vafa attempts to purchase additional equipment were Complicated by Sweden's neutral status as most nations were unwilling to sell valuable weapon systems when their own forces desperately needed replenishment luckily Sweden was eventually able to leverage their industrial knoow to begin the production of their own military equipment a practice which continues to this day slowly resources poured into National rearmament but it would still take years for Sweden's anticipated resistance against Germany to be measured in months rather than weeks on the economic front Sweden also found itself on the back foot with a vengeful Finland joining Hitler's war against the Soviet Union to reclaim lost territory Sweden became completely surrounded by the axis making matters worse a German blockade cut Sweden off from its Western trade routes and confined its economic activity to the Baltic though Sweden had stockpiled resources it was forced to rely on trade with access aligned Nations for many of its most important goods eventually Sweden was able to negotiate safe Passage through the Atlantic for several ships a month allowing for the import of vital resources from the West however this Lifeline would be continually threatened by both Britain and Germany with their relative vulnerability early in the war Sweden felt forced to acass to a series of unsavory German demands immediately following the fall of Norway Germany successfully pressured Sweden into allowing the passage of off-duty German soldiers through Sweden on their way to occupation Duty in Norway a year later in June of 1941 Sweden was faced with a much more serious crisis when Germany demanded that Sweden allow 14,000 heavily armed verm troops to pass through Sweden on their way to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union this demand flagrantly violated Sweden's neutrality and set off a minor political crisis in the country a eventually it was decided to grant the German troops passage but it was made clear that this would be a one-time exception in July when Germany again requested to send armed troops through the country Sweden refused nevertheless in the opening months of operation Barbarosa Sweden allowed 75,000 tons of goods to be transported to Finland to facilitate their participation in the war against the Soviet Union on the return trip through Sweden these trains evacuated wounded German Personnel the Swedish Republic's attitude toward Germany during the second world war was complex on one hand many argued that Sweden had gone too far in its accommodation of German demands but on the other hand cultural and political ties between Sweden and Nazi Germany remained quite strong openly fascist sympathies were quite rare in Sweden though some 200 swedes did serve in the Waffen SS however most swedes did not equate affinity for Germany with Nazism and there was some sense of normaly between the two countries but as Sweden was soon to find out there was nothing normal about Germany's plans for Europe like most of the world Swedish officials had reacted with relative indifference to Germany's initial persec excution of Jews following Germany's early annexations immigration laws were tightened to prevent Jewish refugees from fleeing to Sweden and there would even be some demonstrations against the import of Jews however when Germany began implementing its final solution in Norway Sweden dramatically changed its approach to the unfolding Holocaust hundreds of Norwegian Jews were allowed to cross the Swedish border and Swedish citizens expressed their disgust at Germany's genocidal policies when Germany attempted to eliminate the Jewish population of nearby Denmark Sweden declared that it would Grant Asylum to all Danish Jews who reached its Shores leading to a massive rescue effort that saved around 7,000 people the vast majority of Denmark's Jewish Community later in the war Swedish diplomatic protection was extended to Jewish civilians all across Europe with Swedish diplomats such as Raul Wallenberg involved in aiding thousands more Jews from other European nations Sweden also became involved in militarily supporting its neighbors to a limited extent beginning in 1943 Sweden began arming and training thousands of Danish and Norwegian soldiers officially these troops were advertised as police forces but in reality they were designed to move into Denmark and Norway at the end of the war securing the countries until their respective governments could return from Exile in contrast to its proactive support of its occupied neighbors Sweden insisted on its right to trade with Germany even as it became clear that the tides of the conflict were shifting with only intermittent access to the West Sweden had come to rely on German supplied coal to heat its homes and power its factories in exchange for this coal Sweden exported ores such as iron and mechanical components such as ball bearings ball bearings in particular were crucial for the production of military vehicles aircraft and other Machinery highlighting the Strategic importance of Sweden's industrial exports to the German war machine the Allies did not necessarily object to the concept of Swedish trade with Germany as it was understood that Sweden had little choice but the Allies were Furious that Sweden chose to pay for its goods with militarily vital supplies at one point American Representatives informally threatened to bomb Swedish factories if they did not reduce exports to Germany gradually however under increasing pressure from the Western allies Sweden rolled back its trade with Germany until it almost completely ceased by the end of 1944 as 1945 dawned in Europe the eventual collapse of the Third Reich seemed all but inevitable no longer fearing a German invasion Sweden began to favor the Allied Powers far more overtly almost 200,000 refugees from Sweden's War torn neighbors were accepted into the country Allied planes were relatively unhired if they strayed into Swedish airspace and Sweden even began talks with the allies of about participating in the liberation of Denmark although this ultimately proved unnecessary by the time Hitler's Empire fell in May of 1945 Sweden had seemingly chosen a side nevertheless the legacy of Sweden's participation in the second world war continues to haunt the country with the benefit of hindsight many question if Sweden was too quick to accommodate Germany or if it could have done more to help the allies most importantly many have begun to wonder if neutrality could truly be justified in a conflict that was waged not just against States but Against Humanity itself

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 180,037

Keywords: military history, war, battle, the second world war, historical, swedish history, swedish perspective, sweden in ww2, the swedes, swedish army, sweden military history

Id: gMmnAd6KIuI

Length: 17min 15sec (1035 seconds)

Published: Wed May 29 2024