WW2 From the Swedish Perspective | Animated History

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  • Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
  • Thanks to Holzkern for sponsoring this video! Check out www.holzkern.com/armchairhisto... and use code "armchair" for 15% off a gift for a loved one this Father's Day, or for something nice for yourself.
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    Sources:
    Gilmour, John. “Sweden: An Ambiguous Participant.” In The Routledge History of the Second World War, 546-561. Milton: Routledge, 2022.
    Gilmour, John. Sweden, the Swastika and Stalin: The Swedish Experience in the Second World War. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011.
    James, Harold . “Switzerland and Sweden in the Second World War.” In Europäische Volkswirtschaften Unter Deutscher Hegemonie: 1938. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016.
    Larsson, Lars T. Hitler’s Swedes: A History of the Swedish Volunteers in the Waffen-SS. New York: Helion & Company, Limited, 2015.
    Levine, Paul A. “Swedish Neutrality during the Second World War: Tactical Success or Moral Compromise?” In European Neutrals and Non-Belligerents during the Second World War, 304-330. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
    Lottaz, Pascal, and Ingemar Ottosson. Sweden, Japan, and the Long Second World War: 1931-1945. Milton: Routledge, 2021.
    Miglietta, John P. “Switzerland and Sweden: The Armed Neutrals.” In Hitler’s Allies, 182-193. Milton: Routledge, 2022.
    Müller, Leos. Neutrality in World History. Milton: Routledge, 2019.
    Pollack, Ester. “As the Holocaust Escalated, the Swedish Press Fell Silent: Media and the Normalisation of Passivity and Non-Engagement in WWII Sweden.” Social Semiotics 30, no. 4 (2020): 449-465.
    Armchair Team Credits:
    docs.google.com/document/d/1s...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 957

  • @TheArmchairHistorian
    @TheArmchairHistorian  27 днів тому +84

    Thanks to Holzkern for sponsoring this video! Check out www.holzkern.com/armchairhistorian and use code "armchair" for 15% off a gift for a loved one this Father's Day, or for something nice for yourself.
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    • @Uncle228
      @Uncle228 27 днів тому +1

      balls

    • @Catfish2048
      @Catfish2048 27 днів тому

      Amazing video!

    • @tha_tram_man
      @tha_tram_man 27 днів тому

      what about swedens bismark role

    • @darthsidius9631
      @darthsidius9631 27 днів тому

      You made big mistake when you said that British troops would be ordered to take Swedish iron mines that is only speculation at best and have never been proven

    • @misterthemad994
      @misterthemad994 27 днів тому

      So, about that allied expedition to Norway, why only Royal Navy flags ? In your animation I mean. Never heard of the French expedition and victories in Norway (before the German invasion of France) ? Doesn't ring a bell ?

  • @MarvelousSeven
    @MarvelousSeven 26 днів тому +476

    Nazi Germany: Hey Sweden, why the tens of thousands of armed men?
    Sweden: They're uh... law enforcement!
    Nazi Germany: Oh ok... but why do they have artillery and anti-tank weapons?
    Sweden: (starts sweating profusely) umm... for bears?

    • @qweqwe9678
      @qweqwe9678 23 дні тому +26

      bears are scary, need to approach with the most prejudice

    • @SonsOfLorgar
      @SonsOfLorgar 21 день тому +9

      ​@@qweqwe9678 especially drunk or drugged up ones waving double headed eagle or hammer and sicle banners around...😂

    • @Fuzznator
      @Fuzznator 20 днів тому +4

      russian bears! then germany replies ''dont worry about russian bears little sweden'' and proceds to smile, a high meth head smile

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 19 днів тому

      Its a fun story, but late war Germany did everything to avoid provoke Sweden, and give Sweden a excuse to enter the war. So the the white the buses did come to the concentration camp to pick up Scandinavian citizens, they continue to fill the buses with as meany other prisoners (mostly jews) they could fit in.
      Ironic that Folke Bernadotte (the leader of the operation) was murdered by a Jewish exstrem nationalist/terrorist.

    • @user-xt3sd5kf5c
      @user-xt3sd5kf5c 17 днів тому +1

      How old are you?

  • @BHuang92
    @BHuang92 27 днів тому +767

    I find it fascinating about Sweden's neutrality in comparison to Switzerland.
    Switzerland emphasis on neutrality is on their geography and economics while Sweden emphasize on military and resources.

    • @livethefuture2492
      @livethefuture2492 27 днів тому +11

      The reality of their neutrality was that they were geopolitically insignificant to either side.
      It is clear that in a modern world, there can be no neutrality.

    • @Ragedaonenlonely
      @Ragedaonenlonely 27 днів тому +95

      @@livethefuture2492 Not remotely true. Swedish iron ore and ball bearing manufacture was important to both sides during the war. Both very critical resources in wartime. As for the cold war and even today, Gotland is a hugely important location for controlling the Baltic sea. Whoever holds it has an invaluable position to launch naval operations and airstrikes from. Educate yourself. What protected Swedish neutrality was raising the cost of acquiring it above what's worth investing and not risking them allying with your enemy.

    • @kopazwashere
      @kopazwashere 27 днів тому +56

      @@livethefuture2492 sweden was worth way more than switzerland. it just happened so that Austrian painter was busy wiping out soviets and minorities to point they extended themselves so thin to point sweden became a secondary priority. besides swedes were mostly cooperating with germany, so clearly the incentive there was good enough for germans to not invade them.
      Why would you invade a country that is willingly (without much resistance) give you supplies and even let military access, when the other option is months of invasion + resistance (probably leading to temporary if not permanent) shortfall in critical war materials?

    • @Pannkakaize
      @Pannkakaize 27 днів тому +19

      There was plan made up for an invasion of Sweden, but apparently göring, who had worked/lived in Sweden and had a Swedish wife, refused and said he would resign if Hitler went thru with it

    • @alltat
      @alltat 27 днів тому +20

      The biggest problem with occupying Sweden would be logistics. Sweden is more than ten times larger than Switzerland and the mines are up north. Far, far north. It would be impossible to guard the railroads against Swedish resistance groups.

  • @2msgb
    @2msgb 17 днів тому +30

    My Swedish great grandfather fought in Finland and died in action there.

  • @CliffCardi
    @CliffCardi 27 днів тому +372

    Allies: “Stop selling iron to Germany!”
    Sweden: “No.”
    Germany: “Stop harboring Jews in your embassy!”
    Sweden: “No.”

    • @Norwagen
      @Norwagen 26 днів тому +64

      Norway: “please help us…”
      Sweden: “No.”

    • @CliffCardi
      @CliffCardi 26 днів тому +12

      @@Norwagen Norwegian Commandos in Operation Gunnerside: “Nvm, we got this.”

    • @Lord_Stig
      @Lord_Stig 26 днів тому +23

      Well you should not have left us 1905 ​@@Norwagen
      But to be honest we sadly had little to offer in terms of help as most stuff went to Finland 🫤

    • @boarfaceswinejaw4516
      @boarfaceswinejaw4516 26 днів тому +20

      @@Norwagen
      Norway's government: "Stop harboring norweigan and danish rebels"
      sweden: "no"

    • @Norwagen
      @Norwagen 26 днів тому +8

      @@boarfaceswinejaw4516 Norways “Government” (Quisling was illegitimate)

  • @steveDTH
    @steveDTH 27 днів тому +339

    WW2 from Thailand perspective pls 🙏
    -Franco-Thai war and Battle of Ko Chang
    -Japanese invasion of Thailand
    -Thailand joined Axis
    -Thai phayab army invasion of burma
    -Allies bombing of Thailand and Thai air resistance
    -Construction of burma railway of death
    -Ban pong crisis
    -Free thai resistance of Japanese
    -End of the war by not as loser side
    And so many many fun fact about Thailand during ww2 that people don't know

    • @some_dude2218
      @some_dude2218 27 днів тому +15

      I like it too as a Thai, though i prefer other videos outside of WW2

    • @anoplolepisgracilipes
      @anoplolepisgracilipes 27 днів тому +12

      Thailand did in fact lose land after the war though

    • @steveDTH
      @steveDTH 27 днів тому +8

      @@anoplolepisgracilipes yeah, but only land that gained during ww2

    • @dai-nippon_digger
      @dai-nippon_digger 27 днів тому +7

      I have Thai ancestry. I also have a Japanese helmet with a Thai army badge.

    • @Adriaticus
      @Adriaticus 27 днів тому +9

      ​@@dai-nippon_diggerInteresting piece of history you own.

  • @magnusengeseth5060
    @magnusengeseth5060 25 днів тому +141

    As a 50/50 Swede/Norwegian this is a topic that has been discussed in my family many times. I have to say that while I understand why my Norwegian relatives feel a sense of betrayal that Sweden didn't declare war on Germany, it's still a bit much to expect a country to declare war on a much more powerful one out of solidarity. It's not like Norway declared war on the Soviets when they attacked Finland after all.

    • @kbolt1000
      @kbolt1000 24 дні тому +10

      we set up training camps for Norwegian resistance fighters, Norwegian resistance fighters also blew up a German logistics train at Krylbo station (today Avesta) which I understand they knew who they were but did nothing to catch them. when germany took norway was sweden's salvation from occupation. Churchill didn't like Sweden he had an invasion force and plan ready to occupy Sweden, failed because Germany managed to occupy Norway before, after that maybe it felt easier not to sell iron ore to England but let it go to Germany.

    • @soderlund3610
      @soderlund3610 20 днів тому +1

      Norrbaggarna var beredda att gå i krig för att slippa Sverige några årtionden tidigare. När de blev anfallna av Tyskland så ville de minsann ha svensk militärhjälp

    • @leifiseland1218
      @leifiseland1218 20 днів тому +13

      & keep in mind, at that time, Germany was still allied with the USSR... Going against Germany & USSR combined at that point in time is a pretty big ask..🧐

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 19 днів тому +1

      Attest you do realize that Norway did act in the same matter. There was also bitterness of the union-dissolution, there one strong argument for the union was a common defense.

    • @Spacemongerr
      @Spacemongerr 16 днів тому +13

      I'm Norwegian, have basically never heard anyone express a sense of betrayal towards the Swedes because of their WW2 policies.
      Some light jokes and sibling-teasing perhaps, but nobody would feel strongly enough about it to get into a heated argument or anything.
      I think people in general just remember that "they were neutral (haha, you silly cowards) but kinda helped us a bit still (thanks, sweet brother)".

  • @GefreitervonAdler
    @GefreitervonAdler 26 днів тому +132

    The numbers for the Swedish aid in the Winter War is severely lacking.
    Actually sent:
    ~9 000 volunteers (another 4 000 had been accepted, but did not have time to arrive). Many volunteers served in Finnish units rather than SFK, the Swedish Volunteer Corps.
    860 pistols.
    85 900 rifles and carbines.
    516 MGs and LMGs.
    45 000 000 small arms cartridges.
    38 AT rifles.
    114 AT guns (some of these had been ordered by Finland before the war).
    31 medium mortars.
    147 000 mortar shells.
    100 artillery pieces.
    130 000 artillery shells.
    32 planes.
    Also sent was firewood, tents, tent stoves, sea mines, torpedoes, 9 000 helmets, uniform cloth (that did much to remedy the m/Cajander lack of Finnish uniforms) and food. As well as the care for 70 000 Finnish children evacuated to Sweden to be out of harm's way. Sweden also transported, assembled and serviced arms deliveries from other countries such as Hungary, Britain, France and Italy
    In total, the Swedish aid was worth some 500 000 000 SEK, or a more than the Finnish state budget of 1938, or about 40% of the Swedish state budget of 1938. Sweden forgave the debt immediately after the March peace.

    • @SerbijaSupreme
      @SerbijaSupreme 23 дні тому

      we should've helped Stalin not the Nordic Hitler Mannerheim and his Nazi loving army

    • @karilang9377
      @karilang9377 21 день тому +3

      .... by asking only Finland keeping Swedish as a second official language. And it still is.

    • @KeveTeller
      @KeveTeller 20 днів тому +16

      I did a study on this for school & found that the economic support they gave was valued on it's own as a years worth of the Finnish state budget. That amount did not include all of the cost of the military support that Sweden gave. Perhaps my sources on that subject were faulty.
      Side note: The planes that Sweden gave, came with volunteers to man them, making it possible for Finland to set up an air force in Northern Finland, that didn't have one at the time. Together with this, Sweden allowed Finish planes to use two Swedish air fields, which resulted in them getting bombed by the USSR.

    • @Akillesursinne
      @Akillesursinne 14 днів тому +6

      ​@@karilang9377What a crime. Truly horrible by us Swedes.

    • @14Trenlover
      @14Trenlover 12 днів тому +1

      @@karilang9377 So it would be better to discriminated against the many native Swedish speaking finns, of which there were many more back then?

  • @jes3d
    @jes3d 27 днів тому +155

    love sweden from the eastern border 🇫🇮❤🇸🇪

    • @KungErik
      @KungErik 25 днів тому +23

      🇸🇪🤝🏻🇫🇮

    • @jes3d
      @jes3d 25 днів тому +1

      @@KungErik aren't u the guy that was calling me muslim on tiktok

    • @SeverusHilltop
      @SeverusHilltop 24 дні тому

      maanpetturi

    • @jes3d
      @jes3d 24 дні тому

      @@SeverusHilltop ??? 💀💀

    • @KungErik
      @KungErik 23 дні тому

      @@jes3d what

  • @The_Swede-Mex
    @The_Swede-Mex 27 днів тому +639

    I waited to long to see this video, I’m so glad you finally made it. That makes me so happy to see as a Swede

    • @VaxlandMapping101
      @VaxlandMapping101 27 днів тому +3

      SAAME

    • @The_Swede-Mex
      @The_Swede-Mex 27 днів тому +20

      My Gammelfarfar (Great Grandfather) served in the army during the war, he was stationed both on the Norwegian and Finnish Borders. He was also tasked to protect the railroad lines German soldiers used to transit. He had a deep animosity towards both the German & Soviets.

    • @sebastianborg6985
      @sebastianborg6985 27 днів тому +4

      Mine was aswell

    • @youtubeaccount1930
      @youtubeaccount1930 27 днів тому +7

      Bra video! Lärde mig lite nytt trots den historienörden man är :)

    • @mhhmsmfshsmhfh
      @mhhmsmfshsmhfh 27 днів тому +1

      Sant

  • @larryalvares1369
    @larryalvares1369 27 днів тому +163

    Nice to see WW2 from a countries perspective who wasn’t directly included

  • @Rulusto
    @Rulusto 26 днів тому +50

    Sweden did what they had to do to prevent invasion, they also took huge risks in helping Norway, Denmark and Finland.
    My mother’s uncle was a norwegian resistance member and had to flee to Sweden when the gestapo discovered what he had been up to. Sweden welcomed him with open arms, he settled down there after the war.

  • @Soundbrigade
    @Soundbrigade 26 днів тому +34

    My father travelled with the Germans through Sweden, watching over them. He said not much about these uneventful trips other than that the Germans were polite and even friendly, sharing a smoke whenever they made a stop.
    Staying neutral it’s still interesting to see how we managed to balance on a greased line - selling iron ore to the nazis and advanced technology to the allied. Speedboats came regularly to the town of Lysekil on the Swedish westcoast to pick roller bearings and other high precision items. It was a clandestine operation, but everyone in the town knew about it.
    Searching the archives, there’s a thriller made back in the 60’s or 70’s called Operation Argus loosely based on these events.
    My father later had to witness the extradition of the Baltic people that had taken shelter in Sweden to the Soviets. He was given letters to be forwarded to relatives and heard and saw terrible things.

    • @sksk-bd7yv
      @sksk-bd7yv 21 день тому +3

      My grandfather watched over those trains, too! He said the work was not very taxing, as the Germans made efforts to keep quiet, and the Swedish made efforts to stay away.

  • @Thermoniter
    @Thermoniter 27 днів тому +353

    Next Video:
    *WW2 From Leichenstein and St Halena’s Prospective*

    • @rarepepe1413
      @rarepepe1413 27 днів тому +36

      WW2 from the Andorran perspective.

    • @user-fc3py6mm8z
      @user-fc3py6mm8z 27 днів тому +20

      WW2 from burkina faso 🇧🇫 perspective

    • @christo-gj1qk
      @christo-gj1qk 27 днів тому +7

      Nah Turkeys perspective of ww2

    • @Thermoniter
      @Thermoniter 27 днів тому +9

      @@christo-gj1qk Armchair Is Already thinking of that.

    • @Thermoniter
      @Thermoniter 27 днів тому

      @@user-fc3py6mm8z Colonized?

  • @thrrashed2423
    @thrrashed2423 27 днів тому +125

    It’s crazy how much the animations have improved over the years

  • @thehoogard
    @thehoogard 22 дні тому +21

    You didn't mention Sweden's intelligence operations, and how it provided the allies with that, and also early codebreaking allowing Sweden to tap into any communication passing through sweden (to finland or norway), relayed to the allies via e.g. Polish resistance movement.

  • @magnuszerum9177
    @magnuszerum9177 27 днів тому +237

    They were stuck between two enemies. On the Allied side the Soviets wanted to conquer them, on the other Germany was also trying to conquer them. It was a lose/lose situation

    • @Ren3gaid
      @Ren3gaid 27 днів тому +9

      Where did you get the information that Germany wanted to conquer them? Lmao?
      Even in this video it's never said...

    • @Gamleman
      @Gamleman 27 днів тому +60

      @@Ren3gaid It was planned in june-july 1943. On Hitlers orders the germans moved the equivalent of 3 infantry divisions to Norway and converted the Panzer brigade Norwegen to the 25th Panzer division. If Operation Zitadelle (Kursk) had been a succes for the Germans it would then most likely have tried to tighten its grip on northern Europe. Because of the failure of Zitadelle those troops were now badly needed in Russia.

    • @tylermorrison420
      @tylermorrison420 27 днів тому

      Thank you , source?
      I never heard about plans to invade sweden from anyone ever except like the vikings ​@@Gamleman

    • @nothernstar2576
      @nothernstar2576 27 днів тому +41

      ​@@Ren3gaidGermany would have conquered Sweden the second they stopped bowing to all Berlin's demands, and by the time the swedes started to refuse Germany had more important things to deal with

    • @Jaggaraz218
      @Jaggaraz218 27 днів тому

      ​@@Ren3gaidIf Sweden had stopped their exports to Germany 1939-1941 Germany would've definitely invaded them

  • @Soundwave3591
    @Soundwave3591 27 днів тому +11

    An interesting notation within Sweden's wartime story is how they technically helped the British sink the battleship Bismarck:
    The Swedish cruiser _Gotland_ spotted Bismarck during her initial move out of the Baltic towards Norway, and Swedish Naval officers, via a Norwegian intermediary, passed the information on to the British Embassy.

  • @oliversherman2414
    @oliversherman2414 27 днів тому +37

    As a half Swede (other half being British) I love that you did a video from Sweden's perspective. I've been waiting so long to see a video about my second home 🇬🇧🇸🇪

  • @rondslott2012
    @rondslott2012 27 днів тому +27

    My great granpa died in a military accident, while patrolling the border to norway. His brother fought in Finland as a volunteer, but he never talked about it so i guess he went through some fucked up things.

  • @heh9392
    @heh9392 27 днів тому +176

    thank you sweden for taking my finnish grandma during ww2 for 2 years into safety, while Finland being in war and danger.

    • @spuldzexx
      @spuldzexx 27 днів тому +4

      And no thanks for returning Baltic refugees to Soviet Union..

    • @heh9392
      @heh9392 27 днів тому

      @@spuldzexx You mean Sweden or Finland?

    • @spuldzexx
      @spuldzexx 27 днів тому +2

      @@heh9392 Sweden

    • @Vonstab
      @Vonstab 27 днів тому +20

      No Baltic refugeees were returned to the Soviet union by Sweden. The 167 who were returned did not have refugee status as they were interned military personnel who had served in the German armed forces or security services. The issue was rightly controversial even at the time as the Hansson government was seen as giving in too easily to Soviet demands.

    • @kingace6186
      @kingace6186 26 днів тому +1

      Respect

  • @swedichboy1000
    @swedichboy1000 27 днів тому +171

    3:09 Skip Ads.

    • @gustavworbs6866
      @gustavworbs6866 27 днів тому +10

      thanks bb

    • @hubertswie7438
      @hubertswie7438 27 днів тому +6

      rude. he litelary needs that add to get money to keep making those vids

    • @johnnyissuper6955
      @johnnyissuper6955 27 днів тому

      @@hubertswie7438cry

    • @Ratta907
      @Ratta907 27 днів тому +13

      @@hubertswie7438he gets it through views technically the sponsor is the one who gets the money or new customers.

    • @TheZeyon
      @TheZeyon 27 днів тому +3

      get sponsorblock extension for your browser

  • @atenachos6282
    @atenachos6282 27 днів тому +12

    Raoul Wallenberg has a memorial dedicated to him here on the campus of University of Michigan, where he once attended.

  • @emjarven6017
    @emjarven6017 27 днів тому +76

    Great episode! My grandfather fought on the swedish/norwegian boarder. They blew up bridges with dynamite to stop the germans being able to advance further into Sweden. I remember staying up many late nights listening to all his stories…

    • @sexybakedpota642
      @sexybakedpota642 27 днів тому

      Militären (och värnplikt) är en ändlös källa av intressanta historier. Så många händelser man kan återberätta!

    • @conveyor2
      @conveyor2 27 днів тому

      Er... Germans didn't invade Sweden.

    • @FeuerKriegDivisionPoland
      @FeuerKriegDivisionPoland 27 днів тому

      The Germans never wanted to go into Sweden

    • @swedishfarmboy
      @swedishfarmboy 26 днів тому

      We hade British commandos in Lapland, did spy on the Germans communications and gave the information to the Britts and more.

    • @IQsveen
      @IQsveen 25 днів тому +1

      Narvik?

  • @questionmark05
    @questionmark05 27 днів тому +54

    Surrounded by two powers that wanted to make their national anthems the final boss music of other nations (thanks Drach) Sweden did a good job of balancing placating them while maintaining their independence. They did help where they could. Its easy to say they shouldn't have been as close to nazi germany with hindsight. But its a different story when they have taken over your neighbours, severely damaged a major city because that country didn't surrender fast enough, taken a country just to make it easier to take another all in 6 hours, steamrolled what was thought pre war to be Europe's best military in a few months then started a fight with another large power and actually winning for a while. All within a couple of years. The video did a good job showing how isolated they were from help. in a similar way to finland in the winter war, the allies couldn't really help finland. There was no way during the german expansion period early to mid war for the allies to get to sweden to help in any major way.

    • @Pannkakaize
      @Pannkakaize 27 днів тому +9

      Yeah and dont forget, Sweden Russia had been in many, many wars over the history, Sweden was historically close to Germany, both in culture and ties, Russia was seen as the main enemy, and has always been seen that way

  • @fabiannoord0
    @fabiannoord0 27 днів тому +29

    I have read a lot of books about ww2. But in school history books Sweden 🇸🇪 has only been neutral after the napoleon war. But they did help the Germans to cross the border from Denmark, Norway, and the Baltic Sea. But they only did it to help aid Finland against the Russians. But it almost feels like history is repeating itself. But it is only sending arms and ammunition to Ukraine 🇺🇦. And some swedes soldiers did volunteer to help the Germans and the Finnish army.

    • @KeveTeller
      @KeveTeller 20 днів тому +2

      It's an interesting subject! The Swedish volunteers for the SS were in the higher hundreds, the Norwegian ones were about 2000 & the Danish were about 15000 (30000 volunteered but half were denied).

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 19 днів тому +6

      @@KeveTeller One more thing, Swedes who joined SS was seen as deserters at best, and traitors at worst.

  • @GefreitervonAdler
    @GefreitervonAdler 26 днів тому +10

    The force mobilised in late April numbered some 420 000 men - 230 000 in the line army and 190 000 local defence (which consisted of the older conscripts, aged 35-45). From June 1940, the Home Guard added another 80-100 000 men to this.

  • @Puzzl3man
    @Puzzl3man 27 днів тому +7

    That double-cross from Britain might be considered a straight-up act of war. That's such a crazy detail.

    • @bjornerikroth
      @bjornerikroth 24 дні тому +6

      It soured Sweden's attitude towards the allies for a while, for sure.

  • @fsdspdf2717
    @fsdspdf2717 27 днів тому +64

    A huge thanks to the Swedish volunteers of the Winter War!

  • @walterbar3118
    @walterbar3118 22 дні тому +6

    This is *not* complete. The complete the picture there should have been mentioned, that Sweden shifted a lot of german soldiers frome the former 'Heeresgruppe Kurland' back to the Soviets. Those soldiers fled across the baltic sea to Sweden in the last days of the war. Many of them later died as soviet POWs and the Swedes knew.
    In 1994 the swedisch king apologized
    The swedisch words are Tyskutlämningen or Baltutlämningen.

  • @hilmust6278
    @hilmust6278 27 днів тому +133

    As a Swede myself, i would say that the Nordic fronts are the most underrated of the whole war.

    • @sexybakedpota642
      @sexybakedpota642 27 днів тому +1

      Självklart så har man fördomar. Men det svenska perspektivet är mycket händelserikt och intressant.

    • @repuIsive
      @repuIsive 27 днів тому +9

      6 hours, less than a month.. finland is not nordic, respectfully disagree

    • @lacciful
      @lacciful 27 днів тому +87

      @@repuIsive Finland is Nordic though

    • @hilmust6278
      @hilmust6278 27 днів тому +48

      @@repuIsive Finland is nordic. The Nordic region extends from Lake Onega in the east to Iceland in the west

    • @commisaryarreck3974
      @commisaryarreck3974 27 днів тому +1

      @@repuIsive
      Less then a month
      >Due to the usual British backstabs, in a war that only happened due to the British blatantly violating their neutrality and actively planning an invasion

  • @jessiegunther1079
    @jessiegunther1079 27 днів тому +12

    very interesting! I always wondered about Sweden's state during ww2, given some ships of it were sunk by german U boats. In U boat, you could even see Swedish cargo ships among alllied convoys, or even allied patrols near the southern coast of sweden

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 27 днів тому +5

      and USSR submarines did enter Swedish water and did sink Swedish (and German) ships, and the Swedish fleet did depth charge "unknown" submarines, and may or may not have sunk up to 2 USSR submarines, they did not return to port.

  • @Swagman12
    @Swagman12 26 днів тому +19

    It's worth noting that Sweden had set a date somewhere in june 1945 to declare war and invade the occupied danish and norwegian territory but didnt need to as the axis surrendered in may

  • @FreddyGamster
    @FreddyGamster 27 днів тому +8

    A very interesting video I did see coming but 1 that Im happy to see. However here are a few more interesting things about Sweden during ww2.
    1. Sweden actually managed to break a significant amount of the german encrypted cypher that we later passed on to the allies and also the Soviet Union during operation Barbarossa.
    2. At the end of WW2 Sweden became more aware to the horrors of the Holocaust that was going on so a response was to send white buses to concentration camps around german occupied territories and rescue people from the camps.
    3. At one point during the war Stockholm became the biggest hub for spies in the world due to Swedens neutrality and all major nations had spies networks deployed in the capital to spy on each other.

  • @GefreitervonAdler
    @GefreitervonAdler 26 днів тому +7

    There are some misconceptions and missing information in this. The most iron-dense Swedish ore from the Kiruna region is high in sulphur and thus at the time not suitable for making weapons-grade steel. Most Swedish ore was used for the civilian market - railroad girders, rolling stock, boiler plate, locomotives and so on.

    • @bjornerikroth
      @bjornerikroth 24 дні тому +3

      Correct. And after the French surrender in 1940 most of the high grade iron used by Germany was sourced from there.

  • @bauer9101
    @bauer9101 26 днів тому +6

    Excellent work. I have read and watched about WW2 all my life but this was a refreshing take on a lesser known part of the war.

  • @bobbyggare8364
    @bobbyggare8364 27 днів тому +6

    I have been waiting for this!!

  • @Mikaelvafflus-ux9uf
    @Mikaelvafflus-ux9uf 27 днів тому +13

    Nice a new vid From our armchair historian, also hello from Norway! Iove your vids!

  • @mountainmamma1643
    @mountainmamma1643 27 днів тому +10

    Great vid man keep it up

  • @cazschiller
    @cazschiller 25 днів тому +5

    Your months of work paid off, well done. Please keep making videos!!

  • @goncalonunes3203
    @goncalonunes3203 27 днів тому +18

    I would love a WW1 from portuguese perspective

    • @jonathansimmons877
      @jonathansimmons877 27 днів тому +1

      Hopefully they will in the future. In the meantime (if you haven’t already) ‘The Great War’ channel did a short episode on that subject

  • @GefreitervonAdler
    @GefreitervonAdler 26 днів тому +6

    One needs to remember that while Swedish politicians were intimidated by the German armed forces, they were even more concerned about trade - Sweden was totally and utterly dependent on coal (about 9 million tons yearly) to keep its industry and railroad running. Without it, no transport and thus starvation in the cities. With the Germans in control of Norway and the North Sea, Sweden was dependent on German goodwill to acquire coal and both British and German goodwill for its trade overseas (a deal allowing a small number of merchant ships trhough monthly was struck, and Sweden got grain, meat, oil and other vital materials from neutral powers in South America that way).

    • @bjornerikroth
      @bjornerikroth 24 дні тому +3

      Not just industry and transport, a lot of household heating was by coal as well. And the war winters were amongst the coldest ever.

    • @GefreitervonAdler
      @GefreitervonAdler 23 дні тому +1

      @@bjornerikroth yeah, but household heating and hot water coal usage could be handled by strict rationing and using firewood and charcoal - the electricity plants that provided the power for Sweden's electrified railroads could not.

  • @elbraxo6951
    @elbraxo6951 22 дні тому +3

    I cant understand how norway and denmark complain over swedens position in the WW2, who was it that allied up with the russians and poles to attacked the swedish empire? Who was it that broke the sweden-norway union?
    And now they say that sweden betrayed them?.
    Norway/denmark shoud be thankful of the support the swedes gave them.

  • @saltreplacement
    @saltreplacement 27 днів тому +7

    0:03 you can see exactly where this video got demonetized

  • @JH-lo9ut
    @JH-lo9ut 19 днів тому +4

    A lot of people often forget what state Europe was in in 1940.
    France had fallen, the British expiditionary forces had evacuated from mainland Europe. Germany seemed unstoppable, and USA was still neutral.
    Anyone who demands that Sweden should declare war on Germany at that point is delusional.

  • @runar4731
    @runar4731 27 днів тому +8

    We (sweden) gave aloooot of intel to the allies by getting access to german communications

    • @polygonalfortress
      @polygonalfortress 27 днів тому +1

      especially on the battleship bismarck, very crucial intel

  • @IronDragon-2143
    @IronDragon-2143 27 днів тому +6

    I'd love to see a video on the English Civil Wars

  • @user-wt8gq4yp5k
    @user-wt8gq4yp5k 27 днів тому +8

    Love these videos! Keep it up🎉

  • @GefreitervonAdler
    @GefreitervonAdler 26 днів тому +5

    The number of Swedes in the SS according to Gyllenhaal and Westerg's research was 163. There are some Swedish-speaking Finns and Estonians and even Ukrainians (Swedish-speaking Estonians deported from Estonia to Gammelsvenskby in Ukraine in the late 1700s) that the Germans listed as Swedes serving in the SS, but they were not Swedish citizens.

    • @sebswede9005
      @sebswede9005 23 дні тому

      Jake Gyllenhaal?

    • @GefreitervonAdler
      @GefreitervonAdler 23 дні тому +1

      @@sebswede9005 Lars Gyllenhaal.

    •  14 днів тому

      @@GefreitervonAdler And yes! They are related...

  • @jaredwilson9727
    @jaredwilson9727 27 днів тому +8

    Nice work

  • @MythicTales993
    @MythicTales993 23 дні тому +1

    Your video provides a fresh perspective on this topic. Thank you for broadening my horizons!

  • @qlof
    @qlof 23 дні тому +1

    My grandfather guarded the border at the time, and took 3 German prisoners. They had basically got lost and crossed the border by mistake. He told us kids the story of it all, how they shot warning shots and after a few shots going back and forth the germans waved a white rag. Not sure what happened to those prisoners tho, they were probably released back. But it was exciting to hear about it. He was also a part of Ådalen which is a major event in swedish history. Alot of things happened for that generation.

  • @TheIrishvolunteer
    @TheIrishvolunteer 27 днів тому +8

    Great video, would you ever see yourselves doing a video on Ireland during the Second World War?

  • @adnanbenic8713
    @adnanbenic8713 27 днів тому +4

    Ive been waiting for this...

  • @HistoryGaming1001
    @HistoryGaming1001 26 днів тому +2

    How I have longed for this video. Thanks Griff

  • @Mia-fz6xr
    @Mia-fz6xr 27 днів тому +87

    I've never been this early.

  • @Violetvisions86
    @Violetvisions86 27 днів тому +3

    Thanks! Finally we get to see your version of Swedens WW2 history. Greetings from Sweden

  • @Potato55654
    @Potato55654 27 днів тому +7

    I like how we got Sweden before Norway a country that actually fought in the war

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 27 днів тому +1

      Remember how much (or lite) Norway did fight in the Winter War, there is a reason Sweden did have hundred thousand soldier mobilized and in war preparedness mod, and Norway was still in peace mode.

    • @Spacemongerr
      @Spacemongerr 26 днів тому +1

      ​@@kirgan1000 Sweden also didn't fight in the Winter War. Only volunteers and sending support.
      It also makes a lot more sense for Sweden than Norway to be involved in a war in Finland, with their closer proximity to Finland, deep historical ties and extremely long border (including water border).
      Norway had none of that, just a border far far in the north, harsh terrain, sparsely populated and hundres of km away from any fighting.
      Sweden also had twice the population and was richer than Norway at the time.
      Still, there is no doubt that Norway was poorly prepared for war in 1940.

  • @Simpleswe_
    @Simpleswe_ 26 днів тому +2

    Waited for this vid

  • @silverdrawingsyt6331
    @silverdrawingsyt6331 26 днів тому +1

    removing the fuze effect on top for the ads wont stop me from skipping right after the add

  • @QueenOfSleeping
    @QueenOfSleeping 27 днів тому +5

    The animation is amazing

  • @Ghuzeld
    @Ghuzeld 26 днів тому +3

    LOVE THE VIDEO MAN!!!

  • @SkruffyTalez_TheWarzone
    @SkruffyTalez_TheWarzone 26 днів тому +5

    People do realize every country was neutral until they got invaded, basically... right? Belgium and Holland didnt become occupied because they wanted to. The US didnt get bombed because they felt like it. Taking potshots at Swedish "neutrality" is pretty dishonest and also complete BS.
    It always annoys me that people seem to take issue with Swedish neutrality but noone has any issue with all the invaded and attacked countries being neutral as well.
    Sweden also stopped being neutral with the Winter War. 1/3 of its pilots fought for Finland flying Swedish aircraft, supported by Swedish groundcrews. Sweden cracked the encryption device the German high command relied upon, the G Machine, in 3 weeks (no computer needed) which allowed the Swedes to find out German plans ahead of all negotiations. This allowed Sweden to discover the German invasion plans of Russia which Sweden provided to the allies. Sweden also informed the allies that the Bismarck was setting sail and leaving port.
    By 1942, Sweden adopted a clear anti-Germany standpoint and began to reduce its cooperation with Germany as its armed forces were growing stronger. So much so that in 1943, Germany made invasion plans for Sweden. But the Finnish general, Mannerheim, warned the Germans that the Swedes would fight just as hard as the finns, but would also be better equipped.
    Russia bombed Sweden on several occasions, including the Stockholm area. The town of Pajala was hit by 150 fire-bombs for instance. Sweden was very much involved in the war, sending 500 army officers to lead the volonteer corps and sending a large number of pilots to fight the Soviets in the skies over Finland.
    Edit;
    Also, the reason why Norway was invaded was because the Brits wanted to land at Narvik to go to Finland. Swedish iron was shipped to Germany via Norwegian ports. So Germany secured the iron by securing Norway. Denmark unfortunately was invaded merely as a sidenote while Germany went after Norway.
    Had Sweden refused trade with Germany, Germany would have invsded. Thats how important the iron ore was. Sweden was in no position to withstand any invasion until 1942-1943, so to protect Swedish citizens, Sweden traded to avoid being invaded. But Sweden was still bombed by Russia, Sweden still deployed forces to fight Russia. And eventually, Sweden told Germany that the partnership had entered a new stage.

    • @matso3856
      @matso3856 26 днів тому

      I just want to add , UK also bombed Sweden , probebly by mistake

    • @karilang9377
      @karilang9377 21 день тому

      I never heard that Narvik was planned to Finland. Source? Can we still get it?
      British were bombing the harbour in Stockholm by name Hammarbyhamnen. There were German ships.
      And need to be careful not to mix the winter war and the continuing war and laplands war while talking wars in Finland.

    • @SkruffyTalez_TheWarzone
      @SkruffyTalez_TheWarzone 21 день тому

      @@karilang9377 google is your friend

  • @onestepbeyond5221
    @onestepbeyond5221 27 днів тому +4

    Really interesting from a different perspective 👍

  • @touhoutrash2436
    @touhoutrash2436 27 днів тому +3

    A NEW ARMCHAIR HISTORIAN VIDEO MY BOIS!

  • @wolf2912
    @wolf2912 27 днів тому +7

    My grandma said when she was a little girl her dad was a soilder with the border of occupied Norway and i know of one women who lived in scania or Skåne and heard german bomb plane
    Thank you for talking about this
    Love from Sweden 🇸🇪 ❤️

  • @gurra5666
    @gurra5666 27 днів тому +6

    This was a very good video

  • @carlcramer9269
    @carlcramer9269 27 днів тому +7

    The leading commercial family at the time, the Wallenbergs, was run by two brothers, Jacob and Marcus. And they divided the world market between them before the war, Marcus dealing with Britain and Jacob with with Germany. This allowed them, and thus Sweden, to coordinate and balance its position between the two sides during the war. At the end of the war, Jacob was in trouble with the USA, but Marcus was able to leverage his contacts to keep Jacob out of court. And yes, this is the same family that Raul Wallenberg belonged to.

    • @floycewhite6991
      @floycewhite6991 26 днів тому

      Let's see... Jews run commerce in Sweden... the Swedish government for some strange reason wants immigration of non-Christian MENAs and Central Asians. Hmm. I don't see any connection.

    • @SonsOfLorgar
      @SonsOfLorgar 21 день тому

      ​@@floycewhite6991 says the nazi-muskovite...

  • @dansmith4077
    @dansmith4077 27 днів тому +6

    Great video

  • @katyowen6940
    @katyowen6940 27 днів тому +3

    Just know your up there with my top 2 history channels along with oversimplified,

  • @nimrods4380
    @nimrods4380 27 днів тому +9

    As a swede i never expected this video but i am happy that you made a video about us. I appreciate your videos👍👍👍

  • @SpittUp
    @SpittUp 27 днів тому +13

    I am of Swedish decent and I love learning more about the country that my ancestors came from.

  • @Dark-angels
    @Dark-angels 27 днів тому +5

    Yesss finally a video about Sweden!!!! 🇸🇪

  • @angheloiumarius
    @angheloiumarius 27 днів тому +12

    You" forgot " the Friendship between Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany ( Poland was invaded in 2 parallel fronts).

    • @Nick-rs5if
      @Nick-rs5if 17 днів тому +1

      This video was about WW2 from Sweden's perspective. That the invasion of Poland was a joint effort did not seriously impact Sweden's perspective of the war. Thus bringing it up is a waste of time.

  • @TastyEmpire51
    @TastyEmpire51 26 днів тому +2

    Thank you Sweden for all the help for us, especially in the winter war.

  • @ferdinandcazalbou5681
    @ferdinandcazalbou5681 26 днів тому +2

    Great video!

  • @wolf2912
    @wolf2912 26 днів тому +3

    Fun fact is that the famous children book author Astrid Lindgren worked for the swedish intelligens departement during ww2

    • @nomennescio4604
      @nomennescio4604 5 днів тому

      She started out as the secretary of "Revolver-Harry" Söderman before that.

  • @Zeelandian_Man
    @Zeelandian_Man 27 днів тому +5

    Please do WW2 from Portugal's perspective.

  • @passageorgephungsomwong5804
    @passageorgephungsomwong5804 26 днів тому +1

    I'll wait to see more of these perspectives videos from countries of other theatres of war

  • @bullehulle1
    @bullehulle1 19 днів тому +1

    On your map in the start of the video, you depict the island of bornholm as swedish by making it yellow, it is actually danish. The little island just south of sweden.

  • @ExtantPerson
    @ExtantPerson 27 днів тому +18

    I will forever have respect to Sweden for saving my ancestors in the Holocaust.

    • @SerbijaSupreme
      @SerbijaSupreme 23 дні тому

      as a Swede i'm ashamed we helped the Nazi scum and turned a blind eye to the anti Jewish laws

    • @WLM-83
      @WLM-83 22 дні тому +2

      I will always hate them for it.

    • @ExtantPerson
      @ExtantPerson 22 дні тому +3

      @@WLM-83 You’re not edgy.

    • @WLM-83
      @WLM-83 21 день тому

      @@ExtantPerson not tryin to be😂

    • @ExtantPerson
      @ExtantPerson 20 днів тому +1

      @@WLM-83 Anti-semitism is out of fashion, my friend

  • @nordbye0430
    @nordbye0430 27 днів тому +5

    Can you do ww2 from Norways perspective?

  • @baillonette4771
    @baillonette4771 27 днів тому +1

    I love when you talk about countrys we never talk about it's super interesting.
    When will you do Belgium or Netherlands ?

  • @Grivian
    @Grivian 9 днів тому

    Many of my relatives were in the miltiary at that time. My grand father was in the army, my grand father on my fathers side was stationed in the navy. My grand mothers brother was guarding the norwegian border. I've heard stories that the swedish soldiers used to trade cigarettes with the german soldiers at the border. So even if we weren't at war many people were involved in the miltiary

  • @TageBerg-zo8ly
    @TageBerg-zo8ly 27 днів тому +5

    4 gripen flög över mit hus idag och nu denna banger video. Är det ett tecken?

    • @KimFareseed
      @KimFareseed 27 днів тому +4

      It is veterans day today, here in sweden. 29th of may.

  • @ggfnutdznmzm4238
    @ggfnutdznmzm4238 27 днів тому +5

    Sino-Vietnamese War would be nice!

  • @kbolt1000
    @kbolt1000 24 дні тому +2

    we did not sell iron to germany we sold iron ore, Germany had to produce its own iron but with 60% Swedish iron ore.

  • @HanifYT-nu6hq
    @HanifYT-nu6hq 12 днів тому

    I like your video bro, that's very helpful for me to get into college and now i am an college student. Thank you very much.

  • @TheDJGrandPa
    @TheDJGrandPa 27 днів тому +3

    The phrase stuck between a rock and a hard place comes to mind 😅

  • @luddebjork3199
    @luddebjork3199 27 днів тому +5

    Swedish mentioned ahhhhh 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🔵🟡🔵🟡🔵

  • @Hackofjarten
    @Hackofjarten 21 день тому

    Thanks for making this video, as a Swede I’m very happy that you made it 🙏

  • @ottosaxo
    @ottosaxo 20 днів тому +1

    Interesting video. The only factor I completely missed was Zarah Leander. Don't underestimate this, even if there was no gun powder and steel involved in that chapter.

  • @ardemua
    @ardemua 24 дні тому +5

    Sweden didn't fall because Finland didn't.

  • @wesley.peterson
    @wesley.peterson 22 дні тому +3

    I feel like you left out an important part of the Swedish efforts to help the Allies by spying on germany in every way we could and relaying that information to the british.

    • @InterceptorUS
      @InterceptorUS 14 днів тому +2

      As someone who went to high school in Sweden. The Swedes were in favor of Germany and viewed them as an exceptional society.
      Stop lying. Swedes were in favor of Nazis. At least in Swedish classes they teach people the truth when it comes to Sweden’s grey area.

    • @InterceptorUS
      @InterceptorUS 14 днів тому

      As someone who went to high school in Sweden. The Swedes were in favor of Germany and viewed them as an exceptional society.
      Stop lying. Swedes were in favor of Nazis. At least in Swedish classes they teach people the truth when it comes to Sweden’s grey area.

    • @woom_y
      @woom_y 14 днів тому

      @@InterceptorUS You are not an expert on Swedish history because you went to high school in Sweden. You are an American, and you don't know much about this country.
      The truth is that Sweden DID give vital intel on German war efforts. Swedish intel was crucial in the sinking of the Bismarck, as an example.
      And no, public sentiment towards Germany largely swayed back and forth. There was a sense of unity between Germans and Swedes, and most Swedes viewed Germany as separate from the Nazi government. This largely changed later on in the war, and the public was by then massively in favor of the allies.

    • @InterceptorUS
      @InterceptorUS 14 днів тому +2

      @@woom_y Alltså man får inte ljuga så här. Jag har samma förståelse av Svensk Historia som alla andra Svenskar.
      Sanningen är ju att MAJORITETEN av Sverige tyckte om Nazisterna. Det har säkert funnits folk som inte tyckte om Tyskland och jobbade mot de men majoriteten var pro Tysk.

  • @bcelik6238
    @bcelik6238 27 днів тому +2

    Whats the guitar song during the sponsor segment? Its beautiful.

  • @patrikedstrom974
    @patrikedstrom974 26 днів тому +8

    Swedish high command was able to wire-tap german communication, and as from summer 1940 they had cracked the german encryption-codes. Thus, they knew when to yield to german demands and when to stand firm.

    • @RaDeus87
      @RaDeus87 25 днів тому +4

      I love that one singular guy, Arne Beurling, cracked the T52 codes using pen and paper in two weeks.
      The T52 was more advanced than the Enigma too.

  • @programmatic93
    @programmatic93 27 днів тому +3

    Thanks for explaining the history behind the Hearts of Iron 4 DLC for me

  • @nathan4750
    @nathan4750 19 днів тому +2

    Can we get a video about the Philippine-American war?

  • @centralhunter9169
    @centralhunter9169 27 днів тому +2

    What happened to the credits at the end of the armchair historian episodes?

  • @jeffe9842
    @jeffe9842 27 днів тому +3

    I knew Sweden was neutral during WW2, rescued Danish Jews, and supplied iron to Germany, but did not know much of what was presented in this video. Thank you for posting it and educating me.

    • @floycewhite6991
      @floycewhite6991 26 днів тому

      Now those Jews are having Sweden "rescue" Africans by the hundreds of thousands. Smart.