U.S. archives show thousands of Swedes fought Nazis during WWII: author

Loukas Christodoulou, Radio Sweden
Posted: Monday, November 5, 2018 at 15:13
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American troops marching through Nuremberg, Germany, on April 23rd, 1945. Author Lars Gyllenhaal says American archives reveal thousands of Swedes joined the Allied forces to fight the Nazis during World War 2, while only 200 Swedes fought for Germany. (Horace Abrahams/Keystone/Getty Images)

New research has revealed that the number of Swedes who fought for the Allied forces in World War 2 was far higher than previously thought.

Author Lars Gyllenhaal tells Radio Sweden that he has used American archives to find details on hundreds of unknown soldiers and sailors, whose numbers dwarf the around 200 Swedes who fought in German uniforms.

“Allied Swedes have, so to say, been in the shadows because during recent years there’s been a lot of attention about the Swedes on the other side,” Lars Gyllenhaal tells Radio Sweden.

Sweden had a policy of remaining neutral during World War 2 though that did not stop thousands from volunteering or fighting during the conflict.