En svensk tiger () was a slogan and an image that became part of a propaganda campaign in

Sweden during World War II Sweden maintained its policy of neutrality during World War II. When the war began on 1 September 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear. But by a combination of its geopolitical location in the Scandinavian Peninsula, ''realpolitik'' maneuver ...

. Its goal was to prevent

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

by encouraging secrecy.

Explanation

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, the word '' svensk'' can mean both the adjective "Swedish" and the noun "Swede" while ''

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

'' can mean either the noun for a

(the animal) or the present tense of the verb '' tiga'' ("to keep silent", or more colloquially to "keep one's mouth shut"), giving the poster the double meaning "a Swedish tiger" or "a Swede keeps silent". The phrase is comparable in use to "

loose lips sink ships Loose lips sink ships is an American English idiom meaning "beware of unguarded talk". The phrase originated on propaganda posters during World War II. The phrase was created by the War Advertising Council and used on posters by the United State ...

" in the United States and with "careless talk costs lives" and other similar wartime slogans in the United Kingdom.

Commission and use

The famous poster for the propaganda campaign was created by

Bertil Almqvist Allan Bertil Almqvist (29 August 1902 – 16 May 1972), nicknamed Bertila and Trallgöken, was a Swedish writer and illustrator. Information He is famous for his World War II-era En svensk tiger propaganda poster (which was one of the most re ...

in 1941, commissioned by the Swedish National Board of Information (, ''SIS''). The poster became the main slogan of the (English: "Swedish Vigilance Campaign") that was started in the same year to encourage secrecy about information that could possibly damage Swedish national security.

Legal battle

Almqvist died in 1972 and in 2002 the copyright of the poster/logo was transferred to , a military readiness museum. After eleven years of legal battle, the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

, who had been using the image without permission, paid 700 000 SEK in damages to the copyright owners in 2008. In 2020, the Swedish satirist Aron Flam was prosecuted for copyright infringement after using a variant of the image in his book '' Det här är en svensk tiger'' (English: "This is a Swedish tiger").

References

Sweden in World War II Fictional tigers Propaganda posters Sayings {{Sweden-stub

Explanation

Commission and use

Legal battle

See also

References