Samfundet Nordens Frihet (, "
Nordic Freedom Society") was a
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 ...
association founded in 1939 to promote independence for the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The association was dissolved in 1946.
History
Initially Samfundet Nordens Frihet was closely linked to the “Finlandskommittén” (Finland Committee), which worked to assist Finland with volunteer military forces. After the
German occupation of Norway and Denmark in 1940, the society considered that Sweden should join the war.
Politically, the society was against
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
and
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
. At most it had 250 members, among them many prominent cultural figures. Almost 50% of the members were academics in the field of History. “The core group consisted of members of the senior seminar on history at
Stockholm University
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...
.”
Society membership was applied by election,
Sigurd Curman was the first president and
Harald Wigforss was editor of the society’s journal, ''
Nordens Frihet''. Other leading members of the society included the Stockholm municipal commissioner
Yngve Larsson
Gustaf Richard ''Yngve'' Larsson (; December 13, 1881 – December 16, 1977) was a Swedish political scientist, Municipal commissioner (''Borgarråd''), and Member of Parliament. He was an important force in the urban development of Stockholm du ...
,
Nils Ahnlund
Nils Ahnlund (23 August 1889 – 11 January 1957) was a Swedish historian. He was professor of history at the then-Stockholm University College 1928–1955, and became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1941. He was the father of physician Hans ...
,
Harald Hjärne
Harald Gabriel Hjärne (2 May 1848, in Klastorp, Skövde – 6 January 1922, in Uppsala) was a Swedish historian.
Hjärne held one of the chairs of history at Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public re ...
,
Eli Heckscher
Eli Filip Heckscher (24 November 1879 – 23 December 1952) was a Swedish political economist and economic historian.
Biography
Heckscher was born in Stockholm, son of the Jewish Danish-born businessman Isidor Heckscher and his spouse Rosa Meyer, ...
,
Karl-Gustaf Hildebrand,
Nils Herlitz,
Stig Jägerskiöld,
K.G. Westman,
Adolf Schück,
Birger Steckzén and
Andreas Lindblom. Larsson, Ahnlund and Lindbom were members of the board throughout the society’s existence.
[Byström 2005, p. 147]
The board members
Gustaf Aulén
Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén (15 May 1879 – 16 December 1977) was the Bishop of Diocese of Strängnäs, Strängnäs in the Church of Sweden, a Lutheran theologian, and the author of ''Christus Victor'', a work which still exerts consider ...
,
Yngve Larsson
Gustaf Richard ''Yngve'' Larsson (; December 13, 1881 – December 16, 1977) was a Swedish political scientist, Municipal commissioner (''Borgarråd''), and Member of Parliament. He was an important force in the urban development of Stockholm du ...
,
Knut Petersson
Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...
, and
Henning Throne-Holst
Henning Throne-Holst (25 July 1895 – 23 March 1980) was a Norwegian born, Swedish industrialist.
Biography
Throne-Holst was born at Strinda in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. He was the son of Johan Throne Holst (1868-1946) and Hanna Richter Je ...
received
The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav I ...
.
See also
*
Sweden and the Winter War
The Winter War was fought in the four months following the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland on November 30, 1939. This took place three months after the German invasion of Poland that triggered the start of World War II in Europe. Sweden did no ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
Sweden in World War II
1946 disestablishments in Sweden
1939 establishments in Sweden
{{Sweden-org-stub