Britta Gröndahl (; 1914–2002) was a Swedish

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

, and

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

Biography

Britta Maartman was born on 8 March 1914, in

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 69,948 inhabitants in 2020, with a total population of 107,806 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality ...

. She was the daughter of Hans Maartman, a

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for the

Eskilstuna Municipality Eskilstuna Municipality () is a municipality in Södermanland County in southeast Sweden, between Lake Mälaren and Lake Hjälmaren. The seat of the municipality is in the city of Eskilstuna. The present municipality was formed in 1971 by the m ...

, and Dagmar Tideman. Despite their social status, the family found it difficult to sustain a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

lifestyle, which made Britta familiar with

class stratification Class stratification is a form of social stratification in which a society is separated into parties whose members have different access to resources and power. An economic, natural, cultural, religious, interests and ideal rift usually exists b ...

from an early age. She graduated from

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in 1931, and soon after she met and married the musician Gustav Gröndahl. They moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, where Britta began learning languages at the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

; despite being inclined towards

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, the subject was considered inappropriate for women at that time. During the 1940s, she gave birth to three daughters (Birgitta, Ulla and Anna) and lived the life of a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

, while also working a job and continuing her linguistics studies. She also published a series of Swedish translations of works in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

s, beginning with her translation of

Clyde Brion Davis Clyde Brion Davis (May 22, 1894 – July 19, 1962) was an American writer and freelance journalist active from the mid-1920s until his death. He is best known for his novels ''The Anointed'' and ''The Great American Novel'', though he wrote ...

' novel ''The Anointed'' in 1945. By 1953, she had graduated with a licentiate in literature. After her children came of age, Gröndahl moved into political activism. Under the influence of the German syndicalist Helmut Rüdiger, she joined the Central Organisation of Swedish Workers (SAC) and began writing for its newspaper ''

Arbetaren ''Arbetaren'' () is a Swedish syndicalist newspaper. Founded in 1922, it has been published by the Central Organisation of Swedish Workers (SAC), an anarcho-syndicalist trade union federation, first as a daily newspaper, then as a weekly ...

''. She became interested in the French and Spanish anarchist movements, and in 1959, she published a book about

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...

. In 1965, Gröndahl was appointed as the first international secretary of the SAC. Gröndahl was radicalised by the

protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...

, prompting her to resign from her posts at ''Arbetaren'' and the SAC, which had become too

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canad ...

for her. She instead became involved with the anarchist youth movement, establishing a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

on and joining the team behind the

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

journal '. She continued to work as a translator, moving into publishing Swedish translations of

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

works. In 1978, she published a translation of

Marie Cardinal Marie Cardinal (born Simone Odette Marie-Thérèse Cardinal; 9 March 1929 – 9 May 2001) was a French novelist and occasional actress. Life and career Cardinal was born in French Algeria and was the sister of the film director Pierre Cardinal ...

's novel '' The Words to Say It'' and cartoons by Claire Bretécher. During the 1980s, Gröndahl published a series of translations of the works of

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

, most notably including his four-volume opus ''

The History of Sexuality ''The History of Sexuality'' () is a four-volume study of sexuality in the Western world by the French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, in which the author examines the emergence of "sexuality" as a discursive object and separate spher ...

''. Towards the end of her life, in 1994, she published her memoirs. She died on 18 November 2002 and was buried in the graveyard of

Bromma Church Bromma Church is a round church in the borough Bromma in Stockholm, Sweden. It is the parish church of Bromma Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. The oldest parts of the church were built in the late 12th century as a fortress church, and the ...

Works

* ''Här talar syndikalisterna'' (1973) * ''Parti eller fackförening?'' (1975) * ''De ideologisk motsättningarna i den spanska syndikalismen 1910-36, De ideologiska motsättningarna i den spanska syndikalismen 1910-36'' (1981) * ''Herre i eget hus - om självförvaltning i Spanien och Portugal'' (1982) * ''Frihetlig kommunism i praktiken'' (1986) * ''Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: socialist, anarkist, federalist'' (1988) * ''Äventyrens år'' (1994)

Biography

Works

References

Bibliography

Further reading