Major General Karl Gottfrid Björck (31 May 1893 – 8 July 1981) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer. He served as Inspector of the

Swedish Army Service Troops The Swedish Army Service Troops (, T or ''Underhållstrupperna'', before 1942 called ''Trängen'') is the military logistics (or Train (military), train) branch of the Swedish Army. The task of the troops is to train personnel for maintenance uni ...

from 1946 to 1949, and as such, was chief of transportation of the

White Buses White Buses was a Swedish humanitarian operation with the objective of freeing Scandinavians in German concentration camps in Nazi Germany during the final stages of World War II. Although the White Buses operation was envisioned to rescue Sc ...

operation to rescue concentration camp inmates in areas under Nazi control and transport them to Sweden.

Early life

Björck was born on 31 May 1893 in Bäckseda,

Jönköping County Jönköping County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in September 2017. The capita ...

, Sweden, the son of merchant Karl Björck and his wife Anna (née Jonsson). He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in 1913 and was commissioned into the

as a second lieutenant in 1915.

Career

Björck attended the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College (, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers ...

from 1922 to 1924 and served as captain in the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

from 1928 to 1934. In 1936, Björck was appointed '' aide-de-camp'' to His Majesty the King, and in 1941 he was appointed chief ''aide-de-camp'' (''överadjutant'') to His Majesty the King, a position he held until the king died in 1950. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Swedish Army Service Troops and was appointed commanding officer of

Göta Logistic Corps Göta is a Swedish given name, which is the female equivalent of Göte. It may refer to: *Göta Ljungberg (1893–1955), Swedish singer *Göta Pettersson (1926–1993), Swedish gymnast Other uses *Göta, Sweden *Göta älv, a river in Sweden * ...

(T 2) in 1939. Two years later, Björck was promoted to colonel in the Swedish Army Service Troops and assumed the position as head of the Information and Press Department of the Defence Staff. In 1942 he was appointed head of Logistic Department in the Army Inspectorate (''Arméinspektionen''). The same year Björck became a member of the ''Folkberedskapsnämnden'' ("National Preparedness Commission"). He was also a military member of ''Statens informationsstyrelse'' ("National Information Board") from 1942 to 30 June 1944 and chairman of the board of the ''Kungafonden'' ("The King's Fund") from 1943 to 1958. Björck served as Inspector of the

from 1946 to 1949 when he was promoted to major general. While serving as Inspector of the Swedish Army Service Troops, Björck was appointed chief of transportation of the

operation to rescue concentration camp inmates in areas under Nazi control and transport them to Sweden. In 1949, Björck became a member of the ''Statens organisationsnämnd'' ("National Organization Board") which he was until 1961. Björck worked as a consultant at the Swedish Agency for Administrative Development (''Statskontoret'') from 1961 to 1965.

Personal life

In 1918 he married ''Hovsångerska'' Irma Krook (1898–1993), the daughter of Nils Krook and Anna Jacobsson. Björck was the father of Flory (born 1919) and Sven (born 1923).

Dates of rank

*1915 – Second lieutenant *19?? –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1928 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

*19?? –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1939 – Lieutenant colonel *1941 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

*1949 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Seraphimerorden_ribbon

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1928) * King Gustaf V's Commemorative Medal (1951) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(15 November 1947) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(15 November 1945) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

Knight of the

(1933) * Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

(1944) * Swedish Voluntary Motor Transport Corps Merit Badge in gold * Shooting Medal

Foreign

Commander 2nd Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

* Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; 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 II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_2Class_BAR

Commander First Class of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for military (army and air force) and de ...

(1939)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Björck, Gottfrid 1893 births 1981 deaths Swedish Army major generals People from Vetlanda Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Commanders First Class of the Order of Vasa Knights of the Order of the Polar Star