With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Swedes approved secret Nazi loan: report

New documents have emerged that Swedish finance minister, Ernst Wigforss, approved secret Swedish bank credits to Nazi Germany in 1941. The documents were recently uncovered in a filing cabinet at the finance ministry.

Historian and ambassador Krister Wahlbäck and cabinet office archivist Bo Hammarlund reveal the existence of the documents, which indicate Wigforss' approval of loans to Hitler's Germany, in a full page debate article in Dagens Nyheter on Sunday.

The loans served to increase Swedish exports to Nazi Germany, of far greater importance, the pair argue, than opening the country's borders and train lines for the use of German troop movements - against which Wigforss was a renowned opponent.

Wahlbäck and Hammarlund conclude from the document find that there is more to be learned from Sweden's actions during the war and the involvement of certain individuals in regard to dealings with Nazi Germany, the source of much irritation among the allied powers.
Read entire article at The Local (Sweden)