World War II 1949-1969






Sweden 1945-1949


Foreign Policy . Sweden was all the more determined to continue its political neutrality, and being preprared, in case of necessity, to defend itself. Not admitted as a founding member (Sweden had been neutral in WW II), Sweden joined the UN in 1946. Sweden donated food to countries with severe shortage. Many Swedes adopted orphans from abroad, especially from Finland.
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, after having saved the lifes of thousands of Hungarian citizens of Jewish religion, had been arrested by Soviet authorities on dubious charges, and died in prison. The Swedes would ask Soviet representatives at any given opportunity after Wallenberg, and, for decades, receive no answer. Stalin's demand for Sweden to cede Gotland also was not forgotten. Another Swedish diplomat, Count Folke Bernadotte, was assassinated in Palestine.
Sweden interpreted her position as that of strict neutrality. In 1946 the country agreed to supply the USSR with a number of industrial products on a loan basis, in return for Russian deliveries in raw materials, a deal criticized by the U.S. In 1948, cooperation between Scandinavian countries was intensified; it would later result in the establishment of the Nordic Council in 1952. In 1949, Sweden was a founding member of the Council of Europe. Sweden was concerned by the integration of Denmark and Norway into NATO, the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia. The treatment Finland received by the USSR was interpreted as 'being let off easy' and encouraged Sweden in her policy of sticking to her course of strict neutrality, frequently criticized by both the U.S. and the USSR.

The Economy . The Swedish economy, in contrast to the economies of her European neighbours, had not suffered any direct damage due to aerial bombardment, the recruitment into the army of skilled labour, interference in production by state-ordered switch to production of war essentials. Thus, in 1945-1949 Sweden exported sought-after quality products such as ball-bearings, high quality steel, glass etc. A comparison of cars produced in Sweden and in Germany produced in 1949 may serve to illustrate the difference. However, Sweden suffered from the lack of consumer goods such as food, a lack of raw materials and the inability of many of her trading partners to pay in hard currency.
The war had created havoc in the economies of Sweden's traditional trading partners. In view of the fact that the financial malaise of her trading partners was temporary and in order to avoid endangering her political neutrality to become jeopardized by economically becoming too dependent on the U.S., Sweden pursued a trade policy based on trade restrictions, financial control mechanisms and bilateral trade agreements. Sweden also donated food to countries in need, while food was still rationed in Sweden itself; the poor harvest of 1947 even required a further cut in daily rations.
In the years 1945 to 1949, the imbalance between state expenses and state revenues was reduced to a considerable extent, but not abolished. Statistical figures show a rise in the GNP by 45 %; here, inflation has to be taken into account. In 1948, measures were undertaken to combat inflation; Sweden took part in negotiations regarding the implementation of the Marshall Plan.

Domestic Policy . In 1946, PM Per Albin Hansson died; he was succeeded by another Social Democrat, Tage Erlander. Regional and local elections in 1946 saw the Social Democrats losing seats, the Communists gaining, but the Social Democrats maintained their position of being, by far, the largest political party. The elections of 1948 saw the Communists again losing ground.
In 1946, regular flights connecting Stockholm with New York and Moscow were taken in operation.
Sweden received a number of immigrants (195,000 by 1949), many of whom were refugees, mainly Germans and refugees from the Soviet-annexed Baltic countries.


Sweden : Population, State Revenue and Expenses, GNP 1945-1949
source : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics : Europe 1750-1988 pp.86, 801, 803, 824, 164, 165, 904; revenue and expenses in Swedish Kronor, population : mid-year estimates
Year Population State Revenue State Expenses GNP
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949 		6,640,000
6,720,000
6,800,000
6,880,000
6,960,000 		2,875,000,000
3,173,000,000
3,237,000,000
4,179,000,000
4,626,000,000 		5,232,000,000
4,537,000,000
4,108,000,000
4,844,000,000
5,675,000,000 		20,700,000,000
22,700,000,000
25,000,000,000
27,600,000,000
29,300,000,000








EXTERNAL
FILES 		The History of Sweden, from the Swedish Institute
The Welfare State, from Swedish History - The Modern Age, from ufb.borås
Swedish History, 1945- : Social Security, 1945-1960, from Nordic Usenet
Biography of Tage Erlander, from Wikipedia
Biography of &OUml;sten Unden, from Wikipedia
Biography of Count Folke Bernadotte, from Wikipedia, from Jewish Virtual Library
Volvo History - the 1940s, from Volvo Owners Club
DOCUMENTS UN General Assembly 1946 Resolution No.34, Admission of Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden
REFERENCE Article : Sweden, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1946 pp.715-717, 1947 pp.733-735, 1948 pp.707-708, 1949 pp.610-612, 1950 pp.652-653 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1946 pp.391-393 [G]
Article : Sweden, in : Americana Annual 1947 pp.686-688 (on events of 1946) [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on March 22nd 2007

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