August Spångberg
Encyclopedia
August Spångberg was a Swedish labor politician. He was a member of the Riksdag
(Swedish parliament), elected initially as a Swedish
Communist and later as a Social Democratic.
, Örebro län
, Sweden. In his autobiography, I tidens ström (1966), he writes that his father, August Carlsson, left for America
before he was born. Spångberg spent his early years living with his maternal grandfather, Karl Fredrik Spångberg, a coal burner, in a small cottage deep in the forests of Nora. For a short time he lived in a foster home and then moved back to live with his mother, Anna Lovisa Spångberg. August's two half-siblings—Sten Spångberg (1901-?) and Linnéa Spångberg (1904-1981), a Swedish movie actress—were the children of his mother and Anders Gustav Olsson.
As a young man, Spångberg found work as a railroad worker in Charlottenberg
, and was active in the temperance movement
and the socialist youth movement. In the 1917 split of the Social Democratic Party
, Spångberg joined the Communist group headed by Zeth Höglund
. In 1922, Spångberg was the youngest member ever to be elected to the Swedish parliament.
In 1929, Spångberg, together with the majority of the Swedish Communists, were expelled from the Party by the minor Stalinist fraction. He then joined Karl Kilbom
in the independent communist party Socialistiska Partiet
.
In 1937 August Spångberg travelled with Ture Nerman
to Spain
to participate in the fight against the Nationalists
of General Francisco Franco. They were caught in the crossfire of a battle on 3 May at the Hotel Victoria in Barcelona
, which resulted in 2000 casualties. In the Stalinist press the two Swedish Communists were falsely accused of masterminding the battle between leftist groups at Barcelona and of siding with Hitler. When Spångberg and Nerman return to Sweden soon after, they came home to see their communist party falling apart in a struggle between Karl Kilbom
and Nils Flyg
. Spångberg then joined the Swedish Social Democratic Party
.
During World War II
Spångberg participated in the Norwegian resistance movement
against the Nazi
occupation of Norway. He helped many people escape Nazis-occupied Norway including Willy Brandt
, who would later become the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. For his efforts Spångberg was appointed to the Order of St. Olav
.
Spångberg served 46 sessions in parliament until 1964 when he retired at the age of 71.
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Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
(Swedish parliament), elected initially as a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Communist and later as a Social Democratic.
Early life
August Konrad Ferdinand Spångberg was born in Skärhyttan, NoraNora Municipality
Nora Municipality is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Nora.The amalgamation leading to the present municipality took place already in 1967 and in 1971 the City of Nora became a unitary municipality.- Localities :* Dalkarlsberg* Gyttorp*...
, Örebro län
Örebro County
Örebro County is a county or län in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland.- Province :...
, Sweden. In his autobiography, I tidens ström (1966), he writes that his father, August Carlsson, left for America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
before he was born. Spångberg spent his early years living with his maternal grandfather, Karl Fredrik Spångberg, a coal burner, in a small cottage deep in the forests of Nora. For a short time he lived in a foster home and then moved back to live with his mother, Anna Lovisa Spångberg. August's two half-siblings—Sten Spångberg (1901-?) and Linnéa Spångberg (1904-1981), a Swedish movie actress—were the children of his mother and Anders Gustav Olsson.
Political career
Charlottenberg
Charlottenberg is a locality and the seat of Eda Municipality in Värmland County, Sweden with 2,048 inhabitants in 2005.Situated some 7 km from the Norwegian border, the town has a population of around 3,000. Charlottenberg railway station is the last station in Sweden before the Norwegian border,...
, and was active in the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
and the socialist youth movement. In the 1917 split of the Social Democratic Party
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
, Spångberg joined the Communist group headed by Zeth Höglund
Zeth Höglund
Carl Zeth "Zäta" Konstantin Höglund was a leading Swedish communist politician, anti-militarist, author, journalist and mayor of Stockholm ....
. In 1922, Spångberg was the youngest member ever to be elected to the Swedish parliament.
In 1929, Spångberg, together with the majority of the Swedish Communists, were expelled from the Party by the minor Stalinist fraction. He then joined Karl Kilbom
Karl Kilbom
Karl Kilbom was a Swedish Socialist politician.-Youth:As the son of a blacksmith, Karl Kilbom grew up in a working-class family of Walloon origin in the small town of Österby outside Uppsala, where he started working in the steel mills at an early age.In the year 1900, a socialist agitator visited...
in the independent communist party Socialistiska Partiet
Socialist Party (Sweden, 1929)
The Socialist Party , initially known as the Communist Party of Sweden , was a political party in Sweden active from 1929 to 1948. The party was founded in 1929 by the major faction of the Communist Party of Sweden, led by Karl Kilbom and Nils Flyg, as the party split into two parties with the same...
.
In 1937 August Spångberg travelled with Ture Nerman
Ture Nerman
Ture Nerman was a Swedish socialist. As a journalist and author, he was a well-known political activist in his time. He also wrote poems and songs.Nerman was a vegetarian and a strict teetotaler...
to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to participate in the fight against the Nationalists
National Faction (Spanish Civil War)
The National faction also known as Nationalists or Nationals , was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of political groups opposed to the Second Spanish Republic, including the Falange, the CEDA, and two rival monarchist claimants: the Alfonsists...
of General Francisco Franco. They were caught in the crossfire of a battle on 3 May at the Hotel Victoria in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, which resulted in 2000 casualties. In the Stalinist press the two Swedish Communists were falsely accused of masterminding the battle between leftist groups at Barcelona and of siding with Hitler. When Spångberg and Nerman return to Sweden soon after, they came home to see their communist party falling apart in a struggle between Karl Kilbom
Karl Kilbom
Karl Kilbom was a Swedish Socialist politician.-Youth:As the son of a blacksmith, Karl Kilbom grew up in a working-class family of Walloon origin in the small town of Österby outside Uppsala, where he started working in the steel mills at an early age.In the year 1900, a socialist agitator visited...
and Nils Flyg
Nils Flyg
Nils Svante Flyg was a Swedish Communist politician who turned pro-Nazi during World War II.Nils Flyg was born and raised in Södermalm, a working-class area of Stockholm. Early on he joined the Swedish Social Democratic Party's youth organization, the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League...
. Spångberg then joined the Swedish Social Democratic Party
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Spångberg participated in the Norwegian resistance movement
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:...
against the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupation of Norway. He helped many people escape Nazis-occupied Norway including Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
, who would later become the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. For his efforts Spångberg was appointed to the Order of St. Olav
The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav is a Norwegian order of chivalry that was instituted by King Oscar I of Norway and Sweden on August 21, 1847, as a distinctly Norwegian order. It is named after King Olav II, known for posterity as St. Olav. Nobility was abolished in Norway in 1821...
.
Spångberg served 46 sessions in parliament until 1964 when he retired at the age of 71.
Archive and Park
The Eda Municipality Library in Charlottenberg, Sweden holds a special collection of Augustus Spångberg's parliamentary documents, letters, and literature. There is a memorial park in Charlottenberg, next to the public library, named after August Spångberg.Obituary
MILITANT FRIEND OF PEACE
Idealist and parliament member August Spångberg, of Charlottenberg, has died at the age of 94.
He was born in Nora parish, Orebro. During the years 1922-1964, he was a member of the lower chamber of parliament, first for the Socialist party and later for the Social Democrats. During that period, he participated in 46 sessions of parliament. He was known as a fighting member and several times introduced legislation leading to a more democratic form of government. At one time, his efforts were opposed by then Prime Minister Tage ErlanderTage Erlanderwas a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969...
as being impractical.
For his role in NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's resistance effort during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was awarded the Norwegian Order of St. Olav. In 1967, he was presented with the Eldhs peace award for his “unfaltering efforts in the cause of peace and disarmament.” He labored many years in the Swedish peace and neutrality societies.
At the age of 82, he authored a novel, Radmannen, the Tale of a Crime [Rådmannen: En historia om ett brott] which dealt with the Unman affair, of the '50s, in which he had been involved and against which he fought.
The nearest survivors include his wife, Sofie, nee Nilsson, a son Arne, his wife Anne-Marie, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Works
- 1931: Bröd eller svältdöd?
- 1932: Program och gärningar. Socialdemokratisk riksdagspolitik valperioden 1929-1932
- 1937: Spanien i revolution
- 1966: I tidens ström (In time's stream)
- 1975: Rådmannen: En historia om ett brott (The Councilman, the Tale of a Crime)
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