En svensk tiger was a slogan and an image that became part of a propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

 campaign in Sweden

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....

 during World War II

Sweden during World War II

Sweden during World War II maintained a policy of neutrality. When the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear...

, aiming to prevent espionage by encouraging secrecy towards foreigners.

Explaination of word play

In Swedish, svensk can mean both the adjective "Swedish" and the noun "Swede" while tiger can mean either the noun for the animal

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

 or the present tense of the verb tiga ("to keep silent"), giving the poster the double meaning "a Swedish tiger" or "a Swede keeps silent". The phrase is comparable in use to "loose lips sink ships

Loose lips sink ships

Loose lips sink ships is an American English idiom meaning "beware of unguarded talk".The phrase originated on propaganda posters during World War II...

" in the USA.

Commission and use

The famous poster for the propaganda campaign was created by Bertil Almqvist

Bertil Almqvist

Allan Bertil Almqvist , nicknamed Bertila and Trallgöken, was a Swedish author and illustrator. He is famous for his World War II-era En svensk tiger propaganda poster as well as his children's book series, later comic, Barna Hedenhös Allan Bertil Almqvist (29 August 1902 — 16 May 1972), nicknamed...

 in 1941, commissioned by the Swedish National Board of Information . The poster became the main slogan of the Swedish Vigilance Campaign (Vaksamhetskampanjen) that was started in the same year to encourage secrecy towards foreigners about information that may damage the Swedish military defense.

Legal battle

Upon Almqvist's death in 1972, the copyright of the poster/logo was transferred to the museum Beredskapsmuseet. In 2008, after 11 years of legal battle, the Swedish Armed Forces

Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish Armed Forces is a Swedish Government Agency responsible for the operation of the armed forces of the Realm. The primary task of the agency is to train, organize and to deploy military forces, domestically and abroad, while maintaining the long-term ability to defend the Realm in the...

, who had been using the image without permission, paid 400 000 SEK in damages to the copyright owners.

Derivatives

A common joke on this slogan is En Svensk Teg, which can be read as either A Swede kept silent, or A Swedish Field, as the word teg can be either past tense of the verb tiga or a (now a bit archaic) term for a plot of land.