Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers
Encyclopedia
The Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers, in Sweden known as Extradition of the Balts , is a controversial political event 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....
that took place in 1945-1946, when Sweden extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
some 150 Baltic
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
soldiers who had been drafted by the Axis against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 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...
.
On 2 June 1945, the Soviet Union demanded that Sweden extradite all Axis soldiers. The government protocol from 15 June was kept secret until it became public on 19 November. It was supported by most of parliament and the Swedish Communist Party
Left Party (Sweden)
The Left Party is a socialist and feminist political party in Sweden, from 1967 to 1990 known as the Left Party – The Communists .On welfare issues, the party opposes privatizations...
wanted to go further, by extraditing all civilian refugees from Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
.
The majority of the Baltic soldiers extradited were Latvians who had escaped from the Courland Pocket
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket referred to the Red Army's blockade or encirclement of Axis forces on the Courland peninsula during the closing months of World War II...
. When the refugees reached Sweden, those in uniform were detained in detention camps. The extradition to the Soviets took place on 25 January 1946 in the port of Trelleborg
Trelleborg
Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
for transportation on the steamer Beloostrov. A memorial, "stranded refugee ship" (1999-2000) by Christer Bording, has been erected in Trelleborg.
Sweden also extradited about 3,000 German soldiers, according to laws on prisoners of war. The Balts were however more controversial since the Soviet authorities viewed them as Soviet citizens (the Soviet Union had occupied the independent Baltic states in 1940) and therefore regarded the Balts as traitors, and the internees feared death sentences. Several of the Balts attempted suicide and 2 Latvian officers committed suicide.
There was no legal ground for the extradition. According to the Hague Conventions, after end of a war a neutral power is not required to extradite warfighters to anyone. Furthermore, prisoners must be free to return home, however, only if they wish to do so.
In 1970, Johan Bergenstråhle
Johan Bergenstråhle (director)
Johan Bergenstråhle was a Swedish film director and screenwriter. He directed 14 films between 1965 and 1994. His 1969 film Made in Sweden was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won a Silver Bear award.-Selected filmography:* Made in Sweden * A Baltic Tragedy...
made a film, Baltutlämningen
A Baltic Tragedy
A Baltic Tragedy is a 1970 Swedish drama film directed by Johan Bergenstråhle. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival...
(English title: A Baltic Tragedy), about the subject. The film is based on Per Olov Enquist
Per Olov Enquist
Per Olov Enquist, better known as P. O. Enquist, is a Swedish author. He has worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist...
’s Legionärerna: En roman om baltutlämningen (1968) (English title: The Legionnaires: A Documentary Novel) which had won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize and Enquist collaborated on the script.
On 20 June 1994, 40 of the 44 surviving extradited (35 Latvians, 4 Estonians, and 1 Lithuanian) accepted an invitation to visit Sweden. They were received by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at the Royal Palace
Stockholm Palace
The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
in Stockholm. The Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Margaretha af Ugglas
Margaretha af Ugglas
Märta Margaretha af Ugglas née Stenbeck is a former Swedish Moderate Party politician. She was Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1991 and 1994....
said that the Swedish government agrees with the criticism of the decision and regrets the injustice. (See Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet is a daily newspaper in Sweden. The first issue appeared on 18 December 1884. Svenska Dagbladet is published in Stockholm and provides coverage of national and international news as well as local coverage of the Greater Stockholm region...
21 and 22 June 1994, and Dagens Nyheter
Dagens Nyheter
is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It has the largest circulation of Swedish morning newspapers, followed by Göteborgs-Posten and Svenska Dagbladet, and is the only morning newspaper that is distributed to subscribers across the whole country. In 2009 DN had a circulation of 316,000, reaching 881...
21 and 22 June 1994).
Literature
- Freivalds, O., Alksnis, E. Latviešu kaŗavīru traģēdija Zviedrijā. Copenhagen, Denmark: Imanta, 1956 (254 pp).
- Freivalds, O. De internerade balternas tragedi i Sverige år 1945-1946. Stockholm, Sweden: Daugavas vanagi, 1968 (432 pp).
- Landsmanis, A. De misstolkade legionärerna. Stockholm, Sweden: The Latvian National Foundation, 1970 (83 pp). (– Corrects Enquist’s The Legionnaires).
- Zalcmanis, J. Baltutlämningen 1946 i dokument. Stockholm, Sweden: Militärhistoriska förlaget, 1983 (96 pp).
- Ekholm, C. Balt- och tyskutlämningen 1945-1946. Uppsala, Sweden: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Studia Historica Upsaliensia 136 (224 pp.), 137 (444 pp.), 1984.
- Ekholm, C. & Schulze, H. Flyktingminnesvård i Trelleborg. Fritt Militärt Forum Nr 1, 2000.
- Silamiķelis, V. With the Baltic Flag (ISBN: 9984055590). Rīga, Latvia: Jumava, 2002 (316 pp).