During my 45 year old life I have never experienced any conflicts with any other country and this is just a fraction of the time that Sweden has managed to stay away from any armed battle. The last war in which the nation of Sweden participated, as a state, was fought against neighboring Norway between July 26 and August 14, 1814, so it was not a long lasting war. But avoiding war and having a balanced policy of neutrality has not always been easy, especially during the worldwide ideological showdowns of the 20th century, primarily World War II and the Cold War. Swedish peace can partly be explained by its geographical location, partly by the longer periods of relative peace in Europe, but it is also a result of trying to stay neutral even when things are hard and the winds of war are blowing outside our borders. Having lived in peace for more than 200 years is worth celebrating, but it is still important to see that Sweden has still contributed with guns and military to conflicts outside of Sweden. We are still one of the world’s biggest arms exporters and Sweden has sent military personnel in the name of the United nations.
In 1956, Sweden participated with armed troops in the first peacekeeping force under the UN. The area of operation was Israel and surrounding countries. After that Sweden participated in quite a lot of actions around the world, for example in Afghanistan, Bosnien, Tchad, Kongo and so on. A very difficult time to keep the peace intact was during the Second World War. Sweden was neutral during this war 1939-1945. But to preserve neutrality, the country had to undergo a difficult balancing act. It was about getting on well with all parties to the war.
Sweden’s neutrality was put to the test early on during the Second World War. When Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union on 30 November 1939, a first departure from the Swedish policy of neutrality was made. Finland was then supported with large amounts of Swedish war material and more than 8,000 Swedish volunteers traveled over to fight for Finland’s cause. However, the Swedish aid to Finland received great popular support in Sweden. During the war years, Sweden was governed by a unity government in which all parties in the Riksdag, except the Communists, were represented. To avoid German occupation Sweden had to give in for the Germans and for example between June 1940 and 1943, quantities of German material and unarmed German soldiers were therefore transported by train, to and from Norway, across Swedish territory.
During the war, the distribution of food in Sweden worked so well that people did not starve. Many goods were rationed and could only be bought with ration cards. In the spring of 1945, the Red Cross in Sweden carried out an operation that saved 19,000 people from the German concentration camps. And we can not talk about saving people’s lives without mentioning the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg that was working in Budapest and saved tens of thousands of Jews from being sent from Hungary to Nazi extermination camps. In January 1945, he was captured by the Soviet military and taken to the Soviet Union. What happened next we do not know. It is most likely that he died in prison in Moscow in 1947, probably murdered. In many parts of the world, streets, squares and institutions have been named after Raoul Wallenberg. In 1997 he was honored with a postage stamp by the US Postal Service.
Worth mentioning is that despite this long period of peace in Sweden, unfortunately there has been a rise in gang violence since the middle of the year of 2000. The violence has become increasingly severe, the investigation is increasingly low and the criminals are increasingly younger. To make the situation better there is a lot that needs to be done, the politicians talk about how closer cooperation is needed between society’s relevant institutions – the family, school, leisure activities, cultural activities, social services and the police. We can just hope that this trend will change. Where I live in Sweden it is very peaceful and I don’t feel unsafe in any way.
We have had a very large immigration from countries with low levels of education, weak democratic institutions and other norms and social conventions. This has led to major integration difficulties and I don’t think it is possible to avoid seeing the connection between gang criminality and the huge immigration which has arrived in our country. Of course there can be other factors as well, but this probably plays a huge role.
I wish that Sweden will continue to walk down this path of peace for many many years to come and I also hope that the rest of the world will walk the same route, we all need to be a little more kind to each other.
Daniel Antonsson is a 43 year old Autistic man living in Sweden with his Venezuelan girlfriend and four year old daughter. He has always enjoyed writing about different subjects and being able to publish for the Art of Autism make him feel truly blessed.
