Gold Pile Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 If it wasn't for Sweden I might not be here... My Granfather was a POW there and became best friends with his jailer.... During WWII my Grandfather was in a bomber crew. His plane was shot up over Germany. The pilot knew he couldn't make it back to Allied territory, so he headed for "neutral" Sweden. When they reached Swedish air-space they were attacked by 2 German fighter aircraft. While the history books make a fleeting mention of Swedish cooperation with the Germans, it's usually lite of the extent. Like the Swedish airport the Germans controlled for 3 years. The American bomber and one of the German fighters crashed. The Swedish army arrested the surviving Americans (the German pilot was returned to Germany). My Grandfather spent most of the war as a POW in a Swedish camp. As far as being a prisoner went, the conditions were very good. The only tense moments were when the Germans came to inspect the camp. While Sweden was terrified of the Germans, they were also afraid that the Allies might win and punish them for cooperating with the Germans., so they went out of their way to treat Americans well. My Grandpa formed a life long friendship with one of the guards. I met him years later when I was a child. His name was a tongue twister so we called him "Grandpa Swen". Swen snuck my Grandfather out of the camp a few times so that he could enjoy a feast or two with Swen's family. Swen risked his career if his superiors found out, he risked his life if the Germans found out. Swen and many of his fellow soldiers were quite ashamed that they were holding the good guys prisoner. As the tied of the war turned against the Germans, the Swedish began treating the prisoners very well indeed. And they had a new fear...The Soviets. The Soviets were known for brutality against all collaborators. In 1944 they finally let the Allies perform camp inspections. During one such inspection a British Officer with 1 British Soldier...armed with only handguns, faced down 2 dozen Swedish soldiers and loaded nearly all the POWs onto commandeered trucks. They headed to the coast and were rescued by a British ship. Swedish troops shadowed them the entire trip, but were afraid to mess with them. After the war Swen stayed in touch. He was crestfallen when it became apparent that Sweden wouldn't join the rest of free Europe in resisting Soviet agression. He and his family moved to the USA. They lived with my Grandparents for a month. Grandpa got Swen a job at his company. They were the best of friends for the rest of their lives.
Gold Pile Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 My apologies to the original poster, but the thread was already hijacked by Sam and Jame when I got here. The ability of 2 men ...jailer/captive to become friends is just the greatest thing. A high percentage of Allied bobmber crews were killed in action. My Grandpa escaped that fate and lived very well in sweden. If it wasn't for Sweden I might not be here... My Granfather was a POW there and became best friends with his jailer.... During WWII my Grandfather was in a bomber crew. His plane was shot up over Germany. The pilot knew he couldn't make it back to Allied territory, so he headed for "neutral" Sweden. When they reached Swedish air-space they were attacked by 2 German fighter aircraft. While the history books make a fleeting mention of Swedish cooperation with the Germans, it's usually lite of the extent. Like the Swedish airport the Germans controlled for 3 years. The American bomber and one of the German fighters crashed. The Swedish army arrested the surviving Americans (the German pilot was returned to Germany). My Grandfather spent most of the war as a POW in a Swedish camp. As far as being a prisoner went, the conditions were very good. The only tense moments were when the Germans came to inspect the camp. While Sweden was terrified of the Germans, they were also afraid that the Allies might win and punish them for cooperating with the Germans., so they went out of their way to treat Americans well. My Grandpa formed a life long friendship with one of the guards. I met him years later when I was a child. His name was a tongue twister so we called him "Grandpa Swen". Swen snuck my Grandfather out of the camp a few times so that he could enjoy a feast or two with Swen's family. Swen risked his career if his superiors found out, he risked his life if the Germans found out. Swen and many of his fellow soldiers were quite ashamed that they were holding the good guys prisoner. As the tied of the war turned against the Germans, the Swedish began treating the prisoners very well indeed. And they had a new fear...The Soviets. The Soviets were known for brutality against all collaborators. In 1944 they finally let the Allies perform camp inspections. During one such inspection a British Officer with 1 British Soldier...armed with only handguns, faced down 2 dozen Swedish soldiers and loaded nearly all the POWs onto commandeered trucks. They headed to the coast and were rescued by a British ship. Swedish troops shadowed them the entire trip, but were afraid to mess with them. After the war Swen stayed in touch. He was crestfallen when it became apparent that Sweden wouldn't join the rest of free Europe in resisting Soviet agression. He and his family moved to the USA. They lived with my Grandparents for a month. Grandpa got Swen a job at his company. They were the best of friends for the rest of their lives.
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