How did Sweden come out so unscathed physically and morally from WW2?
Upvote:4
"Sweden emerged physically unscathed from World War II." That was the whole point of its neutrality. Other Scandinavian countries suffered more because they were "involved." In Sweden's case, there was no fighting, no occupation, nothing related to war, hence "unscathed."
How did Sweden emerge morally unscathed? First, even Germany and Japan were forgiven and rehabilitated after the war. Although Sweden "tilted" toward the Axis, her culpability was far less than the other two. She didn't commit any atrocities (although her iron ore and other exports were used in their commission).
Sweden even did a favor or two for the Allies; a Swedish-American spy,Eric Erickson operated from Sweden while spying on the German oil industry.
Upvote:5
By the tone of your question, you're seeing WWII as a crusade against evil where there can be no neutrals, and in hindsight I agree. The laws of war didn't use these categories at the time. Being neutral can mean trading with both sizes equally, or with neiter one. If one of the belligerents is closer and trades more, that happens.
- The US transported lend-lease supplies to Vladivostok because Japan and the Soviet Union were neutral towards each other. It was not in the Allied interest to question that legal concept of neutrality at the time.
- It was to the advantage of the Allies to have Spain neutral. By denying Sweden the right to remain neutral, they might have pushed Franco into taking Gibraltar. As it was, he sat the war out.
- Forcing Sweden into abandoning neutrality might have pushed them into the war against the Soviets, which was a rather popular notion worldwide until the Uncle Joe propaganda.
More post
- 📝 Did quantum theory originate as pure research?
- 📝 What is Street’s Jorrocks?
- 📝 How did the United Kingdom government come to be responsible for defence of the Channel Islands?
- 📝 Did the civil wars of 17th century England facilitate an independent spirit in the American colonies?
- 📝 Did the Germans occupy Kiev or Odessa in WW I?
- 📝 Has there been a naval battle where a boarding attempt backfired?
- 📝 What was the staple food of the natives of South East Asia before rice?
- 📝 Are there confirmed cases where a country changed its language without being conquered?
- 📝 Why did Winston Churchill say "perverted science" in his Finest Hour speech?
- 📝 Who manufactured US 10th Cavalry Saber?
- 📝 Are there Indian accounts of the Battle of the Hydaspes Rivers?
- 📝 Why didn't Great Britain give the colonies voting rights?
- 📝 How would emigrants travel the railway lines going from Grajewo to Bremerhaven in 1911 and from Grajewo to Rotterdam in 1917?
- 📝 Rifle with bayonet thrown like a javelin
- 📝 What is the historical origin of the Jewish Sabbath?
- 📝 Who started the "katana is the soul of the Samurai" meme?
- 📝 How did the British keep Enigma 'snatches' secret?
- 📝 What are the intellectual roots of the "French Republican identity" pursuit?
- 📝 Did Napoleon's coronation mantle survive?
- 📝 Was the Vistula delta inhabited by Slavic tribes or Baltic tribes?
- 📝 Why did Churchill become the PM of Britain during WWII instead of Lord Halifax?
- 📝 Is there a biography of Pavel Mif?
- 📝 In segregated South, would Asian-Americans be treated as "colored" or as whites?
- 📝 Why was Calcutta a node in the opium smuggling network prior to the Opium Wars in China?
- 📝 Does the Great Revival and the Great Awakening refer to the same thing?
- 📝 When did singing at work fall in and out of vogue in western civilization?
- 📝 Why have eunuchs been so influential in Chinese history?
- 📝 How long was a sea journey from England to East Africa 1868-1877?
- 📝 Who is the Pentagon General nicknamed Darth Vader referred to by Arthur C Clarke?
- 📝 Were there any notable historic figures that weren't racist by modern standards?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How did Sweden come out so unscathed physically and morally from WW2?
- 📝 Where did the “vikings wear helmets with horn” stereotype come from and why?
- 📝 How and why did e.g. Chechnya differ in status from entities like Armenia?
- 📝 When and how did classic "Italian" cuisine come to be?
- 📝 Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
- 📝 How and why did Polish rule over the Ukraine "downwardly deviate" from Lithuanian rule?
- 📝 How did Azerbaijan come to be allied with Turkey and Israel?
- 📝 How did Magnus IV of Sweden come of age at 15?
- 📝 How did the First French Empire and allies differ from the other European monarchies at that time?
- 📝 How did communist authorities decide who is "German" and who is "Polish" when expelling Germans from recovered territories?
- 📝 Did anything come from Sparta, besides fitness and war?
- 📝 How did the British Army unit size and structure in WWI change from 1915 to 1918?
- 📝 How close did Germany come to interdicting Soviet oil shipments from the Caucasus in 1942?
- 📝 How and why did the Cavalry lance temporarily fall out of favour during the 16-18th centuries?
- 📝 What was American anti-tank doctrine during WWII on paper, and how did it differ from in practice?
- 📝 Why did Black and Asian immigrants from the Empire not come to Britain in substantial numbers until after WW2?
- 📝 Did syphilis, polio, hepatitis, and encephalitis come to general world from the Americas?
- 📝 How did ruffs become fashionable and then went out of fashion?
- 📝 How and why did limerence come to be idolized as it is in modern Western society?
- 📝 Where did the masquerade ball come from and what was its original concept?
- 📝 How frequently did the KMT use telegrams to communicate; from where (roughly) and to whom?
- 📝 Why did Ancient Greek city-states fight each other and how did they morally justify it?
- 📝 Did the Celts come to England from France and Belgium?
- 📝 How did the increase in the birthrate and marriage impact on US homefront during WW2 (1939-1945)?
- 📝 How and why did the progress of Army Group A differ from what the terrain in the Caucasus might suggest?
- 📝 Did people from the cities of Uruk, Ur and Sumer have knowledge/recollection of how old their cities were (say, recollection after 2000 BCE)?
- 📝 How do historians and linguists know how to pronounce the names from non-phonetic scripts?
- 📝 When did the allies find out about the killing of Jews during WW2
- 📝 How did people distinguish slaves from free people in Ancient Rome?
- 📝 How and when did the word "nuclear" replace the word "atomic"?