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
- 📝 What was the reason for Gandhi's visit to Africa
- 📝 Does O Henry's story "Georgia's Ruling" describe history?
- 📝 What was the military background of the Irish company at the Siege of Jadotville?
- 📝 Non Altered European Castles
- 📝 What was the consequence of Gestapo being declared a criminal organization in the Nuremberg trials in 1945?
- 📝 Why was Nixon never tried for treason for allegedly sabotaging the 1968 Peace Talks?
- 📝 When did the spherical shape of the Earth become common knowledge?
- 📝 Did Roman statutory law in the 1st century allow for crucifixion of non slaves?
- 📝 How compare the rights and conditions of the American slaves to those of Russian serfs?
- 📝 When was the first national anthem?
- 📝 Did Mithraism and other Roman cults surpass the original Greco-Roman religion in popularity before the rise of Christianity?
- 📝 Oppression of non-ethnic Hungarians in Hungary pre 1800s
- 📝 Is Indus civilization over 8000 years old?
- 📝 Why did not the Byzantines attempt to recapture the holy land from the Arabs?
- 📝 How were little children dressed in medieval times?
- 📝 Why did the Soviets refuse to help Nur Mohammed Taraki?
- 📝 How were the day-to-day activities of the French Resistance financed?
- 📝 Which is the earliest surviving inscription of "SPQR"?
- 📝 Was there a major Mexican military disaster in the Navajo Wars?
- 📝 Which monarch had the longest break in their reign?
- 📝 How could a theatre be heated in 1808 Vienna?
- 📝 Did a war occured because one country did not want the other to be strong?
- 📝 What age were these Britons in A.D. 43?
- 📝 Why did Sir William Stanley support Perkin Warbeck?
- 📝 Why isn't there a single trace of Germanic influence in Iberian Languages?
- 📝 Who is the last known non-natural US citizen who would have been eligible for the Presidency?
- 📝 What kind of crew members did ancient artillery teams consist of?
- 📝 Did anything come from Sparta, besides fitness and war?
- 📝 How did the Soviet press talk about the opposing forces (mujahideens) during the Soviet-Afghan war?
- 📝 Were Communists drafted for the Vietnam war?
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"?