Entering The 20th Century
SwedishFreak’s condensed Swedish history continues today with the fifth episode; all and all there will be six episodes.
(Picture from time.com)
The 20th century started with two World Wars; Sweden managed to stay out of both, and has therefore been critized for cowardry. But in retrospect, with all facts on hand, maintaining Swedish neutrality was probably the best way to support the Western Allies and promote democracy.
And many Swedes tried hard to make a difference: for instance, Raoul Wallenberg, Harry Söderman, and – surprisingly enough – king Gustav V, who had the guts to call on Hitler in Hitler’s office, to scold him for his way to treat the Jews! His effort obviously didn’t have the desired effect, but, anyway :-)!
Between the wars began the building of a modern welfare state, known as Folkhemmet, i.e. ”the people’s home”.
If you missed the first episodes, check out our history page (Culture/History) which presents each of the six episodes, or dive directly into Laying The Foundation For Folkhemmet!
Next episode will follow… shortly.