lol, lmao, roflcopter, heehawspaceship

https://www.reddit.com/r/MorbidReality/comments/10omztb/january_1946_former_ss_officers_hiding_in_sweden/j6flvid/

Background: Sweden was a neutral country during the war, and in 1945 it became an attractive destination for former Nazi soldiers hoping to escape the Allies. One such example was 150 Lithuanian and Latvian S.S. soldiers who fled to Sweden after the war. Initially the Swedish government agreed to let them stay as political refugees, but the Soviet government discovered this and applied heavy pressure to have them deported. Sweden ended up agreeing, and all 150 were scheduled for removal. Upon hearing this, the terrified soldiers protested in a number of ways including hunger strikes and even stripping off their clothes, as in the photo above. But in the end the process went through. Several were executed immediately upon arrival and the rest sentenced to hard labor in Soviet gulags. This event is known as the baltutlämningen in Sweden.

Source for this photo in particular. More photos can be found here:

https://www.aef.se/Omvarlden/Bilder/O_N1_baltutl_2].jpg

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGVkOGI5MGUtYTA4Mi00OTg5LTg2NDktMmEzNThjZDk5ZjZmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjI3MDczMjI@.V1.jpg

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9fd0ad_ab36e858029246b9b99ff581fe51a53amv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_261,h_174,q_90/9fd0ad_ab36e858029246b9b99ff581fe51a53amv2.jpg

  • happybadger [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    On 20 June 1994, 40 of the 44 surviving extradited (35 Latvians, 4 Estonians, and 1 Lithuanian) accepted an invitation to visit Sweden. They were received by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at the Stockholm Palace. The Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Margaretha af Ugglas said that the Swedish government agreed with the criticism of the decision and regretted the injustice,[3][4] but did not apologize

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_extradition_of_Baltic_soldiers

    Wholesome royal reception for SS officers.

    • happybadger [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      My grandpa grew up in the Soviet Union. Every day the NKVD would hold a penis inspection. Every day he was sent to a gulag because his penis was "too bourgeois". This is the reality of communism.

      • waterfox [none/use name]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Switzerland still proudly holds gold bars today made from the melted teeth of dead Jews.

        Sweden could have cut off the Germans from their source of iron and stopped WWII in its tracks. But didn't.

        Finland straight up invaded Russia shoulder to shoulder with literal Nazis, and if you mention this to them today, they'll tell you you're Russian disinformation.

        France collaborated...Denmark was a model Nazi province...Holland straight up raised divisions for the SS. Mention this to any of them and get banned immediately. Europeans can't deal with the truth.

        • SaniFlush [any, any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I mean, I'm technically a Yankee in the sense that I live there, I don't get to denounce anyone else... who is actually pure enough to force an apology out of the collaborators?

  • Antoine_St_Hexubeary [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    How often, during the recent "should Sweden join NATO" kerfuffle, did Swedish media hold this up as an example of something Sweden would not have been forced to do if they'd been more serious about seeking alliances with the West during the early days of the Cold War?

    • Huldra [they/them, it/its]
      ·
      2 years ago

      This wasnt even mentioned in history class lol, no word of this kind of stuff in the media.

      I dont think Ive even heard that much about Nazi Germany as a comparison/reference point either(outside of Russia=Nazis), its always the big russians that are the real danger.

    • jackmarxist [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Yes but have you considered Soviet Bad Gulag Big Spoon?