Allied aircrews in Sweden during World War II - documentary
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- When the Americans came to the village
Swedish documentary from 2015. English subtitles available. The story of the 1200 American airmen that were forced to make emergency landings in neutral Sweden during World War II. A story of love and war and the impact on the Swedish society, but mostly of love.
See also: www.forcedlandi...
In the dokumentary there is mention of "folk parks", definition from Wikipedia:
"In Sweden, a folkpark is a public recreation space, usually featuring large grassed areas, trees, children's play facilities, etc. Most towns and cities have a folkpark. These parks were originally created by the labour movement so that workers and their families could have a place to unwind. In larger folkparks, there is sometimes a bandstand or stage, and they are used for concerts and other entertainment."
Sweetened bitter coffee. I was born after the war in Los Angeles CA. A close friend who died in 2008 was an RAF pilot who crashed in Norway and then ended up in Sweden. To hear the stories of children left behind but found a way to connect was deeply moving. To remember, To relive, To visit for many their final time was touching. War is our closest to Hell, for those who landed in Sweden it was a garden that could kept them alive and a chance to go home and live.
I watched this video on May 31, 2021 our Memorial Day. We honor those who have served and are now passed on. My father died 1999. I still hear his voice from time to time. I can still remember with his voice the stories he related to me and my younger brothers of those days of war for him in Italy.
Eventhough Sweden was not directly in the war and some of your men assisted in the war in Finland, in the end you too in Sweden were granted a life worth living paid for by the lives of men in all armies. Their blood, Allied or German paid for our lives up to 2021. Remember and never forget we owe a debt that can never be repaid, pay it forward as they did for the future of our great great grandchildren. An old Hopi American saying: Consider today what would be best so that your 7th generation may benefit from the choice you make today.
Thank you Sweden for all the care and love you gave our men and boys who needed your help and a safe place to land far from home during a time of war. Thank you.
Wonderful video! As the son of a WW2 veteran I’m always searching for as much information about that period in history. This is the first time I’m aware of the American/Swedish connection during the war. Thank you Sweden for taking care of our airman.
...not surprising that American WW II aircrews would be so well cared for by the Swedes...I mean Americans and Swedes are cousins...My DNA tests out at over 50% Swedish...but more importantly both countries are Democracies with trading ties going back over 100 years. The Swedes understood they would get blitzed by Germany and no help possible from the West - So they chose to be neutral...But clearly, from the way they treated the interned American aircrews, they let it be known they favored America and the Western powers.
Yet another largely unknown aspect of WW II history comes to light. Thank you.
I knew of a former USAAF airman who was interned in Sweden. He recounted that he and a group of his fellow internees were taken to a department store in Stockholm where they were instructed to get civilian clothes and a camera. They were told that they were to take photos of themselves and send them to their families to show the folks back home that they were safe and were being treated well in Sweden. To these guys who escaped death and/ or a MUCH tougher incarceration in a German POW camp, it must have seemed like winning the "Golden Ticket of Life".
No one should be at all shocked or surprised that as in every war, no matter how terrible,
SEX is still the Heavyweight, Unbeaten, Untied, Undefeated Champion of the World.
It is what it is...
WAR IS HELL...but not always....
“To me, this was a winter wonderland. I lived in a city in Milwaukee, you know, a crowded city and houses right next to each other. When I got here I thought “This must be paradise!” Snow covering the land. It was a winter wonderland. One day my friend and I went for a hike and it was out in the country and a farmer came along with a hay wagon and we hitchhiked and we jumped in the wagon, and we lay in the hay and we just looked at the sky, and it was like I had no care in the world. After being under so much pressure for so long and then, all of the sudden, it’s just... It was wonderful.
I have great memories of this place and of Sweden in general. We were treated as guests of the Swedish government. People can’t believe that. Other people have different ideas of what Sweden was about in the war and I can assure them that they treated us like guests and put us up in facilities that were worthy of guests and… now, I’m excited to be here again. Those memories all come back.”
....and finally we see the video with first hand accounts! POINT PROVEN!
I live close to Örnahusen on the Baltic coast on the southern tip of Sweden. As you could see in the film, a B-17 bomber went down there and most of the crew perished. Some locals got a propeller out of the water and turned it into a make-shift monument by just sticking it into the ground, and it is still there. Nowadays, there is also a little placquard telling the story behind the flight. I have walked the dog there hundreds of times and reflected on the sheer madness of WW2 and what those young men had to go through. They were so young and so many lost their lives. May it never happen again.
Jag är historia major i college, så jag visste om interneringen av allierade flygpersonal i Sverige under andra världskriget, men jag hade ingen aning förrän jag såg den här videon om hur väl svenska folket tog hand om våra G.I.s och tillät dem att styra landet!Många kärleksmatcher gjorda och många vackra barn födda. Amerikaner av svensk härkomst som jag är ganska vanliga i USA - och vi känner ett särskilt släktskap med de nordiska länderna i Europa där så många av våra förfäder kom ursprungligen.Tyvärr har vi under generationerna förlorat våra gamla nordiska landsspråk och talar engelska nu... DNA:t pekar dock mot Sverige.
I'm a history major in college, so I knew about the internment of Allied aircrews in Sweden during WW II, but I had no idea until I saw this video of how well Swedish people took care of our G.I.s and allowed them the run of the country! Many love matches made and many beautiful children born. Americans of Swedish ancestry like myself are quite common in the USA - and we feel a special kinship with the Nordic countries of Europe where so many of our ancestors came from originally. Alas, over the generations we have lost our old country Nordic languages and speak English now...However, our DNA and family names often points towards Sweden. Yes, may a horrible conflict like WW II never happen again!
I saw my dad in this documentary. Does anyone remember Frank Soley. Nickname was "Slug". He was very good friends with Donavan Grivetti in the film. My dad was a BTO and Donavan was his Bombardier on the B-17 plane called the Laka' Sacky. I wish there was a way to show a picture of them together.
As a swedish-american:Thank you
I can´t wait to visit the motherland!
@@sebastianplaum4667 Good worded.
Jag visste inte detta hände i kriget, som mina föräldrar lät mig aldrig lära sig om vår
lands krig. Tack för att ladda upp detta!
Sweden! Thanks for taking such good care of our G.I. s in WW II!
Jag är historia major i college, så jag visste om interneringen av allierade flygpersonal i Sverige under andra världskriget, men jag hade ingen aning förrän jag såg den här videon om hur väl svenska folket tog hand om våra G.I.s och tillät dem att styra landet!Många kärleksmatcher gjorda och många vackra barn födda. Amerikaner av svensk härkomst som jag är ganska vanliga i USA - och vi känner ett särskilt släktskap med de nordiska länderna i Europa där så många av våra förfäder kom ursprungligen.Tyvärr har vi under generationerna förlorat våra gamla nordiska landsspråk och talar engelska nu... DNA:t pekar dock mot Sverige.
Beautiful film, a close friend was a ballturret gunner on a B17 completed 30 missions 2 on D Day was severely wounded on his last mission. He passed away a year and a half ago a true hero and a genuine friend. There's a reason they are called the greatest generation.
Bra filmen. Jag kommer från America och den här historie vi hörde aldrig.
As an amateur aviation historian, I have studied this particular subject for almost 40 years. Have met quite a few of the US airmen, both in Sweden and in the U.S. Nice to see the story on film, so thank you very much for uploading.
Very good video on a subject that I expect not many are aware of. Interviews were very sensitively handled.
Neat documentary. Thaddeus Borek (1923-2019) is in it at 35:46 (third from left) --> 35:50 (looks down briefly) --> 35:51 (second from right). Yay, Uncle Ted!
how do you recognize your uncle in a grainy black and white photo. just wild to put put a name and story behind such a photo. makes them more alive and the history that much closer
@@andrewfischer8564 Yeah, I was excited to see him there. A few years ago, before he passed away, I think maybe Ted came across it himself and mentioned it to the family. I guess since the movie is about a memorable time of his life, it was natural for him to recognize all kinds of things in it, including images of his own crew. God bless Ted Borek and all U.S. servicemembers past and present.
@36:26 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoo_Shoo_Shoo_Baby
Shoo Shoo baby currently rests in the USAF museum, in my hometown.
I remember in 1988 when she flew in.
I visit her several times a year. just last week, the Memphis belle joined her at the museum.
Mycket intressant dokumentär. Och mycket bra at se utmärkt interaktion/vänlighet mellan Amerikanerna och Svenskarna under världskrig 2, i den här filmen, särskilt.
thanks...very good video...wish i could find more like this....these are the things you never hear about during war time and it makes history seem like it was left out on purpose or something....thanks again
I agree
I love that Kerstin Peterson still have her childhood accent when speaking Swedish
Tack mkt man inte visste, otroliga historier låt detta aldrig hända igen.
I am very touched by this film. Thank you for sharing.
Extremly well done and informative documentary.
Excellent. Many thanks for the beautiful stories.
En lysande film, well done and amazing.
A beautiful and thoughtful video.
Underbart! Tack ska du ha.
Otroliga och så intressant, tack för denna videon 😊
Tears in my eyes, these guys... man, heroes all!
My gramps was a turret gunner and landed in malmo. Was a “pow” haha. For 5 months. I had no idea it was like this in Sweden. Thanks for the great info.
Nice to see it again. I see, from time to time, the authur and host of the program "Lucky Strike". Also I am currently building the B-24 that crashed in Vinberg. Not far from where my parents live nowdays.
thanks!
Well, better Sweden than a Luft Stalag.
Better off out of it
Make love not war
Blessed are the peacemakers
Imagine these soldiers of that time, with their military manners and their well handled looks. Shaved, disciplined and polite. They'd probably have to fight to not bring multiple women with them home.
Swedish women; pull plow all day make love all night
Tack Sverige
Question: what happened with AXIS flyers and soldiers who somehow entered Sweden? What kind of treatment did they receive?
I know a couple of german planes that came in over Swedish air space were shut down without warning fire, but I can not find anything about any surviving crew members.
Thats interesting, several countries had a very conflicted attitude (and behavior) toward axis forces. When I growing up my family met several people in bordering countries who saw both sides with suspicion. But the alliedguys always had more money so....
Quite a few of the 'damaged' planes landed undamaged ;-)
Yes, indeed. Don't forget, in the uber-famous novel, Catch-22, the crew are -- by implication -- discussing the idea of removing themselves from the war by flying to Sweden. Ultimately, the novel implies, they do so.
Possibly low on fuel.... Halfway back to England???????
@@hughjardon5074 Some crews deserted.
....and nearly out of gas, because their navigators got north mixed up with west....or at least that was the aircrew's story and they stuck with it! :-)
Almost unbelievable. These aircrew won their own personal lotterys. Compare their experiences to the crews shot down over Japan.
I suppose German aircrew were treated similarly?
I think they were kept more isolated. There were many more German diplomats and spies in Sweden. Also, young Swedes were more excited about American music, dance and fashion. Doubt it that Germans were welcome in bar and restaurants in 1944-45.
Vorr mange holmstrand er jeg i slekt med i swerige?
oh yeah like Orr in Catch-22.......
"CATCH-22", but for real
Hurray for the Sverige ! xxx
They were interned for the duration of hostilities.
The Swedes played both sides against the middle.
Not much to brag about.
Today mostly forgotten that USA vas neutral until dec-41, trading without restrictions with Germany. Even sold material to Wehrmacht...
geography is fate
0:57 eyy rättvik
👍
Where's ABBA?
It was WATERLOO for the Yanks in Sweden and they had to surrender; however, Win or lose they all WON!
Great, but the Swedes handed over to the Russians 4,000 German "Kurland" fighters, knowing very well about the fate awaiting them at the end of 1945. When Sweden saw that the war was going bad for Germany, it simply took its business elsewhere. Mind you, France and Switzerland did the same.
Gayle Elizabeth The reason we didn’t fight was obviously to save our own asses from being wiped out since they got both denmark and norway quite quickly in the war.
Gayle Elizabeth ruclips.net/video/-alYXQoDsTk/видео.html
Check out this video on The Great War, and you will find similar stories of other neutral countries which say the same thing. ( Denmark, Holland)
Neutrality is only respected for a price.
That price includes 2 main elements:
Element 1: sufficient force to defend that neutrality - defenceless neutrality is not entitled to legal respect.
Element 2: continued commerce with the neighborhood as though war did not exist, and while there is a negotiation element to it, breaking off commercial relations DURING a war in which you are not involved counts as a hostile act. ( Or: why Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech was, impartially speaking, rather whiny after the oil embargo )
As for throwing yourself at the enemy when it is clearly futile: that violates the Just War doctrine, and if you manage to survive it, you may still be indicted for warcrimes by an international court. A futile war, even with a just cause, such as confronting a genocidal maniac, can still count as an unjust war in the absence of a reasonable chance of success, and as such, it may be viewed as a warcrime.
It must be quite pleasant to live in a country with such an amount of force that war is never futile.
But the reality is that a world with a lot of countries like that would be an extremely dangerous and warry place.
The kind of behaviour that you appear to be calling for, is quite simply illegal.
Perhaps you think that Bush and Blair were heroes for standing up against a genocidal dictator.
The rest of humanity thinks they are unforgivable warcriminals.
If you have a CHOICE in going to war, and you make that CHOICE, you are morally in the wrong, with preciously few exceptions.
Frankly Frank Sweden would have been taken almost instantly if they wouldnt have declared neautrality/(with reservations) since of it’s rich deposits of iron ore.
So thats just another thing aswell :p
Gayle, when Germany attacked Poland, twenty countries declared themselves neutral in the conflict, seven out of them managed to keep outside war. Only France and England declared war on Hitler, but they also had economical interests in defending Poland. It came as a surprise for all that the french forces were so quickly beaten. Their army was larger, they had more tanks in the beginning of the war. The British empire had the largest fleet on earth, England was safer on the other side of the channel, than any other nation in Europe. But I agree about the troop transportation, not a proud moment. Did you know that before war Swedens export to Germany was 20 per cent of the total export? And when the minefield in Skagerack closed the North Sea for swedish export Sweden had no other choice than to import necessities from the continent. Mostly cole and coke. The imported goods were payed in iron ore, and after an agreement with England the levels of the export never succeeded the export rate at 1938, some 10 metric Mtons to Germany.
Norway (and to some extend Sweden, of course) were very naive about Nazi-germanys reliability in matters of keeping word. But if the country Norway had done a full mobilisation and called in the troops the Germans wouldn't have been able to take the country the way they did. But mind you, several trade ships were in norwegian harbours hiding troops for the invasion. Hitler and Raeder startet to plan invasion of Norway in december the previous year, and it was a great chance, that easily could have gone totally wrong. If they had met an allied flottilla at North Sea or Skagerack, the outcome would have been totally different. Or if the norwegians had alerted their army and coastal fortresses, the invasion would not have gone that well for the axis powers.
The world: Total carnage and war.
Sweden: *Rubs hands together*
You must be young. History is not that simple.....War is never simple.... Shame on you......
@@tonyc223 Sweden being One of the Only countries that gained on the war it totally is that simple honeybun. We came out richer than before the war. Also.....why.....do....you....talk like....this?
Why do you talk transh about your own country ? Swedish neutrality saved many lives during WW II, Jews and resistance Fighters on the run from Nazi occupation in Denmark and Norway, downed allied airmen from these countries. And Swedish Red Cross even brought back Danish prisoners
from German KZ camps, even before the war had ended. Many lives were saved due to Swedish neutrality.
And then there is the story of Hungarian Jews, saved by Raoul Wallenberg, and his tragic fate.
And just in case you feel like answering, calling unknown persons “ honeybun” ... really not a compliment to your upbringing.
Bunch of cowards.
What cowards? What are you talking about?
Would you prefer that they crashed and died somewhere over Germany? Retreating to a neutral country and surviving is the sensible thing to do. None of these air-crewmen are cowards.