 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheSwedish extradition of Baltic soldiers, or simply theExtradition of the Balts (Swedish:baltutlämningen), was a controversial political event that took place in January 1946, in the aftermath ofWorld War II whenSweden, aneutral country during the war,extradited 146Latvian,Estonian andLithuanian soldiers, who had been drafted byGermany during the war and had been fighting against the Soviet invasion of theBaltic states, to theSoviet Union.[1] Many of them were subsequently imprisoned, and five were sentenced to death by the Soviet government, with three executions carried out and two sentences commuted tohard labour.
On 2 June 1945, the Soviet Union asked[2] that Sweden extradite all internedAxis soldiers, as per the terms of the German surrender. The government protocol from 15 June was kept secret until it became public on 19 November. It was supported by most of theSwedish Parliament. The SwedishCommunist Party wanted to go further, by extraditing all civilian refugees from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. There was minimal sympathy for the Germans, but public outcry over the Baltic soldiers.[3] On the evening of 24 November 1945, nearly the entire city of Eksjö left their homes in the largest demonstration in the city's history to protest against the extradition of the Baltic soldiers. The protests were ignored. Two regimental commanders who protested the repatriations were immediately fired.[4]
The majority of the Baltic soldiers extradited were Latvians (130 out of 146[5]) who had escaped from the Danzig pocket[6] andCourland Pocket. When they reached Sweden, those in uniform were detained indetention camps. The extradition to the Soviet Union took place on 25 January 1946 in the port ofTrelleborg for transportation on the steamerBeloostrov [ru]. On return they were briefly put in a camp inLiepāja and later released. According to one source at least 50 of the Latvians were arrested between 1947 and 1954 and were sentenced, often to 10–15 years in prison.[7]
Sweden also extradited about 3,000 German soldiers, according to laws onprisoners of war. The people from the Baltic states were, however, more controversial since the Soviet authorities viewed them as Soviet citizens (the Soviet Union hadoccupied the independent Baltic states in 1940) and therefore regarded the people from the Baltic states as traitors, and the internees feared death sentences. Desperate to avoid extradition, some of the Baltic soldiers mutilated themselves or went on hunger strikes. Seven of them committed suicide. Nevertheless, the Swedish government, led byPer Albin Hansson, complied with Soviet demands to extradite the men.[4]
Of the prisoners, Lieutenant Colonel Kārlis Gailītis and Captain Ernsts Ķeselis were sentenced to death but had their sentences changed to 17 years hard labour inGulag camps. Three others of lower ranks were sentenced to death and executed in 1946.[8]
In 1970,Johan Bergenstråhle made a film,A Baltic Tragedy, about the subject. The film is based onPer Olov Enquist'sLegionärerna: En roman om baltutlämningen (1968; English title:The Legionnaires: A Documentary Novel) which had won theNordic Council's Literature Prize and Enquist collaborated on the script.
On 20 June 1994, 40 of the 44 surviving extradited (35 Latvians, four Estonians, and one Lithuanian) accepted an invitation to visit Sweden. They were received by KingCarl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at theStockholm Palace. The Swedish Minister of Foreign AffairsMargaretha af Ugglas said that the Swedish government agreed with the criticism of the decision and regretted the injustice,[9][10] but did not apologize. On 15 August 2011,Swedish Prime MinisterFredrik Reinfeldt officially apologized to the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at a ceremony in Stockholm saying that "Sweden owes its Baltic neighbours a 'debt of honour' for turning a blind eye to post-war Soviet occupation" and speaking of "a dark moment" in his country's history.[11][12]
A memorial, "stranded refugee ship" (1999–2000) by Christer Bording, has been erected in Trelleborg.[13][7]
