Volume 9 Number 007. Count Folke Bernadotte - I

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1 Volume 9 Number 007 Count Folke Bernadotte - I Lead: In the closing days of World War II, Count Folke Bernadotte, head of the Swedish Red Cross, was instrumental in the release of thousands of concentration camp inmates. For millions it was too little too late. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: As the decades pass it is difficult to recall the dilemma facing many Europeans in the early 1940s. From the fall of France to the fall of Stalingrad, nearly everywhere Adolf

2 Hitler was triumphant. National Socialism, driven by the German military machine, seemed to many to be the wave of the future. Attitudes toward Hitler ranged across the moral spectrum from enthusiastic collaborationists such as Vidkun Quisling in Norway to implacable foes, the latter being a very small group that got smaller before Stalingrad signaled to perspective observers that Hitler might not succeed after all. Franco s Spain was diplomatically neutral, but as a Fascist, he was clearly sympathetic with Hitler s goals. Vichy France collaborated with Hitler in varying degrees of reluctance. Neutral nations such as

3 Switzerland and Sweden provided diplomatic service for the warring powers and a means of escape for those who could make their way across borders, but they also traded with both sides, with many companies growing wealthy supplying scarce goods and services and shipping to Axis powers. Most people not directly under assault tried to keep their heads down until the dust settled, looking the other way while civilization slipped into the abyss. Even in the United States, until Pearl Harbor focused anger and determination in support of the Allied cause, millions of Americans were either closet fascists or, putting America First, were firmly opposed to U.S. involvement in the war. This

4 moral ambiguity was conveniently forgotten or covered up after 1945, but in the late 1930s and the early years of the war, it was a powerful force. One of the most interesting players in this delicate dance of moral uncertainty was Count Folke Bernadotte, head of the Swedish Red Cross. One scholarly authority spoke of his excellent reputation among all the combatant nations in Europe. As a representative of neutral Sweden, he facilitated a back channel for diplomatic exchanges between the allies and the realistic Nazis who saw the end coming. He was also able to secure early release for thousands of concentration camp inmates in the

5 final days, but after the Allied victory, as Nazi atrocities were revealed, could those who were neutral in such a war or were respected by Heinrich Himmler or Martin Borman or Adolf Eichmann escape the history s moral skepticism? Next time: the diplomat dies. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

6 Resources Bernadotte, Count Folke. The Curtain Falls: Last Days of the Third Reich. New York, NY: A.A. Knopf, Heller, Joseph. Bernadotte s Mission to Palestine (1948). Journal of Contemporary History 14 (3, 1979): Palmer, Raymond. Felix Kersten and Count Bernadotte: A Question of Rescue, Journal of Contemporary History 29 (1, 1994): Stanger, Cary David. A Haunting Legacy: the Assassination of Count Bernadotte, Middle East Journal 20 (4, 1984): Copyright by Dan Roberts Enterprises, Inc.

Chapter 17 WS - Dr. Larson - Summer School

Name: Class: _ Date: _ Chapter 17 WS - Dr. Larson - Summer School Matching IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS, PEOPLE, AND PLACES Match each name with his or her description below. You will not use all the names. a.