SWEDISH VIEW

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 January 1944, Page 4

SWEDISH VIEW

FINAL DECISION IN WAR APPROACHING PESSIMISM ABOUT WORLD , ORDER. NORDIC CO-OPERATION. “It is obvious that the final decision in the great wto - is approaching and it would not do to settle down with the idea that the north shall remain unaffected by the clashes of the belligerents,” said the Swedish Minister of Defence (Mr Per Edvin Skold) in a recent speech commenting on the Swedish Government's recent decision to strengthen the country's military preparedness during the summer and autumn. The speech *is quoted in a Swedish International Press Bureau bulletin. “The increased call-ups are entirely dictated by our desire not to be caught unawares by military developments,” he continued. “Together with a wise neutrality policy these measures are our only means of avoiding being drawn into the war.” Discussing international peace and post-war Nerdic co-operation, Mr Skoldsaid: “An international organisation for the preservation of peace is the desirable goal, but one must not disregard the possibility that, in spite of all, such an organisation might not be established. Personally I am inclined to be pessimistic on this point. Many things seem to indicate that it is at present more difficult to create a lasting peace organisation than it was after the first world war.

PEACE ORGANISATION.

“The work of establishing co-opera-tion between the Nordic countries must therefore be carried on simultaneously with the efforts to establish a more comprehensive peace organisation in the world. The one thing need not exclude the other. Even in the sphere of Nordic co-operation difficulties may arise,” he continued, “though, according to my opinion, they are not of the same magnitude. “A certain pessimism, however, will not be out of place as regards a united north. In such a situation it will remain for Sweden either to join a foreign empire in order to be defended or to carry on a policy of her own, which will very much resemble our present armed neutrality. According to my personal conviction it lies beyond all discussion that Sweden will choose the latter alternative. A united north, if it can be established, and in the absence of a lasting international peace organisation, must consequently adopt the same attitude.”

“IF WAR COMES.”

A war manual, called “If War Comes,” was recently distributed by the Swedish Government to all families in the country. The handbook, which ends with the motto: “Sweden wants to defend herself, can defend herself, and will defend herself,” contains a detailed account of what the civilian population is to do in the event of a sudden outbreak of war in order to faciliate immediate mobilisation, to assist in hampering the activities of an invader and to establish stubbon passive resistance. The issue of the manual (says the Swedish bulletin) has not been occasioned by any special reason, but constitutes just another measure to strengthen the country’s, defensive power to the utmost. The defence forces and the civil authorities had previously received detailed instructions how to act if communications with the central organs, should be broken in case of a surprise attack. The question of all-out Swedish defence in case of an attack is also dealt with in a recently published book, “Meeting Force with Force,” by an officer of the Swedish High Command (Colonel C. A. Ehrensvard). Summing up his analysis of Sweden’s resources and the possibilities of meeting a blitz attack, he arrives at the conclusion that the geography of the country offers great advantages to the defenders and that organised guerilla warfare in Sweden, with its vast forests and numerous rivers, would make an attack so difficult that an aggressor must seriously count on the enterprise being too costly.