Harry Söderman the Fantastic Life Of

The fantastic life of Harry Söderman 1902-1956

He learnt the subject working with the famous Dr Locard in Lyon and became the first director of the National Forensic Science Institute, the predecessor of SKL - The National Laboratory of Forensic Science. He had an enormous capacity, as he was, at the same time, leading the Institute, writing books and per- forming many extra tasks because of his reputation as an expert and organiser. Being true entrepreneur, he was more devoted to development than to administration, but he had the right feeling for gathering the necessary co-workers to maintain his enterprise. When we at the SKL wanted to

commemorate the 100th anniver- ÖDERMAN sary of Harry Söderman's birth, we S NGRID soon found that it was impossible to I give only one view of such an extraordinary achievement. We have therefore chosen three IBRARY OF : L different angles. The first is that of a journalist HOTO who takes into account what the 1934, P general public of today might want to know about the fantastic life of ÖDERMAN

Harry Söderman. S The second is more of a formal ARRY account for Harry Söderman's work H written for the journal Police Science when he was still alive, and the third is a view from one of Foreword today's European forensic scientists, who has looked into some of the archives. Harry Söderman lived an extraordinary We hope these three aspects will life. Few have accomplished as much as give, not only a reasonable cover- he did. age of the life and achievements of Harry Söderman, but also good He can be considered as the father of reading. Swedish “kriminalteknik”, which encom- passes the whole Forensic Science laboratory area except forensic medicine and INGVAR KOPP PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR, SKL toxicology.

3 Revolver- Harry and Kalle Blomqvist

The adventurous life of a forensic scientist ÖDERMAN S BY: KAIANDERS SEMPLER NGRID TRANSLATION: INGELA DELLBY I

It is told that by the end IBRARY OF of the Second World : L War, May 1st 1945, he HOTO

took the night train 1945, P from Stockholm to Oslo, ÖDERMAN

walked straight up to S the German comman- ARRY dant and declared that H In Norway he was considered a be sustained by legal security. And continued resistance national hero, and at Furudal north of legal security in turn needs access to would be madness. Rättvik there is a bust in remem- the unambiguous technical produc- Together with a brance of him. In his native town tion of evidence, for convicting the German motorcycle Nora, a square is now named after guilty as well as for acquitting the him. innocent. messenger he then went Actually, his name was Harry By the end of the 1900th century out to the dreaded Söderman, but after he had become a northern Sweden was to a great extent German prison camp doctor of philosophy by test shooting a lawless land. Harry's father, Pehr Grini and personally weapons and comparing the grooves Söderman, had been a county sheriff in Delsbo. His work as the guardian released the imprisoned of the bullets, he was generally called Revolver-Harry. He was an ardent of the law seems to have had much in Norwegian resistance democrat and anti-fascist and he common with the work of the sheriffs men. meant that the free society could only in the films of the Wild West. 4 If we can trust his posthumous rep- Bicycle, elephants, canoes and utation, Mr. Söderman senior showed camels were Harry Söderman´s quite a few similarities with Wyatt means of transportation from Earp, the legendary sheriff of Dodge Stockholm to Constantinople via City. The county sheriff was in a per- Persia through the Baluchistani desert to India and China. petual state of feud with the illicit dis- tillers in his region, and both parties always had their guns ready to fire. It is astounding that Mr. Söderman senior survived all the ambushes, assaults and ”

nightly fighting in the forest where OT L S they shot savagely at each other with ´ their shotguns. However, when young Harry was OLICEMAN born in 1902 the family had moved to “P more civilised areas farther south in the country. Harry started school, but he did not show any great inclination for ROM THE BOOK

studies. The only subjects he was inter- : F ested in were chemistry and physics. HOTO The result was that he later entered the P chemical vocational training school in After he had returned home and Swedish Police Magazine and another Malmö from which he graduated in done his military service in Sweden, Swedish weekly magazine to send them 1923. he decided to start his career as a a travel diary, which would make his chemist by taking a "Wanderjahr" - a travelling funds last longer. Wood chemistry year of wandering the world. Perhaps Harry's trip turned out to be longer The intention was that Harry should something would turn up in the mean- than he originally planned for. From become a chemist in the wood indus- time. Constantinople, nowadays Istanbul, he try. But after he had practised for First he stayed for some time in continued eastwards. Through Persia, some months at a wood company he France and then he worked for a cou- the Baluchistani desert, India and realised that in order to get anywhere ple of months as a fireman on a North Burma he went all the way to Thailand in the world of timber, pulp and sul- Sea tramp steamer. But Harry was a and China. Everywhere he was keen on phate lye he had to add to his theoret- young man with a will of iron and an seeing the local police authorities and ical knowledge. So he went to unusual talent for innovative and reporting home. Altenburg in Germany and studied unconventional thinking. He wanted It isn't quite the regular thing that wood chemistry in the very midst of to go farther away, he wanted to see people should bike to China. At least not the worst years of inflation in the the Orient. He went home and turned in Sweden. Here Harry's exploit would Weimar Republic. After a year he had to the manager of a Swedish bicycle his exam - and in addition, he had not be repeated until the 1990s. Then a factory with a radical suggestion: learnt to speak German. young Swede named Göran Kropp - Lend me a bike and I'll ride it to But it wasn't forest chemistry that cycled from Sweden to the Himalayas. Constantinople and in that way I'll Harry dreamed about, but criminolo- There he climbed the peak of Mount boost your firm, he said. gy, and he devoured everything he Everest and then cycled back home could lay his hands on in this subject. A bicycle trip to Asia again. But how could he ever become a The bicycle factory owner was so Although, Harry never climbed the criminologist? For getting a job with- surprised that he consented, and highest mountain in the world, but he in the police, you had to study law, Harry quickly packed his knapsack. spent one and a half years of his journey something that was definitely not in Before he went away he also took the in the east. Then he turned back home. his line. opportunity to arrange with the But what would become of him now? 5 A meeting on a However, the next morning the wood industry missed a competent mountain peak weather was bad with fog and snow, chemist. so the party had to stay in the cabin From this we learn to take advan- In his autobiography "Policeman's for several days. They passed the Lot" (published posthumously in tage of the opportunity and the impor- time with card games and conversa- 1956 in the USA) Harry Söderman tance of polite conversations with tion while the storm howled round the tells that he decided to ramble in the strangers on mountain peaks! doors. Then it happened that Harry Swedish mountains for some days In Lyon Harry learnt modern talked about his secret dream - to after his return home. He went north criminal investigation from the study criminal investigation for the and took lodgings at a small boarding ground up. famous French criminologist house. Locard assumed that the criminal Edmond Locard in Lyon. One day he made a tour up to a always leaves some traces, something "How interesting", said the mountaintop nearby. The landlady which is now called the Locard prin- Frenchman. "Locard is a good friend wondered whether he could consider ciple: "Every contact leaves a trace!" of mine. If you wish, I could write taking some of the other guests at the Mr. Locard claimed. him a letter of recommendation and boarding house up there. The whole The marks a forensic technician ask if he would take you on as a stu- thing ended by forming a small expe- looks for are such things as hair, tex- dent." dition consisting of Harry, a clergy- tile fibres, fingerprints, nail dirt, Some weeks later Harry had a let- man, a lawyer and a Frenchman. bloodstains, sperm, shoe- and wheel ter from Mr. Locard wishing him After some hours they reached the top traces, dust and gravel, glass splinter, warm welcome to Lyon as a tempo- of the mountain. There was one of the paint flakes, chemical substances. rary student. Swedish Touring Club's cabins for Harry learned all about chemical over-night accommodation, and The Lyon years analyses, identification of finger- where they had their picnic and Harry Söderman, now 24 years old, prints, investigation on the scene of a stayed the night. promptly left for Lyon. The Swedish crime and many other things. ” ” OT OT L L S ´ S ´ OLICEMAN OLICEMAN “P “P ROM THE BOOK ROM THE BOOK : F : F HOTO HOTO P P Locard´s staff at the forensic laboratory in Lyon in 1928. Edmund The monkey had been trained by Locard is the second from the right in the bottom row and Harry his cunning owner to become a Söderman is the second from the right in the upper row. master cat burglar.

6 ”

While in Lyon Harry also took the OT Harry Söderman L S opportunity to take a doctor's degree ´ investigates a sub- at the University of Lyon. His machine gun in his office at the National

research work naturally concerned OLICEMAN criminal investigation. It was about “P Forensic Science Institute. analysis and identification of pistol bullets. He was the first to make a sci-

entific study of the individual mark- ROM THE BOOK ings on fired bullets that originate : F HOTO from the grooves in the barrel and the P cartridge case due to the firing pin. One of the During his journeys all over In order to examine pistol bullets Europe and the USA he collected the quickly, he invented an apparatus he founders of Interpol latest findings concerning criminal called a Hastoscope. It was a compar- Harry Söderman was now considered investigation. He summarised it all in ison microscope where the bullets one of the leading forensic techni- "The Handbook of criminal investi- investigated could be turned and rotat- cians in the world, and lectured both gation", a thick book of 680 pages, ed, either together or individually. in the USA and at Scotland Yard in which accounted for forensic meth- After six years with Mr. Locard in London. In New York he took part in ods from antiquity to our own time. Lyon he thought himself skilled the development of a new forensic Here he discussed matters, such as enough and returned to Sweden. laboratory. Thanks to his excellent identification of individuals by fin- Once back home he started a small knowledge of languages - he spoke gerprints, the collection of traces on private bureau in Stockholm where he fluent German, French and English - the scene of the crime and photo- offered forensic services, and above he naturally became a prominent fig- graphic documentation, witness psy- all, certificates of authenticity of doc- ure in the international police collab- chology, analyses of powder stains, uments. His work progressed more oration, and he was one of the pistol bullets and bullet-holes, analy- and more successfully, and soon he founders of Interpol. sis of writing and other such things. was appointed docent in criminology at the University of Stockholm. He got a grant and went to the USA to make contacts and study the Harry Söderman´s forensic progress of the new world. “Minnesbok för Forming of SKA Kriminalpolismän” In 1939 Doctor Harry Söderman (Memo book för became head of the recently formed police detectives) was first published SKA - The National Forensic Science in 1938. Institute - in Stockholm. The purpose It vas considered to of the institute was to give the police be a memorandum means and competence to make accu- for the police rate analyses and investigations on detective in his the scene of a crime, and that was a fieldwork. predecessor to today's SKL - The The author was National Laboratory of Forensic very clear that the Science in Linköping. contents of the book were exclusively for - Because the criminal always policemen “because leaves marks, Harry told his new col- of the occurring UNDQUIST L leagues and pupils. It is only a ques- descriptions of the O tion of having methods sophisticated working methods of : B enough to detect them. criminals, etc.” HOTO P 7 Astrid Lindgren as Astrid Lindgren has afterwards told that it was during the time she secretary was Harry Söderman's secretary that In 1939 he looked for a secretary for she got inspiration and forensic mate- his voluminous correspondence. A rial for the books. In "Bill Bergson, young lady named Astrid Lindgren Master Detective" (Mästerdetektiven got the job. Nobody knew then that Blomqvist) Bill takes the fingerprints this young lady in course of time of a sleeping scoundrel according to would become one of Sweden's most all the recognised rules. beloved writers of children's books and internationally famous. In the following book, "Bill Astrid Lindgren wrote in 1946 a Bergson Lives Dangerously" book titled "Bill Bergson, Master (Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist lever Detective", the first of what would farligt), he carries out an advanced become a sequence of three exciting chemical analysis - the Marshian books for young people. The books arsenic test - and discovers that a bar are about the twelve-year-old Kalle of chocolate is poisoned with arsenic. Blomkvist - or Bill Bergson, as is his It is all breathtaking, especially for English name - who is dreaming of young readers at the age of twelve. becoming a detective, and who gets The books were radio serials in involved in a succession of nasty the 1950s, and were later also trans- Revolver-Harry Söderman in the criminal cases together with his ferred to movies. Thus the forensic guise of Bill Bergson became an idol friends. laboratory technician and detective for all the boys in Sweden. Front page of the But that was not enough. The Swedish magazine police, and particularly the forensic Lektyr från 1952. laboratory technicians, have never had such good standing in Sweden as It says: during the time when the Bill “New series of Bergson-fever raged. articles! The head of the Well-read columnist National Forensic But it wasn't only in the shape of Bill Science Institute, Mr Bergson that Harry Söderman Harry Söderman, reached the public. By this time, shares his memoirs many popular weekly and monthly with us.” magazines readily told about horrible crimes and legal cases. These magazines hired Harry Söderman as a columnist and he told astounding stories in the best Sherlock Holmes- manner from the exciting world of criminal investigation. Much of the material was from his time with Mr Locard in Lyon. Here was, for instance, the story about the burglar with the strange fingerprints. Nobody could understand how the cunning jewel thief could get through a window on the third floor. Finally it was discovered that a trained monkey

8 had committed the thefts. No wonder the fingerprints were unusual. Many of the stories published in the Swedish magazines "Kriminal- journalen", "Lektyr", "Rekordmaga- sinet" and other popular press also appear in "Policeman's Lot". But let us return to the wartime. Training of Norwegian policemen In the spring 1942, whilst the war was ÖDERMAN raging, Harry Söderman had a request S

from the Norwegian minister for jus- NGRID I tice in London. In Sweden there were quite a few Norwegians who had fled the Nazi occupation of Norway, the IBRARY OF minister explained. Would it be possi- : L HOTO ble to start a discreet training of P Norwegian policemen in Sweden? An expedition with members of the Norwegian resistance, the military, The idea was that after the war, these doctors and a chauffeur to save war captives at the Saltfjord in May men would replace those policemen 1945. Harry Söderman is the third man from the left. that had become compromised by working for the Quisling administra- Altogether 17 000 men were Arctic Scandinavia" by Lars tion. trained between 1943 and 1945 at Gyllenhaal, Historiska media 2001. Certainly, said Harry, and with his Harry Söderman's "health camps". One of the Norwegians who was usual capacity for unconventional and One of which was in the wood at flown up to the north of Norway from innovative methods he took care of the Gottröra, not far from the present Sweden was Thor Heyerdahl, the matter. A number of "health farms" international airport of Stockholm, man who later became world-famous were opened where the Norwegians Arlanda. for his voyages with the rafts Kon- were trained with the consent of the January 12th 1945 the first Tiki and Ra. Another was the father Swedish authorities. Norwegian police troops were airlift- of my brother-in-law, a young man In reality it was not the matter of ed by the Americans from Luleå to called Arvid Holte, who had fled policemen but pure military training, Kirkenes on the Norwegian Arctic Norway two years earlier. this in flagrant violation of Sweden's Ocean coast. The whole of Finnmark International formal status as a neutral state. But had been burnt and betrayed by the commitments after Stalingrad the political winds in retreating Germans during the In 1953 Harry Söderman decided to autumn of 1944, and Russian troops Sweden had shifted concurrently with resign as head of the National had occupied the eastern Finnmark the fortunes of war. Forensic Science Institute to dedicate From the point when neutral up to the Tana River. himself totally to his international Sweden was left with no alternative Harry Söderman's police troops commitments. He moved to the USA and was forced to be a puppet of now took over from the Russians, with his family, and as a consultant he Germany, the Swedish government who compliantly pulled away to their participated in the organisation of was more and more keenly sympathet- side of the border one month later. police organisations in a number of ic to the cause of the allies. The fact This was in accordance with the countries. that Harry Söderman in some treaty at Jalta between Churchill, 1956 he was struck by heart inscrutable way managed to find arms Roosevelt and Stalin. infarction during a commission in for the Norwegian police detachment This and many other things you Tanger. An adventurous life was at an can be seen as a definite proof of this. can read about in "The Battle of the end.

9 Harry Soderman of Stockholm: Master Criminologist

BY: CEDRIC LARSSON FROM: THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW, CRIMINOLOGY AND POLICE SCIENCE, 1952.

The name of Söderman is almost legendary in European police circles, and it is no exaggeration to say that today he is Europe's leading criminologist and authority on police systems. FTONBLADET A IBRARY OF : L HOTO P hile Söderman´s name is The career of Dr. Harry Söderman Sweden. This area was once regarded familiar in American once more illustrates the ancient as the most "hard-boiled" province in Wpolice circles also, due proverb that truth is stranger than fic- Sweden. Per Söderman was married largely to his writings in police sci- tion. One might almost suspect that twice, with seven children by the first ence, his very distinguished career is such a biography had been conjured marriage and three by the second. all too little known. up from the fertile mind of a Conan Harry was the eldest by the second marriage. The writer has had the privilege of Doyle or Baron Münchausen. Dr. Söderman says with a twinkle several interviews with the eminent Dr. Söderman was born August in his eye that his interest in criminol- criminologist in the course of his 28, 1902 in Stockholm in a maternity ogy dates from the time that his moth- most recent visit to America, and home, although his family did not er was still nursing him, because obtained from him the story of his live in that city. He was one of ten twice in his infancy enemies of his life, which has been supplemented children. His father, Per Söderman, father unsuccessfully tried to put with extensive readings into his con- was a Landsmann, a kind of sheriff, explosives in the Söderman house to siderable published works. in Delsbo, Helsingland, in northern destroy it. 10 A promising student He was not content merely to visit tor to a mission from Siam under Harry showed unusual promise in the large centers of population of Prince Vongsa Nirajra teaching these school, and his father determined to these countries, but constantly pushed Siamese modern scientific police give him a good technical education back into the hinterland in his crimi- methods. and make him a chemist. His elemen- nological hegira. His dispatches were Returning to Sweden in 1930, he tary schooling was had in northern read with great interest throughout was made chief editor of Nordisk Sweden, and when he finished ele- Scandinavia and by criminologists of Criminal Teknisk Tidskrift (Nordic mentary school, his father sent him to all the leading capitals of Europe. Journal for Police Science) the most the Chemical Institute of Malmö When he returned, he found himself noteworthy publication in its field in where he was graduated with honors already famous at the age of 24. northern Europe. Besides teaching at in 1920. At the age of 18 he went for Back in Europe the University of Stockholm, he was special training to Germany, where he Returning to Europe, he became also appointed by a Royal Swedish studied legal chemistry as well as assistant to Dr. Edmond Locard at the charter to become an instructor in pulp and paper chemistry at the French State Police Laboratory at police science to the higher officials Technical Institute of Altenburg, from Lyons from 1926 to 1928. While in the Swedish Royal State Police. where he was graduated in 1922. there he took the degree of Doctor of In the years that followed his Although his father wanted Harry Science at the University of Lyons, fame grew by leaps and bounds. He to have a solid occupation as a getting that degree with "Tres was assigned by the Swedish govern- chemist in a Swedish paper mill, such Honorable" mention. ment in dozens of instances to inves- a prosaic life held little challenge to He now embarked in earnest on tigate cases of arson, serious theft this dynamic youth. While in his life's work in criminology. He was cases, and murder, throughout the Germany, he became a keen student elected a member of the International whole of Scandinavia, when the local of criminology, first more as a hobby Academy of Criminal Science in police authorities could not cope than anything else. Soon he was Vienna, in 1929. That same year he with them. studying it seriously and became was elected assistant editor of Revue In a surprising percentage of all known as a capable person in this Internale de Criminalistique, pub- these cases, through the use of scien- field. lished in Lyons, a post he held for tific detection methods, he would many years. In 1929 he spent several track down the perpetrator of the Two years in Asia months in France as a special instruc- crime. Harry had been an avid reader of travel books in his adolescent years, and always cherished a dream of one day travelling through Asia. He was now able to realize his fond ambition, for after returning to Stockholm, he persuaded the Swedish Police Journal to send him on an Asiatic tour from 1924-

26. ” OT

He served as a correspondent for L S this paper and reported on Asiatic police The famous Sir Basil ´ systems and crime and delinquency in Thomson, earlier

these countries. He spent over two years Head of the Central OLICEMAN travelling extensively in Asia, from Intelligence Division at “P Turkey through the entire continent to the Scotland Yard and Harry Söderman, China. He journeyed through Syria, flanked by the two

Mesopotamia, Persia, Baluchistan; and Siamese men then ROM THE BOOK traveled on camel-back through India, studying criminal : F HOTO

Burma, Siam, and French Indo-China. investigation in Lyon. P 11 In 1931 he was named a member 675 pages - was the precursor of his Söderman all this time felt that of the Royal Parliamentary Technical classic Modern Criminal Investigation, there was ample room for a good Committee which investigated the later to make such a success on both basic work on criminology for police riots at the sawmills in Ådalen, sides of the Atlantic. The 1930 students everywhere, written in Sweden. In 1934 he was made a spe- Handbook is written in clear, readable English, which would parallel in con- cial investigator into the celebrated Swedish prose, and well illustrated, but tent his 1930 Handbook whose utility Reichstag Arson case which made was handicapped by the fact that its had been greatly circumscribed by history. The criminologist reported audience was limited to persons who the fact that it was in Swedish. He his findings, in this case for a leading could read Swedish. talked the matter over with his friend Stockholm paper. He was the only In 1930 Söderman published in O'Connell, and after many explorato- person other than the Nazi officials French an authoritative volume on fin- ry conversations, the two decided to to speak with the suspect, Van der gerprints: Etude sur les Empreintes team up and produce a book under Lubbe, in prison. Digitales. joint authorship, using the unparal- Söderman's considerable knowl- leled resources of the New York edge of chemistry and science in Police Department and Söderman's UNDQUIST L

general were put to excellent wide continental experience as back- O use in combatting crime, ground. : B and he devised many Modern Criminal HOTO new methods or appli- ” P cations of science in Investigation crime-solving, involving Thus it was that Modern ballistics, fingerprints of Criminal Investigation by dead bodies, footprints, Söderman and O'Connell made burglary investigation, postal its initial appearance in 1935 under theft investigation, dust analy- All the imprint of Funk & Wagnalls ANDBOK I KRIMINALTEKNIK sis, espionage, and similar the above Company. This volume was destined “H fields. works have been to make history in the literature of He came, however, to be best widely quoted in French, police science. The first edition known internationally through his German, Spanish, South American, (which is now a collector's item) had writings. His first book was published and English works on crime. 24 chapters, bibliography and index, in Stockholm in 1927 when he was and totalled 461 pages. but 25 : Brottets Värld (The World of Studies in America It was well illustrated with photo- In 1933 Söderman obtained a fellow- Crime). The following year another graphs and line-drawings and won ship from the Swedish American work appeared under his name in the almost instantaneous acceptance as a Foundation to study American police French language and published at standard in its field throughout the systems. He spent a whole year in the Lyons: L'Expertise des Arms a Feu New York City Police Department police world. Sales of the first print- Courtées. He published also a large studying their methods, and made a ing were so rapid that it was quickly number of technical monographs in wide circle of friends, among them John exhausted. Many other printings fol- learned journals and specialized peri- J. O'Connell, late Chief Inspector. lowed in quick succession. In the next odicals. After a year with the New York five or six years the book went His fame reached much higher in Police, Söderman and O'Connell were through three editions and 18 print- 1930 upon the appearance of what entrusted with the task of founding the ings. promised to be a definitive work on new police laboratory. This consumed Total sales were never officially police science: Handbok i about another year. Söderman, mean- divulged by Funk & Wagnalls, but Kriminalteknik (Handbook o f Police while, had used the time to good advan- from informal conversations with Science) in which he collaborated with tage to visit police departments of other officials of that firm, the writer esti- Ernst Fontell, Police Commissioner of large American cities, and the offices of mates that sales in America alone Gothenburg. This Handbook - totalling the F.B.I. in Washington. must have totalled close to 75,000.

12 although he is gone so much he has to have competent understudies to carry on in his absences. Dr. Söderman was given a free hand in setting up the National Institute, which he divided into two units. The first division was the laboratory division and dealt with all kinds of scientific and technical methods for combatting crime. The second division was administrative in character and carries on the multifar- ious paper work inevitably entailed in efficient criminological investigation. The National Institute acts as a clearinghouse throughout Scandi- ENDEL

W navia for fingerprint registrations, TTO

O criminal records and data of all types, and related functions. Besides this, the Institute has extensive archives of

RAWING BY crime records, a "Rogue's Gallery," D serves as a central passport institution Statens Kriminaltekniska Anstalt at Bergsgatan, Stockholm 1939 for the country and handles all rela- Besides the English editions, how- passed away in 1947, so virtually the tions with foreign police, publishes a ever, the book was translated into a half- entire burden of revision has fallen on police bulletin, and sends out special- dozen different languages, including Söderman's shoulders. ly trained agents for the examination French, German, Swedish, Spanish, and But to get back to Söderman's of scenes of crime at the request of Japanese. career in the thirties-after leaving local authorities. It has extensive and In 1939 a South American edition New York in 1935 he again returned modern laboratories which are con- was published in Buenos Aires, some to Sweden and taught at the sidered to be among the best in 3 700 copies being printed. It was University of Stockholm. He man- Europe. translated by Germãn Salgado of the aged to find time to do some work for Buenos Aires Police Department and the International Police Commission Swedish Police The Police School in Stockholm Dr. Antonio L. Beruti, a judge in the dealing with the issuance and stan- (where Dr. Söderman teaches) is one Supreme Court of that city. Although dardization of passports, designed to of the most extensive in the world. no exact figures are obtainable, a combat illegal traffic in this field. The passing of its examinations is conservative estimate would place The year 1937 Söderman spent in compulsory for every rank up to com- foreign language copies of the Dublin, where he was principal advis- Söderman-O'Connell book at about missary of police (superintendent, er in the reorganization of the Irish 25,000. This would place total sales English style; captain, American State Police. of the book in the 100,000 bracket, style). thought to be a record for a work in SKA The Swedish state police set-up is this field. In 1939 the Swedish Parliament cre- rather unusual. This force is chiefly A completely revised and rewrit- ated a kind of Swedish version of the concerned with policing the rural dis- ten edition, comprising thirty chap- F.B.I. called Statens Kriminal- tricts and has branch offices in every ters and 576 pages, was published in tekniska Anstalt, or National Institute one of the 25 provinces. The detec- February, 1952. It was issued as of Technical Police. Söderman was tives and patrolmen are loaned out under the joint authorship imprint on named its first director, a post which from the local forces for a certain time the title-page, although O'Connell he has retained to the present time, but paid by the government, and the

13 different state police forces are mainly handled by the chief public prosecutor of the province. The head of the state police is formally an assistant commissioner in the Stockholm police department. The police forces of Sweden number about 7600 men. ÖDERMAN World War II S NGRID

During World War II, Söderman was I placed by his government in charge of a then very confidential project of organ- izing Norwegian and Danish police IBRARY OF : L troops raised in Sweden during that con- HOTO flict. The Norwegian contingent num- P bered about 15,000 and the Danish Harry Söderman advocated that the German police should be armed. 3,000. Their mission was to be ready the This made the East German press call him "Revolver-Harry", a nickname that followed him till he died and even afterwards, presumably because day Germany capitulated to rush into it seemed so appropriate. As we all know, he had both taken his docto- their respective countries and preserve r's degree in the identification of firearms and armed the Norwegian poli- law and order. This they accomplished ce troops. Here at the farewell party in Germany in 1951, he makes a capably, in close cooperation with the joke about his nickname.(Source: Erik Söderman) Swedish General Staff and the Allied held by the Gestapo in Norway, and Reorganization of authorities. Söderman was busy bargaining on how Shortly before the ending of World to get them out and into Sweden in German Police War II Söderman was sent to occupied buses, when the war suddenly ended. Dr. Söderman had an interesting assign- Oslo on a bold mission. There were at Söderman in a characteristic decisive ment during the year 1951. Since 1946 that time about 7,000 political prisoners fashion, seized the initiative and freed the Germans in the Allied sections ran these unfortunate prisoners on his own their own police under Allied supervi- responsibility and for a time was a sort sion. However, when the Bonn of police chief in Oslo until the Republic was set up, it became apparent Norwegian authorities could move in that there was need for the reorganiza- and take over. Later the King of Norway tion of the German police by an impar- decorated him with the Distinguished tial outside expert. Dr. Söderman was Service Medal of Norway for this feat. chosen for this tough assignment, and This medal is normally reserved for from March to December 1951 spent bravery on the battlefield. most of his time and energy at this for- In the post-war years, Söderman has midable task. acted as Reporter General to the There was established in Wiesbaden International Criminal Police a Federal Office of Crime Investigation ÖDERMAN S Commission, a post which requires (Bundeskriminalamt). This office main- travel, correspondence, and writing. tains large laboratories, publishes the NGRID I This supra-national organization has Police Bulletin, keeps a central file of among its members police organiza- fingerprints and other crime records,

IBRARY OF tions from all over the free world, such and sends out trained agents to aid the : L as Scotland Yard and similar groups. It local police if so requested. HOTO

P has as its aim the cooperation of the The Office has limited executive Harry Söderman in Norway, police systems of the free world in com- powers. It maintains in the capital, 1945. batting international crime. Bonn, a special squad of detectives for

14 the protection of the president, cabinet which has been of great benefit to It is a sad truth that criminals always members, and the diplomatic corps. The mankind throughout the world. seem to take advantage of the latest dis- Federal Office of Crime Investigation Söderman's great contribution to crimi- coveries within scientific progress in the handles all relations with foreign police nology has been to adapt and extend the perpetration of many of their crimes. and is the connecting link with the discoveries of science, chiefly biology, Therefore society owes a great debt of International Criminal Police physics, and chemistry, during the past gratitude to men like Söderman, who Commission. Needless to say, Dr. three decades, to the field of police sci- seek to utilize the latest advances of sci- Söderman is the principal architect in ence. He is no armchair criminologist, ence in combatting crime. It is a basic this reorganization of the German police either, but to perfect his knowledge of tenet of Söderman's philosophy that the system. criminal investigation, has visited hun- police, fighting as it does an often dreds if not thousands of scenes of uneven battle to protect society, has Personal life crime of every known type. His skill, every reason in the world to keep in step As for his personal life, Dr. Söderman patience, tact, industry, and thorough- with the latest developments of science. was married in 1935 to Ingrid Beckman. ness have also made him quite popular Söderman´s niche in the crimino- They have two sons: Pehr born in 1936 with all police groups he has worked logical hall of fame is assured, and it is and Erik born 1946. The Södermans live with. He has personally solved scores of a considerable niche. His career, it is on an estate 30 miles south of Stockholm. baffling crimes in his lifetime, by the hoped, is far from over, but his fame Politically Dr. Söderman has wisely never use of scientific methods of criminal would be assured on the basis of what been active. investigation, and many cases could be he has already done. His name is as He is a member of the Swedish set forth if space permitted. familiar in Sweden as that of J. Edgar "Farmers Party" and was once persuaded Hoover in America. His name takes its A genial knack place with that honored group who have to run as a candidate from his district to Söderman is an affable, forthright indi- Parliament, but was not elected, probably done so much to protect society from vidual, with a saving sense of humor the ravages of evil and misguided men to the disgust of the criminal world where and a genial knack of making friends they would prefer to see him do anything who form the criminal fringe of every wherever he goes. On one or two occa- generation. but chase criminals. In conversation, sions when in New York City, he has Söderman loves to refer fondly to his given entertaining and diverting lectures A tribute to "farm," crops, and animals. In his some- before such groups as the Mystery what rare uncriminological moments, he Söderman Writers of America, Inc., drawing anec- It is a tribute to Söderman to say that styles himself a "farmer." dotes and stories from his rich fund of he is far more than a great Swedish During his distinguished career, personal experience, which are as criminologist. He does, in fact, Söderman has won a host of honors and breath-taking as any Sherlock Holmes belong to the entire world of free conferments by foreign governments, yarn. Like most Swedes of education, society, for his researches, discover- police societies, and learned bodies, too he speaks English with ready facility. ies, and achievements have been numerous to mention. Söderman never In Western civilization in the past made available to the free world. His displays any of his awards, even to inti- few decades there has gradually devel- eminent name belongs with that hon- mates, or talks about his honors, since he oped a new science which in America is ored company of Bertillon, Gross, is a man of considerable modesty. He called criminal investigation or police Galton, Locard, Heindl, Balthazard, dresses very simply, and one would never science. Wentworth, Van Ledden, De Rechter, surmise just from looking at him casually In Europe it is usually termed police Minovici, Osborn, Mitchell, and that he was the foremost criminologist of scientifique or technique policiere. As many others - all great names in the Europe. Söderman is a prolific writer and for the continental terminology, it is annals of criminology - and who have indefatigable researcher, and if some rather difficult to say which of these left society far safer and stronger ambitious librarian ever made a complete terms is preferable. The former refers to because they have lived. bibliography of his writings there would a given, definite science and the latter to probably be 150 to 200 titles to list. the practical application of that science. THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW, Söderman today, at fifty years of Both are important phases in preserving CRIMINOLOGY AND POLICE SCIENCE. age, stands at the apex of his career, one law and order. VOL. 43, NO. 1. MAY-JUNE, 1952.

15 Harry Söderman A Great Pan-European Criminalist My contribution here is mini- BY PROFESSOR PIERRE A. MARGOT, PHD mal, but shows through anecdotes, INSTITUT DE POLICE SCIENTIFIQUE ET DE CRIMINOLOGIE, LAUSANNE notes, contributions by his peers (which do not appear in most pub- HARRY SÖDERMAN is a name that I first lished material I have seen in English) how highly regarded heard when I was a student of forensic sci- Harry Söderman was and how ence in Lausanne some 25 years after his innovative he could be, facing death. It did not come up attached to a pragmatic problems. specific field like Bertillon (anthropome- Relation to Locard It is obvious, throughout his writ- try), Galton (dactyloscopy), Goddard (fire- ing, that Harry Söderman had an arms), Osborn (Questioned documents), admiration for Edmond Locard, his but more like the name of his master thesis director, mentor, colleague, friend. Edmond Locard, a generalist, a criminalist This relation and admiration can in its pure dimension looking at evidence be felt while reading the first 190 pages of the book Policeman's Lot not only as a means of proving in court, (Söderman 1956). but also as lead-giving in the investiga- What is less obvious and less tion. well known is that this admiration was reciprocal, arose from the time Harry Söderman was a student of his is also probably why he This needs polyvalence, observation Locard in Lyon, and remained after became known in circles capabilities, intelligence, to transform the dreadful tragedy that split Twhere forensic scientists are data into meaningful information. Europeans in WWII. There are two rarely known : in police circles. Curiosity and the development of a "preface" written by Locard in This, in my mind, is an indication multilingual culture helped make 1928 (Söderman 1928) and in 1956 that he had a clear, modern and for- Harry Söderman one of the foremost (Söderman 1956) that never appear ward looking vision of the role of mind in forensic science. in English editions or versions, but forensic science; a vision that many Not knowing him directly, it is by that are telling witnesses of this forensic scientists still lack today researching through archives that I close relationship. It is perhaps bet- ensconced in their specialist's views started to understand the importance ter to start with the preface written of “their” science for the law, rather of his contribution and to regret his in 1956, when Locard learns of the than science in its broadest sense as a early disappearance. Forensic scien- death of his friend. I freely trans- process useful in determining truth tists of today should be aware of a late the whole preface which I will (identity, cause, circumstances) as rich contribution whose validity is try to relate to other documents much as possible for the judiciary. still evident some 50 years later! later in this presentation. 16 literally, made me create the Revue Internationale de Criminalistique. Beside me, he has pushed to create the International Academy that Van ledden Hülsebosch, Popp, Türkel and Bischoff could perhaps not have managed to organise, nor to maintain without him. And how to forget that, when I was backing from the terrify- ing enterprise of composing the seven volumes of the Traité de Criminalistique, it is him who decided a careless editor, my friend Joannès Desvignes, to risk the dan- gerous adventure "PM addtion (Locard 1931)!" Since then, Harry Söderman has played a historical role where his courage without capitulation joined

” his spirit of initiative. But at the heat OT L

S of the action, he never ceased to be a ´ very great criminalist. Secretary of the International OLICEMAN

“P Commission of Criminal Police, he insured the liaison between countries. Locally, he has founded for the Scandinavian countries this journal ROM THE BOOK where so many pertinent articles have : F appeared, among which the bests car- HOTO P ried his signature. Doctor Edmond Locard, the famous head of the forensic laboratory in With this, always wandering. His Lyon, Harry Söderman´s friend and tutor, expert on crimes, but also on letters would enrich a stamp collec- music and theatre. tion: and I was not more surprised to “At the very moment I was going criminalist has learnt many other see on his letters the stamp of Tanger to write this preface, I learn with such things than the art of detecting and rather than that from New York or a deep sorrow, the death of my dear confounding criminals. Chemist, Stockholm. friend Harry Söderman, who disap- graphologist, prodigiously polyglot, Harry Söderman has had the wis- peared, still very young, when he was enriched by an immense reading, he est idea when he started to write his going to be able to take, finally, such had accumulated in his unique brain memories, as if he had been foresee- a well deserved rest. what would have been the richness of ing that his days, so full, were count- What a magnificent life he has twenty elite's intelligences. ed. I am glad to vouch here that noth- had, or better, what a story! Harry Moreover he was a producer/a ing that came out from his pen should Söderman, traveller without rest, has doer. He had the art of drawing from be neglected by men who wish to not only gone round the vast world, what he knew for the better good of know what can the alloy of such an but has explored all the fields of his friends and others. During the intelligence combined to such a mag- knowledge. I feel honoured to have many years he spent near me what I nificent energy .” had him as a student, the most bril- have got to do due to his initiatives! I liant of all my students. But this great should say his darings. It is him who, Edmond Locard (Söderman 1956) 17 human Justice, that was already lame to, nor all amenable persons. And according to mythological traditions, even magistrates, such as Hans Gross

ÖDERMAN would be the real figure of a cripple. and Robert Heindl, have collaborated S Really, she is a dame that there is to these developments. It is true that NGRID

I no charm to frequent. It is better to they are not from our country. And lit- forget that one was given a leathering tle by little, criminalistics has shown than ask her for any compensation or what could be expected from the IBRARY OF vengeance. This goddess without eyes : L study of marks, prints, stains, dust, and hearing, and limping, would cer- written documents. Among all these HOTO

, P tainly add more blows of her own. But problems, that of the identification of

YON if you are accused of having stolen firearms is one where the results are L

IN the tower of Notre-Dame, and had not the clearest and the most conclusive. been able to flee prudently in due Harry Söderman has arrived from 1926

OR time, as was the counsel of this wisest Scandinavia to study criminalistics in amenable person, that Panurge was, a French laboratory. I have followed

S. 1925 one has to think to put ones affairs in step by step this clear intelligence, order with her. When one has a pure helped by a tenacity without short- ARRY

H heart, one would like her to see that, comings and the very firm love of The second preface appears at the and that she took away for one work. I believe in the success of only beginning of Harry Söderman´s the- moment her bandage in order to see those who join the merit of the char- sis and is telling, if not an early admi- that well. acter to those of the mind. Harry ration of the master for the pupil, at So has been created the recent Söderman is one of them. It is not least the clear vision that the pupil myth of a Justice seeing clearly. What indifferent that a young man who is was destined for a great future. I do I say, some daring people have dedicated to an intellectual life has leave in the beginning of the preface dreamt to substitute an acute vision started to cross the deserts of Central which demonstrates a facet of from eyes armed with magnifying Asia and to hunt the tiger in the Locard's vision of science used in the glass and microscope to a legendary Mekong. Nothing mediocre to expect judicial process. blindness. One would like a learned from him. It is very sweet to me to be “I don't know a more tragic image Themis who, after having gone the godfather of Harry Söderman at than that which represents Themis through the faculties where one the beginnings of a life which I pre- with her eyes covered. I understand speaks, she had spent some time in tend will be prolific, and to present to well that the ancestors of classical those where we learn to observe. So the public this first scientific work of Mediterranea, Greeks and Latins, the civil or criminal inquiry has a man for whom my esteem equals my have wanted to mean by that that become scientific. And the expert has affection. Justice did not want to know the pur- collaborated with the judge, after This work is first a state of the art. pur of kings, nor the splendour of helping the policeman. One can find a clear and complete naked Phrynea. This co-operation has not always summary of what has been done on But how not to worry that this been received as enthusiastically as it short firearms with the criminalistics bandage, after having saved her from was offered. One of the most distin- point of view. It is also to a large the prestiges that she would risk by guished magistrate who presided the extent, the presentation of original imposing her the contemplation of the debates with a praiseworthy effort in and very sound techniques. So this "greatness of the flesh", as would say a difficult case, summarised experts' monograph is the most commendable Bossuet, would stop her distinguish testimonies in these very careful work that exist today on a very impor- the narrow road that would take her terms: "when science goes one step tant and difficult question. I can rec- to the truth. And since, furthermore, forward, truth goes back two steps”. ommend it to technicians in con- she would risk to be deafened in tem- Despite this pyrrhonian pes- science“ ples where so many people make with simism, techniques are created that Locard p. V-VII in (Söderman their larynx formidable concerts, not all magistrate turn up their nose 1928)

18 Harry Söderman, the paradigm of a European Student in Sweden, then Germany, his knowledge of languages extended to French (as evidenced by his thesis) ARGOT and English (his activities with A. M O'Connell in New York), a true poly- IERRE glot he was able to communicate and P publish proficiently in all these lan-

guages (Söderman 1928; Locard, IBRARY OF

Söderman et al. 1929; Söderman : L

1931; Söderman 1938; Söderman and HOTO P O'Connell 1952), this led him to Founders of the Academy: Prof Marc-A. Bischoff, prof Siegfried Türkel, C.J. van become one of the most sought after Ledden Hülsebosch, Prof G. Popp and Dr Edmond Locard, in Lausanne, 1929. scientist and consultant in matters of that would be identifying marks on prolific author he also travelled forensic science and criminal investi- fired cartridge cases, and that the sys- extensively and helped set up or reor- gation and one of the most active tem should be compulsory and gener- ganise police laboratories and organi- forensic scientist on the international alised! It is ironical that in 2001 this sations in many countries (see Larson scene. Made a member of the newly was (still?) debated at the UNO in (Larson 1952) besides his own. created International Academy of New York in order to be able to trace Connections with the International Criminalistics (seat Vienna) in firearms and their origin! Criminal Police Commission before Lausanne (1929) at the early age of In the meantime he had founded, WWII, were revived in 1946 when he 27 (wrongly called International with others, the "Nordisk became Reporter General to the ICPC Academy of Criminals Science from Kriminalteknis Tidskrift" in 1931 with President Louwage, Secretary Vienna by Larson (Larson 1952)) he (Söderman 1931) and become a pro- General Ducloux and two other became a leading European figure fessor of criminalistics at the Reporter General Howe and Müller. with editorial responsibilities besides University of Stockholm that same He was still active with the ICPC Locard in the official organ of the year, also publishing in Archiv für and had a working meeting with the Academy "la Revue Internationale de Kriminologie (founded by H. Gross) Directorate of the ICPC still one Criminalistique" (1929 - 1939). (Locard, Söderman et al. 1929). A week before his untimely death. The name of Söderman appears as a contributor to the second general assembly of the Academy in Vienna in 1930, and the typewritten summary appears on page 14 of the notes made by Bischoff. It appears just after a contribution by Heess ARGOT

(Stuttgart) (well known in the field of A. M firearms identification with Mezger IERRE and Hasslacher) and before a contri- P bution by Prof Popp (Francfort a/M).

His paper concerned methods applied IBRARY OF to the identification of projectiles, : L

cartridge cases and powders. He HOTO P made the proposal that manufacturers The last meeting of the Academy took place again in Lausanne in 1938 of firearms develop specific signs and Söderman appears in the official photograph.

19 HARRY SÖDERMAN, the doer and crafts- man Locard mentions that Harry Söderman was capable of developing, from his ideas and those of others, ÖDERMAN

S tools and methods useful in criminalistics. NGRID I One such tool was the Hastoscope, based on Goddard's ideas (comparison process in firearms IBRARY OF

: L identification, used in the Sacco and

HOTO Vanzetti's case by Goddard and P General Assembly of Interpol, Rome 1954 with Pope Pius XII. Waite). It is an improved comparison microscope with a special sample holder designed to hold bullets hori- zontally and to turn them around their axis to observe and compare rifling marks. The origin of the name itself is mysterious but my hypothesis is that it came from a contraction of Ha(rry)S(öderman)toscope with the ARGOT pun that it helps get results much A. M quicker than before (as in haste)..

IERRE This became the basis of the P development of comparison microscopy in the identification of

IBRARY OF firearms used in criminal activities : L (Locard 1929). HOTO

P Another such development, was The Executive Committee of the ICPC with Ducloux, Harry Söderman, the creation of a dust collector con- Nepote, Howe, Müller and Lowage in 1947 (above) and in Bern (General nected to an Electrolux vacuum Assembly) in 1949 (with Müller and Louwage). cleaner (Söderman 1931) called thereafter the "Söderman-Heuberger filter", its use was adopted by Locard in its extensive writings about dust (Locard, Söderman et al. 1929). ARGOT A. M IERRE P IBRARY OF : L HOTO P 20 Bibliography Larson, C. (1952). "Harry Söderman of Stockholm: Master Criminologist." The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science 43(1): 95-102. Locard, E. (1929). "Graphoscope et hastoscope." Revue Inter- nationale de Criminalistique 1: 113-117. Locard, E. (1931). Traité de criminalistique Vol.I à VII. Lyon, Joannès Desvigne et fils Editeurs. Locard, E., H. Söderman, et al. (1929). "Beiträge zur kriminalistis- chen Staubuntersuchung." Archiv für Kriminologie 92(5-6): 234-245. Söderman, H. (1928). L'expertise des armes à feu courtes. Lyon, Joannès Desvigne et fils. Söderman, H. (1931). "En ny ARGOT apparat för uppsamling av damm i

A. M förbrytares kläder." Nordisk Kriminalteknisk Tidskrift 1. IERRE P Söderman, H. (1931). "Inifran lasta dörrar." Nordisk Kriminal-

IBRARY OF teknisk Tidskrift 1(1).

: L Söderman, H. (1938). Minnesbok

HOTO för Kriminalpolismän. Stockholm, P Stockholms Bokindustri Aktiebolag. Söderman, H. (1956). Harry Söderman, Harry Söderman, Policeman's Lot. A Criminologist's missions during the regular contacts Gallery of Friends and Felons. New war with Bischoff in York, Funk & Wagnalls Company. There is one specific indication that Lausanne Söderman, H. (1956). Quarante Hastoscope had a mission from the Unfortunately, personal correspon- ans de police internationale. Paris, Swedish government in 1942, when dance of Bischoff does not exist any- Presses de la Cité. he was sent to Switzerland. more at the IPSC. Söderman, H. and J. O'Connell There he spent (Feb 1942) a week Bischoff himself cleared his (1952). Modern Criminal with the chief of Intelligence in the archives when retiring in 1963, but I Investigation. New York, Funk & Swiss army, Colonel Werner Müller could find a few tokens showing con- Wagnalls Company. (who was to become one of the mem- tacts with Bischoff starting in 1928 bers of the directorate of the ICPC and lasting until Harry Söderman´s too), before travelling to Geneva and death in 1956 as evidence by auto- France where he met, for the last graphed books. time, his friend and master Locard (Söderman 1956; Söderman 1956) (p. 26).

21 COVER PHOTO: HARRY SÖDERMAN, 1955 LIBRARY OF INGRID SÖDERMAN

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