SDU Samarbetskommittén För Demokratiskt Uppbyggnadsarbete (The Swedish Joint Committee for Democratic Reconstruction)
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Uppsala University Department of History For the Sake of Democracy Samarbetskommittén för demokratiskt uppbyggnadsarbete and the Cultural Reconstruction of Post-World War II Europe Master thesis, Fall 2011 Author: Christin Mays Supervisor: Lars M. Andersson Evaluator: Torkel Jansson Defense Date: October 12, 2011 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Research Issues ....................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Sources ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Method ................................................................................................................................................... 10 1.4. Theoretical Underpinnings ................................................................................................................. 12 1.4.1. As an Organizational Network ................................................................................................... 12 1.4.2. Using a Swedish Identity ............................................................................................................. 14 1.5. Structure ................................................................................................................................................. 17 2. Previous Research ................................................................................................................ 18 3. Organization of European Reconstruction ......................................................................... 23 3.1. Relief Initiatives: Great Britain and the United States ................................................................... 24 3.2. Educational Reconstruction: Great Britain and the United States ................................................ 25 3.3. The Case of Sweden ............................................................................................................................. 27 4. The Making Samarbetskommittén för Demokratiskt Uppbyggnadsarbete ....................... 31 4.1. From “Reeducation” to Reconstruction ........................................................................................... 31 4.2. Structure ................................................................................................................................................. 32 4.3. Financing ............................................................................................................................................... 38 5. Sections to Individual Directives ......................................................................................... 43 5.1. Section 1: Research............................................................................................................................... 45 5.2. Section 2: Literature ............................................................................................................................. 50 5.3. Section 3: Education & Training ........................................................................................................ 54 5.4. Sections 4 & 5: Refugee Contact & Post-war Preparations ........................................................... 58 6. Individual Directives ........................................................................................................... 59 6.1. 1947 – 1948 ........................................................................................................................................... 60 6.2. 1949 – 1950 ........................................................................................................................................... 64 6.3. 1951: The Final Year ............................................................................................................................ 67 7. The Exportation of Swedish Visions ................................................................................... 68 8. The Slow Decline ................................................................................................................. 71 8.1. New Crises on the Horizon ................................................................................................................ 72 8.2. Competing Organizations ................................................................................................................... 73 9. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 76 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................ 79 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................................... 90 1 Abbreviations ABF Arbetarbildningsförbundet (The Worker’s Educational Association) AMS Arbetsmarknadsstyrelsen (The National Labor Market Board) GER German Educational Reconstruction IAL Internationella arbetslag (Service Central International) IKFF Internationella kvinnoförbundet för fred och frihet (The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) KF Kooperativa förbundet (The Swedish Cooperative Union and Wholesale Society) LO Landsorganisationen i Sverige (The Swedish Trade Union Confederation) RB Rädda Barnen (Save the Children – Swedish Committee) SAF Svenska arbetsgivareföreningen (The Swedish Employer’s Association) SAH Svenska akademiska hjälpkommittén (The Swedish Academic Relief Committee) SAK Statens arbetsmarknadskommissionen (The National Labour Commission) SAP Socialdemokratiska Arbetarepartiet (The Social Democratic Labor Party) SDU Samarbetskommittén för demokratiskt uppbyggnadsarbete (The Swedish Joint Committee for Democratic Reconstruction) SF Stiftelsen Fredhögskolan (Peace College Foundation) SEH Svenska Europahjälpen (Swedish European Relief) SI Svenska institutet (The Swedish Institute) SIH Svenska kommittén för internationellt hjälpverksamhet (The Swedish Committee for International Relief) SISU Samfundet för internationellt samhällstudium och uppbyggnadsarbete (The Association for International Societal Studies and Reconstruction Efforts) SOS Socialstyrelsen (The National Board of Health and Welfare) SÖ Skolöverstyrelsen (The National School Board) SRK Röda Korset (The Swedish Red Cross) SSKF Sveriges socialdemokratiska kvinnoförbund (The National Federation of Social Democratic Women in Sweden) SÅ Statens återuppbyggnadsnämnden (The National Reconstruction Board) UD Utrikesdepartmentet (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs) UN The United Nations UNESCO The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNRRA The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration USCER The United States Committee on Educational Reconstruction VF Världssamling för fred – Svenska kommittén (World Peace Campaign – The Swedish Committee) 2 1. Introduction Post-World War II Europe was marked by devastation. Cities were destroyed, infrastructure obliterated and populations left physically, mentally and emotionally lost. National Socialist ideology transformed the minds and landscapes of Europe quickly and brutally. By the end of World War II, Europeans were left trying to put back the pieces of a world they no longer understood. By 1945, post-war planning had been running for almost two years in Sweden. As early as the summer of 1942, rumors began circulating in the Swedish press about the devastating intentions of Nazi plans, but it was not until December 1942 when the Riegner Report became public that the true nature of the Final Solution was elucidated. From this point, a growing sense of responsibility developed in Europe and the United States to address the laundry list of inevitable problems facing the world at war’s end. When governmental planning for European reconstruction began in Sweden, focus revolved primarily around the organization of economic and humanitarian relief to the affected countries in the short-term and less widely to social and cultural aid in the long term.1 A little known organization, Samarbetskommittén för demokratiskt uppbyggnadsarbete (The Swedish Joint Committee for Democratic Reconstruction) or SDU was established to deal specifically with post-war cultural reconstruction on June 21, 1943. Though it would not officially be active until January 4, 1944, the passion to make a small difference in the coming crises led to a frenzy of preparatory work before the war ended. 2 Unfortunately, the shadows of large humanitarian organizations such as the Swedish Red Cross and Save the Children as well as efforts in Britain and the United States have left this organization virtually unstudied. The establishment of SDU began as a cooperative idea by members in the education and peace organizations, Världssamling för fred – Svenska kommittén (World Peace Campaign – The Swe- dish Committee, VF)3 and Stiftelsen Fredshögskolan (Peace College Foundation, SF)4 to create a self- termed “reeducation committee” to combat the cultural, democratic, and spiritual deficits in the lands affected by the war.5 Einar Tegen, a member in SF, and Alva Myrdal, a member in VF, be- 1 Jörg Lindner, Den svenska Tysklands-hjälpen 1945-1954. (Stockholm: Almqvist