Behind the myth about the role of Swedish social democrats in the introduction of the J-stamp in Nazi Germany
In a time when history is used as a political bat, Ola Larsmo comes forward to examine an ongoing myth-making about the alleged role of Swedish social democrats in the introduction of the J-stamp in Nazi Germany. Through a detailed analysis of historical events, Larsmo shows that it is important to stick to the facts and not use this as a political tool.
Larsmo addresses the widespread image of Magdalena Andersson in front of a German passport with the infamous J stamp, which has been spread through SD's party propaganda since 2018. SD claims on its Facebook page that Swedish social democrats demanded that Nazi Germany stamp a "J" in Jewish passport to be able to reject Jews at the border.
The myth about the social democrats and the Jewish stamp has no basis
Through an examination of research in the subject, Larsmo shows that this claim is unfounded. He takes us back to 1927, when racial biology gained political impact internationally, and Sweden designed a new alien law inspired by the US immigration law. The Social Democrats questioned the government's actions and believed that the legislation bore the stamp of xenophobia. Despite this, this is not where anti-Semitism in Sweden took shape.
Larsmo points out that in 1932 the National Board of Health and Welfare began marking Jewish immigrants' registration cards with an "m" for "mosaic". This shows a practice that took into account aspects of race and was in line with the Aliens Act of 1927. By 1937 the wording about race disappeared from the new Aliens Act, and now it was clear that Nazi Germany was trying to expel Jews and introduced racial laws to deprive Jewish citizens of their rights.
The Social Democrats and the Liberals fought back
Larsmo points out that Swedish politicians from the right and the Social Democrats discussed the refugee issue and the persecution of Jews. The right-wing motioned for tighter control over the alien invasion, while the Social Democrats pleaded for refugee status to be given to those persecuted for political reasons, including Jewish refugees. It was only social democrats and liberals who spoke for the refugees' cause in the Swedish parliament.
When Nazi Germany invaded Austria in 1938 and a large Jewish population was persecuted and expelled, a new type of non-returnable passport was also noticed. The Swedish Foreign Ministry discussed the need for a "category separation" of passports to distinguish refugees from "national Germans". It later emerged that Germany had already proposed a stamp in the passport to mark Jews, but the Social Democrats constantly fought against this proposal. But The Social Democrats did not dare to condemn the coalition government on the matter.