This study compares Erik Goos’s memories of World War I to what two Swedish school books in history, Historia 1b and Möt historien 1b, write about the war. Erik was born in Germany in the year of 1900 but moved with his family to Sweden as a young boy. At the age of 15, Erik got an apprenticeship at a German clothesdealer in Rödding. 1918 was the year Erik got summoned to the military service which meant he never really got out to war until the war was over. What he did experience was the November Revolution in Germany towards the end of the war. The text books used in Swedish high school describe the events of the war chronologically in a way that is easy to survey. Because of the limited space in the school books there is less focus on the individual person and more of an overview of the whole war and its consequenses. Möt historien 1b is slightly more nuanced in its contents than Historia 1b. Möt historien 1b includes material from several different sources, for example letters from individuals who fought in the war. A story as the one told by Erik is a great example of a source that the Swedish curriculum would do well to integrate into their history lessons.

Abstract The study examines how the two Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet wrote about England, Germany and Russia during World War One. The study examines the two newspapers’ changed view of the three countries during the course of the war. Furthermore there is a compararition between what the two newspapers wrote. The study is a qualitative and comparative analysis based on material from Dagens Nyheters and Svenska Dagbladets editorial pages. The method that has been used is a qualitative content analysis and a comparative method. Framing theory is used as the study's theoretical ground. The result of the study shows that Dagens Nyheter had a neutral and positive framing of England, a negative and neutral framing of Germany and a mostly negative framing of Germany. Svenska Dagbladet had a mostly negative framing of England, a positive framing of Germany and a negative framing of Russia.

Using a qualitative text analysis tying into the hermeneutic tradition, this study aims to explain how Swedish military attachés, as part of the process of professionalization, reported information as possible proponents of their own armed service during WW1. Michael I. Handel’s taxonomy, including four definitions of politics in the intelligence process, will here be used to analyze how the interests of the Swedish army as a stakeholder in the competition for state funds came to light in intelligence reporting. Based on the perceived conflict between a “professional intelligence culture” and the political use of intelligence, Handel’s taxonomy will also be used to discuss the attachés attitudes regarding the relationship between professional military officers and political decision making. These conclusions are made to create a Swedish historical perspective in research geared towards the politicization of intelligence, a field dominated by Anglo-Saxon perspectives and generalizations based on empirical findings not necessarily relevant to Swedish conditions. This study is therefore an attempt at relating the Swedish intelligence history to the phenomenon of intelligence politicization in an era where the professionalization of the military trade was highly prevalent. The study concludes that the reports show a tendency, with slight exceptions, where the attachés defend and propagate the interests of the army. This especially in cases where there is a clear rival in the competition for state funding within a political bargaining process, here exemplified by the Swedish navy. Cultural ideals emphasizing professional judgements over political opportunism, where officers who can propagate military demands in spite of political opposition are idealized, come to light in the reports. This suggests that the socioprofessional change within the Swedish officer corps between 1890-1914 coincides with a will to speak truth to power in line with the interests of military professionals.

<p>Denna uppsats avhandlar de taktiska grundprinciperna och slagen vid Tannenberg och Somme under första världskriget. Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda vilka taktiska grundprinciper som användes vid dessa slag samt med hjälp av dessa försöka ge en förklaring till dess utgång.</p><p>De taktiska grundprinciperna är hämtade ur <em>Doktrin för markoperationer, </em>vilket skall ge en förklaring till huruvida dagens svenska version av dessa kan appliceras på gårdagens slag.</p><p>Den metod som legat till grund för arbetet är fallstudier baserade på en litteraturstudie. Fallstudierna medför att en djupare analys och beskrivning av händelseförloppen kan ges än om längre epoker i första världskriget skulle ha avhandlats.</p><p>Arbetet är uppdelat i en inledning, där det ovannämnda är beskrivet. Därefter följer en avhandling där teorin kring de taktiska grundprinciperna beskrivs samt fallstudierna redovisas. Därefter kommer en analys där teorierna appliceras mot fallstudierna. Slutligen besvaras frågeställningen i en slutdiskussion.</p><p>I analysen framgår att teorierna går att applicera mot de båda slagen, men att de användes mer frekvent i det ena. I en mer rörlig strid ledde de taktiska grundprinciperna till ett avgörande. I ett utnötningskrig gjordes försök att använda dem, dock lyckades det inte på samma sätt.</p> / <p>This essay is about the tactical principles and the battles of Tannenberg and the Somme during World War 1. This essays purpose is to examine which tactical principles that were used within these battles and with the help of these principles try to explain the execution of the battles.</p><p>The tactical principles are collected from the Swedish doctrine for ground operations. The reason for this is to explain how doctrines of today can be applied on the battles of yesterday.</p><p>The method that has been used in this essay is a case study based on literature studies. Case studies give an opportunity for a deeper analysis and description by the historical events than if a whole description of the World War 1 had been made.</p><p>This essay is divided into an introduction where the battles mentioned above are described. Thereafter follows a chapter where the theory about the tactical principles is described and the cases are presented. Thereafter follows an analysis where the theories are applied to the cases. Finally the question at issue is answered in a final discussion.</p><p>The result of the analysis is that the theories can be applied to the battles but they were more frequently used in one of them. The tactical principles were more decisive in a mobile warfare compared to an immobile warfare. Attempts to use the tactical principles during the immobile battle were made, but didn’t succeed as well as in the mobile battle.</p>

Denna uppsats avhandlar de taktiska grundprinciperna och slagen vid Tannenberg och Somme under första världskriget. Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda vilka taktiska grundprinciper som användes vid dessa slag samt med hjälp av dessa försöka ge en förklaring till dess utgång. De taktiska grundprinciperna är hämtade ur Doktrin för markoperationer, vilket skall ge en förklaring till huruvida dagens svenska version av dessa kan appliceras på gårdagens slag. Den metod som legat till grund för arbetet är fallstudier baserade på en litteraturstudie. Fallstudierna medför att en djupare analys och beskrivning av händelseförloppen kan ges än om längre epoker i första världskriget skulle ha avhandlats. Arbetet är uppdelat i en inledning, där det ovannämnda är beskrivet. Därefter följer en avhandling där teorin kring de taktiska grundprinciperna beskrivs samt fallstudierna redovisas. Därefter kommer en analys där teorierna appliceras mot fallstudierna. Slutligen besvaras frågeställningen i en slutdiskussion. I analysen framgår att teorierna går att applicera mot de båda slagen, men att de användes mer frekvent i det ena. I en mer rörlig strid ledde de taktiska grundprinciperna till ett avgörande. I ett utnötningskrig gjordes försök att använda dem, dock lyckades det inte på samma sätt. / This essay is about the tactical principles and the battles of Tannenberg and the Somme during World War 1. This essays purpose is to examine which tactical principles that were used within these battles and with the help of these principles try to explain the execution of the battles. The tactical principles are collected from the Swedish doctrine for ground operations. The reason for this is to explain how doctrines of today can be applied on the battles of yesterday. The method that has been used in this essay is a case study based on literature studies. Case studies give an opportunity for a deeper analysis and description by the historical events than if a whole description of the World War 1 had been made. This essay is divided into an introduction where the battles mentioned above are described. Thereafter follows a chapter where the theory about the tactical principles is described and the cases are presented. Thereafter follows an analysis where the theories are applied to the cases. Finally the question at issue is answered in a final discussion. The result of the analysis is that the theories can be applied to the battles but they were more frequently used in one of them. The tactical principles were more decisive in a mobile warfare compared to an immobile warfare. Attempts to use the tactical principles during the immobile battle were made, but didn’t succeed as well as in the mobile battle.

During World War I, war films became an important part of Swedish cinema programs. Newsreels as well as war related fiction films from the different battling nations were distributed to film theaters around the country. With these new films, the recently established censorship bureau also got new duties to consider. Aside from protecting public moral and the youth, the censors were now expected to uphold the Swedish neutrality policy in the domain of cinema. Material sensitive for diplomatic relations or potentially politically arousing for the audience was removed or edited. There were several reasons as to why cinema was singled out as the most important medium to control during these sensitive times. The authentic aura of moving images together with a fear of the reactions of mass audiences made the risk of biased propaganda seem greater. This thesis analyzes the complex web of relations between Swedish neutrality, media specificity discourse and censorship of World War I films. Examples of censorship of both newsreels and fiction films are discussed in relation to media specificity discourse in trade journals and daily newspapers of the time.

In the decades leading up to the First World War, the Swedish army (as the rest of Swedish society) was greatly influenced by Germany (i.e. subject primarily to Prussian military influence). German equipment was purchased and German training methods and ways of organizing military units were copied. Apart from such easily discernible traces of German influence, the Swedish officer corps - according to earlier research - harboured sympathies for Germany and the German Army. But did the German influences, and the sympathies for Germany, also result in a professional bias – i.e. in a lack of professional objectivity? The purpose of this essay is to examine whether the officer corps of the Swedish army in the period 1900-1914 managed to achieve a level of professional objectivity, i.e. if it in a systematic way endeavoured to study the military development in other countries than Germany. Earlier research has shown that Swedish officers travelled to all major European countries in order to study a wide range of subjects. The essay connects on to these results but also strives to examine the study tours as well as the officers who undertook them in greater depth. The author examines reports written by Swedish officers who studied in France between 1900 and 1914 as well as contemporary army lists.  In the essay two main questions are raised: 1. Which were the subjects for Swedish military study tours to France before the First World War? 2. Which categories of officers (rank, posting, career etc.) undertook such tours? The following main results are presented: A very wide range of subjects were studied – all relevant to Swedish military development of that time. The coverage of subjects was probably due to a systematic approach from the army authorities responsible for the approval of money for the tours. The officers who studied abroad were drawn from various units and backgrounds. The result of the examination of contemporary army lists shows that a high percentage of them later enjoyed successful military careers (e.g. what seems to be a higher than average percentage were later promoted to the rank of full colonel) – and that the army put the knowledge acquired abroad to use. An indication of the latter is that many of them, after having studied abroad, were given postings with a connection to the subjects they had studied in France. All in all, the results indicate that the Swedish officer corps achieved a level of professional objectivity in spite of the strong German influences of that time.

The purpose and aim of this study was to examine, identify and account for general understandings and expressions of grief in family members of dead First World War servicemen. The study found its theoretical framework in Jay Winter’s term ”languages of mourning” and his hypothesis that First World War commemoration mainly drew on ”traditional” rather than ”modern” themes and languages, as expressed in his book Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History. The study used a qualitative method of text analysis and compared its findings to previous research. The source material used in the study was reports on headstone inscriptions and texts from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The epitaphs used in the study were from three different British war cemeteries. The main findings of the study is that the languages of mourning used in the epitaphs mainly were traditional rather than modern, in Jay Winter’s terminology. Much like Winter argued, the most common themes and thus langauges of mourning are those of ”religion” and ”memory” or ”sentimentality.” Unlike Winter, however, this study also found the use of ”personal details” about the dead or their families to be of common usage. Explicit expressions of grief or patriotism were, however, less common.

Between 1915 and 1918, the Swedish Red Cross organised transportation and exchanges of prisoners of war between Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During 1917, some particularly sick prisoners were sent to Norway and Denmark to be hospitalised. This paper studies the aid effort to prisoners of war by the Swedish Red Cross during World War One by studying their work with these prisoner exchanges. By doing this, the study aims to answer the question of how the Swedish Red Cross cooperated with states to conduct exchanges of prisoners of war. This is done through a qualitative method of analysis of the material, during which Nye’s theory of interdependence is employed as a tool for the analysis. The four dimensions of interdependence (sources, benefits, relative costs, and symmetries) are used to generate operationalized research questions and to analyse the results. These transportations were a massive administrative undertaking for the Swedish Red Cross and required cooperation from all involved states to run smoothly. The Russian revolution and subsequent civil war, lack of coal and oil, and animosity between the belligerent nations created problems repeatedly threatening the cooperations. The study concludes that the cooperation was based on administrational work by the Swedish Red Cross together with material, financial and medical contributions from the states. The study also concludes that the main sources of interdependence were the mutual need to exchange prisoners between the belligerent states. For them the main benefit was getting their compatriots back; for the Red Cross and neutral states, it was recognized as a humanitarian actor. The Swedish Red Cross and the neutral states were the more sensitive actors, while the belligerent states were the more vulnerable actors. The cooperation was relatively symmetrical but slightly skewed in the favour of the belligerent states

I augusti 1914 invaderade Tyskland sitt västra grannland Belgien, som förklarat sig neutralt i konflikten mellan centralmakterna och de allierade. Belgarnas försvar byggde på den uttalade politiska viljan att vara neutral och var därför inte kraftsamlat i någon riktning. Tysklands anfall inleddes med en attack på de stora fasta försvarsanläggningarna vid Liège. Försvaret var knutet till de fasta försvarsanläggningarna uppförda 40 år tidigare. Trots relativt små medel och dåliga förberedelser lyckades försvararna göra väl ifrån sig. Nyttjandet av fasta försvarsanläggningar är gammalt men det finns fortfarande mycket lärdom att dra. Den här uppsatsen är en teoribildande fallstudie baserad på kvalitativ litteraturstudie. Därför beskrivs slaget i förhållande till fördelar och nackdelar med nyttjandet av fasta försvarsanläggningar. Jag presenterar också ett försök att dra rimliga slutsatser ur det som inträffat som mynnar ut i en teori. Den viktigaste slutsatsen kan sammanfattas med att fasta försvarsanläggningar kommer bäst till sin rätt när de nyttjas av förband vars uppgift gör dem oberoende av hög rörlighet men ställer krav på hög verkan med kvantitativt liten trupp. De gör sig sämst då involverade med stora fältförband med uppgifter som ställer krav på mobilitet och knappa tidsförhållanden / Germany invaded its western neighbour Belgium in august 1914. Belgium had declared herself neutral in the conflict between the central powers and the allied but was still invaded. The Belgian defence revolved largely around the political will to remain neutral and was therefore ill prepared in either direction. Germany’s first attack struck at the great fortresses outside Liège. The defence of this town was tied to the local forts, which had been erected some 40 years before. The outnumbered defenders with poorly executed preparations were able to perform well against the German might. The use of forts is an old practice in war but there are still lessons to be learned from its utilisation. This study is a theory constructive case study based on a quality text study. Therefore, the battle with its pros and cons of the use of forts are presented in an attempt to derive reasonable conclusions towards the use of fixed fortifications These facts led me to form a foundation of a theory on the usefulness of fixed fortifications.