Sweden, Kingdom. A War Prisoners' Aid Of The Ymca Group, C.1945

Includes:

1. War Prisoners' Aid of the YMCA Souvenir Photo Album (Swedish-made, maroon paper covered card covers, the front cover with a embossed image of a ship, foil "Källbergs Foto Linköping" label on the inside front cover, containing twenty two-sided panels on a gray card stock thereby creating forty pages, sixteen two-sided panels housing a total of sixty-three black and white photographs pasted in place, along with captions below each photo. The first page has a panel pasted in place inscribed "May 1945 / Victory Month / Here are some sunny souvenirs from the end of the long captivity / The photographs are sent to you as a gift with the best wishes for the future from the War Prisoners' Aid of the Y.M.C.A.". The photos were taken in many camps, notably Austria and Italy in this album, showing the state of the camps and their internees in the closing days of the war and its aftermath, along with designated visitors to the camps, at rest and play, including food drops by parachute, a column of trucks, and the last funeral held at Ilag XVIII at Spittal, Austria, many of the photos showing the white YMCA relief car. Also included are YMCA member visits to Rome and Venice, along with bombed out buildings in Nuremberg and Hamburg, The last entry in the book features a large photo signed in blue ink by the album's collaborator, Swedish lawyer Henry Soderberg, and dated "1945" with the notation "with best wishes!", the album with a spiral binding, measuring 215 mm in width x 240 mm in height x 19 mm in depth);

2. Källbergs Photo of Linköping Card (inscribed "Dear Sir, / At the request of the swedish charity organisation "Help war Victims" we hereby send you an album which we hope will satisfy you. / If you happen to come to Sweden some time we should be obliged if you would care to pay us a visit. Apply to us with confidence about your photographic problems. / Yours truly / KÄLLBERGS PHOTO / S:t Lars Street 15 - Linköping / (120 english miles south of Stockholm) / SWEDEN", printed in black ink, on an off-white card stock, measuring 150 mm (w) x 105 mm (h));

3. Canadian War Services Fund Armband (in white cotton, inscribed "CANADIAN WAR SERVICES FUND", the text screen-printed in red ink on the 200 mm wide front panel, measuring 430 mm in length x 105 mm in width, lightly soiled);

4. Canadian YMCA War Services Patch (in red, white and blue embroidery, measuring 52 mm (w) x 65 mm (h));

5. Map of British Prisoner of War Camps (two-sided, map of Germany, Austria and Poland on one side, the other side with a map of Italy, both maps indicating the various Prisoner of War camps along with major cities and towns, with an Index to Camps, Civilian Internment Camps and Hospitals in the right hand margin, printed in red and black inks, on a thick white paper stock, measuring 316 mm (w) x 254 mm (h));

6. Slip of Paper accompanying the Map (typewritten message "These maps have been sent to you with the compliments of Prisoners of War and Next-of-Kin Department / Toronto Branch, Red Cross / 50 Bloor St. East Toronto", on a beige paper stock, measuring 108 mm (w) x 65 mm (h)).

Better than very fine.

Footnote:

1. Sweden and Switzerland were spared the horrors of warfare and did their share to lighten the burden of war victims. These two neutral countries cooperated with the War Prisoners' Aid of the YMCA, with headquarters in Geneva and New York, in sending material aid to war prisoners and civilian internees in Europe and the Far East. The rights and privileges of more than 6,000,000 prisoners of war confined behind barbed wire throughout the world were protected by the treaty, "The Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War", signed by forty-seven nations on July 27, 1920. Among other things the Geneva Convention specified that various welfare organizations may have access to war prison camps to render certain services to prisoners; thus War Prisoners' Aid, under the auspices of the YMCA World’s Committee carried on its stimulating programs of educational, recreational and religious activities among war prisoners, regardless of race, creed or nationality. The role that Sweden played in this important service was many: primarily giving financial support, as well as supplying materials for leisure-time activities. They provided also a large percentage of the personnel necessary. From Sweden came books, writing materials, lumber and other materials that were hardly found in other European countries and many of its neutral secretaries were permitted to visit prisoner of war internment camps.

2. Swedish lawyer Henry Söderberg (1916-1998), as a representative of the International YMCA during the Second World War, was one of seven foreigners allowed within Nazi Germany to visit prisoner of war camps. His remarkable freedom of movement within Germany enabled him to record a rare picture of the conditions of prisoners of war and of the German population. He visited the camps frequently and went to great efforts to procure and deliver items requested by the various camps. As a result, each compound had musical instruments, a library, and sports equipment to meet the different British and American national tastes. Chaplains also received the necessary religious items to enable them to hold regular services. Söderberg formed friendships with many of the American POW's and remained in touch with them throughout the years, travelling from Sweden to the United States to attend POW reunions. After the war, Söderberg was a civil aviation official for twenty years before joining Scandinavian Airlines, from which he retired as Vice President. His love of aviation and its history led to his writing the book "Swedenborg's 1714 Airplane: A Machine to Fly in the Air." He died in 1998.