Sweden released a new leaflet for citizens this week with tips on how to survive if the country goes to war. The handbook issued by the government covers topics such as how to stop bleeding, the difference between different types of emergency supplies, and what foods to stock up on. Given the fact that Sweden just joined NATO this year, the advice is more important than ever as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues and Vladimir Putin continues to threaten nuclear strikes against the West.
But it’s not the first time Sweden has issued this kind of book. The country actually has a long history of trying to prepare its population for war with Russia, from pamphlets and educational films to public nuclear shelters that are more popular than anything the Americans produced during the Cold War. At one point, it even printed instructions in its phone book.
The new pamphlet says which is available online and titled “In Times of War or Trouble.” It is distributed by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and opens with an explanation of its need.
We live in uncertain times. Armed conflicts are currently being waged in our corner of the world. Terrorism, cyber attacks, and disinformation campaigns are used to undermine and influence us. In order to resist these threats, we must unite. If Sweden is attacked, everyone must do their part to protect Sweden’s independence—and our democracy. We build resilience every day, along with our loved ones, coworkers, friends, and neighbors. In this booklet, you learn how to prepare, and act, in the event of a disaster or war. He is part of Sweden’s emergency preparedness.
All of that seems straightforward and logical here in 2024. But it’s easy to forget that there was a time before our current world conflicts when that language seemed unnecessarily dangerous. Because Sweden has a similar pamphlet that was circulated from the middle of World War II until the fall of the Soviet Union. And then it didn’t start producing this type of pamphlet again until 2018.
Founded in 1943, Sweden’s first pamphlet was called “When War Comes,” published at a time when the country was officially neutral. But the manual received a revision during the Cold War, when concerns included both the possibility of a Soviet invasion of Sweden and the possibility of nuclear war. One of the biggest messages throughout was the idea that if a foreign army invaded and took over, the average citizen should not give up. There had to be opposition and that opposition would take the form of whatever small means you could offer.
Sweden approached the concept of social security differently than the US during the height of the Cold War. America had a heated debate in the early 1960s about whether it was the government’s responsibility to build public shelters and help their citizens prepare. In the end, the debate was won by those who believed that Americans should be independent and independent of the government. Sweden went the other way, building excellent nuclear shelters for entire communities.
One basement in Stockholm has classrooms for students, a theater, and a large gymnasium. This house was featured in a 1958 film titled “Vi går under jorden,” translated into English as We Go Underground.
The Cold War pamphlet went out of circulation after the official collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and it seemed to pose a diminishing threat to Western-oriented countries after the fall of the Communist government. The political war between the communist and capitalist superpowers was largely over but the first two decades of the 21st century would see old divisions resurface.
Australia’s SBS TV news channel produced a documentary in 2019 on how Sweden was preparing its citizens for war as what could be called the Second Cold War or the New Cold War was knocking on the door.
Sweden is not the only country trying to prepare its citizens for a possible Russian invasion. Finland shares a border with Russia and has been more wary of the possibility than its Swedish neighbors. And Finland has its own government leaflets with information about resistance to work and reminding people to store enough food for 20 days.
The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 changed the opinion of many people, according to a new BBC report. Because the idea of Russia invading a foreign country seemed like a myth to many young people until recently.
“From the Finnish point of view, this is strange,” Ilmari Kaihko, a Finnish professor of military studies at the Swedish Defense University told the BBC. “[Finland] I didn’t forget that war is possible, and in Sweden, people had to be shaken a little to understand that this is really possible.”
A New Cold War is upon us and people are trying to stay prepared for the worst as best they can. But no one knows what the future holds, especially as local traditional allies appear poised for disruption in Donald Trump’s second presidency. The president-elect has shown himself to have no real vision beyond anything that benefits him personally. The US could easily withdraw from NATO or build new support for NATO allies, depending on who gives Trump the best deal in the coming months and years. And that kind of instability is not good for the American people, to say the least.
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