Posted on 11/30/2007 9:35:06 AM PST by WesternCulture
Eight people were detained by police in Lund on Friday during demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the death in 1718 of King Karl XII.
Two people were formally arrested for violent resistance. One of those arrested is also suspected of attempted assault. Six others were detained. A few dozen people were involved in the march, according to police.
Demonstrators from the '30th November Association' gathered outside Lund Cathedral at lunchtime on Friday. The association is made up of nationalist groups from the university town and was founded following the First World War.
Counter-demonstrators met in the Lundagård park. A large number of police were on hand to keep the peace.
The anniversary of Karl XII's death is commonly celebrated by nationalists and neo-Nazis in Sweden, and demonstrations in Stockholm and Lund have turned violent in previous years.
Despite the arrests, this year's protests were peaceful compared to some demonstrations in the past, although the city's Monument was vandalized. The Monument commemorates the Swedish victory against Denmark at the Battle of Lund, and is a focal point for nationalists. The Monument's steps had been covered with red paint and white feathers and the text 'Lund - Nazi free zone' had been daubed on it.
Police in Stockholm said they were prepared on Friday after the National Socialist Front was granted permission to march through the capital.
Karl XII fought a series of battles against Russia, Denmark, Saxony and Poland. Between 1715 and 1718 he ruled Sweden from Lund. He was killed in Fredriksten, Norway, on November 30th 1718 by a bullet between the temples.
TT/The Local
The main reason Denmark, Poland and Russia formed an alliance and declared war on Sweden in 1700 was that they, quite erroneously, believed that Sweden under the young regent of Charles the XII was an easy prey.
Little did they know that the 18 year old Charles XII was to become a legend, already in his lifetime, widely acknowledged as one of the finest military minds of his own lifetime (and throughout world history some still would say).
Even though the energetic Swedish monarch in the end was defeated by Peter the Great at Poltava (Ukraine), it is more than obvious that the final result of the war was that neither Denmark or Poland again rose to the status of being a great European power and Russia, ironically (as Peter the Great usually is considered to be an 'enlightened absolutist'), in the end was left even more crippled and backwards in comparision to Western Europe than before the days of Tsar Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov.
THE PRESENT SCENE:
In Sweden of today, Charles XII lives on as a symbol of Swedish resistence towards a dark, foreign and hostile world outside of our territory, a Scandinavian territory most of us view as an idyllic land of Volvos, Pippi Longstocking, the world's highest standard of living, PC attitudes, ice hockey players and ABBA.
Ever since the early 19th century, Charles XII has been a symbol of Swedish nationalist ideals in my country. In Sweden of today, Liberals and Social Democrats seem to believe Charles XII was nothing but a fanatic warmonger, some members of the intellectual elite compare him to Hitler, while Conservatives often regard him as a competent monarch and a brilliant military tactician although some question his understanding of military strategy (in this sense, even a lot of Swedes would admit Peter the Great was superior to him).
Swedish nationalists believe Muslim immigrants to be the main threat to the above mentioned paradise and the Neo Nazis regard the Jews as their blood-sworn enemies.
Communists, Anarchists and fanatical Muslims together with some other activists naturally can't stand the idea of anyone in Sweden wishing to celebrate the memory of Charles XII (but I think it's pretty OK with most of the non-extremist people living in Sweden who are of Danish, Polsih or Russian ancestry). Therefore these two latter, 'extremist' groups always clash on November 30th.
Most ordinary people in Sweden yawn upon hearing about these riots, but one thing is for sure:
Charles XII will not be forgotten.
For us the Communists and anarchists are folded into the Democrat Party. I'm sure they are trying to pick up the Muslim vote, but with prominent, albeit leftist Jews this is difficult. So there is something to be said for having the country, politically divided near equally. There is no incentive to pick up any radical Muslim votes as that will cause equal amounts or more of long term supporters to defect. They are out in the cold. We have a few anarchists, but they are often skinny and hungry. Otherwise why would they attack McDonalds?
“For us the Communists and anarchists are folded into the Democrat Party.”
- FDR invited Anarchists (or at least Syndicalists) to the White House from what I’ve heard.
Just wonder why Charles XII, not Gustav II Adolf? The latter was way more successful in many fields of kingship.
Your remarks are relevant, but I maintain that in 1700 Poland’s basic idea was to join an alliance that, from a theoretical point of view, stood good chances of crushing Sweden once and for all.
I’m aware Sweden continued to attack Poland after Poland officially declared herself ‘neutral’. However, it is understandable that Sweden didn’t care much about this fact as our main strategy was to go for the Russian Tsar’s throat. I guess my forebears didn’t fancy the idea of having a strong Poland able of stabbing us in the back (I’m not saying it would’ve happened).
The relation between Poland and Sweden has always been a complicated one, to say the least. The era of the Great Nordic War is no exception.
Today, there is no reason to quarrel. Yet, we should continue to argue and exchange views. Doing so will aid the idea of a new, free, prosperous, Capitalist Europe.
Today we Westerners are under attack, but provided all of the Western nations learn how to work together, the future belongs to us!
Best of regards from a neighbor country,
WesternCulture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Nordic_War
“Just wonder why Charles XII, not Gustav II Adolf? The latter was way more successful in many fields of kingship.”
- Charles XII was an outstanding commander, but the genius of Gustav II Adolf even rivals that of Nobel.
It ought to be kept in mind that the difference between C XII and G II was that the former was a defender and the latter an invader. Heroic defenders are more likely to become legendary national icons than successful conquerors.
Anyhow, we DO celebrate Gustav Adolf:
http://www.thelocal.se/5402/20061103/
In some parts of Germany (mostly Protestant regions), he is still is celebrated even by today. In certain other parts of that country, Swedes like him are not welcome back. War is not a funny thing, not even in the 17th century it was.
Today, most Swedes view Charles XII as a symbol of Swedish resistence against forein evil forces (yes, we Swedes view the all of the world outside Sweden as dark and evil, probably because it’s not Swedish enough). Among right wing groups and also among a lot of ordinary Conservatives, Charles XII and his fate is viewed as a reminder of the simple truth that hell always awaits round the corner, so to say.
Personal safety is a basic human need, but constantly feeling safe equals stupidity.
Do any Swedes regard the lost territories as Swedish territory?
As for Gustav II, he was not only a competent general, but also a visionary ruler. He made many useful reforms in Swedish military, he patronised commerce, especially the mining branch, fathered Swedish secondary school system, reformed local governing, church and so on - I think his historical role can be compared to the Elizabeth I's in the UK.
On the contrary, the results of the Charles XII's reign were all negative to Sweden -only losses of overseas provinces.
It's a rather complicated issue. The Polish King August II was also the Kurfurst of Saxony, which was at war with Sweden. He attacked first with Saxon army from RP's territory.
While RP was officially neutral the difference could be considered as too subtle.
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