Gustaf V

==Alleged Nazi sympathies==
[[File:Gustavgoring1939.JPG|thumb|left|[[Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten|Prince Gustaf Adolf]], [[Hermann Göring]], and King Gustaf V in Berlin, February 1939]]
Both the King and his grandson [[Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten|Prince Gustaf Adolf]] socialised with [[Nazi]] leaders before World War II, though arguably for diplomatic purposes. Gustaf V attempted to convince [[Hitler]] during a visit to Berlin to soften his persecution of the Jews, according to historian Jörgen Weibull. He was also noted for appealing to the [[Miklós Horthy|leader]] of [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]] to save its Jews "in the name of humanity."

When Nazi Germany invaded the [[Soviet Union]] in June 1941, Gustaf V tried to write a private letter to Hitler thanking him for taking care of the "[[Bolshevik]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hadenius |first=Stig |title=Gustaf V: en biografi |date=2005 |publisher=Historiska Media |isbn=978-91-85057-20-7 |location=Lund |pages=244 |language=Swedish |trans-title=}}</ref> pest" and congratulating him on his "already achieved victories".<ref>''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'' 070729 {{cite web|url=http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d%3D572%26a%3D675044 |title=Churchill fick vredesutbrott över svenske kungens svek |date=29 July 2007 |website=Debatt |access-date=29 July 2007 |language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930222943/http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=572&a=675044 |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> He was stopped from doing so by Prime Minister [[Per Albin Hansson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://royaltyrobertwriter.home.blog/2020/06/15/king-gustav-v-of-sweden-nazi-sympathiser/ |title=King Gustav V of Sweden: Nazi Sympathiser? |date=15 June 2020 |website=RoyaltyRobert Blogger and Writer |access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref>

During the war, Gustaf V invited [[Nazism in Sweden|Swedish Nazi]] leader [[Sven Olov Lindholm]] to [[Stockholm Palace]]. The King had friends in Lindholm's movement.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/karaktarsmord-pa-doda-svenskar |title=Karaktärsmord på döda svenskar |date=18 September 2002 |website=Svenska Dagbladet |access-date=26 April 2021 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>Gustaf V och andra Världskriget. Carlsson, Erik. 2007. {{ISBN|9789185057887}}</ref><ref>Operation Norrsken: Om Stasi och Sverige under kalla kriget, av Christoph Andersson</ref>

===Midsummer crisis 1941===
According to Prime Minister Hansson, during the [[Midsummer crisis]], the King in a private conversation had threatened to abdicate if the government did not approve a German request to transfer a German infantry division, the so-called [[163rd Infantry Division (Germany)|Engelbrecht Division]], through Swedish territory from southern Norway to northern Finland in June 1941, around [[Midsummer]]. The accuracy of the claim is debated, and the King's intention, if he really made the threat, is sometimes alleged to be his desire to avoid conflict with Germany. The event has received considerable attention from Swedish historians and is known as ''midsommarkrisen'', the Midsummer Crisis.<ref>Hansson (Wahlbäck, ''Regeringen och kriget. Ur statsrådens dagböcker 1939–41'')</ref>

Confirmation of the King's action is contained in German Foreign Policy documents captured at the end of the war. On 25 June 1941, the German Ambassador in Stockholm sent a "Most Urgent-Top Secret" message to Berlin in which he stated that the King had just informed him that the [[Transit of German troops through Scandinavia (WWII)|transit of German troops]] would be allowed. He added: <blockquote>The King's words conveyed the joyful emotion he felt. He had lived through anxious days and had gone far in giving his personal support to the matter. He added confidentially that he had found it necessary to go so far as to mention his abdication.<ref>Documents of German Foreign Policy 1918–1945 Series D Volume XIII The War Years 23 June 1941 – 11 December 1941, Published in UK by HMSO and in US By Government Printing Office.</ref></blockquote>