Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (2 January 1895 – 17 September 1948) was a
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
diplomatA diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organisation. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
noted for his negotiation of the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1945, he received a German surrender offer from
Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler , one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, served as Chief of the German Police and Minister of the Interior...
, though the offer was ultimately rejected.
After the war, Bernadotte was unanimously chosen by the victorious powers to be the
United Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1947-1948. He was assassinated in
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
in 1948 by the
militantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, comes from the 15th Century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier". The related modern concept of the militia as a defensive organization against invaders grew out of the Anglo-Saxon "fyrd"...
Zionist group
LehiLehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
, while pursuing his official duties.
Early life
Born in
Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, Folke Bernadotte was part of the House of Bernadotte and the son of Count Oscar Bernadotte of Wisborg (formerly Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of
Gotland' is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, it makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area. The region also includes the small islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, and the tiny...
) and his wife, née Ebba Henrietta Munck af Fulkila. Bernadotte's grandfather was King
Oscar II of SwedenOscar II , born Oscar Frederik was King of Norway from 1872 until 1905 and King of Sweden from 1872 until his death. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar...
. Oscar married without the King's consent in 1888, however, thereby leaving the
royal familyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term "imperial family" more appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress regnant, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate in reference to the...
, and was in 1892 given the hereditary title
Count of WisborgThe title Count of Wisborg is borne by the male-line descendants of four princes of Sweden who married morganatically without the consent of the King of Sweden and thereby lost the right of succession to the throne of Sweden for themselves, their children and their descendants. The four former...
by his uncle, Adolphe I, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Bernadotte attended school in Stockholm, after which he entered training to become a
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
officerAn officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
at the
Military Academy KarlbergMilitary Academy Karlberg is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm...
. He took the officer's exam in 1915, and was commissioned a
lieutenant- Obtaining the rank in Finland :The Finnish army is bilingual; the rank is known in Swedish as löjtnant and Finnish as luutnantti.One year of conscript training as officer cadet and three-year degree of Bachelor of Military Science at National Defence University...
in 1918, subsequently moving up to the rank of
major-Obtaining the rank in Sweden:Two years as Kapten and 40 weeks training at National Defense College .- 1600 - 1700 :The original title was Sergeant Major, which means the most senior servant to the Överste....
.
Marriage and descendants
On 1 December, 1928 in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he married Estelle Manville (
PleasantvillePleasantville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 7,172 at the 2000 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Pleasantville is home to a campus of Pace University, and the Jacob Burns film center...
,
Westchester CountyWestchester County is a primarily suburban county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles and has a diverse population of approximately 950,000, residing in 45 municipalities...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 26 September 1904 -
UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 28 May 1984), daughter of
BoardA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
Chairman Hiram Edward Manville of
Johns-ManvilleJohns-Manville is an American corporation based in Denver, Colorado that manufactures insulation, roofing materials, and engineered products. The stock was included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from January 29, 1930 to August 27, 1982 when it was replaced by American Express. Berkshire...
Corp. and wife, a wealthy
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
heiressA beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
whom he had met in the
French RivieraThe Côte d'Azur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the south eastern corner of France, extending from Menton near the Italian border in the east to either Hyères or Cassis in the west....
.
They had four sons:
- Gustaf Eduard Count
A count is a nobleman in European countries; his wife is a countess. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The British equivalent is an earl...
Bernadotte af Wisborg (Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 20 January 1930 - Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 2 February 1936)
- Folke Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Pleasantville
Pleasantville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 7,172 at the 2000 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Pleasantville is home to a campus of Pace University, and the Jacob Burns film center...
, Westchester CountyWestchester County is a primarily suburban county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of 450 square miles and has a diverse population of approximately 950,000, residing in 45 municipalities...
, New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 8 February 1931), physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
, married at Grangärde on 2 July 1955 Christine Glahns (b. ÖrebroÖrebro [œrə'bruː] is a city, the seat of Örebro Municipality and the capital of Örebro County in Sweden with 98,237 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Örebro received its Royal Charter and city privileges not later than 1404....
, 9 January 1932), and had four children:
- Anne Christine Countess Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 22 November 1956), married in Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
on 26 May 1989 Per Larsen (b. 19 June 1953), and had two children:
- Sofia Annick Larsen (b. Stockholm
' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 21 July 1990)
- Simon Larsen (b. Lidingö
Lidingö is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, north east of central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is also a locality on the island, and the seat of Lidingö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 30,357 inhabitants in 2005....
, 19 September 1992)
- Carl Folke Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 2 December 1958), married in UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, and had four children:
- Lena Victoria Ingrid Countess Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 11 July 1983)
- Johan Carl Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 23 March 1986)
- Kevin Andreas Canavan Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 1 August 1992)
- Jasonne Olaf Canavan Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. New York
New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 12 January 1995)
- Maria Estelle Countess Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 27 April 1962), married in UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
on 14 May 1983 Umberto Ganfini (b. SienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.- History :...
, 11 November 1955), and had two children:
- Luisa Maria Cristina Ganfini (b. Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.- History :...
, 17 June 1988)
- Giulio Fulco Luciano Ganfini (b. Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.- History :...
, 23 October 1990)
- Gunnar Fredrik Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 24 November 1963), married in UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
on 2 June 1990 Karin Lindsten (b. UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 15 May 1963), and had two children:
- Folke (Ockie) Klas Vilhem Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 5 August 1996)
- Astrid Ruth Estelle Countess Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
, 10 February 1999)
- Fredrik Oscar Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (Stockholm
' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 10 January 1934 - Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 30 August 1944)
- Bertil Oscar Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. Stockholm
' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 6 October 1935), married firstly in CopenhagenCopenhagen ; ) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,167,569 and a metropolitan area with a population of 1,875,179...
on 28 September 1966 Rose-Marie Heering (CopenhagenCopenhagen ; ) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,167,569 and a metropolitan area with a population of 1,875,179...
, 7 June 1942 - Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
, 1 November 1967), without issue, and married secondly in London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
on 27 May 1981 Jill Georgina RhodesRhodes is a surname, with other spellings Rhoades, Rhoads, Roads and Roades. It is also linked to the variant spelling Rohde, and the origins are thought to come from a town or village in Germany, near the city of Lübeck. This was not an unusual social situation — surnames were adopted as a popular...
-Maddox (b. 2 May 1947), daughter of George BurnA burn is an injury to the skin caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, or radiation.Burn may also refer to:*Concrete things and phenomena:**Combustion**Burn , type of watercourses so named in Scotland and north-eastern England...
RhodesRhodes is a surname, with other spellings Rhoades, Rhoads, Roads and Roades. It is also linked to the variant spelling Rohde, and the origins are thought to come from a town or village in Germany, near the city of Lübeck. This was not an unusual social situation — surnames were adopted as a popular...
and wife Dorothy Ethel Maddox (LincolnLincoln commonly refers to:*Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States*Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England*Lincoln , a luxury brand of the Ford Motor Company*Lincoln, Nebraska, the state's capital...
), and had three children:
- Oscar Alexander Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, 1 March 1982)
- Edward Gustav Count Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, 18 April 1983)
- Astrid Desirée Estelle Countess Bernadotte af Wisborg (b. London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, 9 February 1987)
In September 2008 it was reported that Bernadotte also had an illegitimate child (b. 1921) with actress Lillie Ericsson.
Early career
Following his marriage, Bernadotte represented Sweden in 1933 at the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, and later served as Swedish commissioner general at the
New York World's FairNew York World's Fair may refer to:* 1939 New York World's Fair* 1964 New York World's Fair...
in 1939-40. Bernadotte had long been involved with the Swedish Boy Scouts (Sveriges Scoutförbund), and took over as director of the organization in 1937. At the outbreak of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bernadotte worked to integrate the scouts into Sweden's defense plan, training them in anti-aircraft work and as medical assistants. Bernadotte was appointed vice chairman of the Swedish Red Cross in 1943.
World War II
While vice-president of the Swedish
Red CrossThe International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide which started to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for the human being, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any...
in 1945, Bernadotte attempted to negotiate an
armisticeAn armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
between
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and the Allies. He also led several rescue missions in Germany for the Red Cross. During the autumns of 1943 and 1944, he organized prisoner exchanges which brought home 11,000 prisoners from Germany via Sweden.
In April 1945,
Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler , one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, served as Chief of the German Police and Minister of the Interior...
asked Bernadotte to convey a peace proposal to Prime Minister
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
and President
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
without the knowledge of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
. The main point of the proposal was that Germany would only surrender to the Western Allies (
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), but would be allowed to continue resisting the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. According to Bernadotte, he told Himmler that the proposal had no chance of acceptance, but nevertheless he passed it on to the Swedish government and the Western Allies. It had no lasting effect.
The White Buses
Upon the initiative of the Norwegian diplomat
Niels Christian DitleffNiels Christian Ditleff was a Norwegian diplomat noted for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of refugees from Nazi Germany. In spite of opposition from his own and allied governments, he initiated and led the White Buses campaign to rescue Scandinavian prisoners held in German concentration camps...
in the final months of the war, Bernadotte acted as the negotiator for a rescue operation transporting interned
NorwegiansNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
,
DanesDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
and other western
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an inmates from German concentration camps to hospitals in Sweden.
In the spring of 1945, Bernadotte was in Germany when he met
Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler , one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, served as Chief of the German Police and Minister of the Interior...
, who had become commander for the entire German army following the assassination attempt on Hitler the year before. Bernadotte had originally been assigned to retrieve Norwegian and Danish POWs in Germany. He returned on May 1, 1945, the day after Hitler's death. Following an interview, the Swedish newspaper
Svenska DagbladetSvenska Dagbladet is a daily newspaper in Sweden. The first issue appeared on 18 December 1884. Svenska Dagbladet is published in Stockholm and provides coverage of national and international news as well as local coverage of the Greater Stockholm region...
wrote that Bernadotte succeeded in rescuing 15,000 people from German concentration camps, including approximately 8000 Danes and Norwegians and 7000 women of French, Polish, Czech, British, American, Argentinian and Chinese nationalities. (SvD 2/5-45). The missions took approximately two months, and exposed the Swedish Red Cross staff to significant danger, both due to political difficulties and by taking them through areas under Allied bombing.
The mission became known for its buses, painted entirely white except for the Red Cross emblem on the side, so that they would not be mistaken for military targets. In total it included 308 personnel (approximately 20 medics and the rest volunteer soldiers), 36 hospital buses, 19 trucks, 7 passenger cars, 7 motorcycles, a tow truck, a field kitchen, and full supplies for the entire trip, including food and gasoline, none of which were permitted to be obtained in Germany. A count of 21,000 people rescued included 8,000 Danes and Norwegians, 5,911 Poles, 2,629 French, 1,615 Jews and 1,124 Germans.
After Germany's surrender, the White Buses mission continued in May and June to save approximately 10,000 additional people.
In total, around 31,000 people were taken to safety in the "
White Buses"White Buses" refers to a program undertaken by the Swedish Red Cross and the Danish government in the spring of 1945 to rescue concentration camp inmates in areas under Nazi control and transport them to Sweden, a neutral country...
" of the Bernadotte expedition, including between 6,500 and 11,000
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s.
Bernadotte recounted the White Buses mission in his book
The End. My Humanitarian Negotiations in Germany in 1945 and Their Political Consequences, published on June 15, 1945 in Swedish. In the book, Bernadotte recounts his negotiations with Himmler and others, and his experience at the
Ravensbrück concentration campRavensbrück or Ravensbrueck was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
.
Felix Kersten and the White Buses Controversy
Following the war, some controversies have arisen regarding Bernadotte's leadership of the White Buses expedition, some personal and some as to the mission itself. One aspect involved a long-standing feud between Bernadotte and Himmler's personal masseur,
Felix KerstenFelix Kersten was before and during World War II the personal masseur of Heinrich Himmler...
, who had played some role in facilitating Bernadotte's access to Himmler, but whom Bernadotte resisted crediting after the War. The resulting feud between Bernadotte and Kersten came to public attention through British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper. In 1953, Trevor-Roper published an article based on an interview and documents originating with Kersten. The article stated that Bernadotte's role in the rescue operations was that of "transport officer, no more." Kersten was quoted as saying that, according to Himmler, Bernadotte was opposed to the rescue of Jews and understood "the necessity of our fight against World Jewry."
Shortly following the publication of his article Trevor-Roper began to retreat from these charges. At the time of his article, Kersten had just been nominated by the Dutch government for the
Nobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:...
for thwarting a Nazi plan to deport the entire Dutch population, based primarily on Kersten's own claims to this effect. A later Dutch investigation concluded that no such plan had existed, however, and that Kersten's documents were partly fabricated. Following these revelations and others, Trevor-Roper told journalist Barbara Amiel in 1995 that he was no longer certain about the allegations, and that Bernadotte may merely have been following his orders to rescue Danish and Norwegian prisoners. A number of other historians have also questioned Kersten's account, concluding that the accusations were based on a forgery or a distortion devised by Kersten.
Some controversy regarding the White Buses trip has also arisen in Scandinavia, particularly regarding the priority given to Scandinavian prisoners. Political scientist Sune Persson judged these doubts to be contradicted by the documentary evidence. He concluded, "The accusations against Count Bernadotte ... to the effect that he refused to save Jews from the concentration camps are obvious lies" and listed many prominent eyewitnesses who testified on Bernadotte's behalf, including the
World Jewish CongressThe World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
representative in Stockholm in 1945.
UN mediator
On 20 May 1948, Folke Bernadotte was appointed the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
' mediator in Palestine, the first official mediator in the UN's history. This was necessitated by the
immediate violenceThe 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations vote in favour of the termination of the British Mandate of Palestine and the UN Partition Plan, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the...
that followed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and the subsequent unilateral Israeli Declaration of Independence. In this capacity, he succeeded in achieving an initial truce during the subsequent
1948 Arab-Israeli WarThe 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.The war...
and laid the groundwork for the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near EastUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a relief and human development agency, providing education, health care, social services and emergency aid to over four hundred thousand Palestine refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as in the West...
. The specific proposals showed the influence of the previously responsible British government, and to a lesser extent the U.S. government.
First proposal
On 28 June 1948, Bernadotte submitted his first formal proposal in secret to the various parties. It suggested that Palestine and Transjordan be reformed as "a Union, comprising two Members, one Arab and one Jewish." He wrote that: "in putting forward any proposal for the solution of the Palestine problem, one must bear in mind the aspirations of the Jews, the political difficulties and differences of opinion of the Arab leaders, the strategic interests of Great Britain, the financial commitment of the United States and the Soviet Union, the outcome of the war, and finally the authority and prestige of the United Nations.
As far as the boundaries of the two Members were concerned, Bernadotte thought that the following "might be worthy of consideration."
- Inclusion of the whole or part of the Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The indigenous Bedouin inhabitants of the region refer to the desert as al-Naqab . The origin of the word Negev is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
in Arab territory.
- Inclusion of the whole or part of Western Galilee in the Jewish territory.
- Inclusion of the City of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
in Arab territory, with municipal autonomy for the Jewish community and special arrangements for the protection of the Holy Places.
- Consideration of the status of Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea...
.
- Establishment of a free port at Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
, the area of the free port to include the refineries and terminals.
- Establishment of a free airport at Lydda
Lydda can refer to:*Lod, also named Lydda*Exodus from Lydda and Ramla, the Palestinian exodus from the city in July 1948...
.
Second proposal
After the unsuccessful first proposal, Bernadotte continued with a more complex proposal that abandoned the idea of a Union and proposed two independent states. This proposal was completed on September 16, 1948, and had as its basis seven "basic premises" (verbatim):
- Peace must return to Palestine and every feasible measure should be taken to ensure that hostilities will not be resumed and that harmonious relations between Arab and Jew will ultimately be restored.
- A Jewish State called Israel exists in Palestine and there are no sound reasons for assuming that it will not continue to do so.
- The boundaries of this new State must finally be fixed either by formal agreement between the parties concerned or failing that, by the United Nations.
- Adherence to the principle of geographical homogeneity and integration, which should be the major objective of the boundary arrangements, should apply equally to Arab and Jewish territories, whose frontiers should not therefore, be rigidly controlled by the territorial arrangements envisaged in the resolution of 29 November.
- The right of innocent people, uprooted from their homes by the present terror and ravages of war, to return to their homes, should be affirmed and made effective, with assurance of adequate compensation for the property of those who may choose not to return.
- The City of Jerusalem, because of its religious and international significance and the complexity of interests involved, should be accorded special and separate treatment.
- International responsibility should be expressed where desirable and necessary in the form of international guarantees, as a means of allaying existing fears, and particularly with regard to boundaries and human rights.
The proposal then made specific suggestions that included (extracts):
- The existing indefinite truce should be superseded by a formal peace, or at the minimum, an armistice.
- The frontiers between the Arab and Jewish territories, in the absence of agreement between Arabs and Jews, should be established by the United Nations.
- The Negev should be defined as Arab territory.
- The frontier should run from Faluja north northeast to Ramleh and Lydda (both of which places would be in Arab territory).
- Galilee should be defined as Jewish territory.
- Haifa should be declared a free port, and Lydda airport should be declared a free airport.
- The City of Jerusalem, which should be understood as covering the area defined in the resolution of the General Assembly of 29 November, should be treated separately and should be placed under effective United Nations control with maximum feasible local autonomy for its Arab and Jewish communities with full safeguards for the protection of the Holy Places and sites and free access to them and for religious freedom.
- The United Nations should establish a Palestine conciliation commission.
- The right of the Arab refugees to return to their homes in Jewish-controlled territory at the earliest possible date should be affirmed by the United Nations, and their repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation, and payment of adequate compensation for the property of those choosing not to return, should be supervised and assisted by the United Nations conciliation commission.
Bernadotte's second proposal was prepared in consultation with British and American emissaries. The degree to which they influenced the proposal is poorly known, since the meetings were kept strictly secret and all documents were destroyed, but Bernadotte apparently "found that the
U.S.-U.K., proposals were very much in accord with his own views" and the two emissaries expressed the same opinion. The secret was publicly exposed in October, only nine days before the U.S. presidential elections, causing President Truman great embarrassment. Truman reacted by making a strongly pro-Zionist declaration, which contributed to the defeat of the Bernadotte plan in the UN during the next two months. Also contributing was the failure of the cease-fire and continuation of the fighting.
After Bernadotte's death, his assistant American mediator
Ralph BuncheRalph Johnson Bunche was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize. He was involved in formation and administration of the United...
was appointed to replace him. Bunche eventually negotiated a ceasefire, signed on the Greek island of
RhodesRhodes is a Greek island approximately southwest of Turkey in eastern Aegean Sea...
. See
1949 Armistice AgreementsThe 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israel and the Jordanian-held West Bank,...
.
Reception
The Israeli government criticized Bernadotte's participation in the negotiations. In July 1948, Bernadotte said that the Arab nations were reluctant to resume the fighting in Palestine and that the conflict now consisted of "incidents." A spokesman for the Israeli government replied: "Count Bernadotte has described the renewed Arab attacks as "incidents." When human lives are lost, when the truce is flagrantly violated and the SC defied, it shows a lack of sensitivity to describe all these as incidents, or to suggest as Count Bernadotte does, that the Arabs had some reason for saying no... Such an apology for aggression does not augur well for any successful resumption by the mediator of his mission."
Assassination
Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the Jewish militant Zionist group
LehiLehi was an armed underground Zionist group in Mandatory Palestine.
, whom the British called "the Stern gang." A three man 'center' of this extreme Jewish group had approved the killing: Yitzhak Yezernitsky (the future
Prime Minister of IsraelThe Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
Yitzhak Shamir' was Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992.-Biography:Yitzhak Shamir was born in Ruzhany , Russia later Poland. He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
), Nathan Friedmann (also called Natan Yellin-Mor) and Yisrael Eldad (also known as Scheib). A fourth leader, Emmanuel Strassberg (Hanegbi) was also suspected by the Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion of being part of the group that had decided on the assassination. The assassination was planned by the
LehiLehi refers to:In Mormonism:* Lehi , a prophet in the Book of Mormon of the 7th-6th centuries BC* Lehi, son of Helaman, another prophet in the Book of Mormon of the late 1st century BC...
operations chief in Jerusalem,
Yehoshua ZettlerYehoshua Zettler was an Israeli who served as the Jerusalem commander of Jewish paramilitary group Lehi, often also called as the Stern gang...
. By most accounts, it was carried out by six young members of the
LehiLehi refers to:In Mormonism:* Lehi , a prophet in the Book of Mormon of the 7th-6th centuries BC* Lehi, son of Helaman, another prophet in the Book of Mormon of the late 1st century BC...
group:
Yehoshua CohenYehoshua Cohen was a leading member of Lehi, a Zionist militant group, who fired the fatal shots in the assassination of United Nations envoy Folke Bernadotte on September 17, 1948. Cohen was never charged for his role in the assassination, and was one of the founders of the Sde Boker kibbutz in...
, Shmuel Rosenblum, David Ephrati, Yitzhak Markovitz, Yehoshua Zettler, and Meshulam Makover. By other accounts, a three-man team ambushed Bernadotte's motorcade in Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood. Two of them, Yitzhak Ben Moshe (Markovitz) and Avraham Steinberg, shot at the tires of the UN vehicles. The third,
Yehoshua CohenYehoshua Cohen was a leading member of Lehi, a Zionist militant group, who fired the fatal shots in the assassination of United Nations envoy Folke Bernadotte on September 17, 1948. Cohen was never charged for his role in the assassination, and was one of the founders of the Sde Boker kibbutz in...
, opened the door of Bernadotte's car and shot him at close range. The bullets also hit a French officer who was sitting beside him, U.N. Observer Colonel André Serot. Both were killed. In the immediate confusion, Col. Serot was mistaken for Dr. Ralph Bunche, the American aide to Bernadotte. Meshulam Makover, the fourth accomplice, was the driver of the getaway car. General
Åge LundströmJohn Åge Lundström was a Swedish Air Force general and horse rider who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and in the 1924 Summer Olympics....
, who was in the UN vehicle, described the incident as follows:
“In the Katamon quarter, we were held up by a Jewish Army type jeep placed in a road block and filled with men in Jewish Army uniforms. At the same moment, I saw an armed man coming from this jeep. I took little notice of this because I merely thought it was another checkpoint. However, he put a Tommy gun through the open window on my side of the car, and fired point blank at Count Bernadotte and Colonel Serot. I also heard shots fired from other points, and there was considerable confusion… Colonel Serot fell in the seat in back of me, and I saw at once that he was dead. Count Bernadotte bent forward, and I thought at the time he was trying to get cover. I asked him: 'Are you wounded?' He nodded, and fell back… When we arrived [at the Hadassah hospital], … I carried the Count inside and laid him on the bed…I took off the Count's jacket and tore away his shirt and undervest. I saw that he was wounded around the heart and that there was also a considerable quantity of blood on his clothes about it. When the doctor arrived, I asked if anything could be done, but he replied that it was too late."
The killings took place at Ben Zion Guini Square, off Hapalmah Street.
The following day the
United Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
condemned the killing of Bernadotte as "a cowardly act which appears to have been committed by a criminal group of terrorists in Jerusalem while the United Nations representative was fulfilling his peace-seeking mission in the Holy Land." After his death, Bernadotte's body was returned to Sweden, where the state funeral was attended by
Abba EbanAbba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician.-Political career:...
on behalf of Israel. Folke was survived by a widow and a 14 year old son. He was buried at the
Northern CemeteryNorra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of Metropolitan Stockholm. The cemetery is located in the municipality of Solna....
in Stockholm.
Lehi took responsibility for the killings in the name of
Hazit Hamoledet (The National Front), a name they copied from a war-time Bulgarian resistance group. The group regarded Bernadotte as a stooge of the British and their Arab allies, and therefore as a serious threat to the emerging state of Israel. Most immediately, a truce was currently in force and Lehi feared that the Israeli leadership would agree to Bernadotte's peace proposals, which they considered disastrous. They did not know that the Israeli leaders had already decided to reject Bernadotte's plans and take the military option.
Lehi was forcibly disarmed and many members were arrested, but nobody was charged with the killings. Yellin-Mor and another Lehi member, Schmuelevich, were charged with belonging to a terrorist organization. They were found guilty but immediately released and pardoned. Yellin-Mor had meanwhile been elected to the first
KnessetThe Knesset is the legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Operation of the Knesset:...
. Years later, Cohen's role was uncovered by
David Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel. Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, culminated in his instrumental role in the founding of the state of Israel...
's biographer Michael Bar Zohar, while Cohen was working as Ben-Gurion's personal
bodyguardA bodyguard is a type of security guard or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, or other threats.Most important public figures such as heads of state or...
. The first public admission of Lehi's role in the killing was made on the anniversary of the assassination in 1977. The
statute of limitationsA statute of limitations is a statute in a common law legal system that sets forth the maximum period of time, after certain events, that legal proceedings based on those events may be initiated...
for murder had expired in 1971.
The Swedish government believed that Bernadotte had been assassinated by Israeli government agents. They publicly attacked the inadequacy of the Israel investigation and campaigned unsuccessfully to delay Israel's admission to the United Nations. In 1950, Sweden recognized Israel but relations remained frosty despite Israeli attempts to console Sweden such as the planting of a Bernadotte Forest by the
JNFThe Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a non-profit corporation owned by the World Zionist Organization and possesses quasi-government powers...
in Israel. At a ceremony in Tel-Aviv in May 1995, attended by the Swedish deputy prime minister, Israeli Foreign Minister and
Labor PartyMapai was a left-wing political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in 1968.-Background:...
member
Shimon Peres' is the ninth and current President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
issued a "condemnation of terror, thanks for the rescue of the Jews and regret that Bernadotte was murdered in a terrorist way," adding that "We hope this ceremony will help in healing the wound."
Ralph BuncheRalph Johnson Bunche was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize. He was involved in formation and administration of the United...
, Bernadotte's American deputy, succeeded him as U.N. mediator. Bunche was ultimately successful in bringing about the signing of the
1949 Armistice AgreementsThe 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israel and the Jordanian-held West Bank,...
, for which he would later receive the
Nobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:...
.
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