This short film from The March of Time’s classroom film series gives viewers a glimpse of Sweden as it navigates its “middle-of-the-road” course during World War II. The film opens with footage of a street in Stockholm at night; signs are lit up and people browse shop windows. A man from one of the city’s newspapers reports on the war’s action: there is footage of bombs being dropped and of buildings exploding. Members of Sweden’s press print stories on the war (01:51). The film then shows a number of shots of Stockholm (02:12): a light-rail car goes by, people ride bicycles, kids play in a pool, and people sunbathe on a beach. King Gustaf V of Sweden signs autographs for people. Swedes ride bicycles because of petrol shortages (03:14); the film shows some of the cars that are rigged to burn wood for fuel. A woman uses ration coupons to buy food (03:36). Norwegians flee Nazis by trekking through snow to the border with Sweden (04:20). Refugee children from Finland play in a Swedish town (05:08). The film then shows the Stockholm Grand Hotel (05:32). People dine at the hotel’s restaurant. Members of Sweden’s General Staff sit for a briefing. Swedish ski planes take off and fly in formation. Members of the Swedish army march. German troops ride a train through Sweden to Norway; after the train passes, Swedish soldiers replace the barbed wire barrier on the tracks. Viewers then see the annual opening of Sweden’s Parliament (07:35) and an exterior shot of Stockholm City Hall. A woman cleans the teeth of a child (08:07). There are shots of a hydroelectric dam on a river, a train hauling supplies, and people farming. A man drives a tractor pulling a harvester. People shop at a cooperative store (09:04). Children play outside in a sandbox next to government housing apartment buildings. Swedish bakers work in a factory. At a Swedish port, imported coal is hauled out of a ship (10:08). A train car of ore is sent down the tracks (10:40). More footage of Sweden’s industries includes a shot of a steel plant (11:00) and logs being tossed into a river where they float down to a lumber mill. Massive stacks of logs sit outside apartment buildings waiting to be burned for heat. Wood pulp is pumped into tanks. Men box recently caught fish and send it to market (12:20). People shop at a market held in a town square. The film ends with footage of people lining a street for what appears to be a royal parade or procession.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com