Den svenska neutraliteten : En studie hur rikets neutralitet skildras i skolans historieböcker

Sammanfattning: How has the question of Swedish neutrality been taught in the Swedish school during the 1950s, 1960s and 2000s? Neutrality is changeable and can be linked to shifts in history culture, conscious and contemporary perceptions during time. The material has been interpreted through the hermeneutics guidelines, which means that I have made the interpretation. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, the Swedish government declared the country neutral. Sweden was represented during the war by a collective government led by Per Albin Hansson and declared the country as "non-warring". The consequence of this was that Sweden was not drawn into any armed conflict. In our school books, the knowledge is conveyed that Sweden was not included in the Second World War. Between historians and within history science, it is continuously debated to what extent the Swedish government maintained and protected the neutrality. The essay will analyze and study material in which Sweden’s neutrality is portrayed and in what way the transit agreement is reported in the textbooks and how it differs. Differences in history consciousness will be investigated with the help of current research. Compared to previous research, this study provides a more complex understanding of neutrality changes in school textbooks. The analysis has concluded that the historiography appears different over time and that the ethical aspect is becoming increasingly apparent.