Tryckfrihet i skymningstid. En studie av den svenska tryckfriheten under andra världskriget.

Sammanfattning: The freedom of the press has a strong historical tradition in Swedish law, with its roots in the act of 1766. A period that strongly differs from the development in general is the period during World War II. The same year as the war began, in 1939, a more restrictive policy regarding freedom of the press developed. During the following years, numerous controversial and constitutionally dubious legal changes where decided on. This thesis aims to investigate how the Swedish laws regarding freedom of the press developed during the war and which values and interests influenced the legislation during that period. In addition the period is viewed in a historical context in order to identify patterns regarding how the restrictions and extensions concerning freedom of the press have been justified over the centuries. In an attempt to control the press during the war, several actions where undertaken such as prosecutions and confiscation of printed publications without trial. Furthermore, legislative changes where made. One regulation made it possible to forbid periodicals from being transported with public transportation, another regulation enabled censorship in case of war or a threat of war. In addition to this the parliament also made constitutional amendments with the result that the constitutionally protected freedom of the press was reduced and changed considerably. The thesis presents three factors that can be considered to have contributed to the radical changes that where made. Initially, there was a widespread fear of being drawn into the war, which came to influence the Swedish domestic and foreign policy and may partly explain the restrictive press policy conducted. In addition to this, there was a fear of offending Germany. For example, the majority of confiscations of printed works focused on Germany and their allies. Also, there is a similarity between the amount of actions taken against the press and Germanys success in the war. When Germany did well in the war, a lot of actions were made. But the moment Germany started to weaken, the actions ceased even though the war was ongoing. This implies that the measures were not taken merely because of the war in general but instead not to offend Germany as long as they were successful. Finally, the Swedish Minister of Justice during the first years of the war, K G Westman, is considered to have had great influence on the politics regarding the press. For instance he initiated the use of confiscation without trial, a measure that had not been used for over a hundred years and was considered obsolete. Additionally, the Minister of Justice could both prosecute cases concerning freedom of the press and decide on confiscation without trial. Something that further indicates the Ministers impact is the fact that he himself worked actively to force through many of the changes that were made during the first years of the war, and the opinion radically changed after his retirement. The changes implemented regarding the legislation on freedom of the press were partly unique, since new statutes were instituted. At the same time it can be argued that there has been a historical similarity in the arguments regarding restrictions and extensions of freedom of the press. In light of this, it is argued in this thesis that the legislation concerning freedom of the press has its own unique history. The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the Swedish freedom of the press cannot be taken for granted. Similar arguments have reoccurred over the centuries to limit the freedom of the press, and such arguments are also being made today. What we can learn from history is that periods of limitations have always been short and questioned in retrospect, while periods of extended freedom of the press has lasted long and favoured democracy and civic influence.