Easter Riots

The Easter Riots (Swedish: Påskkravallerna) is the name given to a period of unrest in Uppsala, Sweden, during the Easter of 1943. The National Socialist group Swedish Socialist Unity (SSS, Swedish: Svensk Socialistisk Samling, previously the National Socialist Workers' Party) held its national congress in Uppsala, amid the Second World War and only days after events like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The unrest climaxed on 26 April, when the SSS – who after initially belonging to a Strasserist wing of National Socialism began adopting a more indigenous form of fascism in 1938, and included Ingvar Kamprad among its early members – ended the congress by holding a demonstration at the Royal Mounds of Old Uppsala.[1][2]

The Royal Mounds, 2006.

Thousands of anti-fascists gathered to protest against the Nazi gathering at the Royal Mounds, a historical site that held much political symbolism among Swedish nationalists. Policemen had been called in from Stockholm to defend the demonstration, and after the situation became increasingly tense they resorted to violence, dispersing the peacefully protesting crowds and onlookers alike with heavy force.[3]

In addition to writing a book about it, the historian and playwright Magnus Alkarp has depicted the riots in a play, 4 dagar i april. The play, produced by the Uppsala City Theatre and directed by Sara Cronberg, was put up in 2012.[4] Alkarp received death threats from the Swedish Resistance Movement, a militant neo-Nazi group, after the play's premier.[5]

See also

References
  1. Andersson, Peter (23 August 2011). "Kamprad var djupt inblandad i nazistisk rörelse" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  2. Payne, Stanley G. (2001). A History of Fascism 1914-1945. London: Roultedge. p. 306.
  3. Alkarp, Magnus (2013). Fyra dagar i april: Påskkravallerna i Uppsala 1943 (in Swedish). Historiska Media. ISBN 9789186297725.
  4. Harrison, Dick (16 May 2013). "När demonstranter möttes av polisens sabelattack". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  5. Vergara, Daniel (24 February 2012). "Dödshot mot pjäsförfattare". Expo (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 September 2014.


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