Helge Jung

General Helge Victor Jung (23 March 1886 – 3 January 1978) was a Swedish Army officer. He was the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1944 to 1951.

Helge Jung
Birth name	Helge Victor Jung
Born	(1886-03-23)23 March 1886 Malmö, Sweden
Died	3 January 1978(1978-01-03) (aged 91) Stockholm, Sweden
Buried	Djursholm cemetery
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Army
Years of service	1906–1951
Rank	General
Commands held	North Scanian Infantry Regiment Life Regiment Grenadiers Chief of the Army Staff General Staff Corps II Army Division II Military District IV Military District Commandant General in Stockholm Supreme Commander
Relations	Bengt Liljestrand (son-in-law)

Career

Military career

Jung was born on 23 March 1886 in Malmö, Sweden, the son of the headmaster Victor Jung and his wife Maria (née Levan). He was commissioned into the Swedish Army as a second lieutenant in the South Scanian Infantry Regiment (Södra skånska infanteriregementet, I 25) in 1906 and was a cadet officer at the Royal Military Academy from 1919 to 1922. Jung was a teacher of military history together with strategy at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1926 to 1928. He was the head of the Military History Department of the General Staff in 1928 and was the Head of Department in 1929.[1] Jung became a major in the General Staff in 1928, lieutenant colonel in 1933 and became colonel and commanding officer of the North Scanian Infantry Regiment (I 6) in 1936.[2]

Jung was chief of the Military Office of the Land Defense (Lantförsvarets kommandoexpedition) from 1936 to 1937, colonel and executive officer of the Life Regiment Grenadiers (I 3) in 1936 and colonel and Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps from 1937 to 1940. He became major general of the army in 1938 and was commanding officer of the II Army Division from 1940 to 1942. Jung was then the military commander of the II Military District in 1942 and commanding officer of the IV Military District and was the Commandant General in Stockholm in 1943. He was appointed lieutenant general in 1944 and general in 1944. Jung was the Supreme Commander from 1944 to 1951.[2]

Other works

He was the founder and editor of the Ny militär tidskrift ("New Military Journal") from 1927 to 1930. Jung participated in or was the leader of several research trips for archival studies and battleground studies in Eastern and Central Europe for the General Staff Gustav-Adolfs-verk from 1922 to 1930.[1] He was the Secretary of the Army in the 1930 Defence Commission and in the 1936 Defence Committee.[2]

Personal life

Jung's grave in Djursholm Cemetery.

In 1913, he married Ruth Wehtje (1893–1951), the daughter of the deputy district judge Ernst Wehtje and Mimmi Ahnfelt. In 1952, he married Dagmar Bager (1897–1955), the daughter of vice consul John Jeansson and Sigrid Maijström. He was the father of Stig (born 1915), Karin (born 1917) and Elisabet (born 1919–1994).[2] Jung died on 3 January 1978 and was buried in Djursholm cemetery.[3]

Opinion

Helge Jung was largely a composite nature. His personality had traits of cunning and tactical calculation, even cynicism, but at the same time there were also clear hint of idealism and unselfish work for the Swedish military strengthening.[4]

Dates of rank

• 1906 – Underlöjtnant
• 19?? – Lieutenant
• 19?? – Captain
• 1929 – Major
• 1933 – Lieutenant Colonel
• 1936 – Colonel
• 1938 – Major General
• 1944 – Lieutenant General
• 1944 – General

Awards and decorations

Swedish

• Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty the King (Order of the Seraphim) (31 March 1951)[5]
• Knight First Class of the Order of the Sword (1927)[6]
• Commander First Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1939)[7]
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1944)[8]
• Knight First Class of the Order of Vasa (1932)[9]
• Knight of the Order of the Polar Star (1933)[10]
• King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948)[11]
• Gold Medal of the Swedish Red Cross[2]
• Gold Medal of the Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training (Centralförbundet for befälsutbildnings guldmedalj)[2]
• Gold Medal of the Swedish Civil Defence League (Sveriges civilförsvarsförbunds guldmedalj)[2]
• Gold Medal of the National Federation of Swedish Women’s Auxiliary Defence Services (Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårers guldmedalj)[2]
• Gold Medal of Merit of the Home Guard (Hemvärnets förtjänstmedalj i guld)[2]
• Gold Medal of the Stockholm Association for Volunteer Military Training (Stockholms befäls(utbildnings)förbunds guldmedalj)[2]
• Gold Medal of the Southern Scanian Association for Volunteer Military Training (Södra skånska befäls(utbildnings)förbunds guldmedalj)[2]
• Badge of Honor of the Swedish Reserve Officers Association (Svenska reservofficersföreningens hederstecken)[2]
• Badge of Honor of the Danish Shooting, Gymnastics and Sports Associations (Danska Skytte-, gymnastik-och idrottsföreningars hederstecken)[2]

Foreign

• Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (between 1945 and 1947)[12][13]
• Commander Second Class of the Order of the Dannebrog (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• King Christian X's Liberty Medal[2]
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (between 1947 and 1950)[13][16]
• Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (between 1931 and 1935)[14][17]
• Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (between 1945 and 1947)[12][13]
• Commander of the Order of St. Olav (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Order of the German Eagle (with a degree which in Swedish was indicated as Grand Officer) (1940)[15][18]
• Third Class of the Order of the Cross of the Eagle (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Commander of the Legion of Honour (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Officer of the Legion of Honour (between 1931 and 1935)[14][17]
• Commander of the Order of the Three Stars (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Commander Second Class of the Order of Polonia Restituta (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (between 1935 and 1940)[14][15]
• Knight Fourth Class of the Order of the Crown (1909)[19][20]

Honours

• Member of the Royal Society for the Publication of Manuscripts concerning Scandinavian History (1929)[2]
• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1931)[2]
• Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1946)[2]

Bibliography

• Jung, Helge (1923). Sveriges möjligheter till självförsörjning: en studie rörande jordbrukets och industriens krigsberedskap (in Swedish). Stockholm: Seelig & C:o. SELIBR 8220850.
• Jung, Helge, ed. (1930). Antingen-eller: freds- och försvarsproblemet i saklig belysning (in Swedish). Stockholm: Ny militär tidskrifts bokförlag. SELIBR 906270.
• Jung, Helge (1947). Vårt framtida försvar: överbefälhavarens förslag (in Swedish). Stockholm. SELIBR 1720170.
• Jung, Helge, ed. (1947). Överbefälhavarens yttrande över 1945 års militärutrednings "Betänkande och förslag angående förhållandet mellan befäl och meniga inom krigsmakten" (in Swedish). Stockholm: [Folk och försvar]. SELIBR 1457870.
• Jung, Helge, ed. (1957). Öst och väst och vi: grupparbete (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. SELIBR 1369365.

References

1. Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1933 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1933] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. 1932. p. 424.
2. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who is who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 665.
3. "Helge Viktor Jung" (in Swedish). Finngraven.se. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
4. Artéus, Gunnar, ed. (1996). Svenska officersprofiler under 1900-talet [Swedish officer profiles during the 1900s] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhögsk. p. 272. ISBN 91-87072-19-X.
5. Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 7.
6. Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1931. p. 35.
7. Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1940 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1940. p. 11.
8. Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1945. p. 9.
9. Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 209.
10. Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1945. p. 81.
11. Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 352.
12. Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1945. p. 109.
13. Sveriges statskalender för året 1947 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1947. p. 109.
14. Sveriges statskalender för året 1935 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1935. p. 246.
15. Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1940 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1940. p. 272.
16. Sveriges statskalender för året 1950 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1950. p. 101.
17. Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1931. p. 240.
18. Sveriges statskalender för året 1941 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1941. p. 272.
19. Svensk rikskalender 1909 (in Swedish). Stockholm: P. A. Nordstedt & Söner. 1908. p. 191. SELIBR 498191.
20. Svensk rikskalender 1910 (in Swedish). Stockholm: P. A. Nordstedt & Söner. 1909. p. 192. SELIBR 498191.

Further reading

• Konow, Jan von (1999). Helge Jung: opinionsbildare, försvarets nydanare, överbefälhavare (in Swedish). Stockholm: J. von Konows förl. ISBN 9163084716. SELIBR 7454079.

Military offices
Preceded by Hugo Cederschiöld	Life Regiment Grenadiers (I 3) 1936–1937	Succeeded by Axel Gyllenkrok
Preceded by Ernst af Klercker	Chief of the Army Staff General Staff Corps 1937–1940	Succeeded by Folke Högberg
Preceded by Ivar Holmquist	II Army Division 1940–1942	Succeeded by Björn Olof Karlsson
Preceded by None	II Military District 1942–1942	Succeeded by Henry Tottie
Preceded by Erik Testrup	IV Military District Commandant General in Stockholm 1943–1944	Succeeded by Arvid Moberg
Preceded by Olof Thörnell	Supreme Commander 1944–1951	Succeeded by Nils Swedlund