Cast of Characters
Ackerman, Oliver, police inspector in Uppsala
Anker, Erik, Danish, history student in Uppsala, 1936–1940; Laura’s friend
Becker, Jim, former Security Services agent
Bolander, Kristina, Jens Regnell’s fiancée
Cassel, Barbro, secretary at the German trade delegation in Stockholm; Kristina’s friend
Dahlgren, Bertil, Laura’s grandfather; former military
Dahlgren, John, Laura’s father; governor of the Swedish Central Bank
Dahlgren, Laura, history student in Uppsala, 1936–1940; works for Jacob Wallenberg on the team negotiating iron access with Germany
Ek, Abraham, Georg’s son; Gunnar’s friend
Ek, Frida, Georg’s wife
Ek, Georg, mining worker, Blackåsen
Enander, Mr., businessman; Jens’s neighbor
Falk, Birger, history professor in Uppsala; Professor Lindahl’s nemesis
Feldt, Magnus, Sven’s father; military
Feldt, Sven, private secretary to the minister of social affairs, Gustav Möller; Jens’s friend
Günther, Christian, minister of foreign affairs, Stockholm
Hallberg, Britta, history student in Uppsala since 1936, originally from Blackåsen; Laura’s friend
Hallberg, Fredrik, foreman of Blackåsen iron mine; Britta’s father
Hallberg, Gunnar, Britta’s twelve-year-old brother
Hansson, Per Albin, Sweden’s prime minister
Helsing, Artur, Kristina’s godfather; retired businessman
Ingemarsson, Pierre, doctor, Blackåsen
Jonsson, Annika, Daniel Jonsson’s sister
Jonsson, Daniel, archivist, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stockholm
Karppinen, Matti, Finnish, history student in Uppsala, 1936–1940; currently works for Finnish Ministry of Information; Laura’s friend
Lagerheim, Harald, formerly in charge of guest relations, The Hotel Kramer, Malmö
Professor Lindahl, history professor at Uppsala University; government advisor
Lindholm, Sven Olov, leader of a Swedish Nazi Party, the SSS (Svensk socialistisk samling)
Lundius Lappo, Andreas, Sami, theology student in Uppsala, originally from Blackåsen; childhood friend of Britta Hallberg
Möller, Gustav, minister of social affairs
Nihkko, Sami elder
Notholm, Lennart, owner of the local hotel, the Winter Palace, Blackåsen
Öhrnberg, Ove, doctor and scientist, Blackåsen
Olet, Taneli’s cousin
Persson, Emil, journalist at Svenska Dagbladet; anti-Nazi
Regnell, Jens, personal secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, Stockholm
Rogstad, Karl-Henrik, Norwegian, history student in Uppsala, 1936–1940, then resistance fighter in Norway; Laura’s friend
Sandler, Rolf, mining director of Blackåsen iron mine
Schnurre, Karl, German envoy; Hitler’s messenger to Sweden
Svensson, Emilia, archivist, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stockholm
Ternberg, Helmuth, Major, deputy head of the C-Bureau
Turi, Javanna, Sami, living close to Blackåsen, thirteen years old
Turi, Taneli, Sami, Javanna’s brother, nine years old
Wallenberg, Jacob, renowned Swedish businessman and chief negotiator with Germany
Preface
The Nordic Countries During World War II
Sweden was the only Nordic country that remained neutral during World War II. The country, however, accommodated the Nazi regime:
German soldiers were allowed passage through Sweden. Over two million German soldiers traveled back and forth to Norway by Swedish rail in 1940–1943.
Swedish iron was critical for wartime production of steel and was sold to Germany at the same level preceding the war, which the Allies argued prolonged the war. The Swedish iron was called “Hitler’s Achilles’ heel.”
Swedish railways allowed the transport of the German 163rd Infantry Division, together with howitzers, tanks, weapons and ammunition, from Norway to Finland.
After 1944, Sweden shared military intelligence, helped train soldiers from Denmark and Norway and allowed the Allies to use Swedish airbases.
Norway was occupied by Germany on April 9, 1940. King Haakon VII fled to Great Britain and exiled Norwegian forces continued to fight from abroad. Norway withstood a German land invasion for sixty-two days—making it the nation that held out the longest, after the Soviet Union.
Denmark was occupied by Germany the same day the occupation of Norway began, without fighting. Until April 1943, King Christian X and the government functioned as in a protectorate. An effective resistance movement developed toward the end of the war and Germany then placed Denmark under direct military occupation.
The occupations of Norway and Denmark were largely motivated by the German aim to control the mining districts in the north of Sweden. After the invasions of Norway and Denmark, Sweden found itself isolated and completely dependent on Germany for its imports.
Finland participated in World War II, twice fighting the Soviet Union, and then Nazi Germany. As relations with the Soviet Union changed, so did Finland’s position in relation to the Allied forces—at one time for them, then against, then finally for them again.
Thus, the four Nordic countries, which, since the thirteenth century had been in various unions with one another, found themselves in very different situations and, occasionally, even on different sides during the course of the war.
Lapland, January 1943
Javanna Turi’s heart thumps dark and slow in her chest; her body is taut. She has been frightened before: seeing bare ground beneath the supplies in the food pit, or hearing gray-legs howl. There is a lot in Javanna’s life to be scared of. Best not to think too much.
But this . . . This is different. The thought slithers through her mind that this kind of fear she ought to think about.
Javanna, Janna, Jannanita, Javanna Turi, hurry home to me—her mother’s singsong voice echoes inside her mind.
Javanna Turi: Sami, thirteen years old, skiing in a forest she knows as well as her own sweet self, setting the traps she has set since she was seven.
Afraid.
She could leave it. She has already set four. But she has seen the tracks of a hare on the hill by the frozen river and she’s planned to set a spring pole trap. Back in the camp, she cut the snare, carved the sticks, brought the bait. Her mouth waters at the thought of meat.
The evening is cloudy, but for a moment a cold moon shows her face. The white on the hill glows. It beckons her to come, come closer. She sets off toward the knoll, skis hissing on parched snow.
Javanna, Janna, Jannanita, Javanna Turi, hurry home to me.
She reminds herself that she has no reason to be afraid. This is her land. But only one moon ago, Ámmon didn’t come home. Ámmon was old. Older than the roots of the trees. His time ended. Only cold freezes your body to white stone; where wild animals have eaten, there will be scraps. Ámmon was gone as if seized by a giant hand and torn off the surface of the earth. And ever since, Javanna feels it. Something has joined them here. Something foul.
Stallo, the grown-ups whisper at night. Stallo, the giant who eats human meat. But in the tales, Stallo is clumsy. This presence feels sharp. It watches them. Waits for that one mistake.
The moon hides again, but Javanna has reached the hill. By the cluster of young trees, she puts her rucksack down on the snow and takes a while to find a pole with good spring. When she’s happy, she takes out her knife and trims the branch of its leaves before tying her snare line to its end.