| Resistance and Terror in Sweden
| | The brief inscriptions on the tombstones in Pålsjø cemetery in Helsingborg give an impression of how the war was experienced in the neutral Sweden. |
The neutral Sweden defended its neutrality against the Allies and the Germans. In Pålsjö Cemetery’s gravestones the tragic results can be read. Here you can also read the epitaphs of a number of soldiers, who died in connection with the shipwreck of a war ship and were washed ashore in the Scanian coast.
War Graves – Pålsjö Cemetery Relates
In the northern part of Helsingborg is Palsjö Cemetery. At the entrance of the cemetery there are to signs. One says that here is “Commonwealth war graves”, and the other informs of “Deutsche kriegsgräben”.
These two burial plots relate how northwestern Scania experienced the Second World War and how foreign young soldiers found their last resting place here – far from their home.
Of the 113 pilots from the British Commonwealth, who died in the Second World War in Swedish territory, 47 are buried in Pålsjö Cemetery. A few metres next to them lay German soldiers, who died in the same was in this area. They have found their final resting place not far form their enemies from the West Alliance, but also next to fellow countrymen, who died during the First World War. 93 German soldiers lay here.
The Allies
The “Commonwealth war graves” consists of 47 meticulously placed white marble stones and a big sword-decorated cross in the one end. The gravestones tell that it is mainly young soldiers in their twenties. Some death dates appears more often than others and nobody died alone.
July 4th 1942
On the night of July 4th 1942 Bruce Morgan and J. Samson died with four other fellow soldiers. The next morning Helsingborg Dagblad said:
“British plane crashed in Lerberget.
Was hit by the air defence on the Danish side over Hornbæk."
Helsingborg experienced the reality of war at 1 one o´clock last night – perhaps closer than ever. Two aeroplanes, which in all probability were English, flew in a southern direction along the Sound and back, when the Danish air defence fired at them with an unheard of intensity.
One of the planes crashed approximately 200 metres from Lerberget. One of the seven-crew members, a Canadian was saved and taken to Helsingborg´s Hospital. In spite of an intensive search there have been no signs of the other six.”
The two aeroplanes had been on a mission to drop mines in the Sound, and in the course of the next couple of days five mines were rendered harmless by minesweepers. They were on their way home from the assignment, when one the planes were shot down. Of the seven-crew members only the Canadian, who flew the plane, survived. The others were buried here in Pålsjö Cemetery July 17th 1942 and several thousands of Helsingborg´s population slowed their sympathy.
Flowers arrived from high-ranking military persons and institutions, but also from ordinary people. The inhabitants in the area around Lerberget had sent a flower tribute and in Helsingborg they had collected money for a gift for the surviving hospitalised Canadian.
The police in Helsingborg sent the death message to Canada with newspaper clippings from the funeral. After some time an answer came from Bruce Morgan´s stepparents. The answer is quoted in Göte Friberg´s book ”Stormcentrum Øresund”.
”For the last twenty years we have taken care of him like he was our own son. The message you sent that his body has been taken out of the sea and that he has been buried with military distinction, have brought us happiness. These young men have given their life for us, and the freedom of the world, and although our hearts are crying, we are proud of them. The beautiful thoughts and the loving work, which the inhabitants of your town have expressed towards these heroes, was completely overwhelming and we are very grateful to you all.”
Bruce Morgan | 
J. Samson |
August 30th 1944
J. Kennedy died, 21 years old on August 30th 1944 with twenty others. The next day Helsingborg Dagblad said:
According to the available reports seven aeroplanes have crashed during overflights Tuesday night in the areas around the following towns: Knäred, Vittsjö, Örkelljunga, Båstad, Ljungby and Svensköp, and in the waters outside Vejbystrand. Five of the planes were of British nationality. Swedish air defence before the crash according to a close investigation hit some of the planes.
A large number of English aeroplanes flew back after a planned bombing expedition against Königsberg (Kaliningrad). They had been discovered by a German fighter and forced to withdraw. Over the Sound Danish and Swedish sides fired at them. Six planes crashed in northwestern Scania, among other places in Båstead and Skälderviken. Two planes that crashed in Svensköp in Scania and in Agunnaryd in southern Småland had been under fire from the Swedish air defence.
21 pilots were buried on September 7th ceremoniously in Pålsjö Cemetery. The Swedish crown princess, who was English, had sent a wreath. On the D.L.D Moon´s gravestone it says:” To the world, he was only one but to us he was all the world.”
The next day they lowered wreaths in the Skälderviken, where one of the planes had crashed.
J. Kennedy | 
D. L. D. Moon |
February 8th 1945
Six young boys died on February 8th 1945, among them P.L Kirkpatrick, 20 years old from Australia. Helsingborg Dagblad said the following on February 9th:
“Aeroplane Crashed in Brohult, completely demolished.
Cattleman´s house 40 metres from the crash, only one pilot found yesterday."
For the first time a foreign aeroplane has crashed inside the Helsingborg city boundary. This happened yesterday evening around 8 o´clock, when a four-engine British bomber was shot over Helsingborg and crashed at Brohult´s farm.”
There was a lot of activity in the air space in the beginning of February. The Allies carried out massive bombing expeditions against German cities Berlin and Dresden. February 8th a number of allied planes entered Helsingborg´s air space from the north and was fired at by air defences in Sofiero. One of the aircrafts was hit and flew burning over the Tågaborg district and crashed at Brohult´s farm, east of Helsingborg.
In his book “Stormcentrum Öresund” Göte Friberg has testified to the despair, which the men at the anti-aircraft gun felt after the shooting, and Helsingborg municipality made a demand that the minister of defence should change the directives for the shooting of the air defence.
The aircrafts were shot down by the Swedish air defence and at the funeral the memories of the dead were praised by representatives of the Swedish defence and afterwards the families thanked for the marks of honour via Helsingborg Dagblad.
P. L. Kirkpatrick | 
Helsingborg Dagblad February 9th 1945 |
German soldiers
A few metres from “The Commonwealth War Graves” German soldiers are buried. More than 40 of them died on March 1st 1945. Among these Heinz Reck, 26 years old and Horst de Wall, 20 years old. The next day this piece of news dominated Helsingborg Dagblad:
“Horrifying ship´s disaster near Helsingborg.
German war ship with 70 men capsized in the storm.”
A German war ship, a minesweeper was on its way to Aalborg form Copenhagen. The had to turn back because of the storm, but capsized between Viken and Hornbæk and sank outside Vikingestrand in northern Helsingborg. The disaster was this not due to any war action. 42 dead bodies floated ashore along the coast from Landskrona and to the north, most of them just north of Landskrona.
Even these had their last resting place in Pålsjö Cemetary. Many people attended the funeral and the number of people, which had participated in the rescue work, was remarkable. This was not a question of Germans or Englishmen, but a question of life and death.
From the burial report in Helsingborg Dagblad:
“It was a moving moment when seven fishermen from “Gravarna” laid down a wreath and chauffeur Karl O. Hjelm said the last words for the dead and asserted that he and his firends had done what they could to save the their lives during the ill-fated storm night."
German Soldiers | 
German Soldiers | 
Helsingborg Dagblad March 2nd 1945 | 
Helsingborg Dagblad March 10th 1945 |
A Forign Crowd of Peoble
Far from their homes here in Pålsjö Cemetery almost one hundred young men lay buried, one hundred of the many millions, who were sacrificed in the Second World War. Most of the victims of the world war are buried in the same way far from their homes. Göte Friberg, a policeman from Helsingborg gave this precise description of the ceremonies in Pålsjö Cemetary, a description, which probably covers thousands of other funerals during the Second World War:
“No families, no close friend were present, just a collection of correct men with and without uniform and in the background a large, silent, foreign crowd of people.”
Göte Friberg |
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