Elisabeth Åsbrink

"First published in English by Scribe, London, in 2017"--Title page verso.

Where Now Begins

1947

Handbok för demokrater. Hur gör en enskild människa för att skydda demokratin?

När blev Sverige svenskt? Det brukar ju heta att land ska med lag byggas. Men kanske kan man lika gärna tala om att land ska med ord byggas? Det är genom citat, traditioner, modeord och sångtitlar som vi gör oss en bild av vårt sammanhang, vårt arv, vår nation. Men tider förändras, språk förändras, nya ord kommer till, andra går förlorade. I denna bok gör Elisabeth Åsbrink en forskningsresa genom svensk historia och talesätt, från den (kungliga) svenska avundsjukan till #metoo, för att ta reda på hur orden format svenska värderingar och hur vi klär dessa värderingar i ord. Det finns inte mycket som är självskrivet med de ord som vi uppfattar som grundstenarna i vårt nationsbygge. Däremot går det att på lite oväntade ställen hitta något som är typiskt svenskt, det vill säga en relativt tidig uppmärksamhet på kvinnors och barns rättigheter i Det går an och Barnets århundrade. Men hur svenskt är egentligen ishockey? Och får man egentligen säga vad som helst i det här landet? Orden som formade Sverige är en personlig, rolig och bitvis provocerande läsning av svenskheten, en nödvändig komplicering av ett nationalitetsbegrepp som på sina håll blivit väl enkelt. Elisabeth Åsbrink är journalist och författare, bosatt i Stockholm och Köpenhamn. Hon medverkar som skribent, recensent och krönikör i Dagens Nyheter och även i dansk press. Hennes senaste bok 1947 blev en av årets mest prisade, och nominerades till Augustpriset. Hon belönades med Augustpriset för Och i Wienerwald står träden kvar 2011.

Orden som formade Sverige

Nittonhundrafyrtiosju

A stromy ve Vídeňském lese stále stojí

1947. Świat zaczyna się teraz

What are the real Swedish Values? Who is the real Swedish Model? In recent times, we have come to favour all things Scandi — their food, furnishings, fiction, fashion, and general way of life. We seem to regard the Swedes and their Scandinavian neighbours as altogether more sophisticated, admirable, and evolved than us. We have all aspired to be Swedish, to live in their perfectly designed society from the future. But what if we have invested all our faith in a fantasy? What if Sweden has in fact never been as moderate, egalitarian, dignified, or tolerant as it would like to (have us) think? The recent rise to political prominence of an openly neo-Nazi party has begun to crack the illusion, and here now is Swede Elisabeth Åsbrink, who loves her country ‘but not blindly’, presenting twenty-five of her nation’s key words and icons afresh, in order to give the world a clearer-eyed understanding of this fascinating country …

25 ideas that created a country

Made in Sweden

Wydawnictwo Czarne

Irena Kowadło-Przedmojska

W Lesie Wiedenskim wciaz szumia drzewa

As the clock strikes the end of the war, the time begins to turn towards a new age -- the one we call now. This shift does not happen overnight, from one day to the next; instead, the world vibrates for a number of years. People try to find their way back to homes that are no longer there, or on to an uncertain future across the sea. Some run from their deeds, and most get away. Among the millions in flight across Europe looking for a new home in 1947 is Elisabeth Åsbrink's father. In 1947, production begins of the Kalashnikov, Christian Dior creates the New Look, Simone de Beauvoir writes The Second Sex, the first actual computer bug is discovered, the CIA is set up, a clockmaker's son draws up the plan that remains the goal of jihadists to this day, and a UN Committee is given four months to find a solution to the problem of Palestine. In 1947, Elisabeth Åsbrink chronicles the creation of the modern world, as the forces that will go on to govern all our lives during the next 70 years first make themselves known.

When Now Begins

roman

Övergivenheten

Fiona Graham

Otto 13 år, kommer ensam som krigsbarn till Sverige. Snart upphör breven från föräldrarna som satts i koncentrationsläger. Otto får arbete i familjen Kamprad och blir vän med sonen Ingvar

Och i Wienerwald står träden kvar

Winner of the August Prize, the story of the complicated long-distance relationship between a Jewish child and his forlorn Viennese parents after he was sent to Sweden in 1939, and the unexpected friendship the boy developed with the future founder of IKEA, a Nazi activist. Otto Ullmann, a Jewish boy, was sent from Austria to Sweden right before the outbreak of World War II. Despite the huge Swedish resistance to Jewish refugees, thirteen-year-old Otto was granted permission to enter the country—all in accordance with the Swedish archbishop’s secret plan to save Jews on condition that they convert to Christianity. Otto found work at the Kamprad family’s farm in the province of Småland and there became close friends with Ingvar Kamprad, who would grow up to be the founder of IKEA. At the same time, however, Ingvar was actively engaged in Nazi organizations and a great supporter of the fascist Per Engdahl. Meanwhile, Otto’s parents remained trapped in Vienna, and the last letters he received were sent from Theresienstadt. With thorough research, including personal files initiated by the predecessor to today’s Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) and more than 500 letters, Elisabeth Åsbrink illustrates how Swedish society was infused with anti-Semitism, and how families are shattered by war and asylum politics.

The Heartbreaking True Story of a Family Torn Apart by War

And in the Vienna Woods the Trees Remain

What are the real Swedish Values? Who is the real Swedish Model? In recent times, we have come to favour all things Scandi -- their food, furnishings, fiction, fashion, and general way of life. We seem to regard the Swedes and their Scandinavian neighbours as altogether more sophisticated, admirable, and evolved than us. We have all aspired to be Swedish, to live in their perfectly designed society from the future. But what if we have invested all our faith in a fantasy? What if Sweden has in fact never been as moderate, egalitarian, dignified, or tolerant as it would like to (have us) think? The recent rise to political prominence of an openly neo-Nazi party has begun to crack the illusion, and here now is Swede Elisabeth Åsbrink, who loves her country 'but not blindly', presenting twenty-five of her nation's key words and icons afresh, in order to give the world a clearer-eyed understanding of this fascinating country ...

25 Ideas that Created a Country

“One of the best books, certainly the best nonfiction book, that I've read recently.” —Nancy Pearl on NPR’s Morning Edition “An extraordinary achievement.” —New York Times Book Review An award-winning writer captures a year that defined the modern world, intertwining historical events around the globe with key moments from her personal history. The year 1947 marks a turning point in the twentieth century. Peace with Germany becomes a tool to fortify the West against the threats of the Cold War. The CIA is created, Israel is about to be born, Simone de Beauvoir experiences the love of her life, an ill George Orwell is writing his last book, and Christian Dior creates the hyper-feminine New Look as women are forced out of jobs and back into the home. In the midst of it all, a ten-year-old Hungarian-Jewish boy resides in a refugee camp for children of parents murdered by the Nazis. This year he has to make the decision of a lifetime, one that will determine his own fate and that of his daughter yet to be born, Elisabeth

Elisabeth Åsbrink

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