I am trying to solve a mystery...
I'm writing an article about a Swedish diplomat to the Middle East who received the Order of the German Eagle (Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) from the Third Reich. I've got a lot of information about his life and activities, but the biggest mystery remains: WHY did he receive this medal from the Nazis?
I've been able to find general comments on the award itself (e.g. that it was often given to foreign, Nazi-sympathetic diplomats). I am hoping, however, to find a source describing *specifically* why this Swede received the medal. There MUST be a description in German, somewhere, explaining his "achievements"-- perhaps in a Nazi-published encyclopedia of honorees, or a newspaper article covering the award ceremony, or simply a German history book.
I would be profoundly grateful for any leads you may be able to offer. The diplomat's name is GUNNAR JARRING (sometimes called by his full name, GUNNAR VALFRID JARRING).
In Search of Info: Recipients of the Order of the German Eagle (Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler)
Re: In Search of Info: Recipients of the Order of the German Eagle (Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler)
Here's an excerpt from the below link regarding Gunnar Jarring:
http://www.tobiashubinette.se/asianist.pdf
"Among other classical Swedish Orientalists, one of the most respected ones on an international level is the recently deceased Gunnar Jarring (1907 – 2003), a Central Asianist, professor of Turkology at Lund University and the former Swedish ambassador to the United Nations. In the election of 1936, Jarring was a parliamentary candidate for the Fascist Swedish National League party,(24) and in 1942 he was bestowed with the swastika-adorned Order of the German Eagle for his loyal service as an agent in the pro German Swedish military intelligence. (25) In Jarring’s bibliography, published on his seventieth birthday, articles from his Nazi past had been completely erased, although the Tabula gratulatoria contains many old party comrades from his time in the Swedish National League. (26)
In one of the “missing” Nazi articles from 1936, Jarring wrote about Kashmir as a country where “the pure Aryan still lives on with all the characters of his race,” as he, like the other Nazi Orientalists, located the Urheimat of the Indo-European Urvolk somewhere in Northern India, Central Asia, and Tibet.(27)"
Interesting read. Sounds like some of the "Urheimat" research he did was inspired by the Thule Society. I haven't seen more specific info on his German Eagle award, aside from the general description above.
Here's one of the specific sources on it, but I haven't gotten access to it. "On the Swedish military intelligence during World War II, see Maj Wechselmann, Debruna förbindelserna (The Brown Connections) (Stockholm: Ordfront, 1995)." Given that articles specifically from his Nazi connections were erased, it'll be hard to find out more info. Perhaps there'd be sources in Swedish.
http://www.tobiashubinette.se/asianist.pdf
"Among other classical Swedish Orientalists, one of the most respected ones on an international level is the recently deceased Gunnar Jarring (1907 – 2003), a Central Asianist, professor of Turkology at Lund University and the former Swedish ambassador to the United Nations. In the election of 1936, Jarring was a parliamentary candidate for the Fascist Swedish National League party,(24) and in 1942 he was bestowed with the swastika-adorned Order of the German Eagle for his loyal service as an agent in the pro German Swedish military intelligence. (25) In Jarring’s bibliography, published on his seventieth birthday, articles from his Nazi past had been completely erased, although the Tabula gratulatoria contains many old party comrades from his time in the Swedish National League. (26)
In one of the “missing” Nazi articles from 1936, Jarring wrote about Kashmir as a country where “the pure Aryan still lives on with all the characters of his race,” as he, like the other Nazi Orientalists, located the Urheimat of the Indo-European Urvolk somewhere in Northern India, Central Asia, and Tibet.(27)"
Interesting read. Sounds like some of the "Urheimat" research he did was inspired by the Thule Society. I haven't seen more specific info on his German Eagle award, aside from the general description above.
Here's one of the specific sources on it, but I haven't gotten access to it. "On the Swedish military intelligence during World War II, see Maj Wechselmann, Debruna förbindelserna (The Brown Connections) (Stockholm: Ordfront, 1995)." Given that articles specifically from his Nazi connections were erased, it'll be hard to find out more info. Perhaps there'd be sources in Swedish.
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." – Mark Twain.
Re: In Search of Info: Recipients of the Order of the German Eagle (Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler)
Thank you so much for your time and research into this! I have been in touch with T. Hubinette, who kindly sent me some sources in Swedish. These were enormously helpful sources for understanding Jarring's ideology and early work, but unfortunately I have not yet been able to find a primary source in Swedish or English confirming that Jarring's service in military intelligence (for the "C Bureau") was actually the reason he received his award from the Reich. It's not clear to me, I'm afraid, how Hubinette actually made that connection, especially since Jarring had other connections to far-right movements as well (he was a political candidate for a Nazi-sympathetic party in the 30s, for example).
The source Hubinette cites here does not clarify that point, unfortunately. I suspect a German source might be more direct: a line or two on the award ceremony in a German newspaper, for example, clarifying specifically what Jarring was being honored for.
The source Hubinette cites here does not clarify that point, unfortunately. I suspect a German source might be more direct: a line or two on the award ceremony in a German newspaper, for example, clarifying specifically what Jarring was being honored for.