Memorandum from Acting Secretary of State Joseph Grew to President Harry S. Truman

TOP SECRET DECLASSIFIED E.O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) be returned to of State letter, Aug. 10, 1972 DINTTLE NARS Date 7-23-72 DEPARTMENT OF STATE WASHINGTON April 25, 1945 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Possible Swedish Interven- tion in Norway Mr. Eden's suggestion to you that an Anglo-Ameri- can approach be made to the Swedes with a view to secur- ing their intervention in Norway was embodied in a paper submitted by the British Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on April 19 where the mat- ter is presently being considered. In my opinion, the proposal is primarily military in nature and must be decided on military rather than political grounds. Without prior clearance by SHAEF, the Norwegians recently asked the Swedes to mobilize in order to in- dicate to the Germans in Norway that prolonged resis- tance would be useless. The Swedes considered such action as a gamble which might very well have the con- trary effect. They therefore rejected the Norwegian request but left the door open for further approach should it subsequently appear that the Germans in Norway will continue to resist after the collapse in Germany proper. Despite this turn-down, I feel there is a good possibility that the Swedes would be willing to inter- vene if a request is made by the American, British and Norwegian Governments and no objection is raised by the Soviets. It is extremely doubtful, however, whether the Swedes would declare war on Germany. Intervention would