As I understand the story, there was huge international pressure on Sweden to release these three men, because the bombing was deemed to be a justified defense against the company’s use of strike breakers by at least part of the unionist movement back then.
Sort of your freedom fighter is my terrorist and vice versa thing.
The terrorist Anton Nilsen was sentenced to death, but the hero of the fight against strikebreaking Anton Nilsen was released after 9 years forced labour.
I’m pretty sure a lot of people shared your opinion on the pardon even back then. I do. I think it would have been okay to grant some lenience to them because of noble motifs, like not handing out a life sentence instead of a death sentence or 20 years instead of life for his accomplices. On the other hand – WWII started a wild time in the world with revolutions, armed conflict (look up the strike culture in the US in the early 20^th century!), civil wars and full scale wars all over the place where the life of a human being was not worth a lot. Probably the morals regarding blowing up strike breakers of today and of 1908 are more alike than these of 1908 and 1917.
We brought out Anton Nilsson once, then the strikebreaker ship Amalthea got bombed.
See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Nilson
Wow, that biography is a wild ride, culminating in “his 100th birthday, during which Anton Nilson himself held a speech lasting for several hours”.
Best of luck to the Swedish workers at the Tesla plant in any case.
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After 9 years, most of which as forced labor. Perhaps a bit light of a sentence, but still quite a long time.
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As I understand the story, there was huge international pressure on Sweden to release these three men, because the bombing was deemed to be a justified defense against the company’s use of strike breakers by at least part of the unionist movement back then.
Sort of your freedom fighter is my terrorist and vice versa thing.
The terrorist Anton Nilsen was sentenced to death, but the hero of the fight against strikebreaking Anton Nilsen was released after 9 years forced labour.
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I’m pretty sure a lot of people shared your opinion on the pardon even back then. I do. I think it would have been okay to grant some lenience to them because of noble motifs, like not handing out a life sentence instead of a death sentence or 20 years instead of life for his accomplices. On the other hand – WWII started a wild time in the world with revolutions, armed conflict (look up the strike culture in the US in the early 20^th century!), civil wars and full scale wars all over the place where the life of a human being was not worth a lot. Probably the morals regarding blowing up strike breakers of today and of 1908 are more alike than these of 1908 and 1917.