The Stay Behinds: Sweden's Cold War Guardians
Johan Wennström
Sep 2026 · Bloomsbury GB Audio · Narrated by Johan Wennström
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7 hr 2 min
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Bloomsbury presents The Stay Behinds: Sweden's Cold War Guardians written and read by Johan Wennström
Packed with first-hand accounts and previously classified government documents, this book reveals the secrets of Sweden's resistance network, created to deter a potential Soviet occupation.
Following World War II, Sweden faced the looming threat of the Soviet Union and its drive to spread communism. This led to the formation of a resistance movement involving Sweden's intelligence service, the employers' association and the labour movement. The stay-behind network was fully legalised in 1955 and continued its clandestine work until the mid-1990s, with the mission of keeping communism – and the Soviets – out of Sweden.
Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with key figures, author Johan Wennström peels back the layers of secrecy surrounding the stay-behinds. This book looks at the men who created the network, the work the operatives carried out, the cell-like structure they relied on, and how the US and UK intelligence communities cooperated with the Swedish stay-behinds. This is the first in-depth study of a secret organization that helped shape modern Sweden. It also highlights lessons for today's NATO and makes the case for a defence policy grounded in national interest.
Packed with first-hand accounts and previously classified government documents, this book reveals the secrets of Sweden's resistance network, created to deter a potential Soviet occupation.
Following World War II, Sweden faced the looming threat of the Soviet Union and its drive to spread communism. This led to the formation of a resistance movement involving Sweden's intelligence service, the employers' association and the labour movement. The stay-behind network was fully legalised in 1955 and continued its clandestine work until the mid-1990s, with the mission of keeping communism – and the Soviets – out of Sweden.
Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with key figures, author Johan Wennström peels back the layers of secrecy surrounding the stay-behinds. This book looks at the men who created the network, the work the operatives carried out, the cell-like structure they relied on, and how the US and UK intelligence communities cooperated with the Swedish stay-behinds. This is the first in-depth study of a secret organization that helped shape modern Sweden. It also highlights lessons for today's NATO and makes the case for a defence policy grounded in national interest.
Bloomsbury presents The Stay Behinds: Sweden's Cold War Guardians written and read by Johan Wennström
Packed with first-hand accounts and previously classified government documents, this book reveals the secrets of Sweden's resistance network, created to deter a potential Soviet occupation.
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About the author
Johan Wennström is a research fellow at the Swedish Defence University. His essays have appeared in, among others, The Spectator and UnHerd. His landmark study on the Stay Behinds resistance movement has become a bestseller in Sweden.
Johan Wennström is a research fellow at the Swedish Defence University. His essays have appeared in, among others, The Spectator and UnHerd. His landmark study on the Stay Behinds resistance movement has become a bestseller in Sweden.
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