Bottled time - Ear To The Ground - Sweden in World War II - Brief Article

For A Change, Dec, 2003 by Alison Wetterfors

During World War II Sweden received many refugees from the Baltic region. Recently a Swiss tourist found a bottle containing a letter which had been thrown into the sea by an Estonian refugee in Sweden 60 years ago. 'Is the war over?' asked the letter-writer, Maja Westerman, writing of her longing for her family in Estonia.

Apparently she was living on the Swedish island of Gotland. Efforts are underway to check the authenticity of the letter but, whatever the outcome, it's a reminder of one role neutral Sweden was able to play at a dark time in Baltic history.