Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XIX. Sweden in 1915
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knowledge. And at the root of all these facts one saw
the hand of the official representatives of Germany.
What also ended by harming these representatives
was the agitation of Sven-Hedin and his most intimate
friends. When the “great Thibetan” accepted the
Kaiser’s invitation and went to the German
Headquarters, every one in Sweden thought this trip quite
natural, and the correspondence of the eminent publicist
and political agitator was read with enormous interest;
but Sven-Hedin was wrong to prolong, and above all to
repeat, his visits to the Kaiser’s armies; he also made
the great mistake of praising in his letters the “fresh
and joyful war” as prosecuted by the Germans, of
showing himself to be not only pro-German but imbued with
militarism, and ultra warlike, and of posing as a
liegeman of Germany. This at last opened the eyes of the
Swedes as to Sven-Hedin, and the more their inclination
for peace and tranquillity in Europe increased, the more
did the “personal friend” of the Kaiser lose ground.
When I took up my post in Sweden in the spring of 1914
the name of Sven-Hedin was on every one’s lips; when
my time was up in the spring of 1917, one heard no
mention of the famous explorer. Sic transit. Moreover,
the overthrow of Sven-Hedin’s authority and that of his
Activist friends had an undoubted effect on the position
of the German Minister.
German diplomatic representation in Stockholm had
another vulnerable point in its armour which could not
escape the notice of the public at large. Whereas the
best personal relations united the representatives of
the Entente, and at all receptions and in public places I
was seen to seek the company of my allied colleagues, it
was no secret from any one in Stockholm that Count
Hadik and his collaborators could hardly bear the
bragging, the authoritative tone and the nouveau riche
mentality of their “grand” German colleague. The Austrian
diplomats formed a separate party with the Turks
and the Bulgarian chargé d’affaires. So the Germans
in their social relations had to rely on those elements
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