Swedish WW2 "Nordens Frihet(Nordic Freedom)" pin
Maker marked "Westins, Stockholm".
Good condition. Look a lot better in hand(more silver tone than yellow).
Roughly 50 mm incl the pin. Non magnetic buntmetal pin.
Text on the badge says: "Nordens Frihet - Ära - Skyldighet - Vilja" Eng: "Nordic Freedom - Honor - Duty- Will".
HISTORY:
This pin was sold to support the volunteers fighting against the communists and later the nazis. The slogan "Honor, duty, will" is from Carl von Döbeln (1758 - 1820). The four hands symbolize the four Nordic countries. Made by Sporrong and Westins.
The Nordic Freedom Society was formed in December 1939, and the direct cause was the outbreak of the Finnish Winter War on 30 November. The National Heritage Board Sigurd Curman became the society's chairman and the aim was to “actively work for effective aid to Finland in its freedom struggle against Russia”. In the beginning, the community was close to the association with the Finland Committee, which organized the Swedish volunteer corps to Finland. But according to Nordic Freedom, a voluntary corps would not be a sufficient aid in Finland's struggle, which was seen as a defense for the whole of the Nordic region. The Nordic Freedom claimed that Sweden must enter the war with regular forces, and they tried to influence politicians in that direction. It failed, and the Moscow Peace in March 1940, when Finland lost Karelia, among other places, was seen as a disaster.
The Nordic Freedom had at most about 250 members, and was mainly centered in the Stockholm area. The members must be said to have belonged to an elite in society, many of those active were writers, editors, historians and other academics. There were ambitions to form local branches out in the country, but the only result was a sister association in Uppsala. The newspaper Nordens Frihet became the society's voice to the outside world, the clearest expression of the society's political stance. In other respects, the activity largely consisted of lectures with invited guests. The magazine was published until December 1945, and Samfundet Nordens Frihet was wound up in the spring of 1946.
