Socialstyrelsen

  • National Board of Welfare
  • National Board of Social Affairs
Identifier
Socialstyrelsen
Language of Description
English
Dates
1912 - 2005
Level of Description
Fonds
Languages
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Swedish
Scripts
  • Latin
Source
EHRI

Web Source

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/arkiv/na2NeBUQrH6d0002H087k3

Extent and Medium

2227,3 linear meters of mostly textual records and statistics.

Biographical History

The National Board of Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) is a Swedish governmental administrative authority under the Ministry of Social Affairs. The agency was established in 1912 and acquired its current form on January 1, 1968 by merging with the National Board of Health.

The board was headed by a Director General, appointed by the government. Directors General in the time of Nazi persecutions and the Holocaust and the immediate post-war years were: Gunnar Huss 1921–1937 (acting Director General 1919–1921) Sigfrid Hansson 1937–1939 Thorwald Bergquist 1939–1946 (during Bergquist's time as Minister, Karl Johan Höjer was appointed acting Director General) Ernst Bexelius 1946–1968

The National Board of Welfare and its subdivisions were responsible for foreign citizens' residence and work permits during the Nazi persecution of Jews and the Holocaust. It also gave subsidies for refugee aid carried out by relief organizations.

Archival History

The agency was founded in 1912 and in 1920, together with the National Unemployment Commission, took over the police's investigations of the labor market situation. The National Board of Health and Welfare became the administering authority when requirements for work permits and residence permits were introduced in 1926 and 1928 respectively, and in 1941 also took over responsibility for refugee accommodation in Sweden. All these tasks were taken over in 1944 by the State Foreigners Commission (SUK).

Scope and Content

There are four different sub-archives in the National Board of Welfare's archive holding records from the handling of Holocaust refugees and survivors coming to Sweden:

(1.) The archive of the Bureau for Social Affairs in General (Byrån för sociala ärenden i allmänhet, 1:a byrån), 1st Bureau: Foreigners Affairs. It contains minutes, letters, reports and correspondence relating to refugees and other foreigners up to 1939. The F series contains personal files on foreign nationals, including refugees from Nazi Germany.

The 1st bureau's tasks were taken over in 1938 by the (2.) Foreigners Bureau, 6th Bureau (Utlänningsbyrån, 6:e byrån) 1938--1944. The Foreigners Bureau was the highest authority regarding the right of foreigners to reside and work in Sweden, and were responsible of their supervision. Series D contains indexes and registers, and series F:I contains personal files on refugees in Sweden during the period 1938-1944. The B series contains the agency's letters, reports and memoranda. The E series includes correspondence on applications for refugees' residence permits and visas.

(3.) The archive of the Department for Immigrant Accommodation (Avdelningen för utlänningsförläggningar) 1940--1944. On July 1, 1944, the tasks of the bureau were taken over by the Social Office of the SUK to which certain documents were transferred.

Finally, (4.) the Secret Archive: Foreigners' affairs (Hemliga Arkivet: Utlänningsärenden) include individual files of foreigners from 1920 to 1944. It consists of classified files from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare's offices for immigration matters (1st bureau and 6th bureau, and the Department for Immigrant Accommodation). It contains information that sheds light on the Swedish authorities' treatment of Jewish refugees, both in general and in individual personal files. Most documents have been transferred to the SUK's secret archive.

The Board's archives are held at the National Archives in Marieberg (Stockholm) and an index is available in the National Archives Database (NAD).

Finding Aids

  • The index is available in the National Archives Database (NAD): https://sok.riksarkivet.se/arkiv/na2NeBUQrH6d0002H087k3

    Carlsson, Carl Henrik. Källor till judarnas historia i Sverige: arkivguide. Skrifter utgivna av Riksarkivet 44. Täby: Riksarkivet, 2022.

    Hallberg, Lars. Källor till invandringens historia i statliga myndigheters arkiv 1840--1990. Skrifter utgivna av Riksarkivet 17. Stockholm: Riksarkivet, 2001.

Sources

  • National Archives Database (NAD): https://sok.riksarkivet.se/arkiv/na2NeBUQrH6d0002H087k3

    Carlsson, Carl Henrik. Källor till judarnas historia i Sverige: arkivguide. Skrifter utgivna av Riksarkivet 44. Täby: Riksarkivet, 2022.

    Hallberg, Lars. Källor till invandringens historia i statliga myndigheters arkiv 1840--1990. Skrifter utgivna av Riksarkivet 17. Stockholm: Riksarkivet, 2001.

    Kvist Geverts, Karin, Ett främmande element i nationen. Svensk flyktingpolitik och de judiska flyktingarna 1938–1944, Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet 2008.

Rules and Conventions

EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0