“Äventyraren Sven Hedin” is a popularized book by Axel Odelberg about
the life of famed Swedish explorer Sven Hedin (1865-1952). The author describes
Hedin as a man who “found his way in geography but lost it in politics”, which
seems to be a fair assessment. Hedin traveled widely in Central, Inner and East
Asia. He made sensational archeological discoveries in the deserts, solved the
mystery of the “wandering lake” Lop Nur, discovered (or supposedly discovered)
Transhimalaya and the sources of several Indian rivers, and attempted to climb
Muztagh Ata in Xinjiang. He also made a dramatic but failed attempt to reach
Lhasa in Tibet, at the time off limits to foreigners.
Hedin became an
international super-celebrity, spoke several European and Asian languages more
or less fluently, and met a number of luminaries, including Emperor Meiji of
Japan, the British explorer Stanley, Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek,
and the Russian Czar Nicholas II. From an upper class background, he also had
connections with the Swedish royal court and was apparently the last person in
Swedish history to be ennobled. His coat of arms shows a globe centered on
Asia!
As a person, Hedin seems to have been both charming, an excellent
speaker, tough and somewhat reckless. He was good at flattery, but also easily
flattered. Odelberg believes that Hedin was too fixed on the exterior of people
he encountered, including the trappings of power. Interestingly, Hedin never
got married and had no children. His love affairs were entirely Platonic. I
can´t help wondering if he might have been homosexual or even asexual.
His political
views, while conservative at bottom, were frequently idiosyncratic and
mercurial. He turned from being pro-Russian to becoming Sweden´s most prominent
anti-Russian militarist activist, only to develop sympathies for the Bolshevik
regime after the revolution. During his travels, he tried to be on good terms
with both the Russians, the British and the Chinese, while at bottom having a “pro-Asian”
attitude and a contempt for Christian missionaries. His pro-German sympathies
were more fixed, and he was eventually to develop strong pro-Nazi attitudes. Indeed,
Hedin was one of the few Swedes who could meet more or less freely with Hitler
himself, who did his best to flatter the famous explorer with effusive praise.
Hedin´s pro-Nazi sympathies and increasingly prominent anti-Semitism were bizarre,
since he was actually half-Jewish! It´s not clear to me whether Hitler and the
other Nazi leaders knew this.
I admit that I found “Äventyraren Sven Hedin” a fascinating read. I
never much cared for Hedin before…well, except for one thing.
In 1914, Hedin
made his most memorable (and most controversial) intervention in Swedish
politics. He actually used King Gustav V to force the liberal government of
Karl Staaff to resign! The short story is that the king addressed a
pro-militarist farmers´ march in Stockholm, expressing strong support for larger
defense spending. The so-called Courtyard Speech was secretly written by Hedin
(something he didn´t admit until 40 years later). The liberal government, which
opposed Swedish rearmament, resigned and was replaced by a conservative administration
which subsequently was confirmed in a snap election.
This was a remarkable achievement
by Hedin, but it did take place before Sweden introduced universal suffrage. It
was also the last time a Swedish king tried to meddle in politics. Judging by
the book, Hedin managed to remain on good terms (more or less) with all the main
political factions in Sweden even after the 1914 events, which strikes me as
even more remarkable. During World War II, the Swedish government (which was neutral
in the war) used Hedin as a back channel to Hitler. Odelberg speculates that
maybe Hedin played a role when Hitler lobbied Stalin not to force too harsh
peace terms on Finland after the Winter War.
In general, though, Hedin´s pro-Nazi sympathies (rather obviously)
destroyed his reputation. He even wrote a panegyrical obituary to Hitler upon
learning that the German Führer had shot himself in Berlin, arguing that Hitler
was one of the greatest men in world history! It´s not clear to me whether
Hedin ever recanted his views, but shortly before his death, he actually
criticized the terror against the Jews and against Poland in an interview with an
Irish (sic) newspaper.
I´m not sure how to end this review. Maybe by saying that the best are frequently also the worst?
