:02:34
There are times when it's not pleasant
to see your picture in the paper.
:02:38
This was one of them.
:02:39
The article was direct
and to the point.
:02:41
It said that Cordell Hull, the secretary
of state for the United States,
:02:45
had released a list
of certain Swedish citizens
:02:47
who had been giving economic aid
and comfort to the Axis powers.
:02:51
In other words, I was considered
a Nazi collaborator.
:02:55
I had been trading with Germany.
:02:57
There was no secret about it.
:02:59
I'd been importing oil for years
from all over the world.
:03:02
That was my business.
:03:03
And even now with the war on,
there was nothing illegal about it.
:03:07
Sweden was neutral
and traded with both sides.
:03:14
When I went to my office that
morning, I received a call
:03:17
from a friend of my brother's who
was in Stockholm on business.
:03:20
He was staying at the Grand Hotel.
I went over.
:03:23
I knew the blacklist would be
printed in the American papers,
:03:26
and it was sure to embarrass my
brother and parents
:03:29
who lived in New York.
:03:31
I wanted to explain
a few things to this man
:03:33
so that he could take
back my side of the story.
:03:36
The lobby of the Grand
was a busy place.
:03:39
Like Lisbon and Istanbul
and other neutral cities,
:03:42
Stockholm was crowded with what
were euphemistically called "visitors".
:03:47
They came
from every country
:03:48
and babbled away
in a dozen different tongues.
:03:51
Some were there to buy Swedish
ball bearings and Bofors guns,
:03:54
and the rest were espionage
agents trying their best
:03:57
to see that the shipments
never reached their destinations.