During World War II, the Sami were used as guides, by both the Germans and the Allies, as they were very familiar with Lapland and were able to cover long distances on skis.
KIRUNA MINE
In the book, I have chosen the name Blackåsen Mountain to represent the Kiruna mine, as The Historians is a (very loose) continuation of my previous two books—each depicting this mountain at a time in history. But the history of mining in the novel is that of the Kiruna mine. During World War II, the ore from Kiruna went largely to Germany; Jacob Wallenberg was managing the negotiations with Germany together with Gunnar Hägglöf from the Swedish government; Sweden was indeed under huge pressure both from Germany and the Allies.
When it comes to the town surrounding the mine, I have taken liberties.
THE STATE INSTITUTE FOR RACIAL BIOLOGY
The Institute was set up, as the first of its kind, to study eugenics and human genetics in 1922. Its task was to study the inhabitants of Sweden from a racial perspective. The scientists tried to draw conclusions from the effects of biological heritage and the environment. Measuring of skulls, photographing and examinations took place to try to find evidence of the negative effects of mixing races. Its first director became increasingly anti-Semitic and the Swedish government took over in 1936.
Forced sterilization in Sweden took place between 1934 and 2013, sometimes by direct force, but more often by administrative coercion or persuasion. Those who were sterilized were psychologically ill, mentally disabled, people with physical disabilities and those deemed antisocial. The objective was racial hygiene, economic savings, public health and control of those deemed antisocial.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Christian Günther was Sweden’s foreign minister during World War II. In 1940–1941, he worked on a Swedish-German rapprochement to the extent of becoming a Swedish security risk. One year later, he offered Jews a refuge from the Holocaust.
Karl Schnurre was a Nazi diplomat central to Sweden’s relationship with Germany; he was sometimes described as “Hitler’s special representative.”
The expression “able artisans” was coined by Gustaf Hjärne, one of the history professors at Uppsala University, 1889–1913, and chairman of the Historical Society, 1884–1914. The nachspiele were where he seemed to feel most at home.
The Historical Society in Uppsala held lectures in Ekman’s House toward the latter part of the 1940s. After the meetings the participants often went out for dinner. Gillet Hotel’s restaurant was one of the favorites.
SOURCES
Arnstad, Henrik. Spelaren Christian Günther [The player Christian Günther]. Malmö: Arx Förlag AB, 2006, 2014.
Bergman, Jan. Sekreterarklubben—C-byråns Kvinnliga Agenter under Andra Världskriget [The secretary club—The C-Bureau’s female agents during World War II]. Stockholm: Norstedts, 2014. An amazing book about something that is largely unknown!
Boëthius, Maria-Pia. Heder och samvete [Honor and conscience]. Stockholm: Ordfront Förlag, 1999.
Grant, Madison. The Passing of the Great Race, Centenary Edition. Whithorn, UK: Ostara Publications, 2016.
Hagglöf, Gunnar. Svensk Krigshandels Politik under Andra Världskriget [Swedish trade policy during World War II]. Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag, 1958.
Lindgren, Astrid. Krigsdagböcker 1939–1945 [War diaries 1939–1945]. Stockholm: Salikon Förlag, 2015.
Lindholm, Ernst. Byn på grytbottnen [Village on the pot bottom]. Arbetarkultur Förlag, 1953. The portrayal of continuous noise in a mining village comes from here.
Ludvigsson, David (ed.). Historiker i vardag och i fest—Historiska föreningen in Uppsala 1862–2012 [Historians at work and leisure—The Historical Society in Uppsala 1862–2012]. Department of History, Uppsala University, 2012.
McCoy, Daniel. The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Mimir as “the Rememberer” comes from McCoy’s website, https://norse-mythology.org/.
Acknowledgments
The Historians has been three years in the making, and I am so grateful to so many people!
Thank you to my agents, Janelle Andrews and Alexandra Cliff, and the team at Peters, Fraser and Dunlop: your advice is priceless, and I am amazed at how you know just when to push and when to leave be.
Thank you to Jennifer Lambert at HarperCollins Canada for being so supportive and such a brilliant editor. I am so grateful for the time you’ve spent on this book and so thankful you’ll still have me.
I am indebted to the hugely talented Sara Sarre at the Blue Pencil Agency for reading many versions and critiquing, as well as to the steadfast Lorna Read for catching all the mistakes I had not.
During the research period for this book, I was blessed with the most amazing conversations. I think getting to learn things and talking to knowledgeable people is one of the best things about writing. An especially big thank-you to Emir O. Filipovic, medievalist at the University of Sarajevo; Ivar Grahn, actor, Sweden; Henrik Hallgren, gothi, Samfundet Forn Sed, Sweden; Gunnar and Elma Olovsson, founders of Geoprodukter, Kiruna; and Professor Emeritus Rolf Torstendahl, Uppsala University. Thank you to Carina Adolfsson, who took the time to read an early draft. All mistakes are my own.
Thank you to my writing friends: Mary Chamberlain, Vivien Graveson, Laura McClelland, Saskia Sarginson and Lauren Trimble for reading the many drafts. Your creativity and wise feedback have been invaluable, and I can’t believe we are still together after so many years. In fact, I can’t imagine life without you! Ten years is coming up!
I am grateful to Fergal Keane, as always, for letting me borrow his desk in London, for sagesse, and without whom I wouldn’t be writing in the first place.
Thank you to those without whom normal life just simply wouldn’t work: Monika Linder, Sofia Fredriksson, Raquel González and Miguel Duarte, the gals on my street: Amy, Jenna, Karen, Lemonie and Tanis—I get to see you every day! Erin and Erik in Calgary.
Thank you to Anna and Maja for being so patient all the days your mum was writing and traveling for research. (“As long as you are done by the summer.”) Thank you to my father-in-law, John Taylor, for reading early drafts and helping me with the medical science. Thank you to my husband, David, for always covering the bases at home and for being my true partner in crime. At the end of the day, nothing would happen without you.
About the Author
CECILIA EKBÄCK is the author of Wolf Winter, which won the HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown and the High Plains Book Award. Her second novel, The Midnight Sun, was published to wide acclaim. Originally from a small town in northern Sweden, Ekbäck now lives in Canmore, Alberta, with her husband and twin daughters.
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Also by Cecilia Ekbäck
The Midnight Sun
Wolf Winter
Copyright
The Historians
Copyright © 2020 by Cecilia Ekbäck.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Cover photo: Mark Owen/Trevillion Images
Map here by Mary Rostad
FIRST EDITION
Epub Edition NOVEMBER 2020 Epub ISBN: 978-1-4434-5949-5
Version 09292020
Print ISBN: 978-1-4434-5948-8
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: The historians : a novel / Cecilia Ekbäck.
Names: Ekbäck, Cecilia, 1971- author.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200299344 | Canadiana (ebook) 20200299360
ISBN 9781443459488 (softcover) | ISBN 9781443459495 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PS8609.K33 H57 2020 | DDC C813/.6—dc23
LSC/H 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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