Thomas Nilsson

Of course back then Sweden practiced ARMED neutrality, because we assumed the Soviets would come one way or another, regardless of neutrality or NATO membership.

But did this really come as a surprise? When I did my military service as a conscript in the Swedish armed forces during the end of the Cold War absolutely everyone assumed there were detailed Soviet plans to attack Sweden in case of a war with the West.

This thread is absolutely worth your time, trust me

The logo of the SAAB company featuring a red crowned griffin's head.

The Swedish aerospace and defence company SAAB also uses the Scanian version of the griffin in its logotype, as the company traces parts of its origin to Scania. The fighter aircraft JAS 39 Gripen is named after the griffin in the company’s logotype.

The coat-of-arms of the County of Scania in Sweden, featuring a crowned yellow (golden) griffin's head on a red shield.

The lesser coat-of-arms of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, featuring the black crowned bull's head on a yellow (golden) background on its left half, and a red griffin on a white (silver) background on its right half.

The coat-of-arms of the West Pomeranian voivodeship in Poland, featuring a red griffin, armed golden on a white (silver) shield.

The coat-of-arms of the Pomeranian voivodeship in Poland, featuring a black upright griffin on a yellow (golden) shield.

Thus the legacy of the House of Griffin is still in wide use across the south Baltic area today. Versions appears in the coat-of-arms of the county of Scania in Sweden, the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Polish voivodeships of West Pomerania and Pomerania.

Thus, when the 7th South Scanian Regiment was raised in 1811 it used the coat-of-arms of the province of Scania. The 12th Division in Poland was raised by Polish volunteers in France by the end of WW1. At the end of WW2 the division was located to Szczecin, and adopted a coat-of-arms from the city.

The coat of arms of the province of Scania, with the blazon "Or, a Griffin's head erased Gules, crowned Azure and armed Azure"

When king Charles X died in 1660, the royal council needed to get coat-of-arms from the Skåneland provinces to represent them at the funeral. For the province of Scania the council went with the coat-of-arms of Malmö, but with the colours of the Duchy of Swedish Pomerania.

Treaty of Roskilde - Wikipedia

Ten years later, in 1658, king Charles X of defeated Denmark and won the eastern third of the Danish kingdom, the provinces of Skåneland. At this point in time both the city of Szczecin and the city of Malmö were ruled by the Swedish king. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_...

The coat of arms of Swedish Pomerania in 1660, with the blazon: "Or, an upright Griffin Gules"

Two hundred years later in 1648, in a remarkable reversal of fortunes, king Charles X of Sweden replaced the House of Griffin for the western part of Pomerania, called Swedish Pomerania. To separate it from the eastern part of Pomerania, Sweden adopted new colours to the coat-of-arms of the duchy.

Excerpts from the original letter from king Erik to the city of Malmö with the rights to bear the coat-of-arms of the Pomeranian griffin's head. In the letter there is also a drawing of the coat-of-arms.

The coat-of-arms of the city of Malmö, with the blazon: "Silver, a griffin's head erased Gules, crowned Or and armed Gules."

In 1437 a troubled king Erik visited the then Danish city of Malmö in search of support and “donated” a coat-of-arms to the city; the same crowned Pomeranian griffin’s head as the city of Szczecin already had. It didn’t help, as he was disposed as king of Denmark in 1439 and returned to Pomerania.

Erik of Pomerania - Wikipedia

In 1396, Bogislaw of the house of Griffin and heir to the duchy of Pomerania, was proclaimed as the king of both Denmark and Sweden, then joined in the so-called Kalmar Union. Before becoming king, Bogislaw changed his name to the more Nordic-sounding Erik. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_of...

The coat of arms that serves as the symbol of the city of Szczecin in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland depicts the head of a red griffin with a yellow (golden) beak wearing a yellow (golden) crown, placed on the blue background.

Early on the city of Szczecin, then the capital of the Duchy of Pomerania, featured a griffin in its city seal, and the current design of the coat-of-arms featuring a crowned griffin’s head was established in the 1360-ies.

The coat of arms of the the House of Griffin depicts a red griffin with yellow (golden) beak and claws on a white (silver) background.

The griffin in question is the so-called Pomeranian griffin. Pomerania was a duchy founded in the 12th century along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, headed by the House of Griffin. The dynasty’s coat-of-arms features a red griffin on a silver background. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_o...

Is this some kind of coincidence or do the units have some kind of connection? Well, it’s not a coincidence, but the connection dates back centuries before any of the units were formed.

Griffin - Wikipedia

They have different colours, but it’s definitely a head of some kind of bird-of-prey wearing a crown. The birds look like an eagle, but if you look closely you’d see that this kind has ears, which birds generally don’t have. That’s because they are griffins, not eagles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin

The coat-of-arms of the 7th South Scanian Regiment, with the blazon: "Or, a griffin's head erased Gules, crowned Azure and armed Gules." The coat-of-arms is crowned by a royal crown and behind the coat-of-arms a pair of golden armoured arms holding golden swords is depicted.

The coat-of-arms of the 12th Szczecin Mechanised Division with the blazon: "Azure, a Griffin's head erased Silver, crowned Or and armed Or, above "12" in Gules."

I noticed that the closest Polish combat unit, the 12th Bolesław Krzywousty Szczecin Mechanised Division (12 DZ) headquartered in the city of Szczecin, just south of Sweden across the Baltic Sea, virtually have the same coat of arms as the 7th South Scanian Regiment.

Photo of uniformed soldiers parading with the flag of the 7th Southern Scanian Regiment from 2011. The yellow flag features a red griffin's head with a blue crown. Photo from the Swedish Armed Forces, https://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/aktuellt/2011/08/kungen-och-tusentals-besokare-hyllade-p-7/

I live in the south Swedish city of Lund, where the 7th South Scanian Regiment (P 7) currently is raising the 7th Mechanised Brigade. The regiment itself was raised as an infantry regiment in 1811 during the Napoleonic wars.

A map of the south Baltic area showing the south coast of Sweden, the Danish islands of Zeeland, Fyn and Bornholm, the Baltic coasts of Germany and Poland. The cities of Lund in south Sweden and Szczecin in northwestern Poland are marked by the coat-of-arms of the 7th Southern Scanian Regiment and the 12th Mechanised Division. It is approximatly 260 kilometers between the cities with a direct airborne route.

The other day I noticed that 7th South Scanian Armoured Regiment in the very south of Sweden have virtually the same coat-of-arms as the 12th Bolesław Krzywousty Szczecin Mechanised Division in the northwesternmost corner of Poland, all be it with different colours. A coincidence? 🧵

Germany explores how to replace France in Europe’s flagship fighter jet project Berlin is weighing bringing Sweden and the U.K. into the €100B project as tensions simmer with France’s Dassault.

Berlin is weighing bringing Sweden and the U.K. into the €100B project as tensions simmer with France’s Dassault. www.politico.eu/article/germ...

Poland also issued a similar booklet on civic preparedness in case of war a few days ago. Good timing. www.gov.pl/attachment/9...

Poland - Wikipedia

I think it's because that's the only map of Poland you'd get on the Wikipedia page of Poland en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland

YouTube video by CBC News NATO’s newest members: How Finland and Sweden are preparing for Russia | The House

NATO’s newest members: How Finland and Sweden are preparing for Russia!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Qw...

In Sweden, there was a satire show some ten years ago about local politics, in my own county no less (Starke man = Strongman), and let’s just say it was too close for comfort. Another recent Swedish show about civil servants in the MFA (Dips) was spot on, according to a close friend working there.

I feel that many political/civil service satires Get It Right. Although ‘Yes, Minister’ is almost 50 years old, I still recognize many situations in my daily work.

The official flag of the Swedish National Archives, featuring a golden Janus Bifrons ("Two-faced Janus") on a blue background.

Men det verkar som om Riksarkivet även har en "riktig" vapenflagga.

The official flag of the Courts of Sweden

Official flag of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service

Official flag of the County Adminstrative Board of Skåne in Sweden.

Official flag of the Swedish National Archives.

Föreningsflaggor med vapen från Svenska domstolar, Kriminalvårdsverket, Länsstyrelsen Skåne och Riksarkivet

The flag of the Supreme court of Sweden, featuring an upright golden Sword with a golden tipping scale on a blue background.

Högsta domstolen förefaller också ha en riktig vapenflagga, även om man uppenbarligen hellre använder föreningsflaggor bland domstolarna (dvs vapnet uppsmackat på en vit duk).

The official flag of the Swedish police, featuring the coat-of-arms of the Swedish police on a blue background.

Polisens flagga räknar jag dock som "föreningsflagga" i st f "vapenflagga" (som Kustbevakningen och Region Skånes flaggor är), eftersom de bara har smackat på sitt vapen på en blå duk. Visserligen snyggare än Trafikverkets flagga, men fortfarande i samma kategori.

The official flag of the Swedish coast guard, featuring a golden eagle's head on a blue background.

The official flag of the regional council of Skåne in Sweden, featuring a golden crowned griffin's head on a blue background.

Tja, jag räknar i varje fall Kustbevakningen som en civil myndighet, och deras flagga ser jag ibland från fönstret från mitt jobb i Malmö. Den är också vansinnigt lik min egen regionala "myndighetsflagga".

And a nice flag too. With three crowns! (Here when it was replaced by the new flag in 1986)