Hilding Gustaf Sigvard Ekström (9 October 1907Rotemansarkivet
/ref> – 16 July 1995Sveriges dödbok 1947–2003) was a Swedish chemist,

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

volunteer, and co-founder of the

Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...

party.

Biography

Gustaf Ekström was born on 9 October 1907 in Hedvig Eleonora Parish,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, the son of gymnastics director Johan Gottfrid Samuel Ekström from Undersvik and of Hilda Katarina Mickelsson from Färila. Both had been residing in Stockholm since 1899. After his mother's divorce, Gustaf Ekström moved to

Lindesberg Lindesberg () is a locality and the seat of Lindesberg Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 9,672 inhabitants in 2017. History Lindesberg has centuries old history, being the center of an old mining district. The earliest known trace ...

with his mother and her sister. Ekström graduated as an engineer and moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the United States in 1929, where he worked at an oil refinery and later as a sailor. In 1932 he returned to Sweden and joined the

Swedish National Socialist Party The Swedish National Socialist Party (, abbreviated SNSP) was a Nazi political party in Sweden. Birger Furugård served as ''riksledare'' ('National Leader') of the party.Schön, Bosse. Svenskarna som stred för Hitler: ett historiskt reporta ...

(SNSP) under the leadership of

Birger Furugård Birger Furugård (8 December 1887 – 4 December 1961) was a Swedish politician and veterinarian. He hailed from Deje in Värmland. During the 1920s Furugård became inspired by the advance of Nazism in Germany. He made several trips to German ...

, and a year later joined the Swedish Socialist Assembly (SSS) led by

Sven Olov Lindholm Sven Olov Knutsson Lindholm (8 February 1903 – 26 April 1998) was a Swedish Nazi leader, active in far-right politics from the 1920s to the 1950s. This included leading the Nazi party named Svensk socialistisk samling (SSS; literally "Swedis ...

. In October 1936, he became Federal Secretary of the Nordic

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

. He volunteered to join the

Waffen SS The (; ) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. ...

in 1941, serving in the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. He achieved the rank of ''SS-

Rottenführer ''Rottenführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of ''Rottenführer'' was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) an ...

'' and served from 1941 to 1943 at the

SS-Hauptamt The SS Main Office (; SS-HA) was the central command office of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in Nazi Germany until 1940. Formation The office traces its origins to 1931 when the SS created the SS-Amt to serve as an SS Headquarters staff overseeing ...

in Berlin, where he translated, among other things, Swedish newspaper articles to German for the needs of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. After World War II, Ekström stayed in Germany and studied chemistry. Upon retiring, he returned to Sweden and founded the

party in 1988, at the age of 81. He was initially elected auditor of the newly formed party and was elected to the party board the following year. He was monitored by

SÄPO The Swedish Security Service ( , SÄPO , , formerly , RPS/Säk, until 1989) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice. It operates as a security agency responsible for counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, as well ...

since 1940 as he was classified as one of the most dangerous Nazis in Sweden and a potential traitor in the event of a German occupation. He died at the Sankt Hans Assembly in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

in 1995, and is buried at the cemetery in Färila.Gravar.se

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekstrom, Gustaf 1907 births 1995 deaths Swedish Nazis Swedish Waffen-SS personnel Politicians from Stockholm Sweden Democrats politicians Leaders of political parties in Sweden