For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for Fritiof Enbom.

Fritiof Enbom

Fritiof Enbom at his trial in 1952

Johan Fritiof Enbom (7 September 1918 – 11 September 1974) was a Swedish railway worker who was accused and convicted of being a spy for the Soviet Union in the 1950s.[1][2]

Born in Luleå, Enbom was a former worker at the Swedish State Railways in Boden, and later the local editor for the Communist newspaper Norrskensflamman.[1] He was exposed by his own careless talk—often under the influence of alcohol—to the owners of the house in Stockholm where he had lodged since he moved there from Boden.[3]

The family told the Swedish Security Service after the Christmas holidays of 1951, and Enbom was arrested on 16 February 1952. During interrogation, he confessed that he—from February 1943 to April 1951—had met around 25 times with Soviet employers.[1] Enbom had provided a large variety of intelligence, most of it from public sources, but also secrets about armaments in Boden Fortress and nearby fortifications. He was sentenced to lifetime hard labour, but was released after ten years.[3]

Enbom had, according to a police investigation, collected material about the defence locations of northern Sweden.[1] Enbom had then given this information to the Soviet Union.[4] In hindsight it has been proven that most of the information that Enbom gave to the Soviet Union was public and could be easily found by anyone interested.[4] Enbom also said that he was the last chain in a large chain of Soviet spies who gave secret information.[5] Most investigators that view the case today have concluded that Enbom largely lied or made up most of his stories about his spying or at least his role in the spying on Sweden for the Soviet Union.[4] Lund University professor Wilhelm Agrell, on the other hand, has concluded that Enbom provided KGB agent Vladimir Petrov with a lot of secret information from Sweden about its defence.[1][4] Enbom died in 1974 in Stockholm.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "60 år senare kan spionaffären lösas". Expressen (in Swedish). 15 November 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Jag var kär i Fritiof – det blev min olycka". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 12 April 2000. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b Cronqvist, Marie (8 March 2006). "Enbomaffären skakade Sverige". Populär Historia (5). Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Englund, Peter. "Om Sven, Senator och Orestes" (in Swedish). PeterEnglund.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  5. ^ Agrell 2003, s. 194
{{bottomLinkPreText}} {{bottomLinkText}}
Fritiof Enbom
Listen to this article

This browser is not supported by Wikiwand :(
Wikiwand requires a browser with modern capabilities in order to provide you with the best reading experience.
Please download and use one of the following browsers:

This article was just edited, click to reload
This article has been deleted on Wikipedia (Why?)

Back to homepage

Please click Add in the dialog above
Please click Allow in the top-left corner,
then click Install Now in the dialog
Please click Open in the download dialog,
then click Install
Please click the "Downloads" icon in the Safari toolbar, open the first download in the list,
then click Install
{{::$root.activation.text}}

Install Wikiwand

Install on Chrome Install on Firefox
Don't forget to rate us

Tell your friends about Wikiwand!

Gmail Facebook Twitter Link

Enjoying Wikiwand?

Tell your friends and spread the love:
Share on Gmail Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Buffer

Our magic isn't perfect

You can help our automatic cover photo selection by reporting an unsuitable photo.

This photo is visually disturbing This photo is not a good choice

Thank you for helping!


Your input will affect cover photo selection, along with input from other users.

X

Get ready for Wikiwand 2.0 🎉! the new version arrives on September 1st! Don't want to wait?