Sweden, the Palme government, and American Prisoners of War in North Vietnam

Under Prime Minister Olof Palme, Sweden worked as a neutral country to bring American prisoners-of-war home from North Vietnam in September 1972. Though the group was small, their release was significant at a time when formal Paris peace talks were stalled. For Sweden, it was a paradoxical success, as Stockholm sought to balance its relationship with the Nixon administration while pursuing a humanitarian effort and supporting the American antiwar movement. Palme’s strong antiwar stand earned the lasting rancor of the Nixon White House and led to a diplomatic break between the two nations from December 1972 until the spring of 1974.