Surviving Hitler The Unlikely True Story of an SS Soldier and a Jewish Woman

188 Pages·2014·8.71 MB·English

by  O. Hakan Palm

© 2014 O. Hakan Palm.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing
from the publisher, Deseret Book Company ([email protected]), P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City Utah
84130. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed
herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book.
Deseret Book is a registered trademark of Deseret Book Company.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Palm, O. Håkan, 1949– author.
Surviving Hitler : the unlikely true story of an SS soldier and a Jewish woman / O. Håkan
Palm.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-60907-847-8 (hardbound : alk. paper)
1. Mormon converts—Sweden. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, Jewish. 3.
World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, Norwegian. I. Title.
BX8693.P34 2014
289.3092‘2—dc23
[B]2014005302
Printed in Canada
Friesens, Manitoba, Canada
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my parents Gustav and Agnes Erdös Palm and for their descendants and all those
whose lives they have touched

Helena Österlund
President Thomas S. Monson visiting Gustav and Agnes Erdös Palm in their home in
Haninge, Sweden, 2005.
Table of Contents

Introduction
Before the War, 1919-1939
Years of War, 1939-1944
On the Front Lines, 1944
Blessings amidst Suffering, 1944-1945
Understanding the Enemy, 1945
Last Days of the War, 1945
Liberation and Captivity, 1945
Shaping a New Life, 1945-1946
A Life Together, 1946-1951
Finding the Church of Jesus Christ, 1952-1960
Epilogue, 2014
Sources Cited in Historical Notes
Acknowledgments
Introduction

In 1995, something very special happened, which was a type of benediction on my
parents’ lives and especially my father’s life. President Thomas S. Monson, then First
Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was
assigned to divide the Sweden Stockholm Stake. The Mormon Church had grown
significantly in Stockholm. Several times during the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, Elder (later
President) Monson had visited in Stockholm. I had responsibilities that made it natural for
me to meet with him during his visits to Sweden. At one of those visits in 1984, Elder
Monson met my parents,
Gustav and Agnes Palm family
Agnes and her mother, Aranka, in newly tailored winter clothes, 1930.

Agnes and Gustav, for the first time, and he learned their life stories. As I interpreted
for them, Elder Monson recorded everything in his memory.
Eleven years later, when he arose to speak at the end of the meeting, when all
formalities for dividing the Stockholm stake had been completed, President Monson said,
“This has been a real ‘Palm Sunday.’ Brother Gustav Palm’s son-in-law Gösta has been
chosen as the president of the new stake. Gustav himself has been given sealing power in
the temple. And Gustav’s son Håkan has been called to be in the leadership of the second
stake.”
Then, from memory, President Monson gave a very detailed account of my parents’
lives. He said he felt the Lord had preserved Agnes and Gustav through the war until they
met: my mother as a Jewish Holocaust victim and my father as a voluntary Waffen-SS
soldier.
This was the first time my father’s history, including his enlistment in the Waffen-SS,
was made public. From where I was sitting on the stand in front of 1,500 attendees, I
could observe his facial expressions during the few minutes when his life’s secret was
revealed. He sat completely still, and it was difficult to determine what might have been
going on in his mind. His knuckles whitened as his hands gripped the armrests of his chair.
Of course, all who knew my father regarded him with respect and admiration for the
humble and devoted servant of the Lord that he was, and they continued to do so. I have
never heard a single negative comment or sneer relating to my father’s having fought in a
German uniform during World War II. So, although he might have been embarrassed by
the unexpected revelation in front of so many people, my father instead accepted the fact
that an Apostle of the Lord was speaking of the reality of his life. Thus, a new gate was
opened for him in the process of becoming reconciled to his past. He didn’t have to hide
much of himself any longer.
As a Holocaust victim, my mother experienced different postwar challenges. For her,
the concentration camp experiences were nothing to be ashamed of, though they did have
lasting repercussions.
Here, then, in their own words, is the story of my parents, Agnes and Gustav Palm.