Swedish Working-Class History

Abstract

Interest in the history of the Swedish labor movement is almost as old as the movement itself. The Social Democratic Labor party was founded in 1889, and the Central Trade Union Organization (LO) in 1898. And by 1902 the Archives ofthe Labor Movement had been established in Stockholm to preserve the memory of the pioneers of the movement for future generations. The Swedish labor movement has continued to show considerable interest in its own history, and innumerable histories of party organizations and union locals have been published to celebrate anniversaries. Influential individuals have con tributed to their interest, including Sigfrid Hansson, brother of the party leader and Prime Minister, Per-Albin Hansson. Interest among rank-and-file members also has been substantial. At the universities, interest in labor history can be traced to the 1920s. John Lindgren's pioneering book on the formative years ofthe Social Democratic Labor party in the 1880s (1927) was followed in the 1930s by G. Hilding Nordstr?m 's study of the party's history (1938) and Tage Lindbom's work on the early trade union movement (1938). Historical interest within the labor movement and the academic world was