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A bogus engagement and political contacts were what was needed to get the unknown relatives of Queen Silvia out of East Germany.
Behind the escape was the aid worker Carl-Gustaf Svingel, with contacts in the Swedish royal family.
– I was a bit in the background, but I helped financially, says the queen in a new book.
The border between East and West Germany was virtually impossible to cross during the Cold War. The walls and armed guards effectively prevented people from fleeing the GDR.
Still, thousands of people managed to cross the border, often with the help of human smugglers.
Some of those who made it out of East Germany were named Sommerlath after their surname.
Until today, Queen Silvia’s German relatives, in addition to her closest relatives, have been relatively anonymous to most.
A key person in the campaign to remove parts of the Sommerlath family was Carl-Gustaf Svingel.
Svingel was tall, stately, and could move in the pretty halls. It was rumored that he was the illegitimate son of Gustaf V, but this has never been confirmed. Svingel’s charm and courtesy provided him with many important contacts among German politicians. As a Swedish aid worker in West Germany and with a diplomatic license plate on his car, he could easily travel between East and West.
Photo: Imma Svingel in private
Carl-Gustaf Svingel received a royal medal for his efforts during the time of the Berlin Wall. He also helped one of Queen Silvia’s relatives to leave the GDR. In the new book, the queen speaks for the first time publicly about her East German family. The picture is from 1991 in the Church of Sweden in Berlin when the young Crown Princess Victoria also participated in the visit.
Photo: Victoria Parish Photo Archive
Carl-Gustaf Svingel’s nursing home for the elderly, Haus Victoria, became an important neutral meeting place for those in power from the east and west. In the basement, refugees from the GDR were allowed to live until they found a new existence in the West.
Large sums were paid by the East Germans
Svingel was the director of the Haus Victoria nursing home. But the house on Winkler Strasse was also a meeting place for powerful men and high-level politicians. Carl-Gustaf Svingel knew Willy Brandt, Herbert Wehner and the Austrian politician Bruno Kreisky.
In many cases, West Germany paid large sums to get people out of East Germany.
– It was normal for them to buy from people, Svingel said in an interview before he passed away.
– The East Germans cared about good relations with Sweden, so we did not have to pay for Silvia’s relatives. However, it was difficult to put them on their feet here in the West.
Carl-Gustaf Svingel visited Stockholm regularly. He always attended the annual Advent concert with the royal family and every year he received a Christmas card from Queen Silvia.
But the connection between Svingel and the royal family, and the efforts he made for the queen’s family, in all the years has been shrouded in obscurity for outsiders.
The author and journalist Ingrid Thörnqvist follows in the footsteps of her book “Carl-Gustaf Svingel and Silvia’s family in Cold War Berlin”, Ekerlids Förlag. Describes the search for Svingel’s connection to the queen. Ingrid Thörnqvist visits the archives of Säpo and Stasis and searches through documents in libraries and churches in search of the truth.
Photo: Ekerlids Förlag
The author and journalist Ingrid Thörnqvist has written the book “Carl-Gustaf Svingel and Silvia’s Family in Cold War Berlin”, Ekerlids Förlag. Describes the search for Svingel’s connection to the queen.
The Sommerlath family division
An image emerges of a man who wanted and did not want to sign with his feelings within the royal family. And it turns out that Carl-Gustaf Svingel’s efforts for the Sommerlath family were significant.
– He played an important role for the Queen’s family thanks to his good contacts on both sides of the Iron Curtain. But in her case, the GDR leaders were receptive and eager to have good relations with Sweden. Svingel was also a courier and delivered supplies and medicine to the Queen’s relatives through the Lutheran Church, says Ingrid Thörnqvist.
Like many others in Germany at the time, the Sommerlath family split when the Wall was built during the Cold War and some of the relatives ended up on the east side. Many of them were priests and theologians, a guild the GDR hated.
Queen Silvia’s father, Walther Sommerlath, had three older sisters and two brothers.
Elder brother Ernst was professor of theology at Markkleeberg, south of Leipzig, on the east side. He had a daughter, Maria, married to Tannert, who is the queen’s cousin.
Organized a fake engagement
Maria’s son, Ulrich Tannert, managed to reach West Berlin thanks to Carl-Gustaf Svingel. Svingel put together a refined plan in which Ulrich became engaged to a young woman from the west, Ulrike Probst.
As soon as they got engaged, Svingel managed to obtain an exit permit and Ulrich was able to cross the border and move with his “fiancée”.
But he was not the only one of the queen’s relatives who received help from Carl-Gustaf Svingel.
Cornelia Grude is the queen’s niece, her father is Silvia’s cousin.
When Cornelia gave birth to a boy, her son Alexander came out with the umbilical cord around his neck. Alexander suffered brain damage and in the east there was not much help or rehabilitation.
Queen Silvia’s parents, Alice and Walther Sommerlath, cared for Cornelia and her family. She and her son Alexander were invited to their home in Heidelberg in West Germany, where they were allowed to live for a few weeks while Alexander received care.
– Aunt Alice slept on a mattress on the floor so we could fit in, Cornelia says in the book.
Photo: TT
At the Berlin border crossing, American and Soviet tanks were facing each other on opposite sides of Friedrichstrasse. In the image on the right you can see the wall that is being built.
“I helped her financially”
Queen Silvia also became involved in her work situation. When Silvia was newly married to the king, she invited Cornelia and Alexander to Stockholm. But it was impossible for Cornelia to travel abroad and instead they had to move in with Carl-Gustaf Svingel at Haus Victoria for a time while Alexander received physical therapy.
The queen sent her physiotherapist to West Berlin to ensure that Alexander received various aids.
– It was an incredible amount of support we received. The queen sent a special chair that Alexander could use to practice his balance. We have never seen anything like it. It meant a lot, Cornelia says in the book.
The Queen talks about this moment in the book.
– When Alexander was in the hospital, he lived with my parents. My father actively supported Cornelia. I was a bit in the background, but I helped her financially.
After their stay at Haus Victoria, Cornelia and her son had to return to East Germany. Cornelia says that Queen Silvia advised her to try to go west permanently so that Alexander would receive better care.
Carl-Gustaf Svingel drew his contacts. As by chance, Cornelia’s husband received a job offer as a church musician in Hamburg. The family received an exit permit and was able to cross the border legally.
Photo: TT
The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the GDR is just a memory.
The queen bought a car
The queen sent money to the family so they could afford to buy a car. Things went better for Alexander, who eventually received his own housing and care.
– Thanks to Carl-Gustaf Svingel and Silvia, she has been able to develop mentally, says Cornelia in the book.
In 1985, it was decided to close Haus Victoria. There was no more money or interest in the business. Furthermore, Svingel was accused of calling himself the Swedish Consul General and Ambassador and of illegally using diplomatic plates on his car.
Ingrid Thörnqvist discovered that the Swedish court made a payment in the last month that the company was running. 25,000 SEK was paid from a royal foundation.
In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and the GDR was just a memory. When Ingrid Thörnqvist asks the queen questions about Carl-Gustaf Svingel, she responds diplomatically and evasively.
– Members of the royal family cannot interfere with or criticize the policies of other countries. It is often a difficult balancing act when you, as the queen, want to influence important issues. During our conversation, it became clear that she wanted to spread knowledge about what conditions were like for people in divided Germany, says Ingrid Thörnqvist.
When Carl-Gustaf Svingel died in 1995, two wreaths with blue-yellow ribbons lay next to the casket at the funeral. One was from the royal family with the words “One last greeting”. The other from the Sommerlath family. On the tape was “For our friend.”
More real photos and news can be found on the Royal with Jenny Instagram account.
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