The Swedish Connection

Romans 13 and the War Against Immigrants

The Swedish Connection is a film based on the courageous, and boring, work of Gösta Engzell—a Swedish bureaucrat in charge of immigrant visas during World War II. Sweden had maintained neutrality during the war, which it tenuously maintained by working hard to not offend the Nazi regime. In the beginning, the circulating stories of Jews disappearing or being loaded on trains was dismissed as “vicious rumors”. Today, if one were being charitable, it would be politely dismissed as the “there’s another side to the story”; or, if were not—"fake news”. History is full of rumors and “fake news” that ends up being terribly true.

When Engzell overhears a report straight from Germany confirming the horrific stories, he decides to act in the only way of good Scandinavian bureaucrat could—by following procedure. Engzell puts his department to work making Swedish connections for Jewish visa applicants in Norway, Denmark, and Prague. The film depicts them franticly making requests that test the limits of a Nazi regime distracted by war, using they only weapon they had: paperwork. Using the small levers of power they had to influence decisions that saved what is estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 Jews from certain death. All because someone used what power they had in the daily tasks they performed for the benefit of their neighbor in need.

Romans 13 is an often quoted passage within the current struggle over immigrants and refugees in this country. It gets lobbed like a grenade in order to obliterat any and all arguments: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1) The passage is interpreted to mean that God has instituted government as part of the created order for the purpose of preservation and judgement. The governing authorities are “God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4) Because of this, the argument goes, we must submit ourselves to the government because our rulers have been given authority from God.

Too often this is taken to promote blind allegiance to our leaders, rendering us impotent in the face of rulers who do not do good, but promote evil. How often to Christians abdicate their responsibility to love their neighbors out of cowardice masquerading as humility and piety? How do we reconcile this passivity with the accounts of Paul’s interactions with the governing authorities? In Acts 16 Paul and Silas are put in prison for disrupting the economic system of the idol makers. “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” (Acts 16:19) In response, the magistrates have them beaten and imprisoned. Of course, they are freed through divine intervention, but notice how the story ends. The magistrates decide to let them go, but Paul will not let this be done in secret. “But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves,” (Acts 16: 37) The response? “The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when the heard that they were Roman citizens…”

In Romans 13 we discover both the authority and strategy for opposing evil inflicted upon our immigrant neighbors. According to Paul, the law provides the basis for justice and dignity; it provides the means for contesting bad policy and corrupt leaders. The law provides mechanisms that, while often cumbersome and expensive, offer a way to stand up for those the powers of this world offer up as scape goats. We are not powerless! How can we use our work, our influence, to protect our immigrant neighbors? How can we mobilize to ask out representatives to change our laws, to enact reforms, to protect the vulnerable? How can we use our connections and social capital to make sure people have resources to provide for their families? We can say YES to Romans 13, not as a way to wash our hands of our responsibility toward our neighbors, but as a way to hold those in power accountable for actions that violate the dignity of people made in the image of God.

As we look for ways to get involved in this work, may we be encouraged by the story of a middle aged Swedish diplomat, who’s boring, tedious, work saved the lives of thousands, and impacted many more.