Editing Gustaf V (section)

===Midsummer crisis 1941===
According to Prime Minister Hansson, during the [[Midsummer crisis]], the King in a private conversation had threatened to abdicate if the government did not approve a German request to transfer a German infantry division, the so-called [[163rd Infantry Division (Germany)|Engelbrecht Division]], through Swedish territory from southern Norway to northern Finland in June 1941, around [[Midsummer]]. The accuracy of the claim is debated, and the King's intention, if he really made the threat, is sometimes alleged to be his desire to avoid conflict with Germany. The event has received considerable attention from Swedish historians and is known as ''midsommarkrisen'', the Midsummer Crisis.<ref>Hansson (Wahlbäck, ''Regeringen och kriget. Ur statsrådens dagböcker 1939–41'')</ref>

Confirmation of the King's action is contained in German Foreign Policy documents captured at the end of the war. On 25 June 1941, the German Ambassador in Stockholm sent a "Most Urgent–Top Secret" message to Berlin in which he stated that the King had just informed him that the [[Transit of German troops through Scandinavia (WWII)|transit of German troops]] would be allowed. He added: <blockquote>The King's words conveyed the joyful emotion he felt. He had lived through anxious days and had gone far in giving his personal support to the matter. He added confidentially that he had found it necessary to go so far as to mention his abdication.<ref>Documents of German Foreign Policy 1918–1945 Series D Volume XIII The War Years 23 June 1941 – 11 December 1941, Published in UK by HMSO and in US By Government Printing Office.</ref></blockquote>