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On the one hand the main supplier country of Sweden is Germany. The amount of Sweden's imports from Germany is about 17.3 percent, from Norway about 8.7 percent and from Denmark about 8.4 percent. On the other hand, one of the main customer countries of Sweden is Germany. Sweden exports most of their products to Norway.
Sweden maintained its policy of neutrality during World War II.When the war began on 1 September 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear. But by a combination of its geopolitical location in the Scandinavian Peninsula, realpolitik maneuvering during an unpredictable course of events, and a dedicated military build-up after 1942, Sweden kept its official neutrality status throughout the war.
Storlien, Sweden, 1940, German transit traffic Storlien, Sweden, 1940, German transit traffic, alpine riflemen. The matter of German troop transfer through Finland and Sweden during World War II was one of the more controversial aspects of modern Nordic history beside Finland's co-belligerence with Nazi Germany in the Continuation War, and the export of Swedish iron ore during World War II.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Sweden's relations with Nazi Germany before and during the Second World War was the extensive export of iron ore to be used in the German arms industry. As Germany's preparations for war became more apparent and the risk of another war became obvious, international interest in Swedish ore increased.
Overall, petrol imports to Sweden greatly decreased, and substitute fuels were found. [1] Sweden traded considerable goods with Germany during the war, particularly iron, iron products, ball bearings, and trucks. Though Sweden purchased American manufactured military aircraft early in the war, sales became prohibited by the US government in 1940.
This worsens relations with Germany, and brings Sweden closer to a potential war. As above: Except for Petsamo, a free Norway is the last possible way for Sweden to keep a direct contact with nations other than Nazi Germany, and the de facto Soviet-occupied Baltic states , which undoubtedly influences the Swedish decision.
Strategically, Denmark's importance to Germany was as a staging area for operations in Norway and, of course, as a border nation to Germany, which would have to be controlled somehow. Denmark's position in the Baltic Sea made the country also important for the control of the naval and shipping access to major German and Russian harbours.
German-occupied Europe (or Nazi-occupied Europe) refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet governments, by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 and 1945, during World War II, administered by the Nazi regime under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.