Sweden and the GDR – two countries that belonged to hostile political systems before 1989. Few people suspect close relations between the two states – and yet they had a lot in common.

Many people know that Queen Silvia is German, but only a few know that she had family ties to the GDR. Her favourite uncle Ernst Sommerlath lived in Leipzig/Markkleeberg and, as a respected theologian, did not have an easy time in the socialist state. It is also unknown that the Queen was friends with a mysterious Swede in West Berlin – Carl-Gustav Svingel.

He was a colourful figure in the Cold War, acting as a mediator between East and West and helping many people to escape from East Germany. The Swedish journalist and former Germany correspondent Ingrid Thörnqvist follows Svingel’s trail in the film. In a personal conversation with Thörnqvist, the Swedish queen spoke for the first time about her East German family branch and her connection to Svingel.

The historian and secret service expert Helmut Müller-Enbergs categorises Sweden’s special role as a top target country for the Stasi. The explosive fact is that dozens of Swedes from the worlds of politics, business and culture cooperated with the Stasi

A film about secret and official relations between the GDR and Sweden, about moving love stories and unknown special paths when the Iron Curtain divided the world into East and West.

Funded by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship.