NazIKEA

Ingvar Kamprad--or, as I called him in my earliest notes, "the guy who founded IKEA"--has been a Scandinavian 81 candidate from almost the start. In a previous post, I mentioned the flatpack furniture tycoon in a discussion on influential Scandinavians with known ties to Nazism. In the mid-90s, Kamprad confessed to having had a teenage association with the SSS (the Swedish Nazi party). It was, he said, his "biggest mistake," a "youthful sin," resulting from "stupidity." He had deeply repented.

A new book claims that Kamprad's Nazi assoications were stronger, and went on longer, than he has admitted. According to author Elisabeth Asbrink, Swedish intelligence files demonstrate activities going well beyond "teenage confusion." Kamprad was an enthusiastic recruiter, says Asbrink, and seems to have been some kind of an SSS functionary. He also maintained ties with Nazi sympathizers at least into the 1950s, she says.

Kamprad spokesmen dismissed the allegations "old news." "The IKEA he created is based on democratic principles and embraces a multicultural society."

Ten or twelve days ago, I got around to ordering two books about Ingvar Kamprad. The first was Leading By Design: The Ikea Story by Kamprad and a collaborator. The second was The Truth About Ikea:The Secret About the World's Fifth Richest Man, by John Stenebo. It advertizes itself as an expose of the dark side of the IKEA empire by a long-time corporate insider. (The extent of Kamprad's wealth is disputed; according to Forbes he's "only" the 162nd richest human being.) These books arrived in my mailbox just a day or two before Ingvar Kamrad and his infamy were back in the news. A perfect example of the synchronicity that has frequently, though still-startlingly, attended to this project.