The White Buses

The Swedish Red Cross Rescue Operation 1945

Digital Exhibition

In the spring of 1945, Germany was about to lose the war. During ongoing bombings, the Swedish Red Cross, together with the Swedish government, carried out a large rescue mission. Thirty-six white buses with red crosses and more than 300 Swedish volunteers travelled into Nazi-controlled areas to save people from concentration camps. The buses became known as “the White Buses.” In this exhibition, you can learn more about the people who worked on the buses – and those who were rescued.

On this site, you can follow people’s stories through a timeline, personal accounts, and maps.
If you’re a teacher, there is a special page with rich educational materials.

Further down, you can read about the background of the White Buses and the mission of the Swedish Red Cross.

The pages are a collaboration between Sweden’s Holocaust Museum and the Swedish Red Cross.

Timeline

Follow four people in the rescue mission

To the Timeline

Stories and Travel Routs

Find out more about the people who worked, were evacuated, and were rescued by the buses.

To the Stories

The Swedish Red Cross has a large archive, most of which is held at the National Archives. Here, the White Buses group in the Malmö branch has compiled extensive material from the archive, allowing us to follow expedition participants, evacuees, and rescued individuals who traveled with the White Buses.

More About the White Buses

Read about the background, the execution, and the criticism following the rescue operation.

The Swedish Red Cross

The Swedish Red Cross had and still has an important mission. Read more about it here.

Program the White Buses

three recorded programs about the rescue operation, reception, and trauma management.

Litterature

Here you can find more tips on literature and reports written about the White Buses.

Would you like to share any material related to the White Buses? Please get in touch with samlingarna@museumforintelsen.se.