| Categories |
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|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Founded | 1944 |
| First issue | April 1944 |
| Final issue | 1955 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Based in | Stockholm |
| Language | Swedish |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in Sweden |
|---|
 |
OBS! was a biweekly conservative business and cultural magazine which also contained a significant political content. The magazine existed between 1944 and 1955 and was headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
OBS! was established by a group of Swedish journalists, including Arvid Fredborg, Th Åke Leissner and Gunnar Unger, in 1944 with the financial assistance of the International Freedom Academy based in Vienna.[1][2] Its first issue appeared in April that year.[1][3] The magazine was published on a biweekly basis, and its stated aim was to promote a sound economy and free enterprise.[3] Arvid Fredborg was its founding editor.[1] The first editorial was written by Gunnar Unger who became the editor of the magazine in 1949.[3] The other founder, Th Åke Leissner, also published articles in OBS! under a pseudonym.[1] Ove Dahlstrand was among the illustrators of the magazine.[4]
The covers of the magazine contained caricatures of the leading politicians, movie stars and other well-known personalities.[3] The magazine featured economy-oriented articles, but its political content was much more prominent.[3] The editor of OBS!, Gunnar Unger, described the magazine as an "avantgarde organ in the anti-socialist propaganda."[3] The magazine frequently criticised the social democrat policies and supported the development of the Swedish industry.[3]
Following the first year OBS! sold 20,000-25,000 copies.[3] The financial assistance of the International Freedom Academy continued until 1953.[2] Then, the magazine was financed by businessmen until its demise in 1955.[3]
OBS! has inspired various conservative magazines one of which is Contra.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Tidskriften OBS!". Ola Larsmo (in Swedish). 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
The text cited was oiginally published in Stiftelsens Torgnys Segerstedt's memory yearbook 2008
- 1 2 Rikard Westerberg (2019). "The Alternative. How Nordic Business Interest Associations Attempted to Formulate an Ideological Programme, 1945–1975". Scandinavian Journal of History. 44 (5): 582. doi:10.1080/03468755.2018.1532316. S2CID 150078824.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rikard Westerberg (2020). Socialists at the Gate. Swedish Business and the Defense of Free Enterprise, 1940–1985 (PhD thesis). Stockholm School of Economics. pp. 77–78, 146. ISBN 978-91-7731-180-5.
- ↑ "'Landscape' by Ove Dahlstrand". Gallery Midlandia. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ↑ Tommy Hansson (2003). "Arvid Fredborg – conservative anti-nazi activist". Contra. No. 1. Retrieved 18 September 2021.