Why did the Nazi want Sweden to remain free?

Answer 1

Many countries declared neutrality in World War II; some of these neutral countries were occupied and/or annexed by Germany (e.g. Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway), and others were left alone (e.g. Sweden, Spain, Switzerland). The reasons why some countries were left alone are complex, but in general it's simply because the neutral countries were more useful to Germany as independent countries than as occupied countries. Occupying a country requires a lot of manpower and money, as well as resources, so it's cheaper not to occupy a country if you don't have to. Sweden was surrounded by German-occupied Norway on the west and German-allied Finland on the east (the Finns were forced to ally with Germany because the Soviet Union kept invading them in an attempt to annex Finland). South of Sweden was German-occupied Denmark, Germany proper, and German-occupied Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. So, Sweden was completely surrounded by Germany--there was no reason for Germany to occupy Sweden, too. Sweden also granted Germany certain rights in order to maintain its independence. For instance, Sweden allowed German war materiel to be transported from Germany to Norway and to Finland via Sweden; for this and other reasons, some argue that Sweden really collaborated with the Germans and was not neutral, properly speaking.

Answer 2

The Nazis did not care whether Sweden remained free. So long as Sweden cooperated with the Nazis, the Nazis were relieved of the necessity to invade Sweden. The Nazi regime was completely dependent on Swedish iron ore, from which they made steel to fabricate into all the implements of war - tanks, guns, artillery, artillery ammunition, ships, submarines, and so on. Had the Swedes refused to continue to provide this iron ore the Nazis certainly would have invaded Sweden to secure the supply. The Nazis had a plan on the books for the invasion of Sweden, but never had to put it into operation, as the ore continued to flow into Germany. Additionally the Swedes supplied the Nazis with crucial machined parts for their war industry, including ball bearings, and allowed the Germans to use their excellent design of the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft machine cannon (interestingly the Allies used this identical weapon, but had to secure the plans and designs through espionage).

Answer 3

Sweden was a neutral country that supported Germany during World War Two (& Holocaust) by supplying high-grade iron ore to Germany. As long as the Swedish supplied Germany with whatever was needed then Hitler would leave Sweden alone. If Hitler had won the war, then it is very likely that Sweden would have been seized and all Jews there deported to Extermination Camps.