White Buses – Rescue Operation by Swedish Red Cross

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the “White Buses” rescue operation. In the spring of 1945, as World War II was nearing its end and Germany was on the brink of defeat, the Swedish Red Cross, supported by Sweden’s coalition government, carried out a large-scale rescue operation that has come to symbolise courage and humanitarian spirit in the midst of war.

The operation ran from 8 March to 1 May and was led by Count Folke Bernadotte, Vice President of the Swedish Red Cross. It involved 36 Swedish military buses and over 300 volunteers who retrieved prisoners from German concentration camps. The buses were painted white with red crosses to ensure visibility from the air and avoid Allied bombings. In total, 15,000 people were rescued, many of whom were brought to Sweden for medical care.

The Red Cross is a four-time Nobel Peace Prize laureate: three awards were given to the organisation itself, and one to its founder. The Red Cross received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944, and 1963, and its founder Henri Dunant was the first-ever recipient of the prize in 1901.

Read more about the programme at Röda Korsets Högskola.