Carl Theodor (Thede) Palm (27 September 1907 – 18 February 1995) was a Swedish historian of religion, director of research and head of military intelligence.
Palm was employed at Svensk uppslagsbok from 1928 to 1936 and became a teaching assistant in 1933 (temporary staff in 1932). He was librarian at the Lund University Library from 1938 to 1956 and he was head of department at the Swedish National Board of Information (Statens Informationsstyrelse) from 1943 to 1944 as well as being an expert there in 1945.[1]
In 1943, Palm put in a request for a leave of absence[3] to operate under Carl Petersén at C-byrån, a secret intelligence organization within the Swedish Armed Forces during World War II. C-byrån's duty was to manage foreign intelligence gathering. He became director of operations in 1946[2] and it changed its name to T-kontoret. During the Cold War he was one of the heads of the Swedish stay-behind organization.[4] In his posthumous notes he tells how he was subjected to American pressure that the Swedish intelligence service should be practically under direct CIA command, which Palm firmly resisted.[5]
In 1965 the foreign-oriented T-kontoret was merged with the domestic-oriented B-kontoret (B-office) and became the Defence Staff's Special Bureau (Försvarsstabens särskilda byrå), more commonly known as IB. The head of B-kontoret, Birger Elmér, took over as director of the merged organization. Palm was fired[6] and transferred to the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College, where he was director of research from 1965 to 1972.[3]
In 1933, he married Elisabeth Wrangel (1905–2001), the daughter of Professor Ewert Wrangel and Baroness Ingrid (née Hermelin). They had four children: Anders (born 1933), Ebba (born 1936), Hedvig (born 1938), and Brita (born 1942).[1] Palm and his wife settled in Östra Ryd in Söderköping Municipality when he retired.[2]
Palm, Thede (1937). Wendische Kultstätten: quellenkritische Untersuchungen zu den letzten Jahrhunderten slavischen Heidentums (in German). Lund. SELIBR394442.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Palm, Thede (1938). Bidrag till en bibliografi över professor Hjalmar Holmquists tryckta skrifter (in Swedish). Lund. SELIBR3061951.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Palm, Thede (1942). Uppsalalunden och Uppsalatemplet (in Swedish). Lund. SELIBR1298690.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Palm, Thede (1944). Kommunistpressen och krigsmakten (in Swedish). Stockholm. SELIBR2444582.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Palm, Thede (1948). Trädkult: studier i germansk religionshistoria. Skrifter utgivna av Vetenskapssocieteten i Lund, 0347-1772; 33 (in Swedish). Lund: Gleerup. SELIBR383752.
Palm, Thede (1971). The Finnish-Soviet armistice negotiations of 1944. Acta Academiae Regiae scientiarum Upsaliensis, 0505-3935; 14. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. SELIBR433769.
Palm, Thede; Enckell, Georg (1972). Vägen till vapenvila: de finländsk-sovjetiska vapenstilleståndsförhandlingarna 1944 [The road to armistice: The Finnish-Soviet armistice negotiations of 1944]. [Militärlitteraturföreningen]; [253] (in Swedish). Ekenäs. ISBN951-9000-05-4. SELIBR7982833.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Palm, Thede (1976). Fältmarskalkens död och andra essäer. Militärlitteraturföreningen, 99-0119708-2; 258 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska förl. ISBN91-85266-05-1. SELIBR7747320.
Palm, Thede (1981). Nederlagets män och andra essäer (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska förlaget. ISBN91-85266-19-1. SELIBR7747330.
Palm, Thede (1984). De vita och de röda och andra essäer (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska förl. ISBN91-85266-31-0. SELIBR7747341.
Palm, Thede (1987). Historia kring en kyrka (in Swedish). Söderköping: Söderköpings bokh. ISBN91-7810-848-9. SELIBR7667266.
Palm, Thede (1988). Motstånd och motståndsrörelser (in Swedish). Stockholm: Militärhistoriska förl. ISBN91-85266-43-4. SELIBR7747350.
Palm, Thede; Wallberg, Evabritta (1999). Några studier till T-kontorets historia. Handlingar / Kungl. Samfundet för utgivande av handskrifter rörande Skandinaviens historia, 0347-8505; 21 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Samf. för utgivande av handskrifter rörande Skandinaviens historia. ISBN91-85104-24-8. SELIBR7745565.