“The Winter Palace” in Malmö: Subversive Activists, Welfare-State Anarchists, or Just a Slightly Radical Cultural Association?

The Winter Palace (TWP) was a venue and association within the left-wing alternative environment in Malmö between 1987–1989, with premises in the port area. The venue ran a pub and café; arranged concerts, public lectures, and movie screenings; broadcasted radio; published fanzines; and more. The idea was that the proceeds would be used to build a Southern Swedish center for anarchist propaganda and political struggle. However, this idea did not fully realize, and the extensive mix of cultural activities is probably better remembered today than the more explicit political activities that were carried out. In the early 1990s, the far-left environment in Sweden changed. A more autonomous (and violent) group led a long and controversial squatting event in Malmö, resulting in the biggest operation to date by Swedish police against this kind of activity. Apparently, a generational shift had taken place and the methods used by TWP were criticized for not being political enough. This article follows the events at TWP during its active period and draws several conclusions from the similar squatting movement in western Europe at the same time. It also discusses if there was a specific way of Swedish alternative left-wing actions in the 1980s.