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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The Swedish Connection is a Swedish World War II drama about Foreign Ministry official Gösta Engzell and the bureaucratic work that helped protect Jews from Nazi persecution. Netflix lists the film at 1h 43m—not 112 minutes. A third-party chart report placed it seventh among Netflix movies worldwide on February 22, 2026, but that single-day ranking is not proof of sustained success.
What is The Swedish Connection about?
The film follows Gösta Engzell, a legal official at Sweden’s Foreign Ministry, as asylum cases mount during the Nazi era. Netflix’s synopsis describes an official initially bound by Sweden’s neutrality policy who begins using legal and bureaucratic procedures to help people of Jewish descent escape persecution. The story centers on diplomacy and administration rather than battlefield action.
Netflix lists the runtime as 1h 43m. Its cast includes Henrik Dorsin as Engzell, Sissela Benn as Rut Vogel and Jonas Karlsson as Staffan Söderström. Thérèse Ahlbeck and Marcus Olsson wrote and directed the film. Netflix’s title page has the platform’s listing and availability information.
Is the film based on a true story?
Yes. The film is based on the wartime work of Gösta Engzell, who headed the Swedish Foreign Office Legal Division. Netflix describes his actions and activism as contributing to the rescue and relief of tens of thousands of Jews; that broad description should not be read as a personal tally credited to Engzell alone.
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The Institute for the Study of Rescue and Altruism in the Holocaust’s 2017 reference entry says Swedish action on behalf of Jews in Europe involved an estimated 30,000–40,000 people, and that this work was almost always initiated or supported by Engzell and his staff. That figure describes a wider Swedish effort, not the number personally rescued by Engzell. The entry draws on scholarship including Paul A. Levine’s From Indifference to Activism: Swedish Diplomacy and the Holocaust, 1938–1944. Read the Institute’s reference entry.
Engzell’s role within a larger effort
Engzell’s importance lay partly in changing official policy and empowering Swedish diplomats, according to the Institute’s account. The work took place within a broader governmental and diplomatic effort. For context, a 2026 TT News Agency report says Engzell took the initiative in 1942 to rescue hundreds of Norwegian Jews and bring them to Sweden. The same report says just over 7,000 Jews fled Denmark for Sweden in 1943; that wider flight should not be attributed to Engzell alone.
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When did it come out, and where can you watch it?
TT News Agency reported that the film premiered in Swedish theaters on February 6, 2026, and arrived on Netflix on February 19, 2026. Streaming catalogs vary by territory, so check the Netflix title page for current access in your region.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why is it being called a sleeper hit?
A February 22, 2026 Collider report, citing FlixPatrol, said the film ranked seventh among Netflix movies worldwide that day. That is a dated third-party chart snapshot—not Netflix-reported viewing hours, a measure of how many people watched, or evidence that the film stayed near the top over time. The available evidence supports describing a chart appearance, not a sustained hit.
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