Piecing together Swedish connection for WWII forced labour escapee from nothern Norway

[Zbynek Houska]

Dear all,

I'm trying to piece together Swedish connection of my grandfather Vaclav Houska, who was WWII forced labour escapee from northern Norway. He managed to escape into then neutral Sweden and got a temporary stay permit (thanks Sweden!).  He has also apparently worked in Stockholm for almost a year before joining the Czechoslovak exile army in the UK (it was almost impossible to get army volunteers out of Sweden).

My grandfather would have turned 100 years next month, so I would like to pay him a tribute by learning about his life story, passing it onto my children and sharing it with those who are interested. He is definitely a hero in my eyes and his life story deserves to be shared.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to start looking, as I don't know Sweden that much. I speak Norwegian (yes, the irony of that! It comes the full circle for me.), I can read Swedish, but the rest really escapes me.

Would any you kind folks help me and direct me towards some resources / records (tax, stay permits, population register), please? Or perhaps this is not a fringe ask on this forum after all and maybe someone dug into similar one already? I have the basic dates (his birth date, date when he was issued stay permit/ID card in Stockholm, but that's about that).

I would like to learn as much as possible with hope that I will be able to find where he worked and lived while in Stockholm, or better still, to see if there are any people who might still remember him (any descendants, that is).

Regards,

Zbynek