Accident Or Assassination: The Death Of Dag Hammarskjold

     Shortly after midnight on September 18, 1961 a plane carrying the Secretary General for the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold, and fourteen others crashed in a forest in Northern Rhodesia.  An investigation found pilot error to be the likely cause of the crash.  But rumors of foul play began immediately.  So, was it a tragic accident?  Or did someone want Dag Hammarskjold dead?

     Hammarskjold was the son of Sweden's former Prime Minister and began his diplomatic career at a young age.  He first joined the United Nations in 1949 as a delegate from Sweden.  In 1953 he was elected Secretary General of the U.N.  Hammarskjold was known for his success in diplomacy.  He successfully negotiated the release of U.S. soldiers being held captive by China at the end of the Korean War.  

     At the time of the crash Hammarskjold was deeply involved in the conflict in Africa involving Belgium mining companies and Soviet backed Republic of the Congo.  The Republic of the Congo had recently become an independent nation.  Shortly after their independence was declared, the mineral rich southern province of the Congo known as Katanga seceded from the country, causing a violent conflict.  Katanga separatists were being backed by Belgium who wanted rights to the valuable minerals.  To fight the separatists, Congo's first elected President, Patrice Lumumba, sought help from the Soviet Union.  Lumumba was assassinated in early 1961.  It was rumored that Belgium and the American CIA were behind the assassination.

     Hammarskjold was reportedly on his way to a meeting with Katanga leaders in hopes of negotiating a cease fire when his plane went down.  Hammarskjold's body was reportedly not burned like the other bodies on the plane.  This led some to question if an already dead Hammarskjold was placed in the wreckage.  Another suspicious finding was an ace of spade playing card found in the collar of Hammarskjold's shirt.  What was it doing there?  Some thought this could be a calling card from an assassin.  Even former American President Harry Truman added fuel to the fire of suspicion when two days after the crashed he commented," he was on the point of getting something done when they killed him."  Locals on the ground reported seeing fire in the sky, leading some to think the plane was shot out of the sky.  A 1962 U.N. investigation was inconclusive but could not rule out the possibility of sabotage or attack.  

     Most people think Hammarskjold was killed because he would have brought about peace in the Congo and conflict was so much more profitable.  As far as who the guilty party could be, the finger has been pointed at both sides.  It could have been the Soviet backed Congo, or it could have been the Katanga separatists backed by Belgium and the west.  Murder was certainly not off the table because Patrice Lumumba had already been assassinated months earlier.  A 2018 investigation of the crash failed to produce a definitive conclusion but stated, "it appears plausible that an external attack or threat may have been a cause of the crash."

     What do you think?  Was the plane crash nothing more than a tragic accident?  Or was Dag Hammarskjold assassinated?