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Starting with the invasion of April 9, 1940, Norway was under military occupation of German forces and civil rule of a German commissioner in collaboration with a Pro-German puppet government. The occupation ended May 10, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. This period of occupation - usually referred to as the "war years" or "occupation period" in Norway - had defining significance for Norwegian society, and it is only recently that Norway considers itself as having passed out of the "post-war era." Background Having maintained its neutrality during World War I, Norwegian foreign and military policy since 1933 was largely based influenced on three factors: These three factors met resistance as tensions grew in Europe in the 1930s, initially from Norwegian military staff and right-wing political groups, but increasingly also from individuals within the mainstream political establishment and, it has since come to light, by the king, behind the scenes. By the late 1930's, the Norwegian parliament had accepted the need for a strengthened military and expanded the budget accordingly, even by assuming national debt. As it turned out, most of the plans enabled by the budgetary expansion were not completed in time. Although the principle of neutrality had been held sacrosanct until the invasion was a fait accompli, it was known throughout the government that Norway, above all, did not want to be in war with the United Kingdom. Several incidents in Norwegian maritime waters, notably the Altmark incident in Jøssingfjorden, put great strains on Norway's ability to assert its neutrality. By the fall of 1939, there was an increasing sense of urgency that Norway had to prepare to not just protect its neutrality but indeed to fight for its "freedom and independence." Efforts to improve military readiness and capability, and to sustain an extended blockade, were intensified between September of 1939 and April of 1940. Norway managed to negotiate favorable trade treaties both with the United Kingdom and Germany under these conditions, but it became increasingly clear that both countries had a strategic interest in denying the other access to Norway. Invasion
The nature of the occupation Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the Norwegian Nazi party known as Nasjonal Samling (National Gathering) had prior to the invasion tried to persuade Adolf Hitler that he would form a government in support of occupying Germans. Although Hitler was unreceptive to the idea, and Quisling's attempt to announce his ascension to power failed, the Nazis allowed him to early assume nominal leadership of the Nazi government in Norway. Military forces such as the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe remained under direct command from Germany during war years, but all other authority was vested in Reichskommissar Josef Terboven. He attempted to negotiate an arrangement with the remaining members of the Norwegian parliament that would give a Nazi cabinet the semblance of legitimacy, but these talks failed. After this, Quisling was instituted as head of state, though Terboven held the sole means to use violence as a political tool. Quisling believed that by ensuring economic stability and mediating between the Norwegian civilian society and the German occupiers, his party would gradually win the trust and confidence of the Norwegian population. Nasjonal Samling did see a very small surge in membership in the first few years of the occupation, but the membership never reached significant levels and eroded in the latter years of the war. The Nazi authorities made attempts to enact legislation that supported its actions and policies, but they banned all political parties except NS, appointed local leaders top down, and forced labor unions and other organizations to accept NS leaders. Although there was much resistance against most of the Nazi government's policies, there was considerable cooperation in ensuring economic activity and social welfare programs. Norway was the most heavily fortified country during the war, several hundred thousand German soldiers were stationed in Norway, in a ratio of one German soldier for every 8 Norwegians. Most German soldiers considered themselves fortunate to be in Norway, at least in comparison with combat duty on the Eastern front. Approximately 6,000 SS troops were also garrisoned in Norway during World War II, under the command of Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Rediess. Resistance, acceptance and collaboration See main article on the Norwegian resistance movement It has been estimated that as many as 10% of Norwegians were supportive of the Nazi occupation, though this estimate is uncertain and the support varied throughout the occupation. It is clear that the vast majority of Norwegians were opposed to the occupation, and many resisted it in various ways. This was in large part reinforced by the activism of the government in exile in London, who made regular broadcasts in Norwegian, published news via the underground press, and sponsored commando raids against German targets. Some Norwegians took part in armed resistance; others provided support for such activities; many Norwegians engaged in various forms of civil disobedience; and many took part in passive resistance efforts. Over time, an organized armed resistance movement was formed under largely unified command. A distinction was made between the home front and the external front. The home front consisted of guerrilla and clandestine operations; the external front included the operations of Norway's merchant fleet, the Norwegian Navy; Norwegian squadrons under the British Royal Air Force command; and several commando groups operating out of Great Britain and Shetland. The unified command structure was to play an important role in the orderly transfer of power in May of 1945. Of the Norwegians that supported the NS, relatively few were active collaborators. Most notorious among these was Henry Oliver Rinnan, who infiltrated Norwegian members of the resistance, tortured and murdered them. About 5000 Norwegians volunteered for combat duty on the Nazi side and were often sent to the Eastern front. Some Norwegian police forces also assisted in arresting Jews prior to their deporting to Nazi concentration camps in November 1942. During the five-year occupation, several thousand Norwegian women had children fathered by German soldiers. The mothers were ostracized and humiliated following the war, both by Norwegian officialdom and the civil population, and were referred to using pejorative terms like tyskerunger (children of Germans) or worse yet naziyngel (Nazi offspring). The debate on the past treatment of these krigsbarn (War children), started with a television series in 1981, but only recently have the offspring of these unions begun to identify themselves. Refugees Throughout the war years, a number of Norwegians fled the Nazi regime, mostly across the long land border to Sweden. These included Jews, political activists, and others who had reason to fear for their lives. The Nazis set up border patrols to stop these flights, but locals who knew the woods, combined with the long Norwegian-Swedish border, developed ways to bypass them. Along with individuals who hid refugees in their homes, the "border pilots" were among those in the resistance movement that took the greatest risks. Swedish authorities accepted such refugees and ensured their safety once they had crossed the border, but did little to facilitate the flights. In Sweden, refugees were often confined to camps where their basic needs were met. A total of close to 50,000 Norwegians fled to Sweden during the war. In addition to the Jews, members of the resistance movement and other people who had more acute reason to fear for their lives a great number of the refugees were men of military age wishing to join the Norwegian armed forces abroad. Before the German invasion of Russia a number of these managed to make their way out of Sweden and travelling over Russian territory reaching England often via India, South Africa or Canada. After Operation Barbarossa the overland route over Russian soil was closed. The rest of the refugees were effectively locked up in Sweden for the duration, except for a small number of officers, pilots or other specialists managing to obtain priority on the occasional plane leaving Sweden for England. In the last two years of the war the Norwegian Government in London obtained permission and cooperation from Swedish authorities to raise military formations on Swedish territory in the form of the so called "Police troops" recruited from Norwegian refugees. The term "Police" being a cover-up for what in reality was pure military training. These formations were equipped with Swedish weapons and equipment and trained by Norwegian and Swedish officers, numbering 12 000 men, organised in battalions and with their own pioneers, signals and artillery by VE-day. A number of the "Police troops" were employed in the liberation of Finmark in he winter of 1944/45 after the area had been evacuated by the Germans. The rest participated in liberation of the rest of Norway after the peaceful surrender of the Germans in May 1945. Material scarcity and ingenuity Norway lost all its major trading partners the moment it was occupied. Germany became the main trading partner, but could not make up for the lost import and export business. Combined with a general drop in productivity, Norwegians were quickly confronted with scarcity of basic commodities, including food. There was a real risk of famine. Many if not most Norwegians started growing their own crops and keeping their own livestock. City parks were divided among its inhabitants, who grew potatoes, cabbage, and other hardy vegetables. People kept pigs, chicken and other poultry in their houses and outhouses. Fishing and hunting became more widespread. Gray and black markets provided for flow of goods. Norwegians also learned to use ersatz products for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from fuel to coffee, tea, and tobacco. Treason trials See Legal purge in Norway after World War II Even before the war ended, there was debate among Norwegians about the fate of traitors and collaborators. A few favored a "night of long knives" with extrajudicial killings of known offenders. However, cooler minds prevailed, and much effort was put into assuring due process trials of accused traitors. In the end, 37 people were executed by Norwegian authorities, of whom 25 were Norwegians on the grounds of treason, and 12 were Germans on the grounds of crimes against humanity. 28,750 were arrested, though most were released for lack of probable cause. In the end, 20,000 Norwegians and a smaller number of Germans were given prison sentences. 77 Norwegians and 18 Germans received life sentences. A number of people were sentenced to pay heavy fines. The trials have been subject to some criticism in later years. It has been pointed out that sentences became more lenient with the passage of time, and that many of the charges were based on retroactive application of laws. German POWs After the war the Norwegian government forced German prisoners of war to clear minefields. When the clearing ended in September 1946, 392 of them had been injured and 275 had been killed, meanwhile only 2 Norwegians and 4 British mine-clearers had sustained any injuries. Many of the Germans were killed through their British guards habit of chasing them criss-cross over a cleared field to ensure that no mines remained. The Geneva Convention, Relative to the treatment of prisoners of war which states that it is forbidden to use prisoners for harmful or dangerous labor proved to be of no value as it was circumvented by the Norwegians claim that the German prisoners were Disarmed Enemy Forces. Legacy of the occupation The occupation had a profound effect on the collective Norwegian psyche. It instilled in many Norwegians a durable fear of scarcity, which led to a widespread habit of frugality, especially with food. It also educated a whole generation of Norwegians on proper nutrition. The adversity strengthened and further defined the Norwegian national identity. The history of the resistance movement may have been glorified excessively, but it has also provided Norwegian military and political leaders with durable role models. The shared hardship of the war years also set the stage for social welfare policies of the post-War Norwegian Labour Party governments. In addition, much of the infrastructure of Norway, including many airfields, was built or improved heavily by the German forces. Notes Other nations | |||||||||
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