History of Norway

Norway in World War II

Main Article: Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

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See also: Norwegian Campaign

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See also: Norwegian resistance movement

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As World War II erupted, Norway insisted on remaining neutral despite warnings from some political factions that the country's strategic importance was too great for Nazi Germany to leave it alone, and attempts from the same factions to obtain political consensus to build up sufficient defences to withstand an invasion long enough for Allied reinforcements to arrive from France and Britain, (the specially raised British Independent Companies, who were the immediate forerunners of the Commandos).

Related Topics:
World War II - Nazi Germany - Independent Companies - Commandos

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In a surprise dawn attack on April 9th, 1940, Germany launched Operation Weserübung. The German forces attacked Oslo and the major Norwegian ports (Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand and Narvik) and quickly gained footholds in those cities and the surrounding areas. The Norwegian Army, manning a fort in the Oslofjord, sank the German cruiser Blücher using cannons and torpedoes. This delayed the Nazi German invasion long enough for King Haakon, his government and the parliament to escape the city with much of the treasury, and to resist the invaders. Despite the strength of the German invaders and the lack of air support, the Norwegian armed forces, together with allied British, French and Polish forces, kept up an organized military resistance for two months, longer than any other country invaded by Germany, except for the Soviet Union. Eventually, on June 7 the Norwegian forces had to surrender and King and government left Norway to form a government in exile in London. Many servicemen, and civilians who would join them, also escaped to Britain where they served invaluably with the British Forces and the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Related Topics:
April 9 - 1940 - Operation Weserübung - Oslo - Bergen - Trondheim - Kristiansand - Narvik - Norwegian Army - Oslofjord - German cruiser Blücher - Soviet Union - June 7 - London - Special Operations Executive

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The Norwegian national socialist politician Vidkun Quisling attempted a coup the same day, but was met with such strong resistance from the people that Nazi Germany deposed him within a week and installed a bureaucratic administration in lieu of a government. In September of 1940 the German Reichskommissar Josef Terboven formed a cabinet with himself presiding, and with most ministers recruited among members of Quisling's Nazi party, plus some independent collaborators. In 1942 this administration was replaced with a semi-independent puppet government headed by Quisling, who was promoted to "minister president" by the Reichskommissar. Quisling's name has come to mean "traitor" in several languages.

Related Topics:
Vidkun Quisling - 1940 - Josef Terboven - 1942 - Government

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King Haakon and his government fled to Britain on June 7th, the same day the allied forces that had retaken Narvik abandoned it and the French forces returned to a quickly disintegrating France. The continued existence of a legitimate Norwegian government gave the exiles considerably more room for action than the French. The worldwide operations of the large Norwegian merchant fleet was a material aid to the Allies.

Related Topics:
King Haakon - Government - Britain - June 7 - Narvik - France

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The Norwegian resistance movement began on a small scale right after the invasion, but gained in strength, especially after the installation of Quisling's puppet government in late 1940 and its attempt to enforce the native brand of fascism (see the next paragraph), and to enroll labour, teachers and officials in its organizations (for an anecdote of Norwegian civil resistance, see paper clip).

Related Topics:
Resistance movement - 1940 - Fascism - Paper clip

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The resistance became very active towards the end of the war, closely and continuously supported by the British SOE. Norwegian resistance, (generally termed the 'Home Front'), and its military branch (milorg) kept many German divisions tied down in occupation duty, and Norwegian spotters contributed to the destruction of numerous German warships and installations. The Norwegian resistance also smuggled people in and out of Norway during the war, (typically to Scotland via the 'Shetland Bus', and to neutral Sweden), and, with the SOE, managed to destroy much of the world's supply of heavy water and cripple the Vemork heavy water plant at Rjukan, thus perhaps preventing Germany from developing an atomic bomb (Operation Gunnerside).

Related Topics:
British - SOE - Shetland Bus - Sweden - Heavy water - Rjukan - Atomic bomb - Operation Gunnerside

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Not all Norwegians sided with the legitimate government in exile. Many became members of Quisling's National Socialist party (Nasjonal Samling – NS), some out of misguided idealism. Numerous opportunists joined his movement initially, while Germany seemed to be winning the war. Several thousand young Norwegians joined German Waffen-SS divisions to fight against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front.

Related Topics:
National Socialist - Nasjonal Samling - Waffen-SS - Soviet Union

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Following the 1941 raid by British Commandos on the minor port of Vaagsoy, Hitler further reinforced Norway, mistakenly thinking that the British might invade northern Norway to put pressure on Sweden and Finland. By the end of the war the German garrison was 372,000 strong (the Norwegian population at the time numbering a little over 3 million)http://www.library.uu.nl/wesp/populstat/Europe/norwayc.htm. In May of 1945 when the milorg was advised they no longer need act covertly, they were found to number some 50,000 members.

Related Topics:
1941 - British Commandos - Vaagsoy - Hitler - Sweden - Finland - 1945

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During the entire occupation, the German authorities built the so called Festung Norwegen. Innumerable bunkers, pillboxes, air strips and submarine hangars dotted the coast to fend off any invaders. Coupled with the large number of German soldiers in Norway, the Allies (especially the Norwegian government in exile) were worried that the remnants of the Nazi party would flee to Norway and make their last stand there. They could probably have held out for months, which would have devastated Norway. Fortunately, the Wehrmacht commander Böhme saw that resistance was futile, and surrendered on the order of Hitler's successor Dönitz on the May 8.

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The Norwegian merchant ships that were in Allied waters at the time of invasion were requisitioned by the exiled Norwegian Government in London. The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission was established in London shortly thereafter, and the name abbreviated to Nortraship, following a suggestion from the British Postal Services. The main duties were those of war transports, supply services etc. including the supply of food, ammunition and reinforcements to the front lines, besides evacuating the wounded. Nortraship had 1,081 ships with 33,000 sailors. 570 ships were lost (these numbers vary according to source), along with 3,734 sailors.

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By the end of the war, Norwegian naval vessels were also fighting alongside the British. Norway was counted among the victors in World War 2 and was a founding member of the United Nations. The first UN Secretary General, Trygve Lie, was a Norwegian.

Related Topics:
United Nations - UN Secretary General - Trygve Lie

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A side effect of the large German garrison was the birth of many children born to Norwegian women and German soldiers. Some of these women suffered recriminations after the war, as did their innocent children in many cases, who were called "German kids" or "Nazi kids". Norwegians who publicly regretted instances of maltreatment were occasionally accused of being too conciliatory.

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After the liberation, active members of the National Socialist party and those who had collaborated with the enemy were persecuted and sentenced. Twenty-five Norwegians, including Quisling, were executed for treason and/or war crimes, and 12 Germans were executed for war crimes.

Related Topics:
Quisling - War crime

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