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Tag: second world war

Maritime pilots were forced to work for the Nazi occupiers and bombed by British planes

Some pilots did the job unwillingly, others tried to escape, and some worked for the resistance movement. But there were also pilots who volunteered.

How Norwegians expressed resistance against Nazi occupation using Christmas cards

After red Santa hats were banned in Norway during World War II, many creative Christmas cards appeared.

Yugoslav prisoners were sent to Norway to die

Researcher says that the mortality rate in some Norwegian concentration camps was on par with the worst in Europe.

Hitler was likely tricked into building 300 coastal forts and stationing more than 100 000 of his soldiers in Norway

Nazi Germany used enormous resources to defend itself against a possible allied invasion — which Adolf Hitler was convinced would first happen in Norway.

The unknown wartime merchant seamen: Michael, a Briton, was 14 when he was killed on a Norwegian ship

30,000 foreign merchant seamen worked for Norway during the Second World War.

Can we trust movies about World War II?

A small sentence in Bjørn Tore Rosendahl's doctoral thesis became a big scene in the movie Krigsseileren (War Sailor), which recently won four awards. But the scene is not true.

What’s the truth about the Communist resistance in Norway during the second world war?

Few topics are as controversial in the history of WWII in Norway as the Communist sabotage actions and conflicts with the Norwegian Resistance. Recently, the foremost historians in the field met for a debate.

Cross stitch against German occupation: Is this Norway's first guerilla embroidery?

Caroline Moe embroidered. Astrid Løken spied. Women participated in resistance work during the Second World War, but are not mentioned in the history books.

Prisoner of war Roar Antonsen smuggled letters and shoes out of Grini prison camp during World War II

Two pairs of children's shoes tell the incredible story of one man's dream of living in freedom, with his wife and the twins he has never met, and about resistance work at Grini, Norway's largest prison camp during World War II.

One of the most famous acts of sabotage during WWII happened in the basement of this building. Now it's open to the public

On a mission to prevent Hitler from developing a nuclear bomb, a group of brave soldiers made their way into the basement where heavy water was being produced. That very basement was rediscovered a few years ago.

How the Germans used Ibsen to spread Nazi ideology

Nazi Germany created its own distinctive movie versions of Ibsen's Norwegian plays - downplaying strong female characters and creating happy endings. The movies were intended both to entertain and to teach people to become moral citizens of the Third Reich, according to Ibsen researcher.

As Norwegian Jews were being deported, the Quisling government discussed working hours during the Christmas holidays

On the darkest day in Norwegian history, the government discussed very trival matters, new research shows.

Nazis used own laws on German-Norwegian homosexuals

Norwegian homosexual men were punished harder during the Second World War if their sexual partners were Germans.

Butchery law with anti-Semitic roots

The kosher method of butchery, called shechita, was fiercely debated in Norway and the rest of Europe before WWII, often with anti-Semitic undertones. Norway is one of three European countries that still forbids the practice.

Norwegian industry complied with German war efforts

Seventy-three years ago, on 9 April 1940, Nazi Germany attacked and occupied Norway. The Germans needed aluminium to win the war. But rather than resist their German occupiers, Norwegian industry leaders chose to cooperate instead.

A name on a war monument

Einar Engedahl is one of 34 names on a memorial stone for a school’s alumni who fell in battle during WWII. His story has now been revealed through collaboration among pupils, a teacher and a researcher.

Secret pay to clergy during WWII

A secret underground system was established during WWII to channel money to pastors who wouldn't work for the Nazis.

Soviet prisoners of war in Second World War – nameless, until now

More than 13,700 prisoners of war from the Soviet Union died in Norway during the Second World War. Only a few were identified in the post-war years, but now names and graves are being matched.

Putting a face on a secret of war

“Don’t worry too much darling if you don’t hear from me for a couple of weeks or so,” wrote Bill Bray the day before he left on Operation Freshman. Families fought for years to find out what had happened to their sons and husbands.

Heavy water mission that failed

In a hazardous initial attempt to sabotage the heavy water plant at Rjukan in Norway, 41 young Allied soldiers died. A soldier who was stricken from the roster for this mission, which was aimed at stalling Nazi Germany’s development of an atomic bomb, tells the inside story.