The Norwegian Resistance

[Maine Finn]

I've noticed, in the course of my readings and research of conventional textbooks, that there is relatively little in the way of reference or mention of the plight of the Norwegians during World War Two, and their resistance movement as a result of German occupation. A lot is said about the French and British Resistances, but not much about our Norwegian brothers.

Can anybody provide me with some information (or links to information) about the Norwegian Resistance? It fascintes me because I know so little about it.

Kiitos!

[Enduring Freedom]

I have found the following books about the norwegian resistance on www.amazon.co.uk

The Sledge Patrol, The shetland Bus and We Die Alone. All three books are written by David Howarth. I hope You can use this info.

[Guttorm]

The most know sabotage operation on Norwegian soil during WWII was the destruction of an german installation in Vemork. German scientists were producing "heavy water" (Don't think thats the correct translation) that was going to be used in the production of a German A-bomb.
27th febuary, 1943 9 Norwegians destroyed the installation.

[oldsoak]

The Norwegians did indeed resist - the heroes of Telemark have already been mentioned - and they provided eyes and ears for the allied intelligence. Norwegians also fought in all three British armed services with distinction. Both the Danes and the Norwegians are very modest about their contribution to the war.

[Ian H]

German scientists were producing "heavy water" (Don't think thats the correct translation) that was going to be used in the production of a German A-bomb.
27th febuary, 1943 9 Norwegians destroyed the installation.

Its correct. Don't remember the atomic structure that makes it different though.
A good book about this is called 'The Real Heroes of Telemark' by Ray Mears. He concentrates on the survival aspects of the mission rather than the strategic issues behind it, but its still an enthralling read, and an amazing operation. He also discusses the Norwegian Resistance in more general terms. Recommended.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0340830158/202-6675580-5347821.
It was also a TV series, but no luck on the DVD

[Alpha Leader]

Beacuse of their great sucsses in the operation of Vemork, the soldiers were highly rewarded.

If you come to Norway on holiday, you just have to go to Rjukan in telemark and see and hike the route they used.I have ,and its a hard hike, i did it in winter but it`s easyer in summertime.

Norway had a big recistance against the Germans.
We blew up brigdes and railways, even sunk the boat that both sivilians and german soldiers used for tranportation of "heavy water",killing both countrymen and enemy.

The biggest recistance group was MILORG,(the soldiers were trained in England) witch later became The Nowegian HomeGuard.MILORG got weapons,radioes,and explosives from RAF.MILORG lived and worked from the forrest,and towns and many lived ordinary lives and were soldiers in the hidden.

Norwegians fought all over the world in differrent army`s,
Brittish,American,Canadian,France,Finland, and sadly in German army as voulnteer`s.
The voulnteer`s wanted to fight the communists and joind up beacuse of that,others beacuse the lust for adventure.

The Norwegian resistance gave the SOE in England intel on enemy ships and trains and helped RAF with the bombing.
"XU PAN"was an secret spy org in Norway that conducted only espionage and reported to SOE
.
One of the greatest (in my mind)jobs of all were:A man by the name of Max Manus made his own divingsuit from oild canvas and swumt a great distance in the night an placed a mine on the side of the boat Donau. check it out:
http://www.skovheim.org/located/akershus/donau/donau.htm

Another guy named Sønsetby (callsign:nr 24) blew up the Germans job office for Norwgians workers (Arbeitsdienst) in Oslo, the Germans lost all their papers on Norwegian able workers to be sent to Germany as working slaves.

I know there is alot more but it could take all night to list it up.

Sorry for the bad English, please correct me. ;)
Hope you enjoy the info. ;)

KIPPIS

[oldsoak]

Bloody Vikings ! woot

[oldsoak]

Bloody Vikings ! woot

[Maine Finn]

Many thanks, gentlemen. It's much appreciated.

Kiitos!

[norge71]

There are also some enjoyable movies out there. The aforementioned Heroes of Telemark, Commandos Strike at Dawn, 633 Squadron and Edge of Darkness. The last one I really recommend. It stared Errol Flynn and was the story of a whole town's uprising against the Germans. Hollywoodized? sure. Propaganda? of course. But great nonetheless.

[Ichhabe]

The worst sacrifise they had to do in the Heavy water Operation was the sinking of the ferry Tinn when the Norwegians had to blow it up, knowing that inocent Norwegian civilians were aboard.

But they had to do everything to avoid the Germans getting the water home to the Reich.

[zenmaster]

British resistance? I wasn't aware that Britain was occupied.

[Maine Finn]

It wasn't, but the Germans presented a pretty serious threat in regard to actual invasion.... truthfully, it's probably inaccurate to label the British efforts to end the German campaign to bomb the country into rubble as "resistance". But, it was a resistance in that the British, and those others who fought alongside them, sought to repel the German efforts to begin an actual invasion. Of couse, my knowledge of that particular period of World War Two is admittedly lacking, so I'm not well-suited to be making any sort of judgements or conclusions. I'll have to do some reading first.

[Haiw]

Maybe he's talking about the British Home Guard?

[Ichhabe]

Maybe he's talking about the British Home Guard?

The Channel Islands were occupied by Germany.

[James]

About twenty years ago I read a book about Norwegian resistance smuggling gold out from under the noses of the Germans. Kids helped, putting a few bars at a time onto their sleds. Sadly, I can't remember if it was fiction or not. In any case, I thought it was a cool read (I was about ten years old myself at the time...)

[Haiw]

Maybe he's talking about the British Home Guard?

The Channel Islands were occupied by Germany.
Yeah, but was there any real resistance on those islands?

James, I'm fairly sure the Norwegians managed to get out most of their gold treasury before the Germans came. I don't know how though.

[MaK]

BTW, is there any public military forums in Norway?

[OldRecon]

The Norwegians did indeed resist - the heroes of Telemark have already been mentioned - and they provided eyes and ears for the allied intelligence. Norwegians also fought in all three British armed services with distinction. Both the Danes and the Norwegians are very modest about their contribution to the war.

Well, we got of pretty lightly compared to f.ex Holland and France or not to mention the Soviets behind German lines, the Poles and the Yugoslavians.
We're not that many and the Norwegian government in exile (based in London) made it a point to avoid reprisals and other forms of civilian casualties as much as possible among the population left in occupied Norway.
Also wilified by their racial theories the Germans were rather soft, with regards to how they treated the population in occupied Norway I tink.
If it had been the Soviets who had come trampling, as against Finland, with no such racial delusions, I guess it would rather have been a choice between dying fighting at home or dying as a enslaved "timber" in Siberia.
That said quite a lot of people here were sent away to German concentration/prison camps in Norway and Continental Europe.
Personaly an uncle of mine died right after the war through complications from malnutrition and diseases contracted in such a camp.
This somehow leads me to think about the 1970's here when "guerilla defence" were all the vouge among the local communists here (with chairman Mao and all that), forgetting along the way that the guerilla wars with the Japanese and against the Kuomintang costed a lot of lives.
1 Rape of Nanking would have been allmost like a complete genocide here :)

[Schwabo Elite]

The Norwegian King and Queen were extracted with the help of the British Forces that had landed in the north of the country (near Narvik). With them went the treasure of gold tNorway had at that time.
If you ever come to Norway, or Oslo in particular, I can only recommend the Norwegian Resistance Museum (I think that's what its called) in Oslo. Although the whole city is a real beauty, it is even more so for militarically interested people. The old castle (which houses the museum), the nearby coastal denfensive emplacement (which you cannot visit I think), that destroyed the German Heavy Cruiser Blücher, the Royal castle in the city itself, the Royal guards and their watch shift, and sometimes international guests such as USN ships and other ships of allied navies, that frequently visit the harbour.

woot all in all, this city is great. I would love to visit it again, but I don't have the time... :(

SE

[OldRecon]

Your welcome. Can also recomend the National defence museum (Not far from the resistance museum http://www.mil.no/felles/fmu/start/museet/Deutsch/) and the Air force aircraft museum collection near Gardermoen airport http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/engelsk.html.
http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/wNT3B.jpg
http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/wSpit2.jpg
http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/wFarman2.jpg
http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/wF84K.jpg
http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/wF84F.jpg
http://www.flysamlingen.museum.no/wCF104.jpg

The Navy museum at the former naval dock at Horten is also a threat (have a full size submarine at display + the worlds first torpedo boat for witehead torpedoes) (take train from Oslo to Moss and the Bastoe-Fosen ferry from Moss to Horten accross the fjord, and the museum lies 15 minutes walking to the north of the pier - Open from May to September all days 12-16 rest of the year on Sundays from 12-16).
http://www.fmu.mil.no/marine/Bibliotek/Bilder/156.jpg
http://www.fmu.mil.no/marine/Museet/Museet%20m%20ubåten.jpg
http://www.fmu.mil.no/marine/Museet/P4170454.JPG
http://www.fmu.mil.no/marine/Museet/utstein1.jpg

The naval fort (Oscarsborg) that sank the heavy cruiser Blücher btw now is also a museum and can be visited from June to August (by ferrry from the Sjøtorget at the city of Drøbak 1230 (return 1445) and 1615 (return 1820) on workdays / 1200 (return 1420) and 1430 (return 1645) on Sat./Sundays).
http://www.skifte.no/Bildearkiv/eiendommer/1074545787.03/1074545787.03.jpg?display=thumbnail
http://www.skifte.no/Bildearkiv/eiendommer/1049781048.85/1049781048.85.jpg?display=thumbnail
http://www.skifte.no/Bildearkiv/generell/1053097726.92/1053097726.92.jpeg?display=thumbnail
http://www.skifte.no/Bildearkiv/eiendommer/1051259255.85/1051259255.85.jpg?display=thumbnail


The Norwegian King and Queen were extracted with the help of the British Forces that had landed in the north of the country (near Narvik). With them went the treasure of gold tNorway had at that time.
If you ever come to Norway, or Oslo in particular, I can only recommend the Norwegian Resistance Museum (I think that's what its called) in Oslo. Although the whole city is a real beauty, it is even more so for militarically interested people. The old castle (which houses the museum), the nearby coastal denfensive emplacement (which you cannot visit I think), that destroyed the German Heavy Cruiser Blücher, the Royal castle in the city itself, the Royal guards and their watch shift, and sometimes international guests such as USN ships and other ships of allied navies, that frequently visit the harbour.

woot all in all, this city is great. I would love to visit it again, but I don't have the time... :(

SE

[Ian H]

Cheers for that. I've only been to Norway once, x/c skiing near Lillehammer, but I strongly want to go back, it was so nice.

[Marmot1]

The Norwegian King and Queen were extracted with the help of the British Forces that had landed in the north of the country (near Narvik). With them went the treasure of gold tNorway had at that time.
If you ever come to Norway, or Oslo in particular, I can only recommend the Norwegian Resistance Museum (I think that's what its called) in Oslo. Although the whole city is a real beauty, it is even more so for militarically interested people. The old castle (which houses the museum), the nearby coastal denfensive emplacement (which you cannot visit I think), that destroyed the German Heavy Cruiser Blücher, the Royal castle in the city itself, the Royal guards and their watch shift, and sometimes international guests such as USN ships and other ships of allied navies, that frequently visit the harbour.

woot all in all, this city is great. I would love to visit it again, but I don't have the time... :(

SE
Polish forces were too on Narvik... :-)

also heavy water was not intended to A-bomb but rather to H-bomb... germans worked over H and it was more dificult to build...

[wiking]

There was also a couple of companys from the French Foreign Legion fighting in Norway during the invasion.

And i'm really proud of the fact that norway held for 2 months against the Germans, that's allmost longer than the rest of Europe put together. (Don't get angry if that's very wrong)

Anyone seen the norwegian movie "Sekondløynanten"? It's been a while, but i remember it as a pretty good movie.
And why haven't anyone made a movie about the invasion of Norway, it's the longest and probably hardest opposition against the Germans in the early years of the war.