History of Norway: Encyclopedia II - History of Norway - Independent Monarchy

History of Norway - Independent Monarchy

Norway's kings (Norges Konge is the official style) in modern times, with periods of reign, are:

• Haakon VII (1905-1957)
• Olav V (1957-1991)
• Harald V (1991-present)

History of Norway - Norway in World War I

Norway remained neutral during World War I. However, 1,156 Norwegian sailors were lost during the U-boat war. Despite their neutrality, the Norwegian government went to considerable lengths to accommodate Britain, on account of both British pressure and an anti-German sentiment. These accommodations came in the form of the very large Norwegian merchant fleet, who delivered essential supplies to Britain, who in return supplied Norway with vital coal. This led to Norway occasionally being called The Neutral Ally.

History of Norway - Norway in World War II

Main Article: Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
See also: Norwegian Campaign
See also: Norwegian resistance movement

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).

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).

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.

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.

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).

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).

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.

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)[1]. In May of 1945 when the milorg was advised they no longer need act covertly, they were found to number some 50,000 members.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

History of Norway - Post-war Foreign and military policy

See main articles on Foreign relations of Norway and Military of Norway

In 1949 Norway became a member of NATO. The discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and on November 28, 1994, Norway rejected joining the European Union, though it remains associated with it through being part of the wider European Economic Area.

Militarily, while Norway and Britain both maintain independent forces, some common defence policies evolved as well as certain integration of training and deployment of both nations' Special Forces.

History of Norway - Post-war Economic development

Norway is today one of the worlds biggest oil exporters(Behind Saudi Arabia). The national economy is heavily based upon the oil. The nations shipping fleet is on a decline, after being the largest in the world during the 1980's and 1990's.

History of Norway - Post-war Social policy

Norway has advanced in its standard of living beyond many of its European counterparts, in large part to its affluent economy. As a result, for the last several years the United Nations has ranked Norway as having the highest standard of living in the world. This ranking compares nations' level of education and income, combined with expected length of life.

In addition, because of cultural and political freedoms extended to women (in addition to income equality and consumption), Norway is considered the best place in the world for women. [2] [3]

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Independent Monarchy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki