World War II Norway: Government-in-exile (1940-45)
Figure 1.--Here is Crown Princess Märtha and her three younger children reaching safety in the United States after the German invasion of her country. The press caption read, "Princess Martha and Children Reach U.S.: Crown Princess Martha of Norway (rear center) is shown with her three children after they arrived in New York Aug. 28 aboard the the U.S. ArmyTrnsport, 'American Legion', from Petsamo, Finland. The royal group, here at the invitation of President Roosevelt , is shown at the Waldorf-Astoria, where the Princess registered. The children are (left to right) Prince Harald, 3, Princess Astid, 8, and Princess Hagnhild, 10." Note the children's Noregian flag pins. The Crown Princes proved to be a real favorite to the President.
The Norwegian Storting in an emergency session after fleeing Oslo granted full authoruty to the King and his ministers. The Royal family separated when the Germans struck. King Haakon VII and the Crown Prince joined the Norwegian Army and then the British and French who landed at Narvik. The Queen and younger children were evacuated to safety in neutral Sweden. The King was evacuated with the Allied forces (June 6). They set a Government-in-exile in London. They were able to finance operations with the Norwegian gold reserves that been removed for safe keeping. The Norwegians and the other governments-in-exile were at first unsure about the future given a German invasion of Britain was widely expected. The RAF's victory in the Battle of Britain made that impossible and the Norwegians could plan their contribution to the War. A few Norwegian servicemen escaped with the Allies. They were reconstituted in Britain and armed. King Haakon became the leading symbol symbol of the Norwegian people's struggle for independence during 5 long years of German occupation. King Haakon broadcast from London. It was illegal to listen, but many did and drew inspiration from the King. The Government-in-exile led and coordinated Norway's war efforts from London. Operations began to support the resistance which was organized in Norway. Norway had a substantial merchant fleet and the captains of the vessels not seized in port by the Germans, mostly took their ships to Britain and supported the Government-in-exile. The Norwegian merchant fleet played an important role in supplying Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic was Norway's primary contribution to the Allies. Half of the Norwegian fleet was sunk during the war, The resistance was supported from the Shetlands. Despite the efforts of Maj. Gen. Vidkun Quisling to promote collaboration with the German occupiers, most Norwegians remained loyal to the King and the Government-in-exile. The Government-in-exile in London appointed Crown Prince Olav Chief of Defense (June 30, 1944). He thus took command of the Norwegian armed forces. Eventually the Government-in-exile began to address the problem of how to deal with collaborators like Major General Quisling. Several decrees were issued defining treasonable acts. The situation was different in Norway than France where Vichy was the legitimate government. The Government-in-exile defined treasonable acts and increased the penalties, including reviving the death penalty. A new measure was enacted--"loss of public confidence," (tap av almenn tillit). Conviction resulted in depriving the individual of specified civil privileges and honors. Included in the decrees was declaring membership in the collaborationist Nasjonal Samling a crime. These war-time decrees were finalized in the Landssvikanordning (December 15, 1944). By this time it was clear that liberation was only a matter of a few months.
Germans Delayed (Early-morning April 9)
The invaded Norway with a surprise attack (April 9. 1940). The plan was to quickly tke Oslo and capture the King and the Government. They could then force a surrender. The attack on Oslo was led by the heavy cruiser Blücher which appeared in the Oslofjord in the early morning hours of the invasion. They were accompanied by smaller vessels, mostly sestroyers. The Germans did not have lnding craft. The Blücher was being used as a troop transport. And the orders of the men aboard was to arrest the King and the members of the Government. They had names and addresses. The Blücher and its squadron were spotted by the Norwegian Coast Guard at Færder lighthouse and subsequently at Bolærne Fort in the Oslofjord. They notified the Oscarsborg Fortress, strategically placed at the narrowest point of the Oslofjord. When the Germans entered the Drøbak Sound , the commander at Oscarsborg, Colonel Birger Eriksen, opened fire. The Blücher was hit by Oscarsborg big guns ('Moses' and 'Aron'). Torpedoes fired from the adjacent island of Northern Kaholmen also found their mark. The Blücher sank at 06.22 hours. Most of its crew of over 1,300 men was killed or perished in the icy waters. This threw the German invasion plan into disorder.
Norway Refuses to Surrender (April 10)
The sinking of the Blücher delayed the German seizure of Oslo. It gave the Royal Family, the Government, and most members of the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) time to flee Oslo before the German occupying forces reached Oslo and began rounding them up. King Haakon met with the German envoy, Curt Bräuer the day after the invasion (April 10). The Germans demanded that the Government headed by Johan Nygaardsvold, which had refused to capitulate, resign, and that the King appoint a new government headed by NAZI sympathizer Vidkun Quisling. The King presented the the German demands in an extraordinary meeting of the Council of State in the village of which the Germans had not yet reached -- Nybergsund. The King told the Storting that he would not influence the decision of the Government, but that he would never comply with the German ultimatum. He would abdicate rather than ever appoint Quisling prime minister. The Government and the Storting supported the King's position and decided to oppose the German invaders. The German response when they learned of the King and Government's decision was to bomb Nybergsund. The Storting knowing that another session was impossible, granted full authority to the King and his ministers.
Crown Princess Märtha supported the mobilization work for Norway's self-protection. She made a public appeal encouraging Norwegian women to take part in mobilization work (January 26, 1940). [Dagbok] No one suspected at the time, however, that the Germans would invade. The Royal family separated when the Germans struck. King Haakon VII and the Crown Prince joined the Norwegian Army and then the British and French who landed at Narvik. Crown Princess Martha and her three younger children were evacuated to safety in neutral Sweden. They crossed the border on the night of the German invasion (April 9). Princess Märtha was Swedish and they were taken in by her Swedish family (until August 12). There was, however, a problem. Many Swedes feared that she was compromising the country's neutrality. There was a great fear that the Germans would invade Sweden next. Some wanted her to return to Norway so he Prince Harald could be proclaimed King by the Germans. Princess Märtha was not having it. She and the children traveled to the Finnish Arctic port of Petsamo near Soviet Murmansk. The Finns had repelled a Red Army effort to seize Petsamo during the Winter War (November 1939-March 1940), although the Finns would lose their northern port and the Soviets would eventually acquire it as a result of the Continuation War (1941-44). President Roosevelt who had met Crown Princess Märtha during a Royal Visit before the War invited her to America. The U.S. Army transport ship American Legion picked her and the children up in Petsamo. They arrived in New York (August 28). She and the children spent some time in the White House and remained in America during the War. The President and First Lady took a special interest in Princess Märtha. The President in particular was charmed by her. She worked tirelessly to aid Norwegian refugees and promote the war effort from America. In August 1941, Crown Princess Märtha traveled with President Roosevelt aboard the presidential yacht, USS Potomac, and sailed to Newfoundland where the President and Prime-Minister with Winston Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter (August 1941). Mrs. Roosevelt found Churchill rather a challenge but she and the President formed a real friendship with the Crown Princess . Pearl Harbor brought America into the War (December 1941). This meant that there was real possibility that Norway would be liberated. And the United State provided Lend Lease Aid to the Norwegian Government-in Exile. Princess Märtha spent much of World War II in the United States, where she worked tirelessly to keep up support for Norway among the American public and government. She visited London to take part in the birthday celebration for her father-in-law (1942). When she returned to Norway following the war in 1945, she received a hero's welcome and was referred to as 'Mother of the Nation'. She wholly embraced her role as Crown Princess of Norway and made tremendous efforts towards ensuring the stability and well-being of all Norwegians.
Narvik (April-June 1940)
The small Norwegian Army had no way of defending Oslo and the south. The Allies (British and French) landed in the northern port of Narvik. This was especially important port because it was how much of the Swedish iron ore so important to the German war industry was shipped to the Reich. It was hear that the battle for Norway was fought for 2 months. Eventfully the Luftwaffe made the Allied position untenable. After the German offensive in the West broke through the French lines, the Allies decided to withdraw. This left the King with a difficult decision. Should he remain in Norway which would mean capitulation to the Germans or leave with the Allies. He decided it would be best to abandon Norway and continue the fight from Britain. The King, Crown Prince Olav, and the Government departed Narvik on the British heavy cruiser Devonshire (June 7). The King felt that Norway's constitutional powers be upheld in unoccupied territory. For the next 5 years the government-in-exile led and coordinated Norwegian war efforts from its London offices including the Blitz that commenced soon after their arrival.
London
The King and his ministers set up a Government-in-exile in London. They were able to finance operations with the Norwegian gold reserves that been removed for safe keeping. The Norwegians and the other governments-in-exile were at first unsure about the future given a German invasion of Britain was widely expected. The RAF's victory in the Battle of Britain made that impossible and the Norwegians could plan their contribution to the War. A few Norwegian servicemen escaped with the Allies. They were reconstituted in Britain and armed.
National Symbol
King Haakon became the leading symbol symbol of the Norwegian people's struggle for independence during 5 long years of German occupation. King Haakon broadcast from London. It was illegal to listen, but many did and drew inspiration from the King.
German Efforts to form a Government
The German occupation authorities, headed by Reich commissioner Josef Terboven, attempted to establish a 'legal' occupation government, appointed by the Storting. While the Government escaped the German grasp, many Storting members could not escape. Terboven wanted a compliant Government that would collaborate like Vichy in France. This required, however, the King's abdication. King Haakon in a radio broadcast from London made it clear that he would continue to fulfill his duties as King of Norway (July 8). He adamantly refused to collaborate with the Germans. The Germans eventually gave up efforts to set up a collaborationist Government (September 25). Terboven declared the King and the Government deposed. He outlawed all political parties other than the Nasjonal Samling (Norwegian National Socialist party). All activities in any way supportive of the Royal Family were prohibited.
Norwegian Contribution
The Government-in-exile led and coordinated Norway's war efforts from London. Operations began to support the resistance which was organized in Norway. Norway had a substantial merchant fleet and the captains of the vessels not seized in port by the Germans, mostly took their ships to Britain and supported the Government-in-exile. The substantial Norwegian merchant fleet played an important role in supplying Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic and was Norway's primary contribution to the Allies. Half of the Norwegian fleet was sunk during the war. The resistance was supported from the Shetlands. Despite the efforts of Maj. Gen. Vidkun Quisling to promote collaboration with the German occupiers, most Norwegians remained loyal to the King and the Government-in-exile. perhaps the most substantial contribution was the fact that Hitler had an obsession with Norway. The root cause is unclear, but his strategic thinking was that Germany must hold Norway. So some 0.5 million troops occupied Norway at a time that Germany was badly outnumbered on all fronts. Given Norway's population of under 3 million people, that was one German soldier for every three Norwegians. This has to be perhaps the highest occupation rate in history.
Crown-Prince Olaf
Crown Prince Olav (1903-91) as a young man trained as a military officer. Olav was educated at the Norwegian military academy and at the University of Oxford in England. He was an award winning athlete and sportsman. He participated most major Norwegian military exercises once of military age (1920s-30s). As a result, at the time of the NAZI invasion, he was a knowledgeable military officer. Norway was a constitutional monarchy, The monarchy was largely ceremonial, but the Crown Prince was a competent military officer, albeit Norway had a very limited military. Like the Windsors in Britain, the Crown Prince and his wife Martha visited the United States before the War. They met President and Mrs. Roosevelt. The President was impressed by him and enchanted by his wife. The Crown Prince was appointed an admiral of the Royal Norwegian Navy and a general of the Norwegian Army. These were honorary appointments given his age, but he did have some, but unproven military competence. The Germans hoped to seize the Royal Family when they invaded, but because the German Crusher KM Blücher leading the flotilla Oslofjord was sunk (April 8) the seizure of Oslo was delayed giving the Royal Family time to escape. The Royal Family separated with Crown Princess Märtha and the children seeking safety in Sweden while The King and Crown Prince remained in Norway to resist the Germans. They did so until the British and French ultimately withdrew (June 1940). The King and Crown Prince along with the Norwegian government went to exile with them. The Crown Prince wanted to stay behind with the Norwegian people, but the Government ordered him to accompany his father. The Government-in-exile (GIE) was established in London. The Crown Prince and his staff were important advisers to the Government-in exile. The Crown Prince played an important role in building a free Norwegian fighting force training in Britain, Canada, and the United States. The King and Crown Prince made radio broadcasts to the captive Norwegian people. The GIE appointed the Crown Prince was appointed to the post of Norwegian Chief of Defense (June 1944). He thus took command of the Norwegian armed forces. The Crown Prince Olav and five government ministers returned to a liberated Norway (May 1945). The Crown Prince led the Norwegian disarmament of the substantial German occupying forces.
Collaboration
Eventually the Government-in-exile began to address the problem of how to deal with collaborators like Major General Quisling. Several decrees were issued defining treasonable acts. The situation was different in Norway than France where Vichy was the legitimate government. Norwegian collaborators after the War could not claim that they followed the laws and regulations of the legitimate Government. The Government-in-exile defined treasonable acts and increased the penalties, including revivng the death penalty. A new measure was enacted--"loss of public confidence," (tap av almenn tillit). Conviction resulted in depriving the individual of specified civil privileges and honors. Included in the decrees was declaring membership in the collaborationist Nasjonal Samling a crime. At first these measures carried little weight. It looked like the Germans would in the War and firmly controlled Norway. As the War turned against Germany they began to have real and increasing weight. These war-time decrees were finalized in the Landssvikanordning (December 15, 1944). By this time it was clear that liberation was only a matter of months.
Sources
Dagbok, Krigens. The Diary of the War (in Norwegian) (1984).
