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World War II -- Norway Norwegian refugee destinations
World War II Norway: Refugee Destinations
Figure 1.--These Norwegian children during 1943 are being cared for in a Stockhom home for children. There were alo camps for families. The caption read, "Stockholms stads fj�rde hem f�r norska barn invigdes. St�ende Adv. A. Schj�dt och n�rmast honom i svart Fru raathen, n�rmast kameran Fru Ording." That means something along the libes of, "Stockholm's fourth home for Norwegian children was opened. Standing Adv. A. Schj�dt and the closest to him in black Lady Raathen, closest to the camera Mrs. Ording.
Norwegians after the German invasion and occupation (April 1940) had few options if they decided to flee the country. Geography provided onlt two options: across the North Sea to Britain or overlsnd to Sweden. The North Sea was an impossible obstacle unless you had a sturdy boat. The Norwegians did have one wy out. This was more than many countries had in NAZI-occupied Europe. Most Norwegian refugees headed for Sweden. Young men could do it fairly easily. For families it was more difficult. The Swedes took in large numbers of Finnish children, but here both goverments could organize the evacuation of the children. With Norway, because of the German occupation, this was not possible. so the refuge flight was more on an individual basis and involved family groups. Individuals fleeing from he Germans could not be sure that the Germans would not rrest family members. Thus most of the childten reaching safety in Sweden came with their parents. There were also small numbers of Norwegian children that made it to Britain. This included families brought back to Britin as a result of raids in the north.
A number of Norwegians managed to make their way to Britain during the War. Some made their way through the Soviet Union, but this became virtually impossible after Hitler launched the invasion of the Soviet Union (June 1941). (Finland was a co-beligerant with the Germans and the Baltic became a virtual German lake.) Thus the only practical route was the North Sea. This was much more difficult than crossing to Sweden. A substantial vessel was needed because of the rough conditions of the North Sea. And it was much easier for the Germans to control the ports and ships than seal the long Swedish border. Many Norwegian refugees in Britain were centered in the Shetland Islands. This was wear the refugees from Norway headed. The Shetlands off northeaster Scotland were the cloest point in Britain to Norway. The British and Norwegian forces launched commando attacks on German-occupied Norway from the Shetlands. It was in Britain that the Norwegian government-in exile under King Haakon was formed. King Haakon led the armed resistance to the NAZIs for 2 months and then escaping by land and boat to England to continue resistance operations there. And those Norwegisns of military age formed units that fought with the British. Some Norwegians were brought to Britain as a result of several British raids. Among the Norwegians in Britain were a few children. We notice a school was set up for them. We are unsure where it was located, but it may have been the Shetlands.
At the beginning of the German invasion and throughout the War, Norwegians were able to cross the border into Sweden. After the initial surge, this generally involved taking trains and busses to towns close to the border and then crossing the actual border surepticiously. The refugees included Jews, political figures, resistance fighters, labor conscriptees, and others who feared the Germans. The Germans established border patrols, but this was a virtually impossible task given the length of the border and Sweden's refusal to return the refugees. Norewgian living along the border helped the refugees evade the German patrols and became known as 'border pilots'. The Swedish authorities harbored the refugees, but did not encourage flight from Norway. Here thee was both theproblem caring for them and early in the war thefear of German reprisals. The Swedes confined the Norwegians refugees in camps. An estimsted 50,000 Norwegians escaped to Sweden. We are not sure about the number of children, but among the refugees were many family groups. Some of the male refugees wanted to join the Norwegian armed forces abroad otganized by the Londin government-in-exile. Some managed to travel through the Soviet Union and get to Britain. This became more complicated after the German invasion of the Soviet Union (June 1941). A few individiduals including officers and pilots managed to get permission to exist Sweden on Swedish-flag vessels. Unlike the Norwegians in Britain, neutral Sweden did not permit rids on German forces in Norway. The Norwegian government in exile after considerable effort got Swedish permisddion to organize military formations among the refugees in Sweden (1944). They were called 'Police troops' so Sweden could retain its neutral stance. Hitler genius that he was, heavily garrisoned Norway, fearing an Allied invasion. This mean that some 0.5 million German troops sat idle while the Allied and Soviet forces were driving into the Reich. This large, well armed force meant that the Norwegians were incapable of taking on the occupation force on their own. As the War progressed this became a force to move into restablish the Norwegian Government after the German surrender rather than a liberation force.
