1939: Norway

Annexation in the Antarctic.

In a year when the map of Europe was again redrawn through violence, Norway expanded its territory by exploration and annexation. On Jan. 14, 1939, the Norwegian Government laid claim to 1,000,000 square miles of the Antarctic Continent — an expanse of land ten times the size of Norway and five times larger than the present German Reich. The annexation was founded legally on Norwegian map surveys made during the past twelve years, and practically on the territory's importance to the Norwegian whaling industry. The German press caused anxiety in Norway during the first weeks of April by asserting that the German Schwabenland expedition had discovered this territory, but the Reich made no official protest against Norway's claims. See also INTERNATIONAL LAW.

Foreign Relations.

Throughout the year 1939 Norway again took a leading position in advocating 'absolute neutrality' for the group of Northern States (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland). Norwegian spokesmen pointed out on several occasions that the Munich settlement of September, 1938, left the small states of Northern Europe no choice but to distrust guarantees from Europe's great powers, and to maintain an attitude of rigid impartiality which would place them above the suspicion of any political combinations that might be formed among the powers. 'Our neutrality policies,' said Mr. C. J. Hambro, President of the Norwegian Storting, in a representative statement on March 19, 'cannot be based on such false feelings of security, but alone on our own inclination and ability to guard our unconditioned neutrality toward everybody.' In line with this policy of independent defense, the Norwegian Storting on Jan. 12 had accepted the 1939-1940 budget with a defense allocation of 43,700,000 kroner ($10,300,000) — an unprecedented figure for Norway — , and on April 14 the Government successfully asked for a special grant of 20,000,000 kroner to strengthen air defenses and purchase motor torpedo boats for the navy.

Following President Roosevelt's April 15 peace plea to Chancellor Hitler and Premier Mussolini — requesting declarations that Germany and Italy would not attack any of 30 specified countries, including the 4 Scandinavian States — the German Minister in Oslo on April 18 asked the Norwegian Government whether Norway felt itself threatened in any way by Germany, and whether Norway had authorized President Roosevelt to ask his question. The Norwegian Foreign Minister answered both inquiries orally on the spot, and both in the negative. (Sweden, Denmark, and Finland — all of whom received similar inquiries at the same time — sent their negative replies to the Reich on April 22.) On April 28 the German Government asked Norway whether it was willing to conclude a non-aggression pact with Germany. The Norwegian answer of May 17, framed in concert with the other Scandinavian States at Stockholm on May 9, stated that — since Norway did not feel threatened by Germany and did not intend to conclude non-aggression pacts with any other country — the Norwegian Government regarded an agreement of this nature as unnecessary.

Cordial relations between Norway and Denmark were enhanced in April when, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Danish State Record Office, the Norwegian Government presented Denmark with collections of archives about which the two countries had long been at variance. In the United States, Norwegian-American friendship was evidenced repeatedly during the visit of Crown Prince Olaf and Princess Martha, who were in this country from April 27 to the first week of July. Later, the good will inspired by the royal couple was eclipsed by the popularity which Norway won in America on Nov. 4 by returning the steamship City of Flint to its American crew. This vessel, seized in mid-Atlantic on Oct. 9 by the German pocket battleship Deutschland, first put into the Norwegian port of Tromsö on Oct. 20 take on supplies. When the ship anchored at Haugesund on Nov. 3, in violation of Norwegian neutrality regulations, Norway released the ship and interned its German prize crew. The following day the German Government protested vigorously at Oslo, but the Norwegian Government on Nov. 5 rejected the German note and announced two days later that the 18 officers and men of the German crew would be placed in a concentration camp at Kongsvinger Castle for the duration of the war.

International Conferences.

Norway was host to three important international meetings during August: Aug. 14-20, the Thirty-fifth Conference of the Inter-parliamentary Union, at Oslo; Aug. 25-30, the Twelfth International Studies Conference, at Bergen; and Aug. 30-31, a meeting of the Scandinavian Foreign Ministers, at Oslo. All of these gatherings were overshadowed by the war crisis, and the Oslo convocation of foreign ministers was a direct result of the crisis. The Scandinavian leaders exchanged information on the approaching war, and discussed the maintenance of Northern solidarity and neutrality. During the succeeding four months, the Scandinavian states maintained intimate collaboration in political as well as in economic matters, and also consulted with the Low Countries in an effort to solve problems common to all of the Oslo Group. Economic and financial experts of this group — Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Belgium — assembled at Oslo on Nov. 6 for a week-long series of discussions. They reviewed the problems of neutrality, and outlined possible exchanges of products to reduce their shortages of provisions.

Effects of the War.

Although Norway alone among the small European neutrals was able to maintain its imports and exports at pre-September levels, it was also hard hit by the war. Its wartime trade was founded and enlarged exports in a few commodities, and unemployment increased in other countries. Like all of the Scandinavian countries, Norway by Sept. 6 had resorted to partial rationing to counteract intensive hoarding of coffee, sugar, flour, other foods, and textiles. Norway, foremost among secondary powers as a shipping nation, suffered heavily from the British blockade and from German mines and torpedoes. By the end of Dec. 24 Norwegian merchant ships had been destroyed by mines and torpedoes, and 99 Norwegian sailors had lost their lives. The Government Statistical Bureau said that Norway's losses at sea were heavier than those of any other neutral.