1942: Norway

The year 1942 continued the German invaders' attempts of 1941 to subdue the conquered country. More newspapers were suppressed, bringing the total in January 1942 to seventy. The people's resistance mounted as successive persecutions increased. Though the enemy boasted of Aryan-Nordic affinity and claimed to be 'fellow inheritors of the Eddas and Sagas,' they made no impression. They increased their mass arrests, with cases of torture. Over 4,000 Norwegians had by January been taken into custody, 3,000 put into concentration camps, with the 'most dangerous' in camps in Germany. As of that date, 1,000 had been sentenced to long prison terms (one to eight years, or life); about 100 had been executed.

The purposes of the conquerors seemed to be the taking of hostages; the avoidance of collaboration between Norwegians inside and out of the country; and the elimination of further raids on the Lofoten Islands and along the coast. From Berlin came instructions to Reichskommissar Josef Terboven to jail all relatives of Norwegian military officers in England engaged with Norwegian forces against Germany.

Clerical and educational leaders stiffened their resistance. At the end of February, Norway's seven bishops resigned, with most of the parish clergy and nearly all the school teachers (the Supreme Court had resigned in a body in the fall of 1941). This was caused by the promulgation of two laws, following the elevation of Quisling to 'Minister President': First, that all public school teachers should join a Quisling-Nazi teachers' organization; second, that all boys and girls from ten to eighteen years of age must join a Quisling party youth organization, and further that minors of a certain age should be obliged to work.

The bishops of Feb. 14 wrote the 'Minister of Church and Education,' Schanke, that parents, due to the obligations of baptism, were responsible for the moral upbringing and education of the children: Schanke replied that the State is the highest authority. In separate letters, the bishops resigned on Feb. 24, protesting also a Nazi disturbance of a service in Trondheim Cathedral on Feb. 1.

Upon this, Schanke removed Bishop Eivind Berggrav of Oslo from his position as Primate of the Church of Norway and forbade him to perform his episcopal duties; he commanded him to report twice daily at Oslo's central police station. When the Bishop did so report, walking a long distance and attired in full robes with gold cross and chain, he was greeted by such crowds that the order was rescinded. But all refusing bishops, clergy and teachers were put in concentration camps. In the fall of 1942, a secret meeting was held by six leading churchmen at which the Church was separated from the State. They announced they were willing to negotiate with the State, but only if the legitimate bishops, with Bishop Berggrav as leader, could negotiate.

The teaching profession was similarly obdurate. Reports in September showed no more than 400 of the 14,000 of its members had joined the Nazi Laerersamband. One of their number, Inguald Garbo, had won undying fame through his execution in November 1941 on charges of possessing a radio set, of having listened to English broadcasts and of disseminating them. His activities had undoubtedly given great stimulus to the development of an illegal news service, which now includes wide dissemination of leaflets and chain letters, and the publication of at least a score of different illegal papers, appearing at regular intervals with circulations often exceeding those of the officially tolerated newspapers. They are mimeographed, and give news of the rest of the world and of Norway, advice on conduct, and warnings against 'Quislings.'

The people as a whole are hardening their resistance, 99 per cent being counted as loyal to Norway and antagonistic to Germany. This is despite repressions (curfew laws, travel restrictions, press suppressions), threats, imprisonments, forced labor in the Arctic, torture and executions.

The food picture is black. There is a shortage of hay. In late September reports were received that four-fifths of the wheat crop was uncut; the German-controlled Oslo radio admitted that some people were unable to obtain their weekly allowance of one pound (per person) of vegetables. Fish, it is claimed, is being used for cheese; fish meal as meat in sausages, and fish flour is another substitute (it is reported that wool is being made from fish). Stockholm announced forty Oslo dock workers arrested for refusing to load foodstuffs for Germany. In October, Norwegian papers were ordered to make no mention of the year's potato harvest.

Peat is used to supply ingredients for bread, and it is claimed that it can furnish wine and tobacco, as well as yarn, curtains, insulating materials and leather (shoes now are of paper uppers and wooden soles). It has already supplied gas, a special kind of wood, and building materials.

The Germans in Norway are estimated at about 600,000, one half being civilians. Numerous officials have been sent from Berlin, but the Prime Minister is Vidkun Quisling, elevated to this office on Feb. 1 in the 'historical Akershus castle.' In the fall. Quisling was reported to have ordered the compulsory mobilization of 2,700 Nasjonal Samling men, 18 to 45 years of age, for the German armies.

The Germans are evidently bent on destroying the labor movement. They closed the Norwegian National Cooperative Association and seized all stores. Beginning in May, Norwegian labor was drafted, with a demand for 20,000 for construction of fortifications along the coast and in the far North. 'General' Frölich Hansen, head of the Nazi labor service organization in Norway said in the fall that next year labor service will be compulsory for all girls from 18 years old up, and it was estimated that 40,000 youths would be in such service each year hereafter.

With its country in the throes of this bitter struggle, the Norwegian Free Government in London, headed by King Haakon VII, strained every sinew to function effectively on the many issues it confronted. The Storting had, for the duration of the war, given all its powers to the Free Government. The latter has not only operated in military affairs, but has passed legislation, conducted diplomatic negotiations and drawn up a statement of postwar policy.

Under legislation, it has adopted amendments to the criminal law with respect to treason. Some of the new provisions read that 'all those who maintain or seek membership in, or agree to become members of Quisling's National Union Party (Nasjonal Samling), or of the Nazi Storm Troop organization (Hirden) or of any other organization giving aid and comfort to the enemy or contribute dues thereto shall be deemed guilty of treason.' Penalties are loss of community confidence for a number of years or for life, with possibilities of fines up to 1,000,000 kroner; and these are in addition to penalties under Chapter Eight of the Criminal Code and Chapter Nine of the Articles of War, under which a war time penalty is death.

In diplomacy, the Free Government has especially strengthened its bonds of friendship with Great Britain and the United States. In May, both Britain and Norway elevated their respective Ministers to the rank of Ambassadors. In June, a British-built destroyer was handed over in Britain to the Norwegian Navy (giving her a total of 60 ships of war), a welcome addition. In the fall of 1942, Mr. Arne Sunde, Norwegian Minister of Shipping and Supplies, reported that in all categories, Norway's shipping losses had been 2,000,000 tons and 2,000 men.

But the dramatic in Norwegian-British relationship has been seen in the highly dangerous surprise raids, using Britain as base, which have been made upon the coast and the hinterland of Norway; raids which continue; which disturb and wreck German and Quisling functions; which destroy properties, shipping and fortifications useful to the Germans, and result in the taking of prisoners and the rescuing of Norwegians. These operations find counterparts in disasters which mysteriously occur within Norway, with no apparent aid from outside, but the orchestration is improving in its rehearsals and the British and the Norwegians cement their alliance with every passing week.

With the United States, Norway has made gains. In May, the Norwegian Minister to Washington since 1934, Wilhelm de Munthe Morganstierne was made an Ambassador, and Ambassador Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr., in London, was accredited to Norway, with a message from Secretary Hull and a greeting to King Haakon from President Roosevelt. On July 11, a total agreement on Lease-Lend between the United States and Norway was signed in Washington, the first such offer from the United States to any occupied country. Under it, the United States is to supply goods and services, and the final settlement is to be without injurious effects on both commerces; further, the elimination of every form of international trade discrimination and the reduction of customs duties will be sought. In an appendix, it is provided, (1) the United States will defray the cost of any Norwegian vessels after Dec. 7, 1941; (2) the United States will pay repairs on vessels after Dec. 7, 1941; (3) both signatories will continue to discuss new ship building, and (4) both signatories shall negotiate later regarding Norway's retaining war material after the war. On Sept. 16, President Roosevelt presented a new 173-foot sub-chaser to the Royal Norwegian Navy at the Washington Navy Yard, under the provisions of the Lend-Lease Act.

Among its many responsibilities in 1942, the Free Government during the summer gave out a statement of its peace aims. Some of its specific items are definitely noteworthy, as the abandonment of the pre-war defensive bloc of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland; a determined attachment to Norway's Atlantic allies, Great Britain and the United States; and the establishment of a revived and Greater League of Nations, with Norway acting as a bridge between the Atlantic Powers and the Soviet Union. Heading the Free Government is the King, Haakon VII, who on Aug. 3 was the recipient of world-wide honors on the occasion of his seventieth birthday.

1941: Norway

After a year and a half under Nazi domination, Norway is a leading example of resistance among the conquered countries of Europe. Norwegians have been undaunted by German terrorism and cool to Nazi propaganda offering them a favorable place in the new Germanic order.

On Jan. 13, 1941, the Nazis announced that Norwegian men could earn German citizenship without relinquishing Norwegian citizenship as a reward for two years of service in a regiment to be called the Standarte Nordland. Enlistments were much smaller than Nazi authorities had anticipated. On Jan. 27, a member of the German Elite Guard and personal friend of Heinrich Himmler, Obergruppenführer Damm, was put in command of the Norwegian regiment — reportedly to the disappointment of Major Quisling. German Gestapo Chief Himmler himself arrived in Norway for the first time on Jan. 28. The first hundred enlisted Norwegians left Oslo by plane for Germany on Feb. 5, and other small groups followed later. When the Germans began their invasion of Russia, they initiated a forceful propaganda drive for increased numbers of volunteers, but loyal Norwegians circulated an appeal explaining, 'It is the Germans — not the Russians — who have stolen our country from us.'

Standard of Living.

The Norwegian standard of living, formerly one of the highest in the world, was lowered steadily as 1941 progressed. Meat became practically unobtainable after January, and even fish was extremely scarce. The Germans seized Norway's entire supply of stockfish (7,000 tons) and kilpfish (13,000 tons). In addition they ordered Norway to supply them with 150,000 tons of fresh fish during 1941. The Stockholm newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported in September that, as a result of these demands, '95 per cent of all fish produced in Norway is now being shipped to Germany or to markets in German-occupied countries.' Other foods exported to Germany, according to statistics published by the Royal Norwegian Government for the first six months, included 3,272 tons of cream, 5,108 tons of milk and 1,166 tons of cheese. Norway also had to feed the German Army of Occupation, estimated at more than 100,000 men. Although Germany sent at least 55,000 tons of grain to Norway in the fall, Reichskommissar Josef Terboven warned on Oct. 4 that Germany would let the Norwegians starve unless they followed Major Quisling and accepted the 'new order.'

Internal Conflicts.

Almost every Norwegian town and organization helped make the year an unpleasant one for the German Army of Occupation and for pro-Nazi Norwegians. Early in February the seven bishops of the Norwegian State Church, officially representing over 95 per cent of the Norwegian people, expressed the most courageous opposition to their Nazi overlords. In a joint manifesto the bishops demanded an explanation of the status of the Church, and sharply criticized the Nazi-controlled Government's violations of the Norwegian Constitution. During the week of Feb. 9, pastors throughout Norway read a circular addressed to their congregations by the seven Bishops. After prohibitions against reading the circular proved futile, Nazi authorities ordered police to be present at all sermons after Feb. 16. At the end of April, moreover, Quislingist Minister of Church and Education Skancke sent Norwegian clergymen and religious organizations a message pleading for Christian tolerance of the 'New Order' and explaining that attacks against Major Quisling's Nasjonal Sammling party would be considered attacks against the state and that punishments would be meted out accordingly.

Popular resistance to the Nazis generally took the form of mass demonstrations, street fights, school strikes, theater boycotts, refusal to obey Quisling decrees, sabotage — especially of lines of communication and transportation — and various practical jokes at the expense of Nazis. To maintain better control of the population, the pro-German Government on Feb. 6 ordered all Norwegians over 15 to register with Nazi authorities. As punishment for subversive activities, whole towns were fined and strict curfews imposed. Early in the year, the Nazis levied the first collective fine (100,000 kroner) against the western part of Opoland Province, and at the same time imposed an 8 p.m. curfew there. On April 21, Stavanger, Rogaland and Haugesund counties were jointly fined 500,000 kroner.

The activities of Norwegian organizations constituted the greatest menace to the Germans. On Feb. 10 it was decreed that all Norwegian societies must register with the police. Forty-three of the leading labor and professional organizations on May 15 sent Reichskommissar Terboven a strong protest against conditions in Norway under Major Quisling's government. Among the signers were: the Norwegian Federation of Labor, the Civil Servants Association, the Norwegian Medical Association, the National Association of High School Teachers, and the National Council of Women. On May 21 Gestapo Chief Himmler visited Norway for the second time, and two days later Major Quisling went to Berlin for a conference with Adolf Hitler.

The conflict between Norwegian labor and the Nazis flared into open revolt in Oslo on Sept. 10. Reichskommissar Terboven declared a state of civil emergency and until Sept. 16, put the Norwegian capital under rigid martial law, with an armed cordon surrounding the city. During this one-week period German troops arrested about 2,000 Norwegians and court-martialed 27, giving five of them death sentences. To forestall a general strike, the Nazis replaced all trade union leaders with Quislingists. The Germans introduced the 'hostage plan' into large Oslo factories in October, according to reports from Stockholm. Groups of laborers and factory officials were selected as 'sabotage committees' and held responsible for all damage in their respective factories. It was also reported in October that at least 150,000 Norwegians had been compelled to work in 'war industries' at Nazi-fixed wages. The Germans made it clear that workmen quitting their jobs would be considered guilty of sabotage. On Nov. 3 the Nazis executed six Norwegians for 'assisting enemies,' and assumed control of all vessels in the Norwegian fishing fleet.

Cooperation with Great Britain.

Throughout 1941 the Norwegian Government in London directed the Norwegian merchant marine and naval, land and air forces fighting with the Allies; Government representatives broadcast encouraging messages and advice to their countrymen at home, and maintained close diplomatic relations with foreign countries not under Axis domination. The only significant cabinet change was the resignation of Foreign Minister Halvdan Koht, who was replaced by Trygve Lie.

From January to May the Norwegian merchant marine lost an average of 48,000 tons each month. In June, however, only 24,000 tons were lost, and in July this figure was reduced to 12,000 — considerably less than the average monthly losses when Norway was still neutral. During the entire year, Norwegian tankers carried nearly half of all English oil imports.

On May 28 the Royal Norwegian Government signed an agreement with Great Britain describing the principles of military cooperation between Norway and the Allies. Both Britain and Norway promised to continue the war to victory which would reestablish the freedom and independence of the Kingdom of Norway. In December the Norwegian Government further expressed its willingness to cooperate with Britain by severing diplomatic relations with Finland and Japan a few days after the British declarations of war against the two countries.

Allied Raids on Norway.

British and Norwegian forces jointly carried out several successful raids on Norwegian islands and coastal districts during the year. The first was against the Lofoten Islands on March 4, when the raiders destroyed whale and fish oil plants, captured 215 Germans and 10 Quislingists, and sank ten Nazi ships totaling 18,000 tons. More than 300 loyal Norwegians left with the raiders to join the fighting forces of their government in London. Another raid was carried out the night of April 12-13 on the far northern port of Oksfjord. Norwegian seamen, arriving in a destroyer which had been transferred from the United States to the Royal Norwegian Navy, demolished the machinery of a factory producing fish oil for use in German explosives. A third successful raid was announced by the British War Office on Sept. 8. In that raid troops went ashore on Spitsbergen, Norwegian Arctic islands, and disabled five valuable coal mines there. Many Norwegian miners and their families accompanied the raiders to Britain where they joined King Haakon's forces. It was estimated that the fires left burning by the Allies destroyed 400,000 tons of coal and 125,000 gallons of fuel oil. During October the Royal Air Force launched extensive attacks on coastal fortifications and German ships in Norwegian fjords. Two more daring raids were made on Dec. 27, when Allied units landed again on the Lofoten Islands and also carried out a daylight raid on the port of Vaagsoe, between Trondheim and Bergen. As before, the raiders returned to Britain with Nazi prisoners and royal Norwegians after destroying military objectives. These raids tested the possibilities of land troops on German-occupied Norway and gave the local population hope that a large-scale invasion army from Britain might eventually arrive to free them.

1940: Norway

Norway grimly began the year 1940 in fear of a Soviet drive westward to obtain a 'window on the Atlantic,' and ended the year as unwilling host to a German army of occupation. On Jan. 5, the first contingent of Norwegian volunteers left to fight against Russia in the Finnish war. The following day Foreign Minister Halvdan Koht replied to a Soviet protest against Norwegian aid to the Finns by saying that while the Norwegian Government had permitted no munitions to pass through its territory en route to Finland, it was not strange 'that there should be a strong feeling of sympathy with Finland in this country, not only because she is our neighbor . . . but also because we look on any policy of violence as unjustifiable.' Despite the obvious Norwegian sympathy for Finland, the Norwegian Government continued its scrupulous adherence to neutrality — a policy made doubly necessary by Norway's buffer position between Great Britain and Germany, and the conflicting interests of these two powers with regard to the Soviet-Finnish war.

Being essentially a commercial nation, Norway suffered heavily from Anglo-German naval warfare. Although the war brought a marked increase in exports of Norwegian paper, wood pulp and fish, imports advanced even more sharply to produce a decidedly unfavorable balance of trade. The country's plight was aggravated by the loss of normal receipts from its merchant marine, fourth largest in the world. By April 9, when German troops overran the country, 55 Norwegian ships had been sunk, and 404 Norwegian seamen drowned, as a result of belligerent activities.

The Altmark Incident.

Norway's difficult situation between two powerful belligerents was forcefully illustrated by the Altmark incident in mid-February. The Altmark, an auxiliary vessel of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, entered Norwegian coastal waters en route to Germany. On Feb. 14, a Norwegian torpedo boat, on neutrality patrol, stopped the Altmark twice for questioning; when halted a third time, the vessel's captain refused to permit search by the Norwegian authorities, on the ground that as a German naval auxiliary the ship was not liable to detention. On Feb. 16, the British destroyer Cossack attacked the Altmark in Jössing Fjord, near Stavanger, and after a brief battle rescued 299 British seamen who had been taken from 7 British ships by the Graf Spee and confined aboard the Altmark. Norway immediately protested against Britain's action. On Feb. 17, however, the German Government charged that Norway had not accorded sufficient protection for the Altmark while in Norwegian waters, demanded that Norway restore the vessel to its original condition, and warned that unless all possible measures were taken against the British 'the most severe consequences might follow.' Prime Minister Chamberlain responded on Feb. 20 with a British protest alleging that Norway had acted contrary to international law by permitting prisoners to be carried through its territorial waters. Norwegian Foreign Minister Koht answered both charges with a detailed statement of Norway's action, and asserted that this action was in full accord with the rules of international law. Although the press and publicists continued discussion of the incident for several weeks, official notice of the affair ended in a few days as all three governments appeared content to accept the situation as an accomplished fact.

Mining of Norwegian Waters.

Throughout the winter months, while northern Baltic harbors were frozen solid, Germany imported vital requirements of high-grade iron ore from Sweden via the ice-free Norwegian port of Narvik, connected by rail with the Swedish mines at Kiruna and Gellivare. In order to stop this traffic, Allied naval forces sowed three large mine fields extending into Norwegian territorial waters near Narvik, Aandalnes and Stad. On April 8, Britain and France formally notified the Norwegian Government that the mine fields were being laid. Norway immediately protested the violation of its neutrality, and declared that if the Allies did not remove the mines Norwegian authorities would do so. The following day, with the mining of Norwegian waters as a pretext, German troops invaded Norway. On April 27, Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop stated Germany's official case in an address before invited members of the diplomatic corps and press correspondents in Berlin. Although the avowed object of mining Norwegian territorial waters was to stop German shipping, he asserted, its real purpose was to insure the safety of an Allied expeditionary force to Scandinavia. He maintained that German troops had invaded Norway in order to prevent British occupation of the country, which would have endangered the Reich. Despite Germany's publication of a series of alleged British and Norwegian documents to support von Ribbentrop's contentions, military authorities generally recognized that the vast scale of the German attack and the effective rapidity of its execution revealed long and careful Nazi preparations.

Invasion by Germany.

The first troops entered Norway in the early morning hours of April 9, and before the day was over they had occupied Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. King Haakon and the Norwegian Government fled from Oslo to Hamar, from there to Elverum, and subsequently to Molde on the northwestern coast. Meanwhile, German planes bombed Norwegian cities, and covered the landing of additional Nazi troops in every leading Norwegian seaport. German forces advanced northward in pursuit of the Norwegian Government, along the country's two most important railroads in the Gudbrans and Oester Valleys. The Norwegian forces were greatly outnumbered, but they stolidly resisted the Nazi drive. When the invasion began on April 9, they sank the German battleship Gneisenan and the cruisers Emden and Blücher in the Oslofjord, and battled the German troops in southern and central Norway for well over a week before Allied assistance arrived. The first British troops landed in Norway on April 16, at Harstad, 37 miles north of Narvik, and a few French troops entered the country two days later. Not until after April 18, however, did Allied forces land at the railroad terminals of Aandalnes and Namsos. Seriously handicapped by lack of protection against the Nazi Air Force, Allied and Norwegian troops steadily yielded ground. By April 21 the Germans had moved up the Gudbransdal to Lillehammer, and were in full command of southern Norway. Other German troops drove southward from Trondheim, and with their capture of Dombaas on April 30 the Nazis established rail communications between Oslo and Trondheim. On May 3 British and French forces were evacuated from central Norway, leaving only a few troops in the far north. Although the Allies achieved a modest victory by seizing Narvik from the Germans on May 29, this city was soon evacuated by British and French troops as the situation in France became critical. On June 7, the 35th anniversary of Norway's full independence, a British warship rescued King Haakon and his Government from Tromsö, their last refugee capital in Norway. The Norwegian Government in Exile was set up in London, while the Norwegian Merchant Marine and Norwegian Air Force joined with Britain to continue the struggle against Germany.

Internal Developments.

Germany's invasion of Norway was expedited by German spies and a few pro-Nazi Norwegians such as Major Vidkun Quisling (Leader of the Norwegian Nazi political party, Nasjonal Samling) and Colonel Sundlo (commander of Norway's defenses at Narvik). Reports of widespread treachery in the Norwegian army and among the civilian population, however, were greatly exaggerated. After the occupation of Oslo, Quisling proclaimed himself Norwegian Prime Minister on April 10 and issued an appeal to the people to stop resisting the Germans. The next day Berlin announced that it no longer recognized the Government of Prime Minister Johan Nygaardsvold, and would henceforth deal only with Major Quisling as the legitimate head of the Norwegian Government. Quisling's complete ineffectiveness with the Norwegian people, however, led the Germans to acknowledge Ingolf Christensen, a loyal Norwegian appointed by the Supreme Court of Norway on April 15, as head of a Council of Administration. On April 24 the Reich despaired of enlisting the support of native administrators, declared war on Norway, and appointed Josef Terboven (Nazi Gauleiter of Essen, Germany) to supervise the civil administration of occupied areas. In June the German Government tried to force the abdication of King Haakon through an intense campaign in the Nazi-controlled Norwegian press. Failing in this attempt, the Reich compelled the Norwegian administrative commission to set up a National Council composed of Nazi sympathizers. Members of this group promptly asked King Haakon to renounce his throne, but on July 3 the King rejected their petition. Unable to create a Norwegian Government with any pretense of legality, German Commissioner Terboven on Sept. 25 dissolved all Norwegian political parties except Major Quisling's Nasjonal Samling, announced the dethronement of King Haakon, and established a new Nazi-dominated State Council with supreme power.

The comparative freedom which the Nazis had permitted the Norwegians, under German occupation, ended suddenly with the creation of the State Council. All civil liberties were drastically curtailed, anti-Semitic measures enforced, secret meetings banned, and Norwegian trade unions seriously restricted. During the next months, the Norwegian judicial system was so undermined that on Dec. 12 all the justices of the Supreme Court resigned as a gesture of protest. German press and propaganda methods were copied by the new Norwegian régime. Quislingist Storm Troopers (Hirdmen) were organized, and an association for Quislingist youths (Unghirden) was formed. The first week in December the régime admitted the existence of Norwegian concentration camps. Despite these oppressions under the 'New Order' in Norway, the Norwegian people showed their firm determination to be free. Anti-Nazi demonstrations, riots, physical violence to Quislingists, and acts of sabotage became ever more frequent. As the year ended, Germany still found more difficulty in attempting to rule the Norwegians than it had encountered in conquering them. (See FINLAND; SWEDEN; DENMARK.)

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.

1938: Norway

In the rapidly developing European crisis during 1938, the Norwegian Government joined with the Governments of Sweden, Denmark and Finland to form a bloc of states determined to pursue a policy of neutrality. The four countries agreed to stay out of coalitions of great powers and, in case of a European war, to carry through a program of economic cooperation in order to preserve the neutrality and economic independence of each. (See DENMARK.) On May 31, the Norwegian parliament passed a resolution declaring, in effect, Norway's right to refrain from participation in sanctions imposed by the League of Nations against an aggressor. The Government took similar steps in concert with the other 'Oslo powers' in July and September. In March, Parliament authorized the government to borrow 52,000,000 kroner for defense purposes. Domestic politics were relatively uneventful during the year. In January the Communists and Socialists failed in an attempt to form a popular front. Among the important laws enacted by Parliament were acts extending the legislative term from three to four years and admitting women into the government service on equal terms with men.

The death, on Nov. 20, of Queen Maud, Norway's only queen since its separation from Sweden in 1907, plunged the nation into mourning. The Queen, who was a daughter of King Edward VII of Great Britain, married Prince Charles of Denmark in 1896, and after his accession to the throne of Norway as King Haakon in 1907, was regarded as a constructive influence in the life of the state.

Economic conditions were favorable during 1938, although the world recession was felt to some extent. Industrial production was maintained at a satisfactory level. Shipping experienced a downward trend, while the yield from fisheries was generally good. Both imports and exports declined somewhat from the 1937 level.