Hitler was not at first interested. Germany's navy was greatly inferior to the Royal Navy in all categories, and even if the troops succeeded in getting ashore, helped by the element of surprise, it was quite possible for them to be cut off subsequently. Norwegian fishing boats picked up survivors who turned out to be German soldiers – thus confirming the British belief that German troops were being moved by sea. Quisling also confiscated Jewish property and immediatey ordered the Norwegian police to begin arresting male Jews over 15 years old. [Fure] The resistance movement was particularly strong among young people, both secondary- and universuty age students. I consider it beneath our dignity and harmful to our authority for a Reich commissioner in an area occupied by us to attack a public personage without, at the same time, saying how we will punish him. The Norwegians threw them into the fight, but there was no grand plan coordinating their efforts. On the 7th of April, British ships set out to mine Norwegian seaways. He had fought a fleeting engagement with the German fast battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau early on the 9th but the Germans, after being hit several times, had used superior speed to get away. German military forces (the Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine) were under the direct command of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht i(OKW). On the 28th of May, French Foreign Legionaries made an amphibious landing at Narvik. However, on October 10th, Canaris, head of military intelligence, had informed Raeder of Britain’s interest in Norway. Reichskommissar Terboven personally oversaw the brutsl action (April 30, 1942). On April 7th, the Home Fleet sailed from Scapa Flow in ‘Operation Wilfred’ – the mining of waters off of Norway. Hitler had issued the order for the invasion of Norway on March 1st under the code word “Weserübung”. It was not a German decision to end Norwegian education. Unlike manu other countries, the Germans were unable to seal off Norway. Norway was also an important source of raw materials. Soon, more were landing across unoccupied Norway. The were imprisoned for 2 years and then released. [POWs] Shortly afterwards Gneisenau was also torpedoed by the submarine Clyde, and by the end of the campaign the German navy had only three cruisers and four destroyers operational. Terboven was not just disliked in Norway. Reichskommissar Terboven ordered several bloody security operations. It became very apparent that the Norwegian military was in no state to fight against a far more powerful opponent. On the 7th of June, King Haakon of Norway and his ministers left the country. All Rights Reserved. It was a huge strategic miscalculation. There was still optimism among Quislings and Germans that the Norwegians could be coverted to National Socialism. Thus Norewgians suffered severe shortages. Hundreds of pellets lacerated her body and practically tore away her legs, but she was relatively ...read more, Just days before he is to travel to Moscow for talks on arms control and other issues, U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz states that he is “damned angry” about possible Soviet spy activity in the American embassy in the Soviet Union. Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. The same would have been true of the population which wold have been Nazified just as in Germany. Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany on April 9th 1940. Power lay with RC Treboven. In 1929, Vice-Admiral Wegener had published a book (“The Sea Strategy of the World War”) that stated that Germany should seize Norway in a future war so that the German Navy of the future would have an easier time getting to the Atlantic. [Technology] The wreckage of a German warship that was struck by a British torpedo in 1940 has been discovered off the coast or Norway. Some of the students managed to escape to Sweden. There were youth units, including a marine (navy) and girls unit. Instead Norway had to trade with Germany. German forces were able to slip through the mines Britain had laid around Norwegian ports because local garrisons were ordered to allow the Germans to land unopposed. A port in northern Norway would have eased this – though by no means would it have ended the problem of getting into the Atlantic. The one sole problem the Germans faced was in Oslo where the attack did not go to plan. [Children] Both caused increasing ations by the Germans. This saved about 900 Jews. Managed by Caboodle UX design studio in London, Citation: C N Trueman "The invasion of Norway 1940". This included elderly men. Fure, Jorunn Sem. The ‘Hipper’ stopped to pick up 37 survivors, including Roope. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Soviet officials indignantly replied that ...read more, On April 9, 1942, Major General Edward P. King Jr. surrenders at Bataan, Philippines—against General Douglas MacArthur’s orders—and 78,000 troops (66,000 Filipinos and 12,000 Americans), the largest contingent of U.S. soldiers ever to surrender, are taken captive by the Japanese. Whitworth had this kind of freedom of action because German air power had still not reached so far north. [Contributions] Two days later, they started pulling troops out of Narvik, the site of their only substantial success. We do not have details on their children. As a result there was a very large occupation force. Eggs, cream, meat, butter and sugar were in short supply. Worse still, chaos at the top meant that the Allies arrived with little armor or artillery to support their infantry. Quisling immediately after the German invasion launched actions against the country's Jews. On September 19th, 1939, he told the Cabinet led by Chamberlain that the transportation of iron ore had to be stopped. In 1940, Germany invaded neutral Norway. The Norwegian parliment finally offered a small cash payment as retribution (March 2005). At the same time, German forces occupy Copenhagen, among other Danish cities. Because of his links to Hiller, he hoped that the Germans would recognize his government. He encountered disapproval from Berlin as well. They were bullied at school and descriminated against when they began working. There were no organized kidnappings that we know of, but some sources say that Norway was not imune to occasional NAZI kidnappings. Production Stats on German AFVs | Production Stats on German Tube-fired Weapons: World War 2 German Population; Hitler garrisoned Norway with about 300,000 troops for the rest of the war. On the same day, a German invasion force set sail. [Images] The homes were very attractive. [About Us] They attended school in churches. They were followed the next day by the last Allied troops. 52.] The government suffered a reduced majority, and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned. The Hirden was used as part of the guard force for camps set up for the Yugosalv workers. The Hirden was disbanded after the War and many of members were prosecuted and convicted for treason and collaboration. Despite successes, Allied forces withdrew from Norway in 1941 But Norway was too important to be left alone, for two reasons. Over 10,000 children were born with German fathers. [Return to Main World War II German occupation country page] The actual authority was in the hands of Reichskommissar Terboven. On April 9, 1962, Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno becomes the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar, for her role of Anita in West Side Story (1961). NAZI authorities considered Norway to be a rich source of Nordic breeding stock. It also had a small Jewish population. Dr Eric Grove is a lecturer in naval history at Hull University, and works as a naval history consultant and presenter for television documentary programmes. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Hitler had issued the order for the invasion of Norway on March 1st under the code word “Weserübung”. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [Tools] Captured German soldiers confirmed what Norway had neglected to see that an invasion was coming. The NAZIs after conquering Norway intalled Vidkun Quisling to head a puppet Government. Lenensborn homes were established throughout Norway. It is thought that this was to be a step in requiring Norwegian children to join the Nasjonal Samling (NS) youth unit, the Umghird. Goebbels becomes increasingly critical as time goes on, referring to him as "the most hated man in Norway" and "a bull in a China shop". It shoul be understood that these were war time decisions designed to cause s little disruption as possible. Several abti-NAZI incidents occurred. The last words of the brilliant and courageous 39-year-old opponent of Nazism were “This is the end—for me, the beginning of ...read more. [Return to Main war essay page] Nordic countries for racial reasons were an exception. It was the start of war in Western Europe – and an end to the ‘Phoney War’.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'historylearningsite_co_uk-medrectangle-3','ezslot_23',129,'0','0']));eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'historylearningsite_co_uk-medrectangle-3','ezslot_24',129,'0','1'])); Why was Hitler interested in Norway? NAZI occupation policies on education varied from country. By Bundesarchiv Bild CC-BY-SA 3.0 . Her sister ship, Konigsberg, was damaged by Norwegian shore batteries at Bergen, and was finished off by British Skua naval dive bombers flying from the Orkneys the next day. Several Nine million tons of this came from north Sweden via the port of Luleå. However, the order was that none of the ships carrying troops would go to sea until it became clear exactly what the Germans were doing. Though the British had superior numbers, they couldn’t yet bring them to bear. A series of photos showing German soldiers posing with bemused Laplanders Germany invades Norway and Denmark. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Toaccomplish this, the Germans brought in large numbers of forced laborers from Yugoslavia. Quisling's organization was called the Hirden, meaning 'birds'. They were then sent to the Berg internment camp near Tonsberg over the next 2 weeks. Libæk, Ivar, Øyvind Stenersen, and Asle Sveen. Therefore control of Narvik, in the north of Norway, would have been very important to the Germans in easing the movement of iron ore to Germany. The poor sea conditions had made it very difficult for the British to track the Germans at sea – especially Groups 1 and 2. Quisling was ready for the invasion. He announced the formation of a new government withb himself as prime-minmister. Many assoiciated with these iunstitutions resigning state positions. A lively and informative new podcast for kids that the whole family will enjoy! People were forbidden to sing Norwegian songs or to say anything critical about the Germans. This was partially due to the fact that the German occupation authorities seized school buildings to be used as barracs for German soldiers or other purposes. Cohen, Maynard M. A Stand Against Tyranny: Norway's Physicians and the Nazis. Such was the speed and shock of the attack on Narvik, the local garrison commander assumed that they were British ships and troops landing to help the Norwegians.