Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) has confirmed that its dramatization of Crown Princess Martha’s role during World War II is “mostly fiction.” The NRK series Atlantic Crossing is now being aired on PBS’ venerable Masterpiece Theater in the US, where hundreds of thousands of Norwegian-Americans may not be aware that it’s far from being factually correct. When […]
Author apologizes, but defends book
February 15, 2021
Marte Michelet, whose latest book on Norway’s Holocaust infuriated descendants of wartime heroes, apologized during the weekend for mistakes that have been corrected in new editions. She staunchly defended, however, her exposure of how badly Jewish Norwegians were treated before, during and after the Nazi German occupation. “Even though I made some mistakes during extensive […]
Norway confronted by own Holocaust
January 29, 2021
NEWS ANALYSIS: Four recent books and a new film have brought Norwegians face-to-face with one of the darkest chapters in their own history: contributing to the Holocaust. New attention on Norwegian complicity in the arrests and deportation of Norwegian Jews during World War II has implicated wartime resistance heroes and set off massive public debate. […]
Broadcast council cross with ‘Atlantic Crossing’
November 25, 2020
Norway’s national broadcasting council unleashed some harsh criticism on Wednesday against NRK’s series about the late Crown Princess Märtha’s war years in the US. The council claims NRK and the creators of “Atlantic Crossing” took too many artistic liberties with history, although several members were supportive. The series has sparked sharp debate in Norway as […]
Storm rages over ‘Atlantic Crossing’
November 23, 2020
An estimated 1 million Norwegians settled down in front of their televisions Sunday evening to watch the latest episode of “Atlantic Crossing,” state broadcaster NRK’s new series about Crown Princess Märtha’s exile years in the US during World War II. Viewers are drawn not only by royal glamour and dramatic war history, but also by […]
Christmas tree on its way to London
November 20, 2020
Oslo’s mayor and the British ambassador to Norway ceremoniously helped chop down a large Norwegian spruce tree on the outskirts of the capital this week, proving that at least some traditions are intact even during the Corona crisis. The tree, an annual gift from Oslo to the people of London during the Christmas holidays, is […]
Corona closed the Liberation jubilee
May 8, 2020
The 75th anniversary of Norway’s Liberation Day on Friday was supposed to be a major public celebration, where war veterans would be honoured as well. Ceremonies instead had to be scaled back and closed to the public, because of the Corona virus crisis that has served as a reminder of just how fragile freedom and […]
Lots to be learned from earlier crises
April 9, 2020
NEWS ANALYSIS: It’s almost eerie how Norway has had to mark significant anniversaries of three major crises just in the past two weeks, and right in the middle of the current Corona virus crisis. Valuable lessons can be learned from them all. The sun was shining brilliantly over Oslo’s historic Akerhus Fortress on Thursday, the […]
War hero granted a state funeral
December 5, 2019
UPDATED: One of Norway’s last resistance heroes from World War II will be honoured next week with a funeral to be conducted at state expense. Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen will also attend the funeral for Ragnar Leif Ulstein, who died this week at the age of 99. Ulstein was just shy of 20 when Nazi […]
Last ‘border pilot’ for refugees dies
November 18, 2019
Åge Aulie was only eight years old when he joined Norway’s resistance forces during World War II, guiding refugees over the border to safety in Sweden. He died last week at the age of 85, the country’s last so-called grenselos (literally, “border pilot”). Aulie grew up in a poor but highly engaged resistance family living at […]
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