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 […]
New book exposes media’s Nazi past
October 4, 2019
Norwegian historians and newspaper officials have downplayed the role of the Norwegian press in spreading anti-Semitism both before, during and after World War II, claims the author of a new book provocatively entitled Det Norske Jødehatet (The Norwegian Hatred of Jews). The current editor of Norway’s biggest newspaper, Aftenposten, agrees, and has responded with a […]
Norway remembers its D-Day heroes
June 6, 2019
Prime Minister Erna Solberg was among allied government leaders invited to D-Day memorials in Portsmouth this week, because of the role exiled Nowegians played in the massive invasion 75 years ago. She said it was sad that many members of Norway’s merchant marine never received the recognition they deserved. “It’s an honour to be able […]
‘Book bomb’ blasts Resistance history
November 13, 2018
Norway’s famed Resistance (Hjemmefronten) forces have long been viewed as the country’s heroes of World War II, as they sabotaged Nazi German occupiers and ultimately helped drive them out. A new book, however, reveals how some key Resistance fighters knew about plans to round up Norway’s small Jewish population and literally ship them off to […]
Lavrov likely to re-visit Finnmark next year
November 2, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t expected to take part in next year’s 75th anniversary of the Soviet liberation of Finnmark from Nazi German forces in 1944. His foreign minister Sergej Lavrov, however, is likely to attend, just like he did on the 70th anniversary in 2014. Northern Norway remains grateful to the Soviet Army for […]
War hero hailed as NATO flexed muscle
October 30, 2018
It was perhaps only fitting that the funeral ceremony for Norway’s last surviving “Hero of Telemark,” Joachim Rønneberg, was held on Tuesday at precisely the same moment that NATO forces training in Norway were putting on a highly public display of strength. The two events differed vastly in character, but both stressed the same message […]
‘Hero of Telemark’ dies at age 99
October 22, 2018
UPDATED: Joachim Rønneberg was the last surviving member of the group of Norwegian resistance fighters during World War II whose daring sabotage action in Telemark helped prevent Nazi Germany from developing an atomic bomb. Rønneberg died during the weekend, 99 years old, and he’ll be honoured with a state funeral. “Rønneberg was one of the […]
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