Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1943-01-28
People Still Fight In
Conquered Norway
(From "News of Norway

| (From "NeWS of Norway
(The following letter, struggled
out of Norway, was several
months on the way to this coun-
try, so many of the events listed
took place some time ago. The
letter was released by the Royal
Norwegian News Service, WASH
ington, D. CO.
| Opportunities don't offer them
selves very often nowadays for COM
municating with old friends, and our
new so-called friends" and "bene-
factors" do not even seem to like it
that we have any correspondence
with the civilized world, which is
quite natural because they do not
want the world to know anything
about their beastly methods.
The encroachments of the occupying
power are without number. Of
course, we, the people, cannot always
tell where the Nazis begin and our
| quislingS leave off, or vice versa,
but nobody could ever have imagined
|
lawless period like the one we have
seen since September Is, 1910, the
day Mr.. Terrorboven placed the quis-
lings into state power. We do not
know how many people have been
arrested and kept in Jail without
trial; many have been sent to jails
in Germany or to work behind the
lines in Poland and Russia. :.
They have tried to get control over
our children between 10 and ID, or
ganizing the so-called Youth Service
which is compulsory. It was against
this "law" our bishops and pastors
and teachers protested so energet-
ically that they were all relieved of
their duties, or fired, rather, because
they no longer get any salary from
the state. Money is secretly collected
for them among the people, but great
caution must be practiced, because
the penalty for helping those people
from starving to death is six years
Imprisonment and confscation of ev-
erything you own! We have no sys-
tenn of law or justice any more. We
are ruled by DEGREES. The contents
of the DEGREES depend on the whim
of the ruler, and apparently he is
in bad humor most of the time.
It would take days and weeks and
months to tell you all that has taken
place here AS to the brutality of
the Nazis no report is too groteSque
to be true. No doubt your papers
publish a lot, but you people living
so far away may be inclined to brush
them aside with the remark prop
Uganda" But please, l pray you,
don't take it so easy! These brutes
are good for anything. From sending
women and children in front of their
soldiers as they did, we know they
did it here in Norway, to torturing
their prisoners more than in ancient
| times.
Private civilians from Germany are
pouring into the country by the tens
of thousands. Norwegians are SIM
ply ordered out of their own homes
on a day or two of notice. And you
can only take with you what you can
carry. Your furniture and house.
hold goods, beds, supplies, ETC., are
all to be left for the guests" You
think this Poland? No, sir. This
happens in Norway every day. My
home has been registered for re-
QUESTIONING when required. What
can 1 do? Nothing. We have no
laws, no justice. l can burn it. But
then they shoot me and my family.
AS far as I know 1 am not afraid
of death, but 1 should like to live
to see the Germans beaten.
The food situation is precarious.
The Germans eat like pigs and take
everything they need from us. .
The Germany soldiers drink the
good milk. They are good and fat.
have many friends who have lost
40 pounds and more in weight in the
last IL months. No pure meat at
all, only mixtures like made-up meat
balls. i. All the better grades of
fish are absorbed 100 per cent by
the Germans. . A large percent
age of the families in the cities have
been without potatoes since January,
and the next crop begins in August
The Germans confiscated or bought
up the potatoes last fall and shipped
them home or to their "allies," the
Firms. Of clothing we get practically
nothing new, so you can imagine how
we will be looking by and by. Yet I
realize that the situation in Greece
and other countries is worse than
here.
How was your reaction after Pearl
Harbor? Must have been a nasty
blow. In one way you were taken
by surprise like ourselves. My con-