page_title: German occupation of Norway
section_title: German political and military powers
hierarchical_section_title: German occupation of Norway / Occupation / German political and military powers
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.English: The first Norwegian volunteers taking the oath as new soldiers of Regiment Nordland of the Waffen-SS during a ceremony in Oslo, 31 January 1941.
context_page_description: The German occupation of Norway during World War II began on 9 April 1940 after German forces invaded the neutral Scandinavian country of Norway. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940 and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8/9 May 1945. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht. Civil rule was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen, which acted in collaboration with a pro-German puppet government, the Quisling regime, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and the prewar government escaped to London, where they acted as a government in exile. This period of military occupation is, in Norway, referred to as the "war years" or "occupation period".
context_section_description: Prior to the invasion, on 14 and 18 December 1939, Vidkun Quisling, the leader of Norway's fascist party, the Nasjonal Samling ("National Gathering"), had tried to persuade Adolf Hitler that he would form a government in support of occupying Germans. Although Hitler remained unreceptive to the idea, he gave orders to draft up plans for the possible military invasion of Norway. Hence, on the first day of invasion, Quisling, using his own initiative, burst into the NRK studios in Oslo on 9 April and made a nationwide broadcast at 7:30 pm declaring himself prime minister and ordering all resistance halted at once. This did not please the German authorities, who initially wanted the legitimate government to remain in place. Nevertheless, when it became obvious that the Norwegian parliament would not surrender, the Germans quickly came to recognise Quisling. Hitler not being aware of anyone better, supported him from the evening of 9 April. They demanded that Haakon formally appoint him as prime minister and return his government to Oslo; in effect, giving legal sanction to the invasion.
  When the German ambassador to Norway, Curt Bräuer, presented his government's demands to Haakon, the king let it be known he would abdicate before appointing Quisling prime minister. The Germans reacted by bombing the village they believed the King was occupying. He had been, but had left the village when the sound of bombers was heard. Standing in the snow in a nearby wood, he watched the village of Nybergsund be destroyed. This prompted the Norwegian government to unanimously advise him not to appoint any government headed by Quisling. The invaders realised Quisling's party could not muster any significant support, and quickly pushed him aside. An administrative council led by Ingolf Elster Christensen was therefore established on 15 April to administer those areas which had so far come under German control. The council was abolished on 20 September 1940, when Reichskommissar Josef Terboven took over power by forming his own cabinet. Terboven attempted to negotiate an arrangement with the remaining members of the Norwegian parliament that would give a Nazi cabinet the semblance of legitimacy, but these talks failed.
  Quisling was consequently re-instituted as head of state on 20 February 1942, although Terboven retained the sole means to use violence as a political tool, which he did on several occasions (e.g. by imposing martial law in Trondheim and ordering the destruction of the village of Telavåg). Quisling believed that by ensuring economic stability and mediating between the Norwegian civilian society and the German occupiers, his party would gradually win the trust and confidence of the Norwegian population. Membership in the Nasjonal Samling did increase slightly in the first few years of the occupation, but never reached significant levels, and eroded towards the end of the war.
  Military forces such as the Heer and Luftwaffe remained under direct command of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht in Germany throughout the war, but all other authority was vested in the Reich commissioner. The Nazi authorities made attempts to enact legislation that supported its actions and policies; it therefore banned all political parties except NS, appointed local leaders top down and forced labour unions and other organizations to accept NS leaders. Although there was much resistance against most of the Nazi government's policies, there was considerable cooperation in ensuring economic activity and social welfare programs.
  Norway was the most heavily fortified country during the war: several hundred thousand German soldiers were stationed in Norway, in a ratio of one German soldier for every eight Norwegians. Most German soldiers considered themselves fortunate to be in Norway, particularly in comparison with those experiencing savage combat duty on the Eastern Front.
  The Schutzstaffel maintained a strength of six thousand in Norway during World War II, under the command of Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Rediess. Most of these troops were under the authority 
caption: Heinrich Himmler visiting Norway in 1941. Seated (from left to right) are Quisling, Himmler, Terboven, and General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, the commander of the German forces in Norway.
exif: {}