The Monday Massacre

## The Dominance of Norway's Economy

For over a century, Norway's control over Sweden's mineral wealth has had a devastating impact on the Swedish economy, which has been declining since the Second Treaty of Brömsebro. The power of Nordiske Mineralverke AS over the Scandinavian peninsula's natural resources has been a source of conflict for Swedish nationalists for a while. At the turn of the 19th century, with rising nationalism in Sweden, some movements began taking independent actions. In 1920, a group of like-minded nationalist leaders met and started making plans to strike at the heart of Norway. Their plan was to assassinate the Norwegian royal family, hoping to discourage Norwegian support for business ventures in Sweden.

## The Tragedy of January 8, 1923

The plot gained momentum in early 1923, when it was announced that King Håkon and his wife would tour the newly opened Vigeland sculpture park. The nationalist society, "Det fria Sveriges söner" (The Sons of Free Sweden), consisting mostly of mid-ranking military commanders and local politicians, saw this as their chance. A handful of experienced individuals were selected to cross the border into Oslo with false passports and weapons stolen from Swedish arsenals. They planned to strike as the king began his tour of the park.

### The Monday Massacre

As the royal family prepared for the visit, the strike team scouted the park and made final preparations for their attack. King Håkon, who was popular with the people, took the tram to the park with his wife, Queen Maud, talking to the citizens and preparing for his speech. As the king gave a short speech about the unity and prosperity of Norway and its people, the attackers moved into position.

As the king stepped down from the podium and reunited with his wife, the couple started walking into the park with the crowd. A few short minutes later, several bullets flew by the king as the attackers launched their attack. Chaos erupted as the attackers, armed with automatic weapons, opened fire on the crowd. The king tried to protect his wife but was shot twice and was unable to shield her as she was fatally wounded. Cradling his deceased wife, the king was severely injured and looked up to see one of the gunmen pointing a pistol at him. Just as death seemed inevitable, the attacker suddenly collapsed, shot dead by soldiers from HM Kongens Garde as they rushed to protect the royal couple. Despite being taken by surprise, the soldiers of HM Kongens Garde quickly put down all four gunmen, but not before they had injured the king, killed the queen and several dozens of civilians who were following the king on the tour.

### Frantic Hours

The king's guards, who had shot to kill, were unable to capture any of the attackers, and their identities remained unknown. A doctor who was following the tour and had survived declared the queen dead only minutes after the last gunman was defeated, and rushed the king and a handful of guards to Rikshospitalet. As the Oslo police took over the shooting site, a tally from a crowd of around 100 people revealed 28 dead, including Queen Maud, and another dozen injured, with the king among them.

## The Aftermath

In the following days, the king was declared stable but bedridden, and news of the queen's death and several others was announced by the Norwegian Broadcast Service. With no clues as to the identity of the gunmen, other than they had followed the touring crowd until they pulled out their weapons and attacked, the government's investigation into who orchestrated the attack on the royal family proved fruitless. However, the Norwegian nationalist movement Nasjonal Samling immediately seized upon it, blaming communist radicals who wanted a republic government.