History, Independence

The Norwegian government, dominated by ministers with liberal politics, became one of the most progressive in Europe in matters such as unemployment insurance benefits, old-age pensions, and liberal laws concerning divorce and illegitimacy. In 1913 Norwegian women achieved the right to vote in all national elections. In addition, new laws were passed to restrain foreign investment in Norway. The achievement of complete political independence coincided with the beginning of industrialization spurred by the development of hydroelectricity. During the early 20th century the Norwegian merchant marine expanded its fleet of steam-powered ships, and Norwegian whaling vessels led the exploitation of Antarctic waters.

After the beginning of World War I in 1914 the sovereigns of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark agreed to maintain the neutrality of the Scandinavian countries and to cooperate for their mutual interest. This policy of neutrality and friendship continued as the joint policy of all three nations after the war ended. The world economic depression that began in 1929 affected Norway considerably because of the country’s dependence on international commerce. In 1935 the Labor Party was elected to power and it continued the policies of progressive liberalism that had dominated Norwegian politics since 1905.

Norway maintained its traditional neutrality when World War II began in 1939. Despite sympathy for Finland during the Russo-Finnish phase of the conflict, Norway rejected an Anglo-French demand for transit of troops to aid Finland. German maritime warfare along the Norwegian coast, however, made neutrality increasingly difficult. On April 8, 1940, the United Kingdom and France announced that they had mined Norwegian territorial waters to prevent their use by German supply ships. The next day German forces invaded Norway, occupying all the major cities and important ports in a well-coordinated and long-planned assault.

Within three weeks German troops had fanned out into the hinterland, dispersing the isolated Norwegian forces that remained. King Hakon and his cabinet, after an unsuccessful attempt at resistance, fled to the United Kingdom in June, where they continued to direct the merchant marine and a small infantry, navy, and air force. The Storting had empowered the king and the cabinet to exercise sovereignty from abroad, and for five years thereafter, London was the seat of the Norwegian government-in-exile.

Political leaders in Norway refused to cooperate in any way with Josef Terboven, the German commissioner. In September 1940 Terboven dissolved all political parties except the fascist and pro-German Nasjonal Samling (National Union), which had never won a seat in the Storting. Terboven set up a governing council composed of National Union members and other German sympathizers, and announced the abolition of the monarchy and the Storting. In 1942 Germany installed a puppet government in Norway under National Union leader Vidkun Quisling. However, resistance to the Germans and to the puppet regime was widespread. As the Norwegian opposition became more organized, general strikes and other forms of passive resistance gave way to large-scale industrial sabotage and espionage on behalf of the Allied Powers. Germany’s response, which included declarations of martial law and death sentences for conspirators, did little to contain the resistance.

The leaders of the resistance in Norway cooperated closely with the government-in-exile in London, preparing for eventual liberation. The German forces in Norway finally surrendered on May 8, 1945, and King Hakon returned to Norway in June. The immediate tasks facing Norway were reconstruction of an economy that had been stripped of its resources and the prosecution of about 90,000 alleged cases of treason and defection. To punish traitors, the death penalty, abolished in 1876, was restored (it was subsequently abolished again in 1979). Quisling—whose name has since become synonymous with treason—along with 23 other Norwegians, was tried and executed. The government-in-exile resigned after order was reestablished.