Compensation for Victims of Nazi Persecution in Norway
War and German Occupation
1940–45
On 9 April 1940, the German Reich invaded Norway. Norwegian King Haakon VII and his government refused to surrender and called on the population to resist. On 7 June 1940, they fled by ship to London and formed a government-in-exile there. On 10 June 1940, the Norwegian armed forces surrendered. After the failure of a transitional government, Vidkun Quisling, chairman and founder of the fascist party Nasjonal SamlingThe “National Gathering” was the fascist party of Norway founded by Vidkun Quisling in 1933, which acted as the only permitted party from September 1940 and as the ruling party under his leadership from February 1942. [National Gathering], became head of government on 1 February 1942. The civilian population suffered from food shortages and trade restrictions. Massive movements of refugees, for example to neutral Sweden, were the result. Of the approximately 2,100 Jews in Norway, about 770 were deported and the vast majority were murdered in concentration camps. The German occupation ended with the capitulation on 8 May 1945.
The Norwegian Resistance and NortrashipSchiffe der norwegischen Handelsmarine, die sich der norwegischen Exilregierung anschlossen, fuhren für die norwegische Reedereiorganisation Norwegian Shipping & Trade Mission (NORTRA), abgekürzt Nortraship, mit Sitz in London und New York.
The resistance within Norway included numerous military and civilian resistance organisations. The largest military organisation was MilorgAbbreviation for militær organisasjon (military organisation), the largest military resistance organisation in Norway, which from November 1941 was under the Norwegian exile government in London and cooperated with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) of the British intelligence service. By May 1945, Milorg had trained about 40,000 people., with about 40,000 members in May 1945. Outside the country, parts of the Norwegian merchant marine and special commandos formed together with British forces against the Wehrmacht. At the time of the German invasion of Norway, a large part of the merchant marine was abroad. Some joined the Norwegian government-in-exile and sailed for the newly founded Norwegian Shipping & Trade Mission (Nortraship). They ensured vital imports of raw materials and food to Great Britain and helped transport important war materials for the Allied war effort, such as ball bearings from Sweden.
Ten ships of the Norwegian merchant marine, which were in Sweden at the time of the German invasion of Norway, were to break through the German naval blockade in the so-called Operation “Performance.” Under the leadership of British captains, the Norwegian ships were to bring war materials and resistance fighters from Gothenburg to Great Britain. The judicial seizure – in Swedish, Kvarstad – of these ships by the Germans was unsuccessful. Their breakout attempt failed: only two of the ten ships that left Gothenburg on 31 March 1942, reached their destination. Two returned to Sweden, and the remaining six were either sunk by the German navy or scuttled themselves. The German navy captured a total of 235 men and women, including 7 Norwegian women and 170 Norwegian men, from the sunken Kvarstad ships and took them to Germany. The Norwegians were initially registered and treated as prisoners of war, but were eventually classified as political prisoners. As “Night-and-Fog”At least 7,000 people suspected of resistance from France, the Benelux countries, and Norway were deported to the German Reich and imprisoned there following the “Night-and-Fog”-Decree of 7 December 1941. They were completely isolated, given a number instead of their name, and were not allowed to contact relatives, fellow prisoners, or the outside world. Many died in custody or were sentenced to death and executed. prisoners, most of them were sentenced by the Special CourtEstablished in each higher regional court district from 21 March 1933, the special courts served to quickly punish regime-critical behaviour. In so-called summary proceedings, several thousand people of different backgrounds were sentenced to death. in Kiel in April 1943 to four to eight years in prison for “aiding the enemy.”
The Whaling Ship Skytteren, circa 1920s
The Skytteren was one of the Kvarstad ships. On 1 April 1942, after being discovered by the German navy, it was blown up and sunk by its own crew.
Ansgar Theodor Larsen, Slottsfjellsmuseet, Vestfold Fylkesmuseum Digitalt bildearkiv
Medal award, royal audience, and participation in the Kvarstad commemoration despite severe illness
Interview with Anne Moe
daughter of Johannes Moe, 2023
Immediate Aid, Compensation, and War Victims’ Welfare Act 1945–1947
Immediately after the end of the war, the Norwegian state began providing immediate aid to Norwegian political prisoners in the form of clothing assistance, vacation for recuperation, and smaller support payments. In December 1946 and April 1947, on the recommendation of the Kriegsskadekomité [War Damage Committee], the Norwegian Parliament, Storting, passed a law on war victims’ welfare and compensation. Both, however, contained strict proof criteria. Compensation required proof of a “loss of prosperity” caused by imprisonment. For the war victims’ pension, it had to be proven that the physical damages were caused by war events.
The Role of the War Victims’ Pension in Norway
The strict criteria for the war victims’ pension caused dissatisfaction and protests, leading to the founding of the KrigsinvalideforbundetThe War Invalids’ Union or the War Invalids’ Association, founded in 1954, was the umbrella organisation in Norway for military and civilian associations representing all war victims, advocating for improvements in war victims’ pensions. [War Invalids’ Association] in 1954. During the 1960s, the strict disability criteria were relaxed. In the 1968 law on war victims’ welfare, the burden of proof was eased, and psychological damages and illnesses such as “concentration camp syndrome” could be recognised as late effects. This significantly increased the pension payments and the number of eligible recipients. The Krigsinvalideforbundet supported many Nazi persecution victims in reapplying. The war victims’ pension, partly seen as an “honorary pension,” thus played an important role in recognising Nazi persecution in the post-war period.
Participation in meetings of survivor associations
Interview with Jan Westby
son of Arne Helge Westby, 2024
The Fight for Compensation from the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s
In the 1950s, demands for compensation from the Federal Republic of Germany increased in Norway. The decisive factor was the Wollheim trial and the associated compensation payments to former forced labourers of IG Farben in Auschwitz. Additionally, it was criticised that the existing German compensation laws largely excluded foreign Nazi persecution victims. The ErstatnisrådThe “Compensation Council” was founded in Oslo in 1955 under the leadership of Leif Nordstrand as a representative body for various prisoner associations, with the aim of securing compensation for Norwegian prisoners from the Federal Republic of Germany. [Compensation Council], composed of various prisoner associations at the end of 1955, showed strong public presence in the media and supported individual compensation claims in the FRG. However, with the passage of the Federal Compensation ActThe law (Bundesentschädigungsgesetz), retroactively effective from October 1953, was the first nationwide compensation law for people who suffered expropriation, forced labour, deportation, and imprisonment during National Socialism. Eligible were persons who had their residence in the federal territory or the former German Reich by 31 December 1952 or earlier, as well as their surviving dependants. Foreign Nazi victims were thus largely excluded from the law. (BEG) in June 1956 and the residence clause it contained, the exclusion from compensation became final. From 1958, the Erstatnisråd therefore sought an intergovernmental Bilateral Compensation AgreementBetween 1959 and 1964, the Federal Republic of Germany concluded bilateral compensation agreements with twelve Western European states. These agreements included lump-sum payments intended to settle all compensation claims. The distribution of the funds was the responsibility of the recipient state. (Globalabkommen) for Norwegian victims.
Bilateral Compensation Agreement (Globalabkommen) with the Federal Republic of Germany, 1959–1962
After four months of negotiations, Germany and Norway concluded the first Bilateral Compensation Agreement (Globalabkommen) in Europe in August 1959. It was ratified by the Storting and Bundestag in February and March 1960. Norway received a payment of 60 million DM, equivalent to 100 million Norwegian kroner (NOK). The law for distributing these compensation payments to political prisoners came into effect on March 25, 1960, and divided the payments into three categories: deprivation of liberty, disability, and survivors. For “deprivation of liberty,” imprisonment in concentration camps was equated with imprisonment in prisons. Prisoner organisations were involved in drafting the law and ensured, for example, the prioritisation of survivors and the disabled. The compensation process was completed in December 1962. In total, only 1,800 (7%) of the approximately 24,700 applications were rejected.
