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April 9, 1940, became
the turning point in the history of Norwegian Jewry. It marked
the invasion of German troops into the country and the implementation
of Nazi policies. In the process, the occupant forces could rely
on the Nasjonal Samling, a pro-Nazi political party led by Vidkun Quisling.
Quisling’s
collaborationist administration was eager to pass restrictive
laws against the Jews in order to fulfill the orders issued
by German authorities and as an expression of its own anti-Semitic
stance. At that point, about 1,800 Jews, including some 300
refugees from Central Europe, were living in Norway, mostly
in Oslo and Trondheim.
The first measures of persecution
demanded the confiscation of radios and valuables and the documentation of Jewish real estate. Furthermore, Jewish doctors, government officials, and lawyers were banned from working, and Jewish stores and enterprises were shut down. On March 1, 1942, the identity cards of Jewish citizens were stamped with a “J.”
By June 1941, mass arrests of male Jews between the ages of
15 and 65 were organized throughout the country. Their property
was confiscated, they underwent abuse, and they were finally
sent to labor and prison camps. These actions expanded, culminating
in the deportations of fall 1942. Seven hundred fifty-eight
Jews were transported to Auschwitz on the ships Donau
and Gotenland. Twenty-five of them survived.
More than 900 Jews escaped this fate, succeeding in crossing the Swedish border to safety. This could not have been accomplished without the courageous help of non-Jewish Norwegians from the underground resistance, who hid their countrymen until the day of flight. Such assistance was full of risks for all involved.
When the war was over, first steps were taken to reestablish Jewish community life. Norway and Sweden also opened their doors to help resettle and treat Jewish displaced persons, who were not wanted elsewhere.
In 1997-98, the Norwegian government offered restitution to Jews and their families, helping the country come to terms with the persecution of Jews under the Quisling regime.
Today, more than six decades after the Second World War, an estimated 1,400 Jews are part of the Norwegian community.
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