Norwegians were surprised and unprepared when Nazi Germany, with its superior military might, attacked Norway on 9 April 1940. The general public, and their political leaders, had believed that Norway would be able to stay out of the second world war, just as the country had maintained its neutrality in World War I. They believed that Norway was strategically on the periphery, protected by British naval power, and thought that Norwegian neutrality was also in the interests of the warring nations on both sides.
By Jon Aamaas
Therefore, the Norwegian government had declared Norway's neutrality when the war broke out in the autumn of 1939. There was a broad political consensus for this stance.…
