69 years ago today, the Kingdom of Norway was invaded by Hitler's Germany.
Our nation suffered a consequence of democracy, not to speak of democratic imperialism. Our nation suffered a consequence of the attempt at creating a democratic Germany. Our nation suffered a consequence of a system where the government does all sorts of other things than basic protection. His Majesty did exercise his “Bagehot” right to warn against the consequences of disarmament, but the politicos would not listen, and on that morning of April 9, 1940 it was too late.
The Kingdom of Norway could probably under no circumstance have stood up against the entire Hitler war machine. However, as historical evidence suggests, Hitler's Germany would probably not have risked turning Norwegian fjords into the wet grave of the Hitler fleet. Indeed the Germans were surprised at the resistance. They were surprised it took two months before the surrender. They were surprised that the Blücher did not sail unopposed into the Oslo harbor. The Norwegian defense was at such a low level that it had not been taken seriously by the invading party.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
This Kingdom Invaded
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1 comment:
Perhaps after none of her Scandinavian neighbors came to the aid of Finland the year before the impression was given that they would not resist any aggressor. Nonetheless King Haakon VII was one of the towering fighting monarchs of World War II, standing alongside Queen Wilhelmina in leading resistance movements from exile. Stopping the heavy water experiments may have saved more lives than most realize, at least most outside Norway.
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