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.

About 6,000 Norwegians had served the German war cause, and 709 of them had fallen in battle.

During the years of occupation, the Germans had absorbed nearly 40 per cent of the gross domestic product. In addition, there was the considerable material destruction. Finnmark county had been almost totally razed, and a number of towns and communities were damaged by bombings or had been burned by the retreating Germans. An estimated 16 per cent of the national wealth had been lost, and the outflow to the occupying power had been twice as high per capita as it was, for instance, in France. On the whole, however, Norway was one of the occupied countries which suffered the least during the war.

When the war broke out, the merchant navy totalled 1,024 ships and had a combined tonnage of about four million. It's service had been vital to the Allied war effort. During one period, Norwegian vessels were transporting more than 30 per cent of all the oil under shipment from the USA to Great Britain. But the costs were high; in the course of the war the fleet was reduced 2.3 million tonnes.

Acknowldgement introducation by Tor Dagre

For further information on the Norwegian Merchant Fleet World War II visit Norwegian Home Fleet WWII