American Reacts to How Norwegians Resisted Nazi Occupation in WW2

[@Cook66]

My great-grandmother was involved in the Norwegian resistance as head of a postal office, which allowed her access to the occupiers mail and communications. She used that access to secretly read their mail, and warn the underground resistance of German plans, and arrest orders. When she was told that Quisling was going to be featured on the Norwegian Postal Stamps, she was quoted saying: "Well, I guess from now on we'll just have to spit on both sides of the stamp." After the war, the King gave her a medal for her resistance efforts, and she repeated the joke to him during the medal ceremony.

[@solbu-1973]

Hehehe. Fantastisk historie. :-) Best resistance story I've heard to date. (Male, 1973 model)

[@Vincent_Urt]

My great-uncle was arrested for "farting on a German soldier" He didn’t do it on purpose though, he just farted a lot. My great-aunt called him a "drithest". So…I guess your great-grandmother wins this round 😄

[@TylerWalkerYouTube]

Ha wow! Thanks for sharing that. Your great-grandmother sounds amazing.

[@TheCain01]

​@@TylerWalkerKZbin i actually have a tiny bottle of Deuterium Oxide made at that plant. It's in a box with certificate. The barrel number is #26. Volume: 5cl (in the tiny bottle i have) and the info about the plant and how the barrel was recovered by a company called Sperre ROV Technology. If you have discord channel or something I can post picture if it. It's in a collection box and looks exactly how it did back then, with the date 20.02.1944. This is the original heavy water that was made there during the war, no joke.

[@marionberge2681]

​@@TheCain01 Ditto. 😄 Samlerhuset? 😂

[@Chillz1988]

the plant was not built by the Germans, but captured by them during the occupation. awesome to see you wanting to learn about our history during ww2, lots of great video material out there, keep it up👍

[@FPSkare]

The factory was buildt before World War 1, it was using hydropower to make hydrogen and the heavy water was a sideproduct. Iam not sure if the allied forces actually tried airstrikes at the site or that they realised from maps and photos that it would not work. Before this successful norwegian raid there had already been another allied attempt to blow up the factory that combined a norwegian group (codename operation Grouse) of 4 commandos that was dropped in parachute to prepare for and then guide the main group. This first group landed successfully. The main group (codename Operation Freshman) that was sendt over in 2 gliderplanes pulled by Hallifax bombers had a much worse fate.. Due to bad weather and poor seight the Hallifax planes didnt find the planned landing site and deceided to return to UK problem was that bad weather resulted in icing on the gliders and both gliders and 1 Hallifax crashed. The Hallifax had a crew of 7, each glider a crew of 2 and 15 soldiers, in total 41 men. The crew of the hallifax all died in the crash, but the fortune for the gliders was not that good several survieved and was tortured and execuitioned by the germans. The 4 men from Operation Grouse stayed on Hardangervidda and survied by hunting raindeer and other game, and teamed up with 6 new norwegian commando soldiers and performed the raid you just reviewed. That operation was codenamed Opeeration Gunnerside. Unfortunatly the Gunnerside operation didnt stop the production very long so a allied airstrike was attempted 16th of november 1943 with 143 B17 bombers. They dropped over 700 bombs but over 600 missed the target.. - and the factory was anyway buildt in thick strong steelinoforced concrete so the attack didnt do a lot fo damage. But it made the germans deceide to drop the production of heavy water at Vemork due to it was to exposed to airattacks and sabotage.. The final heavy water action was in late february 1944 when the remaining heavy water was attempted brought to Germany but instead ended on the bottom of Tinnsjø (the local very deep lake) But the main norwegian war effort was done by our merchant fleet.. I will again recomend you to watch the video about Northraship kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpOUpmicma6Ynbs the effort of the norwegian merchantfleet and the sailors onbord those ships are the true secret story about what Norway contributed with in WW2 and it was also the reason why US president Roosevelt famousely in a speach said "look to Norway".

[@nateforlife]

@@FPSkare The Allied Forces used the American B-29 or the B-17 long-range bombers and the only thing this bombing campaign achieved was killing civilians. The British were also the ones who broke Norwegian neutrality.

[@CrimsonGhost833]

​@@nateforlifeStupid much?The nazis was one shipment away from making atom bombs. If they hadn't carried out the operation the world would be way worse off today. And the Germans broke Norwegian neutrality when they attacked Oslo april 9 1940 with Blücher and a whole lot of planes. The king and government left for England and we became part of the war. Where the hell you get your information from?

[@vinnyaasarod3323]

@@nateforlife Both British and Germans entered Norwegian waters prior to the Germans invading. The British supposedly also had plans for invading to prevent Germans getting a foothold. Control of Denamrk and Norway meant the German Navy had access to the North sea, and from Norwegian coast they alkso could control access to much of the North atlantic ocean.

[@Leopard_8119]

Vemork was completed in 1911

[@ColaCoca700]

"kampen om tungvannet" is a mini-series about it, featuring Norwegian, British, German, and American actors. a 10/10 must watch.

[@helleswahn]

What platform is it on?

[@BoulingStars]

Seen it, it’s amazing

[@bjrnolemelby951]

In Norway it is on Disney+ ​@@helleswahn

[@hoboofserenity]

Norway was the most occupied country in the world during WW2, with more than 1 german soldier to every 10 norwegian citizens. We had over 360,000 german soldiers in Norway, with a population of around 3 million. That's rather insane considering the Norwegian armed forces consisted of around 10,000 people at the start of the war, including support personell. By the end of the war, the Norwegian resistance numbered over 40,000, with most civillians exercising passive resistance. By refusing to conform to german rule, isolating german soldiers and occupying forces and distributing "illegal" news, it still remains a point of national pride to many Norwegian families. My Great Grandparents had Nazi officers occupying the upstairs of their farmhouse, and resisted with every demand to the point where my Great grandfather was nearly shot. When the Nazi soldiers was ordered out of the country to reinforce the faltering german frontline in defense of germany, the resistance forces blew up bridges, trains and troop transport ships, stranding over 200,000 soldiers in Norway. 200,000 fresh soldiers would have had a significant impact on the allied invasion of germany and delayed it further. It's kind of funny how when talking about resistance movements, the french is the most recognized one. The french reisistance was heavily fragmented and filled with infighting between different political ideoligies. The Norwegian resistance forces was insanely successful, if you weigh the results it achieved with the number of soldiers and the number of people living in Norway at the time. Especially when you take in account that the Norwegian Merchant Marine was consolidated under 1 company Nortraship, which became the largest merchant company in the world. It made major contributions to allied supply lines and shipping routes, especially considering it came from such a small country.

[@sturlamolden]

@@hoboofserenity Norway has always had a large merchant fleet. As of 2017 (I do not have more recent numbers) it was still the 4th most valuable in the world, worth 55 billion USD, ranked behind Japan, China, and Greece.

[@Growly.]

No need to diss the french. They fought hard too.

[@Playsterion]

@hoboofserenity the Norwegian’s had 67k Troops in total and 58k saw combat

[@frodej6640]

Up until 1945 (just a few months that is), the home resistance was very small and not equipped. The numbers and equipment came in 1945. The sabotage you speak of had very little impact and was mostly done in 1945. It is not recognised to have had any important effect. The norwegian government in London was the reason there was practically no resistance activity. They did not allow much. It is weird that there is no criticism of their lack of action. There is no bravery to join the winning side when the enemy flees, and then make up stories about how bad ass they where.

[@Hifi-Glory2955]

jepp that was us👍🏻

[@torhelgerasmussen9479]

Movies to watch: "Max Manus man of war" "Gold run" "The 12th man" "Narvik" "Kongens nei"

[@TrymYoutubeMainChannel]

Greetings from Narvik btw

[@TomKirkemo-l5c]

"Kongens nei" er en bra film!! Jeg bor i gamle Hedmark fylke og kjenner Midtskogen. Min fars far var så heldig å overleve et relativt stort slag på Trandumskogen. Hva min mors far drev med under krigen vet jeg ikke, han snakket aldri om det. Utenom at det skal ligge en kasse med Kragh borti skogen her. Og at han jaktet elg med Max Manus flere år etter krigen. :)

[@Henoik]

Nr 24

[@TomKirkemo-l5c]

@@Henoik Den har jeg ikke sett ennå. :)

[@thomassilver2529]

Dont forget the new movie "Quislings last days" and the TV series "The Saboteurs" (Kampen om tungtvann)

[@RobbEsspisi]

My father was part of the resistence in Northern Norway. When he was only 16 years old, he started guiding refugees over the border to Sweden, he walked so much he actually got plat-footed. Later on in the war he was also part of several sabotage missions against important infrastructure to help slow down German progress. He never talked about it though, but my mother told me his story after he passed away. I think most of the people who stood up agains the Nazi's, never considered themself "heroes", they jus did what had to be done.

[@ahkkariq7406]

My grandfather guided refugees in Northern Norway, as well. Once there were refugees in the living room when German soldiers came to check up. Usually they pulled the curtains away to check the living room, but this time they didn't and stayed in the kitchen.

[@arcticblue248]

@@ahkkariq7406 Its maybe good to tell that at that time it was normal to have 2 livingrooms, they where connected and divided usually with a curtain. You had the "Nice" livingroom and then you had the one you regulary used during the day... thats the reason for the curtains 🙂

[@frodej6640]

Most aren't good at telling stories. The problem of being a veteran, and telling your story, no matter how boring stuff you did, other people listening will add their attribute to you and your story. It is a bit crazy really. So I do get it why some doesn't speak of it. Also, there is a lot of people who doesn't remember well. Seriously, they cannot remember. It is more common than you think.

[@ahkkariq7406]

@@arcticblue248 They definitely had only one living room in my grandparents house.

[@arcticblue248]

@@ahkkariq7406 ahh like my grandparents house... large Kitchen and thats where they stayed for the most.

[@sooh6299]

Gunnar Sønsteby used to come to my school in the 90s and tell stories from the war. We had no idea how lucky we were to hear about it from him at the time, but I'm very glad of it now.

[@Growly.]

Wow. 24 himself? No shit you were lucky

[@Siljeskaar1987]

Heldig du. Jeg hadde bestemor og bestefar

[@elissa7470]

I worked at the dentist Office he used to come to 😊❤ Got a book signed😊 he told us some stories

[@CVLova]

god damn! thats amazing!

[@marionberge2681]

​@@Siljeskaar1987, mine nektet å snakke om krigen.

[@TorAndreKongelf]

Gunnar Sønsteby. The guy in the picture at 14:47 had a seminar at my school when I was a kid, where he talked about his operations. Pretty cool to think about that now when I know so much more about the war. One of the most touching things about him is that when the war ended he drove the royal family in an open car to celebrate in the streets of Oslo, and he didn't even have a drivers licence. He learned to drive by himself during the war as a restistance fighter.

[@m4rt_]

fun fact, Quisling was so much of a traitor that his name is now a synonym for "landsforræder" or "traitor".

[@Mae-nr7wr]

hardly, they tried to push this during and after the war, but that's rarely if ever used

[@mortenhallangen1933]

Quisling was afraid of the communists, or "bolsjevik" at the time. He had been in Russia during the famine after WW1 to help the russians. But when he saw the crimes of Lenin and his men, he was scared. Later, he thought that Hitler was the one who could fight the Russians. He was sure they would take Norway. With the germans here, we would be safe. Instead, it all went wrong.

[@peacefulminimalist2028]

@@Mae-nr7wr Sorry but you're wrong, it's even listed in Merriam-Webster as a synonym for a traitor.

[@Mae-nr7wr]

@@peacefulminimalist2028 sure its listed on a list, but literally nobody uses it daily here, the most i hear about it being used as as an alternative word for traitor is in documentaries lol.

[@Acaerwen]

​@@Mae-nr7wr Of course you wouldn't use it daily. Why would you have the need to call someone a traitor to their nation on a daily basis? I have heard and seen it used several times, but every time my reaction is the same; that the person in question is in no way so bad as to deserve the label. It is a name you shouldn't call someone lightly, in my opinion.

[@fredbrenno]

I was actually lucky to have Gunnar Sønsteby as a regular customer working in a phone-shop in the late 90s. He was verry eager to tell his stories about the war to anyone he met. Verry polite, and verry nice and humble man nHe signed one of his books and gave t to me :-) . . Unfortunatly I lost the book, when moving to another place :-(

[@VidarLund-k5q]

Boka fås kjøpt i dag også.

[@helmaksi]

@@VidarLund-k5q Ikke like lett å skaffe seg signaturen nå om dagen.

[@TylerWalkerYouTube]

Wow that's cool!

[@elissa7470]

Also got a book sign, he used to come to the dental office i worked in. He tolk stories too❤

[@terjechristiansen4781]

A film about Gunnar Sønsteby recently launched in Norwegian cinema. It documents his life and resistance efforts in the Oslo area during the war. The film is called NR 24

[@stellar2percent]

Yes! "Kjakan" himself (or in american, "The Jaw".....:-)

[@Snappy-Star]

I would recommend watching this movie I saw it when it first came out on cinema, will watch it again when it comes out on streaming platforms

[@espekelu3460]

Vemork was built in 1911 by Norsk Hydro, and was initially a hydroelectric plant. And in 1934 heavy water began to be produced at Vemork in Rjukan.

[@ShadowTani]

The heavy water was a byproduct of fertilizer production (nitrogen fixing), so the heavy water facility (also a hydro power plant) in Vemok was originally built by Norway in 1934 before it got taken over by Germany during WW2. At the time nobody knew what to use it for and it were mostly distributed to various labs across the world for research into potential utilities. Hence why that place was the only stable producer of it in the world at the time.

[@matswinberg5045]

The footage around 4:15 is from the liberation of Paris in August 1944. The footage around 13:33 is from the meeting between four of the Nordic heads of state in Stockholm 1939. The shorter man with the large moustache is Finland's Kyösti Kallio. The tall man on the right is Sweden's Gustaf V. I read the book "Kampen om tungvattnet" a couple of years ago. These Norweigan commandos were something extra. I do not remember if it was the first or second group of saboteurs that actually skied to Sweden afterwards from Telemark.

[@TelemarkBall]

My great grandfather was a resistance fighter in Skien in Telemark. Him and his crew lives out in a cabin in the woods. I want there once, and i could see gun holes from them testing the guns. The cabin was burnt doen after the war. He survived, but he died one week before i was born. Long live norwegian resistance!!

[@CATOGUSTAVSON]

Gunnar Sønsteby, legendary resistance fighter and the highest decorated person in Norwegian history, just got a film released in October 2024 currently rated 8.1/10 on IMDB. The film is called "Nr. 24" or "Number 24" in English. That was his alias and agent callsign. Also, at the same time, Vidkun Quisling the traitor, has his own film rated at 7.3/10 called "Quislings siste dager" or "Qusling's Last Days" in English. Both are extremely worth while watching. Last year, we were also treated with a fantastic Norwegian war movie called "Konvoi" where we follow the lives of indispencible Norwegian sailors in Nortraship, the largest ship owner in the world at the time, delivering much needed American and British military aid to the USSR in arctic Murmansk. Or the similar film "Krigsseileren" (The War Sailor in English), a more dramatic story following one of Norway's 30,000 civilian sailors who served in the war. It would be cool if you reacted to the trailers :)

[@berikdahl]

They basically stopped the german nuclear rocket program, or at least set it back long enough for the war to end.

[@frodej6640]

Not true. The german program was so bad, even if they had gotten what they needed, they would never have made anything from it. They thought it was important, but it wasn't. The german nuclear program was already underfunded. Their sole reactor was damaged beyond repair, and everything else about it was not particularly good.

[@TheAccidentalViking]

My late inlaws were in their childhood when the Nazis invaded. She grew up just a few miles from the heavy water plant, in Telemark. When we visited her childhood home, we drove by it and they pointed it out. Her father was a teacher so they were visited regularly, asking for information about his students and their families. She was, like 10 years old and terrified she'd say something and get someone in trouble. Her oldest brother escaped to Sweden, but her other brother was captured when he refused to join Nazi service and he was put in a camp and tortured. My father in law grew up near Alta, in the far north. The Nazis were up there, too. When he came of age, to be recruited for the nazi youth, he ran off on his skis and joined the Sami, who were pretty much left alone in their migrating lifestyle. When the Nazis lost, they burned everything in the Northern villages hoping to starve the local population to death. They shared so many stories and I'm so glad they did. It surely wasn't easy to do.

[@thomasjacobsen9768]

" Skyt for Faen! " The famous words that ended up sinking Blucher

[@plciferpffer3048]

"Visst fanden skal der skytes med skarpt"

[@katilaz]

"Visst fanden skal der skytes med skarpt!" (D*mn sure we are firing live rounds!) The code at the time was to fire warning shots first. The commander of the fortress reasoned that warning shots had already been fired and ignored; thus, he took the chance to violate the code in order to stop the Blücher. He is said to have uttered something along the lines of "Either I will be decorated or court martialled" as well. He technically got both, having to stand trial for eventually surrendering his fortress "too quickly" to the Germans... Here's a scene of the sinking from "The King's Choice" (2016): kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4uaapxnZq-GpLc

[@Christ_is_King_Deus_Vult]

😂😂Facts

[@plciferpffer3048]

@@thomasjacobsen9768 "visst fanden skal det skytes med skarpt"

[@arnehusby1420]

The Americans tried to bomb Vemork, but did not hit the factory. Many civilians were killed by bombs. Norwegian resistance fighters also had to sink a ferry with Tungtvann. It was an ordinary ferry with many civilians who drowned, killed by Norwegians. It must have been a difficult decision to make, planting a bomb in a civilian ferry with women and children who had been to a concert.

[@SilverShinotora]

The raid is named: Operation gunnerside if you wanna search it up for a further read.

[@stellar2percent]

Tip! Nazis burnt down pretty much the whole of finnmark/troms when they felt threatned by russians getting closer about 1944 towards the final phase of the war. That tactic was called Scorched Earth....

[@Yngvarfo]

A tactic they had learned from the Russians themselves, as they did the same thing when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941.

[@vanished7775]

One thing Norway should be proud of is that the battle of Narvik marked Hitler's first loss in WW2

[@RunarNyrud]

Gunnar "Kjakan" Sønsteby was born in 1918, and died in 2012, so there is many intervjues with him. I remember watching a video about a sabotage in Oslo where several sivilians died. It was an intervju with the daughter of one of the dead. They asked her if she was mad at the resistance for killing her innosent father; she said no, it was war. They did what they thought was to the best interest of the war effort.....

[@Willy_Tepes]

This was at the time called terrorism. And I can't really disagree.

[@Be-Eva]

I am always so proud of these brave men and women❤ I am so grateful, the best Norwegians of all time! Looking forward to part 2 of this reaction video from you Tyler❤️

[@hanfrekkejveln4111]

I met Joachim Rønneberg, the man who led the Gunnerside team on the first mission along side team "Grouse" (led by Jens-Anton Poulsson). He is from Ålesund where I live. He was only 22 yrs old when he and his team pulled off one of the most historical sabotage in world war history and managed to escape unnoticed. Man's a hero. He was such a humble guy. May his soul rest in peace.

[@VidarLund-k5q]

John Steinbeck wrote the book The Moon is down about a Nazi occupied country. It was based upon the situation in Norway during WW2. And president Roosevelt praised the Norwegian resistance movement in a famous soeech, Look to Norway. Well known facts.

[@ziontheoblivion]

There came a Norwegian series in 2015 called "The Heavy Water War" which retells this whole thing and I thought it was pretty damn good when it came out, some band of brother vibes!

[@arvidra]

There is a movie about this with Kirk Douglas from 1965, about the sabotage

[@gamleskalle1]

Heroes from Telemark

[@marionberge2681]

​@@gamleskalle1Heroes of Telemark*

[@Synneaa]

My great grandfather was arrested for resistance activity. He was sent to a concentration camp. Not sure if it was located in Germany or France. Almost starved to death, but made it until the camp was liberated. Died after being transported to the hospital because he couldn’t handle eating food again.

[@sourcreamking]

It's strange to me that you (almost) only learn about American history in the US. We learned about the Alamo, Battle at Wounded Knee, the US-Mexican wars... All that good stuff! As well as history from the rest of the world.(again, there are a few Norwegian films you can watch: "Max Manus", "The 12th Man", "No. 24" - the last film mentioned is about Gunnar Sønsteby aka "Kjakan")

[@espekelu3460]

Three films have been made about the "Tungtvannaksjonen" The first is Norwegian from 1948, then an American version came in 1965. The English made a documentary about "Ekte helter i Telemark" reel heros of Telemark. It is very well made, and you get a quite different perspective compared to the films. Heavy water was important to Germany for the development of nuclear weapons, but nothing came of it when commandos stopped the transport and production.

[@MrCaprinut]

The movie from 65' is "Heros of Telemark" with Kirk Douglas. Must been 20-30 years since I saw that. Think it was aired by NRK.

[@Yngvarfo]

​@@MrCaprinut"Heroes of Telemark" is about as accurate a depiction of the operation as "The Untouchables" is of the capture of Al Capone. In other words, not accurate at all. I met an acquaintance of one of the saboteurs once and mentioned that I'd seen that movie. Well, that was the wrong thing to say. All the people involved hated that movie. "Kampen om tungtvannet" from 1948 is more accurate, and it actually has many of the people involved playing themselves. That was not unusual for the first wave of war movies, made up until the 1950s, in no small part, I think, as a celebration of our war heroes.

[@MrCaprinut]

@@Yngvarfo I have seen the movie from 48 as well... Ni Liv er nok forsatt favoriten min.

[@evahelen3511]

Good that you are making a video about Norway's history from the war with the Nazis. My family was part of the resistance movement. Thanks to them, we got our freedom back. The Nazis sent Norwegian Jews straight to death. It was picked up in OSLO. I recommend the Norwegian film Kongens Nei which is in English. It is a factual film about the king who fled from the Nazis and the film Max Manus

[@dindunuffinwadiddido]

Most younger generations are very ignorant. If it hadn't been for Norwegian heroes then Germany would won the war. The world would looked VERY different today.

[@frodej6640]

That is complete BS.

[@knutolavbjrgaas1069]

Its not BS, but the same can be said for many other nations heroes. It was a team effort.

[@canislunaticus]

14:06 Quisling's betrayal was so big here in Norway that he's one of the few people in recent Norwegian history that was executed for his crimes, and not only that, but after the war his name was used to call someone a traitor instead of the word traitor (forræder) itself. Bro was kind of like voldermort

[@MonicaMaria2175]

Thanks for taking the time to learn about the courageous men and women of the resistance movement. It must never be forgotten.

[@brittormaasen7691]

The Swedes used the ice free port of Narvik to ship the vital iron to Germany through out the war. Look up the Battle of Narvik. The most famous battle in Norway 1940-45.

[@Willy_Tepes]

The myths about the war are many. Some have even become facts

[@jakechase5227]

Bro, real talk.. having your videos as part of my daily routines is something i deeply appreciate! Have seen hundreds of them and i love it ❤

[@Dan_eckholm]

My grandfather was a commando sergeant. He wasn’t on that mission, but many others. Tungtvann is now a museum

[@the_saint_1]

"Tungtvann" is not a museum, but Norsk Hydro`s Vemork, in Rjukan, Telemark where they produced heavy water (Tungtvann). is. It`s now called Vemork - Norsk Industriarbeidermuseum.

[@AmalieAleksandraNekstad]

My great grandfather was apart of the Norwegian resistance! He helped a lot of people that were running from the German soldiers escape to Sweden or just help them in any way he could. He and his brother unfortunately got arrested after a guy came at their door pretending to be running from the Germans and needed shelter for the night. They ofc helped him and let him hide in the loft of their barn. The morning after when they came to the barn to give him breakfast they saw that he was gone. A little while later German soldiers bursted through their door and arrested my great grandfather and his brother. The guy who came to their door and pretended to need help was apart of “Operation Oleander” if you later learn about that. They were then taken to a concentration camp (luckily the same one). I don’t remember which one they went to first but they went to both “Falstad concentration camp” and “Grini concentration camp” Luckily they both survived and came home to their mom who was at home waiting for them the whole time. He later wrote about his involvement in the resistance and his stories have later been used a lot. And fun fact he lived to the good old age of 97! :)

[@TrymYoutubeMainChannel]

the building was there from before... Norway used Heavy water for other uses

[@-ingar-]

If you're interested, there is a great miniseries about the sabotage at Vemork, Telemark, called "The Heavy Watar War" (2015). There's also an older movie with Kirk Douglas, but personally I would recommend the series just because it covers more ground. Could be fun to hear your afterthoughts if you decide to watch it

[@torb748]

My grandfather was part of the norwegian resistance, more spesific, one of the main culprits behind the "patriot" newspaper in Stavanger. once Gestapo found out, he was caught, and later sent to grini (the norwegian labor camp), from there he was later sent to Nartzweiler, one of the notorious NN-Camps, camps which the germans never wanted anyone to find out about. Thankfully, during a train transfer, he and a couple of other people managed to switch line, and was sent to another consentration camp, instead of meeting their ends in the gass-chamber. small actions might seem insignificant, but if everything took a small turn, and they never managed to change line that day, my entire family would have been part of the dark side of history. And so, i have the deepest respect for every family who lost members during the war, because we will never know what could have been.

[@runenorderhaug7646]

Many places in Norway used by the resistance have now been ceremonially marked with historic plaques. One of those is in fact the appartment of my great grandfather

[@frkdokken]

As an 11-year-old Norwegian girl, it's really cool to see that other countries are fascinated by our culture. although Norway is not a large country.

[@Willy_Tepes]

So why is your account 14 years old? Lmao

[@monicairenberg7894]

Norwegian war history is worth looking up. Especially in the north of Norway. My father remembers the war, and still today we experience whats left of it. Vidkun Quisling was the last person centenced to death in Norway.

[@andreasandremyrvold]

My grandfather was born in 1920, he was involved in the restitance in my village of Hvittingfoss in the war. They never saw direct combat but there was a small division of germans stationed. Still there was dropzones nearby on the hills, where dropcaskets were still lying around when we went hiking in my childhood, and even a well-hidden radiohut in a crevasse behind some old trees, well hidden from sight until you were upon it. I know they distributed weapons from the dropsite down in the valley, and there are stories about a farming son storing guns in the barn of his father who was the mayor and may or may not have been pro nazi. I had a teacher in middle school (and my parents) telling us about this, and even having us out for field trips. I have not been up there for at least 25 yrs, but I`ve seen it with my own eyes.

[@RunarNyrud]

My grandfather was on neutrality watch in the Bergen area when the war came. His group was after some time desolved and he had to get home. He walked on foot / skiing home, crossing Hardangervidda, alone. A trip that today would be 425 by car, so my guess is 500 km. The men and women at this time was used to hardship in a way that in far from our world. Today only the very few of the fittest would have managed it.

[@PetraStorstein]

Actually, there was also a boat carrying TONS of heavy water onboard that was sabotaged and sunk in the deepest part of the nearby fjord. The heavy water there is proven to still be okay sitting at the bottom of the fjord to this day.

[@adriann.a4892]

There recently was a Norwegian movie released about Gunnar Sønsteby called NR. 24

[@LifeAmongPixels]

Gunnar Sønsterby, Norway's most decorated war hero, who fought against Nazi Germany's occupation of Norway during the Second World War is now getting a well deserved movie. By the name of Nr. 24

[@madsiraver]

vemork was already built before they occupied Norway. over 400K german soldiers was stationed in norway during the war. they were everywhere. My grandfather tossed snowballs on nazi guards in Oslo for fun when he was a kid. not safe at all xD My great grand father was imprisoned by gestapo for printing resistance newspapers, and my great grandmother fed resistance fighters in tte mountains after her husband was imprisoned. I always loved hearing their stories when i was a little kid

[@vlasiospanousis6187]

Its a Movie with Kirk Douglas.(The Heroes Of Telemark 1965).

[@thatnorwegianguy1986]

Fun fact first time paratroopers where used in combat was by the germans during the invasion of Norway, but they had to drop without their weapons which was dropped in containers for later collection and a local police officer in northern Norway armed with nothing more than a double barrel shotgun, actually arrested a whole bunch of german paratroopers who were completely unarmed.

[@DivineFalcon]

My Grandma told me stories how she and other local women during the war smuggled food and supplies to Russian POWs held in German captivity, which the Germans used as slave labor to build bunkers, gun posts, and other fortifications. While most German conscripted soldiers turned a blind eye because they weren't complete monsters, it was still quite risky.

[@ahkkariq7406]

German conscripted soldiers were ordinary, young men sent to war. My mother told about how they came to help her parents when the flight alarm went off, with getting the whole family to safety.

[@Eseres80]

I can’t be 100% sure about this, but I was once told that we basically let the germans into our country by mistake. What happened was that a german ship arrived at the coast somewhere here in Norway (I can’t remember where), and at first the coastguard thought it was a trading ship or diplomats that arrived. It was a massive confusion about if they should sink the ship or not at the time. The coastguard did not realize that it was a ship full of german soldiers ready for a invasion. After all, there were already a lot of germans here in Norway that worked in various professions. By the time the coastguard realized that something was wrong, the ship had already landed at the pier. Again, I am not 100% sure about this, but I think you can find more info about it online. If I am not wrong, I also think this event was a part of a norwegian movie set in the WW2 era. A couple of norwegian WW2 movie titles that comes to mind that isn’t way too old are; «Max Manus» and «Kampen om Narvik» (Battle of Narvik).

[@erik-nm5cf]

On April 8th 1940 the German ship "Rio de Janeiro" was sunk by British torpedoes just outside Lillesand in the south of Norway. Dead and wounded soldiers were brought to the town by the locals. Today we know that these soldiers were part of the invasion due on the following day, but at the time the information of the incident did not reach the military command in a way that would raise an alarm, and thus the possible significance of the event was totally lost. (My grandfather was at the harbour watching dead and wounded soldiers brought ashore)

[@frodej6640]

There was several mistakes. Also remember that national socialism was kinda popular, and germans was looked at quite fondly. So nobody wanted to believe it was dangerous.

[@hansrichenberg5273]

Have you ever heard what happened at Drøbak and Narvik. If not, please check it up via Google.

[@Sync3ddd]

It's built in Rjukan, as a power station and the building in front was a hydrogen factory(They also produced Heavy Water there, as the only producer in the world on an indsturial scale) Rjukan as a city is built by Hydro.

[@Behindtheadrenaline]

Interesting tidbit we don't even learn about in Norway, maybe interesting to weapon interested people but during WW2, Kongsberg Weapon Factory had the license to build the American Colt 1911 pistol but during German occupation, workers at the factory smuggled out parts in their lunch box to the resistance movement, we nicknamed it the "Matpakke-Colt" or "Lunch Box Colt", often crudely made without markings or serial number. My great grandmother worked at the Kongsberg factory during the war and my great grandfater had one of those pistols, they are insanely rare and expensive today but he unfortunately gave it to the police in the 80's

[@Willy_Tepes]

I had one of those, about half the parts had German inspection marks, the rest did not even have a serial number. That too ended up with the police and was probably melted down like so many other treasures.

[@bjhellstream]

There's an old movie with Kirk Douglas about this attack. It's called Heroes of the Telemark. Worth seeing. My favourite movie (and book) is about the resistance hero Max Manus. Incredible.

[@bjørnjacobsengaming]

11:53 We were not neutral in Denmark, but we surrendered quickly, and the Danish government chose to "cooperate" because we were promised by the Germans that we were allowed to keep our government and police as long as we did not resisted. And it was complied with by both sides for some time until it became too much for some Danes who made resistance groups that destroyed strategic German targets. Many Danes, especially Danish companies, were more afraid of the Soviet Union and the Communists than the Nazis, and many Danish companies had a lot of exports to Germany, so they also feared that their business would go bankrupt and chose to cooperate with them. At the start of the war, the Germans had invaded many countries in Europe. So many in Denmark expected the war to be over within a year or two and that the Germans would win, so it was "wise" to stay good "friends" with the Germans so they would be nice to us after the war. Fortunately, that did not come true. I know that's very simplistic, but that's the gist of what happened.

[@ingvildkvakestad]

I feel insanely lucky to have a grandpa that lived through and remembers the war. They had yatzy officers living with them. Some of them were open about disliking what was happening and let them keep their radio. Him and his mom and brother had to duck from war planes.

[@jonasprebenmindejohansen930]

Under Ww2 my grandmother was just a child when the war broke out, may she rest in peace. She told stories about the German soldiers who were here in the in the city i live in, were nice and gave candy to the children and some young soldier didnt want to follow Hitlers orders and many young soldiers were found dead by self harm just because they didnt want war but got forced into it. My granny told me the soldiers were mostly nice and went skiing with locals and had fun. It was very strict like you could not go out during night time im glad i havent seen war up close yet.

[@perthyren601]

I think the moviefication is called "Heroes of Telemarken", "Hjältarna från Telemarken" in Sweden

[@bjrsherino7085]

Gunnar ‘kjakan’ Sønsteby is one of the biggest war heroes Norway have. I highly recommend you watch Max Manus. It’s a movie about Norwegian war hero Max Manus and the resistance group called Oslo gjengen/Oslo group, which Sønsteby also is a part of. Edit: The movie NR 24 is a movie solely about Sønsteby

[@the_saint_1]

Not one of. He is the citizen in Norway who has received the highest war decorations ever. He was awarded «Krigskorset med tre sverd» (Norway). «Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm» (United Kingdom) and «Distinguished Service Order» (USA).

[@steinolav79]

As another commentor has mentioned... The hydro electric plant in Telemark was all ready there. It was a huge hydro electic plant. The byproduct of hydro electrolysis is deuterium... Now imagine huge amounts of electricity and deuterium as a byproduct and you can see how valuable that target was...

[@steinolav79]

The real banger is the sinking of the ferry "Hydro" which carried a large amount of deuterium... A huge setback for the Nazi development of the atomic bomb...

[@einridebe]

In Narvik, the german army had their first loss during the Second world-war. The Norwegian General Fleicher was in command of norwegian, polish, french and british troops - and they forced the german troops almost out of Norway. Soon after the allied forces widraw - and the German troops reoccupied Narvik.Hitlers first loss during ww2 was in Narvik!

[@havtor007]

4:03 Well if my memory serves right then 400 000 german soldiers was in norway on D day these troops are more then twice the amount of the allied forces on D-day as that was 160 000 soldiers. Norway was used to holding those germans away to not be able to come in and fight for Germany there. And even after the landing there was a total of 360 000 allied troops

[@torkelwits1990]

In my hometown, located 120 km south of Trondheim, there' s a road called "blood road" .Jugoslavian and russian pow build this road, and were burried beneath it when they died from malnutrition and exhaustion. We also have a memorial site for the these pow near the city center. Norwegians also sank Blücher at Drøbaksund. We were literally a major pain in the ass for the nazi forces here.

[@janak132]

The Germans merely hijacked the site. Prior to WWII Norway was exporting heavy water from Vemork to scientific communities around the world. Heavy water was isolated for the first time in 1933 and the Vemork plant was built in 1934. Production began in 1935. Germany attacked Norway in 1940. The Vemork plant was located where it was because before the war they were producing nitrate. The process they used were conducive to also extract Deuterium. This is a very energy demanding process, but seeing as there was plenty of power to go around at the Vemork electricity plant they could also produce heavy water. Much later we learned that the German approach to making a nuclear bomb was flawed and never would have worked anyway, or at least not been corrected in time to beat the Americans to it. The fear of a German nuclear bomb was however a significant part of what drove the Allies' time schedule and made them push so hard to liberate Europe as quickly as possible. One might wonder what history would have been like had there not been a nuclear race going on.

[@Aronre]

Highly recommend you watch "The Kings Choice" (Kongens Nei) Probably one of the best movies about Norway during ww2 I think almost every little village/community in norway has a story with hiding resitance fighters and saboteurs. My village hid several saboteurs from Company Linge who blew up railway tracks which severly slowed down the German aquisition of copper ore which they used for bullets

[@jambalolk]

I recommend the mini series "the heavy water war". It's like band of brothers in a way. Should be trailers for it on youtube. Well made. Few creative liberties. Their portrayal of the heavy water sabotage operation is as real as it gets.

[@BïrKnVöiD]

Yeah, my mom was born in Rjukan/Vemork in 1946, my grandad worked at the factory. It was built by the founder of Hydro, Sam Eyde. Sam Eyde is to professor Kristian Birkeland ( he studied the aurora borealis famously) as Edison is to Tesla. It's a very special place, and the plant is absolutely amazing. Not made by Germans though, only Norwegians are that crazy to build a massive af plant that is so hardcore to get at. 😂 Everyone from Rjukan, Vemork are very proud, and talk about it still. My daughter even have a good friend from this desolate place, and his family owns one of the cabins the "gutta på skauen" used under this operation. The cabin is a historical place, so they can't do anything with it, but it's a gorgeous old cabin. They also occupied the little village i live now, they used one of the mansions here as a base. It is a very creepy place to hang out in, it has some weird ass vibes still. We don't take fascism lightly, nor should anyone if they belive in the freedom from terrors regarding the authoritative troglodytes. 🎉

[@declaredjeans7555]

I have an ampule with D2O from a batch that was supposed to go to the Germans, but saboteurs sunk a ferry with said heavy water onboard. That mission was pivotal!

[@linerasmussen4788]

Quisling is today a famous name for a Norwegian ZZ man who wanted to take over Norway. He went and talked to Hitler in Germany about being allowed to take over Norway when they took over the country. Hitler originally had idea of invading Norway, Until Quisling took it up. He didn't get the role he wanted. Today, several leaders in the world have called people cowards and supported Quisling, it is even in the dictionary. Regarding heavy water, Holloway have made a film about it, Norway made one a few years ago. The guys in the forest (translated directly from Norwegian) did not fire a shot during action and destroy the entire building.

[@VizioN-Scope]

There is a good Norwegian mini series about this from (2015) called: "The Heavy Water War: Stopping Hitler's Atomic Bomb" I highly recommend watching it.🙂

[@theGreenChangeling]

The Telemark plant was actually featured in a Battlefield 1942 expansion, "Secret Weapons of WWII" if I recall correctly.

[@torfinnsrnes6232]

They were actually norwegian commando soldiers. Gunnar Sønsteby is the most decorated norwegian citizen of all times.

[@ulrikone]

I can highly recommend the movie «The Kings No». Its in Norwegian ofcourse but you can tolerate subtitles for 1,5h😄

[@Growly.]

My great grandmother had 7 sons, in one way or another they were all involved with the resistance. My grandfather who was the youngest was the one trusted to run messages because it was assumed he'd never be suspected due to his age Also if your schhols don't mention the occupation of Norway they're skipping some vital parts of the war. It was not only the heavy water plant, but the strategic location. It could be used among other things to put more pressure on the english. It could be used (alongside Iceland) to monitor and prevent Russian naval forced to enter the war unseen and unchallenged. After the war it's actually been rumored that Winston Churchill toyed with the idea of invasion himself to secure the position. He ended up not doing it, one can assume for moral reasons. He shoulda offered to station English soldier soldiers in a defensive measure. No need to invade, but they shoulda been there. Personally I think he fucked up twice. Luckily he redeemed himself during the war

[@fredrikdahl1230]

There are also people who worked on the transportation Ships in Norway during the war called "Krigsseilerne" who transported gas, materials, food etc. to the United Kingdom, Europe and the rest of the world. At one point during world war 2 the Norwegian trade fleet/fleet was responsible for transporting around about 40% of the gas in the United Kingdom. Basically they were the ones who werent on the frontline but were working behind the scenes doing vital work for Norway and the allies. I believe the Norwegian fleet during ww2 were called Nortraship. They had headquarters both in the US, in New York City, and in The United Kingdom, in London. So they were pretty important for the war, which i think the leader of the United Kingdom, Churchill said. At least i think that is what i read somewhere.😊 great video! 🇧🇻🇧🇻 Basically Nortraship was established, in London in april 1940 by the Norwegian excile government, to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside german-controlled areas. And it was considered the largest shipping company/ merchant fleet in the world when Nortraship was active. Before ww2 the Norwegian merchant fleet was still considered the fourth biggest merchant fleet in the world only behind the us , uk and Japan. It was basically considered the most important contribution by Norway to the allied forces during ww2. Also, In a frequently repeated quote, Winston Churchill claimed that Norwegian seafarers were worth more than a million soldiers. So basically the Norwegian merchant fleet was essential not only for Norway as they also made a great amount of money for Norway and its national/federal budget but also because it was a major help for the allies in ww2 , Which without would have probably made it more difficult to win the war. 😊

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

Tyler, on this and your other channels (which often amuse me and sometimes even inform me), you keep saying, "We never learned this at school". These are often events which we learned in junior school. Do American schools teach anything which has happened outside the US?

[@TorB-nt5ys]

they only learn about holocaust.

[@sharaith7766]

Did you know, upon escaping the Nazi invation, our current King, Harald V a toddler at the time, lived for some time at the White house? At the personal invitation of FDR, along with his mother, then Crown Princess Märtha, and his older sisters, princesses Ragnhild and Astrid.

[@swayhips]

There is a movie by Kirk Douglas made in the 60s/70s about the sabotage of the heavy water plant in Rjukan. My father-in-law was one of the local young men skiing downhill in the movie. And the only reason I've seen it😂

[@gauteandreassveen]

Colonel Eriksen, he was the leader of Oscarsborg fortress. At the nigth to the 9 of april 1940, he had learned about that there was a number of warships on the way to Oslo. He waited and waited for orders from the high command. But no order came, so he ordered his newly arrived reqruits that had started there a couple of weeks prior to the german attack. To fire two of the cannons towards Blucher, the pride war ship of Hitler. And they sunk it, on that ship the german plans about how they could invade Oslo, captivate the King and his family. The government members and how to get a hold of the Norwegian gold reserve. All of these events did not happen bescause of that brave Colonel. (That was going to retire just a few months after) I would recomend you to see the newest movies made in Norway: The King´s choice (this is about Norwegian ressistance and the Kings no to Hitler) and Nr 24 (from 2024) is about Gunnar Sonsteby´s actions against the Nazi occupation. In the last one you´ll understand how one single man could survive and not get captured by the nazis. And next year a new movie will be launched about Oscarsborg fortress and it´s leader, they were filming some of that movie when I visited the fortress this summer. I think it will be called "the night of 9th of april"

[@ChronicallyChrissie]

Gunnar Sønsteby is not just «a resistance fighter» he is THE resistance fighter. He is one of the most famous ones here and there’s a movie in cinemas about him right now actually. There’s soooo many incredible stories, documentaries and movies about the Norwegian resistance

[@erpecom]

I am a history teacher and I am still learning every day. If anyone thinks they ‘know’ history, they have no idea. Well done you for wanting to learn more. BTW this is a good video especially the interviews but some of the video footage is definitely not from Norway.

[@heavygamer93]

Hey Tyler, since December is close I reccomend you to check out some Norwegian Christmas specials. The one you should start with is "The Julekalender" because the characters speak "Norwenglish". The special has songs like "It's hard to be a Nisseman", "Støveldance" and "Deilig News Blues". Travellin Strawberries are the Norwegian versions. (There are also Danish and Finnish versions of this special)

[@m4rt_]

The building was already there, but the Germans took control over it. Btw, you should look into the movies "Max Manus: Man of War", "The 12th Man", and "The King's Choice". The first one is about Max Manus, who was one of the resistance fighters, and was responsible for a lot of sabotage missions in the Oslo area. The second one is about one of the resistance fighters fleeing from Germans and hiding up in the mountains. The last one is about how the king escaped when the Germans invaded. They are all based on real stories and real people. I personally was unable to watch through "The 12th Man" as it was too graphic for me, but "The King's Choice" is a lot easier to watch, and "Max Manus: Man of War" has some graphic scenes too, but it's a little easier to watch than "The 12th Man", and It's the one I have rewatched the most. Also, there is a documentary on the resistance in Trodheim that released earlier this year, but I'm not sure if it has an English version. It's called "Motstandshelter fra Trondheim". Sadly it's a part of the was that is often forgotten despite all the resistance fighting they did.

[@grand_admiral_henrich4416]

I remember when we in History class had the subject of WW2. We had a presentation where you had to interview either your grandparents who lived at that time, or someone else, and talk about what it was like for them. It was very difficult interviewing my Grandpa about it.

[@elinfagerheim2155]

King Harald V (curret king) was born in 1937 and was 3 years old when his family had to flee the country in 1940. His grandfather (king at the time) and father (crown prince at the time) stayed in London during the war, while King Harald stayed in the US (close to Washington DC) with his mom and two sisters. The Norwegian ressistance is one of our proudest moments in modern history, and several people who played a significant role recieved a medal from the King after the war.

[@TomKirkemo-l5c]

Both my grandfathers fougth in WW2, in the resistance. They never really talked much about it. But the resistant movement was big. It sort of still is. I think we have about 5000 soldiers in Norway. BUT we have 40 000 more in "Heimevernet" and about 138 000 in "DFS". The last two is local, but i warious degree conected to the armed forces.

[@the_saint_1]

The Norwegian military force in peacetime is around 17,185 personnel including military and civilian staff, and around 70,000 in total with the current military personnel, conscripts and the Norwegian Home Guard in full mobilization. Of these, 40,500 are "Heimevernet".

[@solbu-1973]

The germans did _Not_ steal iron, they had for several decades bought it from sweden. It was shipped by rail to Narvik, and then loaded onto ships and transported to germany. The occupation of norway was in order to ensure that this transport was not interrupted by England.

[@NuevoExistence]

Max Manus is a legend! You should watch the titular movie😊

[@kenburlock3772]

Visited the site at Vemork (near Rjukan) in 2019. The power plant is now a museum and was worth the trip to get there. The scenery along the way was pretty spectacular too. The movie Heros of the Telemark was loosely based on the attack. It starred Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris. By the way the town of Rjukan nearby is illuminated in the winter by a series of mirror deflecting the sunlight into the gorge where the town is located.

[@larsyvindgrindrud8341]

Just after WW2 the Rjukan story was reconstructed in a movie where the saboteurs played themselves with the exception of one). In 1965 the story was filmed in on location at Rjukan starring Kirk Douglas as the leader of the group (the gentleman that was interviewed in the video).This movie brought the story to a broader public, but was criticized in Norway for not being historically correct.

[@miriam-aurora]

This is such a huge part of modern Norwegian history. Several people in my family were involved in the war effort. One of my great-grandfathers was in the resistance in the Oslo area, and his whole family had to flee to Sweden, risking their lives on the way. My grandmother - still healthy and active today at the age of 83 - later wrote about her experiences as a refugee child. It all feels rather close, even though a lot of time has passed.

[@arnehusby1420]

It's a more complicated story. Not all Norwegians were heroes. We had defectors and Norwegian SS soldiers etc. Women struggled a lot to provide food and clothing for the family. Female Resistance fighters had to stand on the pavement when the Home Front paraded around the towns and before the King.

[@thecrimsonchin9466]

My great-grandfather was part of a non-Milorg resistance group that operated near Oslo. Since they were not connected to or supported by Milorg, which was the Norwegian Military ressistance organization, they where not recognized for their efforts and contributions to the ressistance and liberation of Norway. And all the actions they commited were credited to other groups or individuals like Max Manus, who was a part of Milorg. Not trying to bring down Max Manus or anything, he's just the most famous resistance fighter in Norway, but he did get credit for more than he did. There were many other groops like the one my great-grandfather was part of that was treated the same way. My great-grandfather did not get any recognitions or awards until after he passed away in 2012. If you ever want to watch a documentary about his group, one was made called ¨the last witnes¨ or ¨det siste vitnet¨ in Norwegian, it's on NRK.

[@bjrnfure9581]

My father was 5 years old,and lived in Bergen, in 1940 when Germans invaded Norway😢

[@Kari.F.]

Norway and Denmark were not neutral. We were both very much occupied, and cities and towns in Northern Norway were obliterated. Sweden was neutral. They lived in peace and relative prosperity there. No occupation. But they welcomed all Norwegians who made the treacherous walk through the huge woods (patrolled by Nazi soldiers) at night, over the border and into Sweden. When I was a kid, I knew one of the Norwegian men who used to lead groups of people through the woods. It could be pretty intense at times, with enemy soldiers so close they could hear them talking! 😱

[@the_saint_1]

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Norway declared itself neutral, but on 9 April 1940 German troops attacked the country. So Norway was actually neutral.