Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian military officer, politician, and the founder and leader of the fascist Nasjonal Samling party. He is infamous for his collaboration with Nazi Germany during the Second World War occupation of Norway, serving as the head of a puppet regime from 1942 to 1945. His name became synonymous with betrayal and treason, entering the English language as the term "quisling" for a collaborator. After the war, he was convicted of high treason, war crimes, and murder, and was executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress.

Early life and military career

Vidkun Quisling was born in Fyresdal, Telemark, to a family of pastors and genealogists. He graduated from the Norwegian Military College in 1911 as the top of his class, demonstrating a talent for mathematics and science. He served as a military attaché in Petrograd and Helsinki, and later worked for the explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, organizing relief missions during the Russian famine of 1921 and the Armenian genocide. His early career included a stint as a staff officer for the Norwegian Army and involvement with the League of Nations.

Political rise and ideology

In the late 1920s, Quisling turned to politics, co-founding the anti-communist Fatherland League and publishing the manifesto "Russia and Ourselves." He served as Minister of Defence in the agrarian Farmers' Party governments of Peder Kolstad and Jens Hundseid from 1931 to 1933. Influenced by the rise of fascism in Europe, particularly Benito Mussolini's Italy, he founded the Nasjonal Samling in 1933, promoting a nationalist, anti-Marxist ideology that opposed parliamentarism and sought a corporate state. The party failed to gain significant electoral support in the 1936 Norwegian parliamentary election.

Collaboration with Nazi Germany

With the outbreak of World War II, Quisling actively sought the support of Adolf Hitler's Germany. During the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, he attempted a coup d'état, announcing a new government with himself as prime minister over radio. This government, not sanctioned by Josef Terboven, the Reichskommissar appointed by Hitler, lasted only six days. Nevertheless, Quisling became a key collaborator, urging Norwegians to cease resistance and actively assisting the Gestapo and the SS in their operations against the Norwegian resistance movement and the persecution of Norwegian Jews.

Leadership of the Nasjonal Samling and wartime government

On 1 February 1942, Quisling was installed by the German authorities as "Minister President" of a puppet state administration, though real power remained with Reichskommissar Terboven. His regime, dominated by the Nasjonal Samling, enforced a policy of Nazification, attempting to reshape Norwegian society along fascist lines through organizations like the Hirden and the Nasjonal Samlings Ungdomsfylking. His government passed anti-Semitic laws, confiscated property, and was complicit in the deportation of Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp. The regime faced widespread popular contempt and a robust Norwegian resistance movement.

Trial, execution and legacy

Following the German surrender and the liberation of Norway in May 1945, Quisling was immediately arrested. He stood trial before a Norwegian court in the Quisling trial, facing charges including high treason, war crimes, and murder. He was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. On 24 October 1945, he was executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress. His name became a byword for treachery, and the term "quisling" was adopted internationally to denote a traitorous collaborator. His actions and the experience of occupation profoundly shaped post-war Norwegian society and its commitment to democracy, Atlanticism, and the United Nations. Category:Vidkun Quisling Category:1945 deaths Category:Collaborators with Nazi Germany