General Discussion

JDPriestly

Many Norwegians - as most of the occupied Europe did many brave things to make the occupying as hard as possible for the germans - and even then Norway was seen as one of the more easy assignments for germans - as it was kind of a policy from the government in Exile (And the King) not to provoke to much against the germans, mostly because the government in exile would not experience any Yugoslavia on Norwegian soil - Even as Norway would have been a prime target for partisan warfare as Norway is full of woods and mountains to hide in if necessary - It was not until late in the war - that the Norwegian Resistance fighters was starting to get some ground - and to really inflict some damage to the germans (and we also have a very brave residence fighter group called the Oswald Group, who was communist in ideology - but who was instrumental in doing a lot of damage to the germans - and also was inflicted hardest when the germans was doing their job arresting, torturing and in man cases execute the groups members - after the War the oswald group was almost forgotten in the official history writing of WW2 - it was Milorg who was the national Resistance fighters of Norway - and in the logic of cold war the Oswald group was almost forgotten - it was not until last year - some of the last members of the Oswald group was given the recognizing they deserve - and was given the medals they should have been given in 1945, as the other heroes was given their medals... As one of the members who is still alive said it "It is nice I was able to get the medal I was given - but it was many who was much braver than me who deserved the medal more, and who never was given any by the government"...

Most Norwegians have some family members - either alive or dead who was a part of the Resistance - that be grand parents - uncles - and older family members who still is alive - not many of them as it is 70 year since World War two started - one of my last relatives who was young when the war started died a few years ago - 83 year old - Even though my dad was alive and a young kid when the war started - he told me once it was from his point of view not to dangerous - he always believed the germans to be nice, as they gave away "bomboms" to the kids - but he also said that the last winter of the war 144-45 was hard - and that it was often the food help from Sweden and Denmark who kept the family from starving the last year of the war - and it was also in the last year or so - the Resistance really was starting to do damage to the germans - in the hope it could make germans end the war earlier.... And even then, Norway was one of the countries in Europe who got easy off the hook when World War two was over - we got our independence - and the country managed to rebuilt itself with less political up wail than in other parts of europe - where the Resistance was starting civil war with each others when the common enemy was out of the scene... (Like Yugoslavia and Greece for)


Americans tend to be somewhat smug about the war - and it might be because many in the US have learned from young age how brave the US is in time of war - and that the rest of the world is still soooo depended of an american security guarantee - many still believe Europe to be in ruble - and that the Soviet Union is rather still intact and ready to attack the west... The fact is that US came late into the war - and had to learn the hard way how to fight an enemy who superiority was intact way into 1943- early 1944 - even after Stalingrad in 1943 -and the loss of North Africa the Germans had disciplined armies all over Europe - and firepower to give the allied forces a really challenge, in many cases it was not the generals fault germans was on the loosing side of the war - it was that **** Corporal Adolf Hitler who really messed up things by demanding things that was impossible to do... and always was second guessing the generals... If the allied forces in North Africa - Italia and Western part of Europe have had a president or a prime minister who was always second guessing and messing up with the military side of the war - I guess we would still have been a war in Europe... Thankfully we do not had any leader who was second guessing the generals all the time - even if the generals was at odd with the political leadership now and then - the generals was able to do their job - with the best tools available at the time - and the war was won - in the end by bombing germany to a pile of rubbles - helped by the US Air force - and the Royal Air force - and more or less every national air force who was stationed in the UK under the war... World War two was won not just by a nation or two nations, or tree nations - it was won by mos european nations - and the rest of the world - who was fighting against the evilness of nazi-german and imperial Japan...

Diclotican