Norway was invaded by Germany on April 9th, 1940, in a surprise attack. The war lasted until May 8th, 1945. Being 85 and 80 years ago, it will be commemorated in many ceremonies in Norway in the weeks to come.
A lot has been written about WW2 in Norway, the occupation, resistance, the gold reserve, the merchant fleet, King and government, prisoners, rationing and much more. In the following a glimpse will be given about the fate of one town: Namsos. Then we will share sources to find those who participated in the war or were otherwise affected by it (and where this has been documented).
Namsos is a small town in Trøndelag (north of Trondheim) and had 3615 inhabitants when war started in 1940. After the invasion of Norway in the beginning of April, fighting continued in different parts of Norway. Allied forces from Great Britain and France came to the rescue in Namsos and moved towards Steinkjer in mid-April. But they were not equipped well enough and could not prevent the Germans from taking back the area. The town was burned down. 207 houses were totally destroyed and 1350 people lost their homes. Both the allies and the population were evacuated from Namsos. Three civilians and 10 allied soldiers were killed during the bombing of the town.
YouTube
A French officer, captain Mallez, took a color film (21 minutes) of the events of April 1940. You can see it here on Youtube.
More information
Norwegian digital encyclopedia
For in-depth descriptions read for example this from a Norwegian dictionary. Remember that there are many ways to translate the text, for example Google and AI.
The day-to-day events (April-June 1940 ) are described here/Flukten fra Oslo etter 9. april 1940 .
Operation Weserübung (the attack on Norway in 1940)
Princess Märtha of Sweden (Crown Princess of Norway)
DATABASES
Those who died/De falne
Scramble: A database of Norwegian people who served in the Norwegian Airforce during WW2 or in other countries Air Force. A lot of documents are also included.
Norwegian Digital Prisoner Archive 1940-45/Fanger.no
Lists of those who fled to Sweden/Navn, fødselsdato og dagen ulike nordmenn kom til Sverige under 2. verdenskrig.
A digital monument documenting the wartime seafarers/Krigsseilerregisteret
Foreign war graves in Norway/Krigsgraver
Those who served (in the Army, Navy or Air Force/Soldater
Flyktet dine forfedre til Storbritannia under 2. verdenskrig?/Those who fled to Great Britain
Pictures of the Royal family during the war.
FILMS
Gunnar Sønsteby, the leader of the “Oslo-gang” who did many sabotage acts, especially in Oslo. The film is called No 24, you can read more here.
The film is called Narvik and about the battle of Narvik in April 1940, where British, French, Norwegian and Germans fought for the control of the town. This was Germany’s first defeat.
Describes the events of the King and Government in April 1940 when Norway was invaded by the Germans: The Kings choice/Kongens nei.
In 2015 a Norwegian TV-series was made called The Heavy Water War.
In 2008 the film Max Manus was released. Max Manus was one of “the most brilliant saboteurs.
In 2003 The Real Heroes of Telemark was launched, it focused on the survival skills of the men who completed the mission.
In 1965 the film Heroes of Telemark was released with Kirk Douglas as the main character, a physics professor.
In 1948 the French-Norwegian film Operation Swallow was made. Some of the participants played themselves.
Webinar
Mondays with Myrt, March 31. 2025.
If you need some guidance in researching your Norwegian family history, read our book Exploring Norwegian Genealogy. Read more about it here.
Genealogical research in Norway 