Work package B: The Occupation Regime: Ambitions and Responses,

The main aim of this WP is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the occupation regime in Norway – both its intentions, institutions and projects. In studying how it actually functioned, it will further be possible to explain the reactions of different groups in Norwegian society in the various grey zones between ideological collaboration and resistance. This WP can build on a recent research project into the use of forced labour in Norway, led by Hans Otto Frøland, which has made it possible to draw comparisons between the economic history of the occupation in Norway and other countries. Leading postwar historians tended to highlight the ways in which the occupation regime overrode Norwegian interests. Subsequent studies by Alan Milward and Robert Bohn were more concerned with (conflicting) German ambitions and comparative dimensions. Most recently, the planned nazification of the public sector, the aims of the SS and Organisation Todt have all been studied by Norwegian historians. WP B takes as its point of departure the substantial scholarly literature on the polycratic nature of the Nazi state. So far, this model has primarily been used to explain developments within Germany and has not been applied to the occupation regimes

B1: “Polycracy and Common Interests in the German Occupation Regime: Studies of Cooperation and Conflict between Wehrmacht, Reich Commissariat, SS and OT”

Gunnar Hatlehol, post.doc (NTNU)

Hatlehol vil studere okkupasjonsregimet i Norge med vekt på relasjonene mellom Reichskommissariat, Wehrmacht og SS, en innsats som vil munne ut i en artikkel med arbeidstittelen "Power and polycracy in German occupied Norway – a comparative approach." Okkupasjonsstyrene i Danmark, Nederland og Polen vil være sammenligningsgrunnlaget. Han skal også gjennomføre en regional studie, "Towards an Endkampf in the North – Prospects, planning and preparations", av tyske tiltak og militære disposisjoner i Nord-Norge 1944-1945 etter tvangsevakueringen og forut for de sovjetiske offensive operasjonene som ble forventet.

B2: “The Costs of Occupation and the Question of Reparations: Discussions between German and Norwegian Authorities”

Hans Otto Frøland, (NTNU)

The project will seek to identify the funding streams behind the activities of the occupation authorities during the occupation, and the discussion of occupation costs between Norwegian and German authorities, as well as among the German agencies, after 1945. The study will be carried out by Hans Otto Frøland.

B3 og B4: “Keeping the Wheels Turning? Economic Responses to the German Occupation”,

Associate professor Anette Storeide (NTNU) and Associate professor Bjørn- Petter Finstad (UiT)

The two sub-projects “Keeping the Wheels Turning? Economic Responses to the German Occupation”, will deal with economic collaboration. The subject attracted only marginal interest in Norwegian historical research until the late 1980s. However, in recent decades several studies have shown that the occupation created business opportunities for Norwegian enterprises, which they exploited in accordance with their own, sometimes far-reaching strategic goals. Subproject B3 (caried out by Anette Storeide) aims to present a systematic multi-sectoral synthesis of Norwegian industry between 1940 and 1945. Subproject B4 (carried out by Associate Professor Bjørn-Petter Finstad) will present an in-depth analysis of the Norwegian fishing industry. Apart from presenting original research on Norway, the sub-projects have the additional ambition of developing more productive conceptual frameworks for the analysis of economic collaboration. This work will build on an ongoing project at NTNU.16 The sub-projects will result in two peer-reviewed articles.

B5: “The Military Courts of the Wehrmacht”

Associate professor Maria Fritsche (NTNU)

This subproject will investigate  the German military justice system in occupied Norway. In recent years, a range of studies has revealed the important role of the Wehrmacht and its military courts in implementing Nazi policies and enforcing consent among both the German military and civilians in the occupied territories. The project will analyse court documents to establish how the Germans transferred legal, ideological, moral and gender norms to a Norwegian setting; to identify the strategies applied to produce consent; and to shed light on the complex relations between Norwegian civilians and German military personnel.

Eksternt finansierte prosjekter

I tillegg til prosjektene som er finansiert av Norges forskningsråd vil to eksternt finansierte studier bli omfattet i arbeidspakken. Disse studiene, som allerede er igangsatt og er relatert til tematikken i arbeidspakke B vil føre til to fagfellevurderte artikler.

B6:"Organisation Todt og den tyske byggebransjen i Norge: forholdet til den norske byggenæringen"

B7: "Organisation Todt i Finland og dens retrett i Norge i 1944: Påvirkningen på Nord-Norge"