This Day in History: Nazi Germany Occupies Norway

Operation Weserübung was the first military confrontation between Nazi Germany and the Allies. Germany invaded Norway in April 1940, but the campaign concluded only in June, on the 2nd of Sivan 5700, with a victory for Nazi Germany.

The objective of the occupation was to prevent Britain from blocking the supply of iron ore from Sweden to Germany, as well as Germany's desire to capture ports and turn them into bases for the German navy. Despite the occupation, Germany failed to turn Norway into a Nazi state.

The failure of the Allies in the campaign for Norway was one of the reasons for the resignation of Britain's Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, and his replacement by Winston Churchill.

There were very few Jews in Norway until that period, as Jewish entry into Norway was prohibited until the 19th century. Jews faced antisemitism in Norway even before the Nazi invasion. Around 1,800 Jews lived in Norway when Germany invaded. Approximately 930 of them were smuggled into Sweden by the Norwegian resistance, about a hundred served in the Norwegian military, and 750 were sent by the Nazis to Auschwitz. Of these, only 25 Jews survived.