Viking Fest: Something to consider during the celebration | Editorial

Published 9:41 am Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Poulsbo’s Viking Fest begins Friday and continues through Sunday. It’s a celebration of Norway’s Constitution Day, May 17.

Poulsbo celebrates with three days of carnival, contests, games, live music, and a parade. But for Norway’s descendants the world over, this day is just as much a time to remember the price that Norway paid for its freedom.

The price was indeed high.

Norway’s parliament adopted a constitution on May 17, 1814, a year that would see Norway claimed by Denmark and then Sweden. May 17 became a lasting, unifying national symbol in the struggle for independence, which was finally achieved in 1905. But independence — and Norwegian resilience — would be severely tested 35 years later.

Nazi Germany invaded Norway on April 9, 1940. In June, King Haakon VII and the Norwegian Parliament went to London — accompanied by 13 Royal Norwegian Navy warships, five aircraft and 500 personnel.

The Norwegian government operated in exile. Its Navy actively served in the Allied effort, and some 28,000 Norwegian expatriates served in Allied military forces. Exiled Norwegian troops liberated Finnmark in April 1945.

By the war’s end, some 92,000 Norwegians were abroad, 46,000 of them in Sweden, others in the United Kingdom and the United States. More than 10,000 Norwegians lost their lives in combat or as imprisoned civilians.

An estimated 50,000 Norwegians were arrested by the Nazis during the occupation; 9,000 were sent to prison camps outside Norway. Some 765 Jewish Norwegians — comprising 230 complete households — were killed.

Norway was shaken by the war, but it not only survived, it thrived. Today, Norway is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe. It is richly endowed with natural resources and its citizens enjoy one of the best standards of living in the world. Norwegian identity was defined and strengthened by adversity. That is the shared inheritance of Norwegians and the Norwegian diaspora.

To Poulsbo and North Kitsap residents whose ancestors came here during the wave of entrepreneurial spirit in late 1800s and early 1900s, and those who sought refuge here from the ravages of 20th century wars, we say, “Fred være til Norge” (Peace be to Norway).

To all our visitors, we say, “Velkommen til Poulsbo.”

— Editor’s note: Ron Krell, president of the Viking Fest Corporation, responded to this editorial: “… it is an excellent reminder that Norway has been a stalwart ally over the years. The destruction of the heavy water facility in Norway and the subsequent sinking of a ferry transporting heavy water to Germany was the subject of a History Channel documentary a few months ago.  That effort alone helped slow the German attempt to build an atomic bomb.”