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During World War II the Norwegian resistance movement (both civilian resistance and some units of armed resistance, notably the Milorg and the Company Linge) became very active after German attempts to install a puppet government under Vidkun Quisling.
Norwegian resistance, coupled with two British raids in Lofoten and one
on Vågsøy Island, convinced Hitler that the Allies would invade Europe through Norway, and he insisted on keeping many German divisions tied down in occupation duty. At the most, 380 000 Wehrmacht soldiers were posted in Norway, a number equal to 11% of the entire Norwegian population. Half that should have been more than sufficient to occupy Norway, but veterans from the Eastern front were often sent there as a break from the heavy fighting.
Norwegian spotters aided in the destruction of numerous German warships, such as the Bismarck and the Tirpitz. The Norwegian resistance also smuggled people in and out of Norway during the war, through Sweden or by fishing boats to Shetland (referred to as the "Shetland bus"). A number of saboteurs (most notably Max Manus and Gunnar Sønsteby) destroyed ships and supplies. Perhaps its most famous achievements were a series of operations to destroy Norsk Hydro's heavy water plant and stockpile of heavy water at Vemork, crippling the German nuclear program (see: Norwegian heavy water sabotage). The Germans attempted to stifle Resistance activities and executed several innocent Norwegian men, women and children in retaliation after any Resistance act. Probably the worst act of reprisal was the assault on the fishing village of Telavåg in the spring of 1942.
Intelligence gathering within occupied Norway was very much needed for the allied forces, and several organisations were established for this, the larges and most efficient was called XU. Established by Arvid Storsveen, its basis were students from the University of Oslo. One interesting fact was that two of its four leaders were young women, among them Anne-Sofie Østvedt.
Of lesser military importance was the distribution of illegal newspapers (often with news items culled from Allied news broadcasts; possession of radios was illegal). The purpose of this was twofold : It counteracted German propaganda, and it maintained nationalistic, anti-German feelings in the population at large. It might also be argued that this activity absorbed German resources out of proportion to the actual effects.
Finally, there was the attempt at maintaining an "Ice Front" against the German soldiers. This involved, among other things, never speaking to a German if it could be avoided (many pretended to speak no German, though German skills were then almost as prevalent as English now) and refusing to sit beside a German on public transportation. The latter was so annoying to the occupying authority that they made it illegal to stand on a bus if seats were available.
Towards the end of the war, the resistance become more open, with rudimentary military organizations set up in the forests around the larger cities. A number of Nazi collaborators and officials were killed - and those collaborating with the German or Quisling authorities were ostracized, both during and after the war.
A symbol of the Norwegian resistance was wearing a paper clip on a lapel; an innocuous item, the paperclip was assumed to be a Norwegian invention, and represented uniting against the occupation.
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