On 9 April 1940, the German warships sailed into the Norwegian fjords, and the occupation of our country was a fact.
It was a brutal external enemy that sought to take Norway by force, and we commemorate this day with great solemnity. The sinking of “Blücher” at Oscarsborg and the King’s unequivocal no stand as symbols of a time when we knew exactly who was attacking us. The invasion took place almost simultaneously along the entire coastline from the Oslofjord to Narvik, and marked the beginning of five dark years.
But the lessons of 1940 must not be forgotten, even if the threats today are of an entirely different and more insidious character. Whereas the attack then came from the outside, today we experience a danger that resembles a Trojan horse. It has already been brought inside our own walls, and it is the first time we are witnessing such an extensive undermining of the nation state from within.
Today’s attackers do not wear uniforms, but conceal themselves behind fine words about diversity and tolerance while they dismantle the Norwegian foundation. The political elite in Oslo has in practice opened the gates to values and cultures that are entirely foreign to our society. The elite speaks of global cooperation, while in reality weakening national security bit by bit.
Neither the Storting nor the Government appears to understand that a people who lose their history and their distinctive character also lose their future. We are witnessing a slow invasion taking place in the street scene and within our own institutions, without those responsible daring to sound the alarm.
Academia and the media function as suppliers of premises for this self-erasure, and those who defend Norwegian traditions are often rendered suspect. It is a cynical form of activism, which has infected our foremost institutions of learning and which whitewashes ideologies that are totalitarian in their essence.
They hold global ideals in high regard, while they despise Norwegian cultural heritage and the people who have built this country. By prioritising foreign interests, they ensure that the resilience of the population is weakened and that we become strangers in our own homeland.
We have many ministers whom one could easily imagine in another context.
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
In 1940 we knew who the enemy was, and were able to unite in common resistance against the occupiers. In 2026, the picture is far more unclear, because those who are supposed to protect us instead function as architects of a development that threatens our existence as a nation. Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg and the rest of the apparatus of power prioritise international agreements and global projects over securing the nation’s survival.
They do not appear to grasp that a Trojan horse only functions if it is admitted by those who hold the keys to the realm.
9 April reminds us that freedom is never free, and that it must be defended against all types of attack. This means recognising the modern occupation before it has had time to erase everything we have built up over generations. Without the will to protect our own borders and our culture, we will end up losing what we hold most dear. This development is thus taking place in peacetime and with the blessing of the authorities.
It is an affront to our forefathers, to those who gave their lives during the war for our freedom. It is an affront to all the Allies who also gave their lives for everyone’s freedom, and it is an affront to us who live today, who must also pay the price.
Strong words cannot be used today. The elite has ensured that such is punishable. It is therefore not so easy to describe in a text what ought to have been done. To that extent, freedom of expression has become too restricted.
What happened during the war was never to happen again, it was said, but the truth is perhaps that it is happening again, albeit in a different way. We see antisemitism spreading again, and while it is not men in uniform marching up Karl Johan, the Nazis of the present day are concealed behind dangerous ideologies. They constitute a greater danger, because they are hidden from large parts of the population.
We see politicians seeking towards the EU and the dream of a common Europe, not unlike what Vidkun Quisling wrote about in his manifesto, “Universismen”. The parallels are there for those who wish or are able to see, but the forces that constantly seek to conceal the Trojan horse, which only grows larger and larger in the room, continue their work undeterred.
Norwegians were promised that 9 April would never happen again, but history has an unfortunate tendency to repeat itself, and in the same way as one slept in 1940, one now sleeps as well.
That may prove fateful.