Norwegian nationalism (Norwegian:Norsk nasjonalisme) is a form ofnationalism that promotes the unity ofNorwegians and theirculture under anation state.[1]
The first organized Norwegian nationalist movement arose inDenmark. Norwegian students came together inNorwegian Society in the university city ofCopenhagen. Political independence was not seen as realistic, but the desire for more internal autonomy was expressed through the desire for a specifically Norwegian university.
Nationalistic sentiment inNorway grew strongly in the early 19th century. This was linked to theNapoleonic Wars and the influence of theFrench Revolution. The sense of community was also strengthened by theconflict with Sweden. The17th of May – Constitution Day – which began to be celebrated in 1824, was also an important factor. WhenNational Romanticism broke through in the 1840s, old culture was brought forth by artists, writers, and other champions of nationalism.[2][3]
In the 1870s and 1880s, theLiberal Party in particular was a nationalist party during the struggle forparliamentarism, which was gradually introduced from 1884. The same applied to theTarget Movement and theNorwegian Youth Association.[4] The Target Movement led byIvar Aasen claimed there were two cultures in Norway, theupper class consisting of thenobility,civil servants and parts of thebourgeoisie who represented an elitist and foreign, mainlyDanish culture, and "the Norwegian people" that had roots inpeasantry and represented Norwegian popular culture. The notion of the two cultures also existed outside the target group, including among the Liberal party and poets such asAasmund Olavsson Vinje andArne Garborg.[5] The latter two‚ however, interpreted the two-culture doctrine more strictly than the rest of the supporters of this division. Garborg went so far to say that there were not only two cultures in Norway, but two nations. Garborg believed only those who embracedthe national language and trueNorwegian culture could be considered Norwegian and those who did not had to be considered Danes. This created conflicts among the more moderate nationalists. The conflicts surrounding the dissolution of theSwedish-Norwegian union in 1905 led to political nationalism becoming popular with theleft wing, but this nationalism was mostly concerned with national independence, and less so with what was considered true Norwegian culture.[6]
While in the 19th century people were mostly concerned with the concepts ofethnicity andnation, throughout the 20th century people increasingly became concerned withrace. The concept of different human races originated inbiology, which at the time had grown in prestige. National minorities such asSámi,Kven,Travellers andJews were considered to belong to a different race than Norwegians, though few had systematic racist ideologies. Such nationalism became common in the interwar period among theNorwegian Agrarian Association and other organizations. With thelabor movement,nationalism was less popular; for them, social class was more important than nation.[7][8]
With the victory of theSoviets against theWhite movement in theRussian Civil War, and the rise of otherrevolutionary marxist movements acrossEurope, nationalism among theright wing in Norway would take on ananti-communist character. One of the largest nationalist anti-communist movements, and largest right-wing mass movement in the country was theFatherland League.[9]
During the Second World War, the event led to tremendous growth of nationalism. Both the Norwegian resistance movement and theNational Gathering (NS) claimed to be the real custodians of the Norwegian nation. The development of the war andGermany's military dictatorship led over 90% of the population coming to regard the resistance movement as the "good Norwegians", while the NS were regarded as traitors to the country. The historianØystein Sørensen has shown that the NS had no unified view of nationalism, but was divided into a Norwegian-nationalist wing, and a pan-GermanicNazi wing.[citation needed]
Many members of the Fatherland League had a strong antipathy towards the NS and many took part in theresistance movement. Key figures of the movement such asOtto Skirstad was shot by theQuisling regime. like many organizations some members of the movement also joined the NS.[10]
