We visited two places in Norway where the history of the Second Great War is still ever present in the hearts of residents of the area.

photos here

The coast of the North Sea was a strategic plum for the Nazis after the Germans invaded and occupied Norway. The access to the sea and the relative proximity to Britain made the entire coast an area of prime importance. Early in the war, men began to escape in open boats across the sea to the Shetland Islands, where they joined the Allied forces fighting Germany. The trip was a harrowing one, with a small sail, two oars, and two or three men aboard to tend the sails, navigate, and row if necessary, sleeping in shifts. The method of transport was dubbed "The Shetland Bus." In the small village of Televag, an active resistance cell of local citizens hid persons on the run from the Nazis for various reasons, and planned and scheduled the trips heading west.

What the residents did not realize was that local Nazi sympathizers as well as the German commander in Bergen were aware of their activities. An informer got enough information to convince the Germans to make a move. Men of the village were sent to a concentration camp in Germany, women, children, and the elderly were evacuated to live in a local school, and the village itself was dynamited and demolished.

After the war, survivors returned, rebuilt the village, and in response to increased interest on the part of historians, constructed a small museum and research center. On a glorious sunny day, we visited the area, watched a short film summarizing the village history, and enjoyed a typical Norwegian treat of pancakes, sour cream, jam, and coffee.

About a week later, we were all the way north, in Kirkenes, where a prison labor camp was built to hold Norwegian teachers who had refused to revise their curricula to support the Nazi philosophies. This was an especially poignant stop for our little group, because our tour leader, Jens, is the son of one of the men imprisoned there.

All the buildings are gone now, but the road they built as forced labor is still there. Now it's a lovely little corner of the world, a peaceful river floating by under a sunny sky and autumn foliage pleasing the eye. Our local guide had also studied the history of this part of the area where she lives, and added her stories from the memories of the local residents.

Both stops on our itinerary were sobering moments for us all.