Vidkun Quisling
| Surname | Quisling |
| Given Name | Vidkun |
| Born | 18 Jul 1887 |
| Died | 24 Oct 1945 |
| Country | Norway |
| Category | Government |
| Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseVidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was born to priest and genealogist Jon Lauritz Quisling. He graduated from the academy in 1911 and reached the rank of major before entering politics. He was the Norwegian defense minister between 1931 and 1933. On 17 May 1933, he co-founded the Nasjonal Samling, the National Unity Party, and he took on the title Fører. Starting around 1935, Nasjonal Samling took on a pro-German and anti-Semitic characteristic. This action caused party membership to drop, but Quisling was able to establish limited support from Germany by maintaining contact with Nazi philosopher Alfred Rosenberg. Although most of the German leadership did not think too highly of Quisling, Hitler maintained the support for him in case he needed a fascist ally in neutral Norway. As Norway was eyed by both the Western Allies and Germany, German acted first and staged an invasion. On 9 Apr 1940, Quisling announced a coup d'etat over a news broadcast, declaring himself the leader of Norway as the Norwegian King Haakon VII fled from the capital of Oslo, and called for German protection in a similar manner as how Germany took over Austria and Czechoslovakia. His government was disbanded only five days later when Germany decided to install Josef Terboven as the German Commissioner of Norway. Terboven placed Quisling in his government as the Minister President on 1 Feb 1943. On 9 May 1945, he was arrested in Oslo and for charges of treason (particularly the Apr 1940 coup) and crimes against humanity (he had collaborated with Germany for the deportation of Norwegian Jews to concentration camps). He was convicted and executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress. Today the word "quisling" often takes on the meaning of a "traitor" in a significant number of European languages.
ww2dbaseSources:
William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Jul 2006
Vidkun Quisling Interactive Map
Photographs
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Vidkun Quisling Timeline
| 18 Jul 1887 | Vidkun Quisling was born. |
| 11 Dec 1939 | Vidkun Quisling met with Erich Raeder in Germany. |
| 14 Dec 1939 | Vidkun Quisling met with Adolf Hitler in Berlin, Germany. |
| 16 Dec 1939 | Vidkun Quisling met with Adolf Hitler in Berlin, Germany. |
| 18 Dec 1939 | Vidkun Quisling met with Adolf Hitler in Berlin, Germany. |
| 15 Apr 1940 | Vidkun Quisling was removed from power in Norway. |
| 1 Feb 1942 | Vidkun Quisling formed his government in Norway. |
| 13 Feb 1942 | Vidkun Quisling arrived in Berlin, Germany. |
| 22 Feb 1943 | Norwegian Minister President Vidkun Quisling ordered the mobilization of 35,000 men for construction of roads, railways, and military-related facilities. Two Lutheran church leaders who protested were arrested and imprisoned in the Grini Concentration Camp. |
| 29 Jan 1945 | Adolf Hitler met with Vidkun Quisling for the last time. |
| 9 May 1945 | Vidkun Quisling, Norway's pro-Nazi Prime Minister, was captured by the underground. |
| 10 May 1945 | Norwegian collaborator Vidkun Quisling was arrested. |
| 10 Sep 1945 | In Oslo, Norway, Vidkun Quisling was sentenced to death. |
| 24 Oct 1945 | Norwegian collaborator Vidkun Quisling was executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
21 Mar 2018 10:12:54 AM
quisling was head of goverment on 1. feb, 1942 as in the time-line but not in the text.
kind regards
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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General Douglas MacArthur at Leyte, 17 Oct 1944
20 Aug 2010 05:02:18 PM
Vidkum Quisling:
This man was a traitor to his own country of
Norway during World War II.
Today the name Quisling in most countries in
the world means TRAITOR!
What do you do with traitors today thats easy
"Get a Rope"