![Royal Monogram of King Haakon VII of Norway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Royal_Monogram_of_King_Haakon_VII_of_Norway.svg)
H7 was the
royal cypher of the Norwegian
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
,
King Haakon VII
Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...
, who reigned from 1905 to 1957. When
Germany invaded Norway in 1940 as a part of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
fled the country and Haakon VII later spearheaded the Norwegian resistance in exile in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. H7 became one of several symbols used by the
Norwegian populace to mark solidarity with and loyalty to the King, and adherence to the
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:
*Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...
.
World War II
According to
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Bjørn Tore Godal
Bjørn Tore Godal (born 20 January 1945) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994–1997 and
Minister of Defence from 2000–2001 in Stoltenberg's First Cabinet. From 2003-2007 he was the No ...
, speaking at the 50th anniversary for
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
, Norway was the only country in which the initials of the head of state became a resistance symbol. The monogram, with H superimposed on 7, was drawn on fences, walls, houses, roads, in the snow and otherwise in the public sphere. It was also used in illegal art. Coins with the H7 symbol were also attached to clothes.
Such coins were confiscated by the Nazi authorities.
It was also used in the private sphere, among others on the inside of blinds.
A symbol used in a similar way was the "V for victory",
as popularised by Winston Churchill. However, the Axis attempted to usurp this sign, supposedly with the new meaning of "V for
Viktoria". While this campaign was successful in most of
Nazi-occupied Europe
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
, it failed in Norway: Despite continued official use, the opposition also adopted the V-sign as an abbreviation of ' (German for "to lose"), and filled in the Nazi V's with the H7 monogram. In fact, this popularized the use of H7, which was soon drawn without the V.
[
The act of drawing or creating a H7 symbol in ]German-occupied Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...
was punishable by imprisonment. Another possible sanction was terror from Nazi paramilitary groups, to which the police were ordered not to respond.[
]
Post-war use
The symbol was also evoked after World War II to have a commemorative effect, among others at the first post-war Holmenkollen ski jump event, when the symbol was formed in large scale by people. It was also used on post-war coins.
Gallery
File:Norway 1 Krone 1940 obverse H7 monogram.jpg, A 1940 Norwegian krone
The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''Ã ...
featuring the H7 monogram.
File:Vær tro mot H7.jpg, Preserved H7 graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
in Uranienborg, Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
.
File:Kronene i HÃ¥vet.JPG, Monograms carved in rock to mark royal visits to Kongsberg
Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...
since 1623. H7 is on the second row, to the right.
File:Votter med HÃ¥kon 7..jpg, Gloves featuring the H7 monogram
File:HÃ¥kon 7. malt i veien.jpg, Resistance graffiti on a Norwegian road, depicting the V-sign
The ''V sign'' is a hand gesture in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted to make a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. It has various meanings, depending on the circumstances and how it is presented.
When displ ...
together with the H7 monogram
References
{{Reflist
Norwegian monarchy
Political history of Norway
Cultural history of Norway
Norwegian resistance movement
Monograms