The Fatherland League ( no, Fedrelandslaget) was a Norwegian right-wing, anti-communist political organisation in the interwar period. Founded in 1925, the movement aimed to unite all centre-to-right forces against the rise of the revolutionary Marxist labour movement. At its peak of popular support and political influence around 1930 it was the single largest mass movement ever organised on the political right in Norway, with an estimated 100,000 members. The movement began to decline through the 1930s, followed by some unsuccessful attempts to gain direct influence as a political party. The Fatherland League was banned and dissolved after the

German occupation of 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 th ...

in 1940.

History

Mass movement

Fridtjof Nansen on a lecturing tour for Fedrelandslaget

By the initiative of young industrialist

Joakim Lehmkuhl Joakim Lehmkuhl (22 September 1895 – 15 October 1984) was a Norwegian engineer, industrialist and politician. Lehmkuhl was born in Bergen to former Minister of Labour Kristofer Lehmkuhl, and Magdalene Marie Michelsen, sister to Christian M ...

, the organisation was co-founded with national hero Fridtjof Nansen and Norway's first Prime Minister

Christian Michelsen Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway and Norway's 9th prime minis ...

. Former Prime Minister Jens Bratlie also joined the organisation. The Fatherland League's goal was a national coalition of all centre-to-right "bourgeoise" (''borgerlige'') and nationally minded forces, in opposition to the emerging revolutionary Marxist labour movement. The organisation gained particular support from the

Free-minded Liberal Party The Free-minded Liberal Party ( no, Frisinnede Venstre) was a political party in Norway founded in 1909 by the conservative-liberal faction of the Liberal Party. The party cooperated closely with the Conservative Party and participated in severa ...

and the Farmers' Party, while it was met with scepticism by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, and largely rejection by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. The labour movement in turn saw the organisation as a "seeding ground" for a fascist movement. After the government crisis of 1926 and continued division among the centre-right parties, a "Nansen-petition" was launched by several influential people of different political backgrounds for a

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nat ...

to be led by Nansen, an idea that was eventually endorsed by Nansen himself and by Lehmkuhl.Norland (1973) pp. 52–62. The proposal fell through as Conservative and Liberal politicians reacted coldly to the idea, and quickly came to a new government agreement. Following a strong surge of support and victory for the Labour Party (which had adopted a revolutionary ideology in 1918) in the 1927 parliamentary election, the Fatherland League launched a "thousand day's election campaign" towards the 1930 parliamentary election, a period which is considered the most important and successful in the history of the movement. The 1930 election resulted in Labour Party setbacks amid record voter turnouts, which the League assigned to its own credit, a view that was echoed by the Labour Party's

Haakon Lie Haakon Steen Lie (22 September 1905 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian politician who served as party secretary for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1945 to 1969. Coming from humble origins, he became involved in the labour movement at an early ag ...

and

Halvard Lange Halvard Manthey Lange (16 September 1902 – 19 May 1970) was a Norwegian politician and diplomat, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1946-1963 and again from 1963-1965. He was also the longest serving Foreign Minister to date, ha ...

. The organisation peaked the same year with around 100,000 members and more than 400 local chapters.

Party attempt and decline

Increasingly seen as a political rival rather than a unifying force by the centre-right parties, the organisation effectively reorganised into a political party in 1933 after pressure from its young activists. At the same time it launched a more radical political program titled "A Norwegian program", and entered into secret, eventually unsuccessful negotiations of a "national block" with the Farmers' Party and the Free-minded People's Party (and briefly

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such ...

which dropped out as it did not consider itself a ''borgerlig'' party). Following the onset of the Great Depression, Lehmkuhl and the party developed an economic ideology in part inspired by the American New Deal social program, emphasising a more planned economy. For the 1936 parliamentary election the party contested electoral lists in a few districts, both independently and together with the Free-minded, but did not win any representation. The group declined in the late 1930s, partly due to the Labour Party abandoning its revolutionary ideology dating from 1918, and partly as an effect of the

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

-friendly attitude exhibited by several of its leading members as segments of the movement came under the influence of Italian fascism and German national socialism. In 1933, in response to the labour movement's long-standing use of uniforms, some of its young members marched in "greyshirts" for the first time at a local rally after the uniform had been launched by the party newspaper ''ABC''.Norland (1973) pp. 216–217. While the labour movement's uniforms had been tolerated for years, political use of uniforms was swiftly banned by the Liberal government the day after the rally. After the

German invasion of Norway German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

in April 1940, the remnants of the organisation attempted to establish a political alternative against the

Quisling regime The Quisling regime or Quisling government are common names used to refer to the fascist collaborationist government led by Vidkun Quisling in German-occupied Norway during the Second World War. The official name of the regime from 1 February 19 ...

. The new chairman,

Victor Mogens Victor Andreas Emanuel Mogens (16 August 1886 – 17 January 1964) was a Norwegian journalist, editor and politician for the Fatherland League. Pre-war life and career He was born in Bergen, and grew up in Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiania and Holm ...

' secret talks and negotiations with the Germans remained unsuccessful. The organisation, like all other parties but Nasjonal Samling, was banned by Reichskommissar

Josef Terboven Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Early life Terboven was born in Es ...

on 25 September 1940. The Fatherland League was not reorganised after the war. As the archives of the organisation were burned after its dissolution, limited historical material remains of it despite being the single largest mass movement ever organised on the political right in Norway. Anders Lange, founder of the modern Progress Party was active as the secretary of the organisation in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

and in

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 ...

until 1938.

Gallery

File:Fedrelandslaget 1932.jpg, Representatives for the organisation in 1932. File:Fedrelandslaget vis din farge.jpg, "Show your colour. Vote labour up, and the Labour Party down." File:Fedrelandslagets valgplakat 1933.jpg, 1933 election poster. File:Fedrelandslaget Mot Marxismen.jpg, Fatherland League rally under the parole "Against Marxism". File:Fedrelandslaget Victor Mogens 1935.jpg, Victor Mogens speaking at a rally in Kristiansand in 1935.

References

External links