Date post: | 25-Jan-2017 |
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The Nazification of Norwegian Cultural Politics and the work of Frithjof Sælen
Dr. Anette H. StoreideAssociate Professor of European Studies
Frithjof Sælen (1917- 2004)
• 1940: art-student in Oslo• 9 April 1940: Germany attacks Norway • Sælen enlisted immediately and participated in
the heavy battles in Hallingdal (“Halling Valley”)• Critical of Norwegian politics prior to German
attack: Naïve, policy of neutrality as failure and dangerous mistake
• Children’s books as coverage for political criticism against German occupation and Nazification, but also against Norwegian politicians
• Snorre the Seal (1941) – was denunciated and banned
• Three Cold Guys (1942) • January 1943: interrogation by the Gestapo
and warned off against writing further books• Participation in military resistance work,
escaped to London in 1944
Snorre the Seal (1941)
• Snorre the Seal in the Arctic Ocean = Norway
• Two bad habits: 1. Dreamer2. Vanity
”The sly polar bear Grumbeling Paw” = the Soviet Union
”The dangerous orca Snap” = Nazi-Germany
A fight between the good and the evil
”The nice uncle Bart/Mustache”: England as Norway’s saviour
The Seagulls Swing and Bend: Only acting for their own benefit
• ”Fake yellow twinkle in the eyes”
• ”Red dots above the eyes”
• The book was denunciated after four weeks despite good reviews
• Far more critical of the Norwegian Nazis than of the German occupants?
Hidden resistance symbols
Three Cold Guys (1942)
Three snowmen producing winter:• Drummer hail = hail• Creak = dry snow• Slush = wet snow
They have icicles instead of hearts and are travelling by brooms = traditional symbols of the dark forces
The three snowmen as symbols of the Axis powers:• Drummer hail = Nazi-Germany• Creak = Japan• Slush = Italy
The fight between the good and the evil (sun = the Allied)
Literature as resistance
• Writing children’s books as coverage for political criticism:Subtitles ”A fable in colours for adults and children” (Snorre the Seal), ”A winter-fairy-tale in colours and words” (Three Cold Guys)
• Sælen worried about the impact of Nazi propaganda on children
• The stories can be read on two levels: 1) Exiting stories for children2) Normative, educational stories on the battle between the good and
the evil
• Narrative strategies:1) Classic elements of the respective genres2) Contrasts, eg. dark-light, cold-warm etc.3) Norwegian resistance symbols
Why was Snorre the Seal banned, but not Three Cold Guys?• Snorre the Seal was denunciated – but why that?• Snorre the Seal ridicules and criticises the
Norwegian Nazis through the presentation of the seagulls Swing and Bend, eg. ”they are fake” (p. 46)
• Snorre the Seal: a. A political and satirical presentation of the
occupation of Norway b. An educational story: from dreaming vanity to
alertness (encourages alertness and resistance)
• Three Cold Guys:a. Are the satirical points hidden better?b. A classic narrative on the fight between good and
evilc. Encourages hope and endurance more than
resistanced. A story about the world war with no explicit
remarks on the Norwegian Nazis