Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1914
Norway, Sweden and Denmark announce that they will remain neutral during WWI, thereby spar-
ing Scandinavia the devastation that the war visited upon much of the rest of Europe.
1940
On 9 April Nazi Germany invades Norway. King Haakon and the royal family flee into exile, first to
the UK and then to Washington, DC, where they remain throughout the war.
1945
On 7 May the last foreign troops on Norwegian soil, the Russians, withdraw from Arctic Norway,
following the devastation wrought across the country by the retreating German army.
1945
Norway becomes a founding member of the UN. This membership would later provide a platform
for Norwegian foreign policy, with Norway an important mediator in numerous international con-
flicts.
1949
Norway joins NATO and aligns itself with the USA despite fears in the West that left-leaning Nor-
way would turn towards the Soviet Union.
1950s
A Norwegian government commission declares that 'the chances of finding oil on the continental
shelf off the Norwegian coast can be discounted'. How wrong they were.
Late 1960s
Oil is discovered, transforming Norway into one of the richest countries in the world. Oil revenues
have provided the basis for an all-encompassing system of social welfare and generous foreign
aid.
