72. Destroying the Nazi Nuclear Program: Bombing Norway (Ep 1)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What was the most dangerous mission of World War II? How did a small team of Norwegian skiers stop the Nazis from building a nuclear bomb? And, what exactly is heavy water, and why was it so important to the Nazis? Operation Gunnerside was a high-stakes, real-life mission to sabotage a Nazi nuclear program in Norway. Led by the young and fearless Joachim Rønneberg, a team of Norwegian commandos were tasked with a seemingly impossible mission.The Germans had increased heavy water production at the Norsk Hydro plant in the remote Telemark region, and the Allies feared they were close to developing an atomic weapon. This is the story of a daring sabotage mission that changed the course of history. Listen as Gordon and David begin their explosive two-part series on the mission to stop the Nazis from getting the bomb. ------------------- To sign up to The Declassified Club, go to www.therestisclassified.com. To sign up to the free newsletter, go to: ⁠https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up⁠ ------------------- Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restisclassified It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ------------------- Order a signed edition of Gordon's latest book, The Spy in the Archive, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order a signed edition of David's latest book, The Seventh Floor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------------------- Email: [email protected] Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@triclassified⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Callum Hill Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.1	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books.
0:13.1	Join the declassified club at the rest is classified.com. In November of 42, I was called up to Major Hampton.
0:28.1	He said he had just got a telegram from London, asking if I could take on a job in Norway,
0:33.0	and if I could pick five of the unit to go with me.
0:35.3	I asked, do they need to be skiers?
0:38.4	And they didn't know because they didn't know anything. They just knew that it was an operation that had to be done as quickly as possible. Well, I picked out the five I wanted and said, I've been offered a job. I don't know what it is yet. Do you want to follow? And everybody, of course, they cheered. And I knew I had a good team. A very good team indeed.
0:55.8	Welcome to the rest is classified. I'm David McCloskey. And I'm Gordon Carrera. And that was
1:00.5	Wachim Ronenberg. Yokim. Ronenberg. I practiced beforehand, Gordon, and I still screwed
1:07.7	it up. You've just lost all our Norwegian listeners already. Can you say it again for me? Joachim, I'm going to go with. Yonkim. That was Yonkim Röhnberg, recalling the moment he was asked to lead. I think what was arguably the most daring, dangerous, and important sabotage mission of the Second World War, and he's going to lead that into his native Norway. It is codenamed Operation
1:29.6	Gunnorside, and it is our story this week on this explosive two-parter about great skiing action
1:38.0	and on the rest is classified, of course. It would not really be a rest-disclassified episode,
1:43.1	would have Gordon, without you needing to explain some aspect of nuclear science and engineering.
1:49.3	So there's going to be all kinds of wonderful adventures in store for everybody this week on the pod.
1:55.9	And Gordon, you're a huge fan of this story.
1:58.1	And also, Wachim, Yockham, Ronenberg. Yes, I am. Now, it's fair to say, David, there is this saying, which you might know, which is never meet your heroes, which is one of the reasons why I think if you're ever offered the chance, don't enter a room with Edward Snowden. He'd only let you down. He'd only disappoint you if you ever met him in real life.
2:18.6	But, oh my gosh, every week someone comes up to me.
2:23.3	They basically say, how can you be on that podcast with Gordon Carrera?
2:26.2	He loves Edward Stodin so much.
2:27.4	Someone came out to be in Dallas like two weeks ago and showed me a picture of a baby
2:33.5	onesie that has the letters printed on it,
2:37.0	WWESD. It's what would Edward Snowden do? And it is available apparently on Amazon. And he said,
	...

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