Vidkun Quisling: Norway’s traitor

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In December 1939, fascist Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling travelled to Berlin from Oslo for a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler.

Quisling suggested to Hitler that the British were planning to move into Norway for their own strategic needs. Norway hadn’t been a concern for the Nazis but the meeting alarmed Hitler and within months Germany started its invasion of Norway.

From that moment, Quisling was consigned into history as a traitor. So much so that in the time since, his name has become a byword for traitor in numerous languages.

Matt Pintus hears from Norwegian journalist, Trude Lorentzen, who decided to study Quisling’s life after stumbling across his suitcase in an online auction.

As part of her voyage of discovery, Trude interviewed Quisling’s Jewish neighbour Leif Grusd who was forced to flee to Sweden when the Nazis took over Norway.

Leif Grusd's interview was translated from the NRK podcast "Quislings koffert" - Quisling's suitcase - released in 2021. It was made by production company Svarttrost for NRK.

(Photo: Vidkun Quisling and Adolf Hitler. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and maybe it's when I had a hand in.
0:04.0	I'm Tammy Walker and I produce podcasts for the BBC.
0:07.3	My role is to give new and diverse creators a voice with the opportunity to build a career.
0:12.1	That's the thing I love about Podcast.
0:14.0	You start with just a good idea.
0:16.0	But then you have the space to see where it goes.
0:18.0	And doing that at the BBC means we can really run with the best stories
0:21.0	while developing the most unique audio talent.
0:24.0	So if you like what you hear, why not check out the huge range of
0:27.2	podcast we've got on BBC Sounds. Hello you're listening to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me
0:38.3	Matt Pintis. Today the man whose name has become the byword for traitor in numerous languages.
0:44.4	Vid Kun Quizling was installed as Norway's puppet fascist leader during World War II by Adolf Hitler.
0:51.1	He lived in luxury as the Nazis invaded the country and rounded up the
0:56.2	Jewish population. But our story starts in 2015. Norwegian journalist Truda
1:03.0	Laurenzen is scrolling through her phone.
1:06.0	She's looking for some art for her living room
1:08.0	and an unusual auction item has caught her eye. Suddenly I just realized there was this great pile of belongings to Norway's most hated man,
1:22.0	his carry-on suitcase with his initial son.
1:25.0	And since his name is so important in Norway,
1:29.0	as a storyteller, I knew this could be the central point of a special way to tell about this man.
1:38.2	My children just started crying when I brought it home because this man is so evil in Norway so yeah it's like
1:46.6	coming home with something from other Hitler. The initials on the battered brown
	...

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