These words come from Jonas Bals, a historian, trade unionist, and author currently employed by LO (The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions).
- The story of how Norwegian and Danish SS soldiers allowed themselves to be radicalized during the Second World War is becoming increasingly relevant, believes Scharff Smith.
Peter Scharff Smith is a professor at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo. Along with two colleagues, Scharff Smith has recently published the book 'Nazismens danske soldater, Danskere i Waffen SS. Fra besættelse til efterkrigstid' (The Nazi's Danish Soldiers, Danes in the Waffen SS: From Occupation to the Post-War Era).
Fascism is breathing down our necks
Norwegian and Danish SS soldiers were active perpetrators in the German war of extermination from 1940-45. Many decades later, hardly anyone is alive to tell the tale; history is only accessible through sources. The view of the occupation has also changed significantly. It has become part of "normal" history with limited news value, but at the same time, it has also become a politicized and normative battleground. The ideology, after all, still lives on.
Authoritarian and totalitarian winds are blowing cold across the world, including in old European democracies. Far-right and far-left parties and movements are advancing.
- In several countries, large portions of the population perceive democracy as weak. They are calling for "strongmen" and radical solutions to problems, says Scharff Smith.
The history of Nordic soldiers in German war service speaks directly to this. Through the narrative of how men raised in democratic societies were radicalized and chose to fight for a totalitarian ideology in conflict with democratic and liberal values.
Sharff Smith and Bals are discussing the topic in a podcast episode at 'Universitetspodden' (only in norwegian):
Extreme nationalism breeds violence
Fascism is a far-right and authoritarian political ideology, characterized by extreme nationalism, strong state control, and dictatorial rule. It rejects democracy and liberalism, worships violence and a strong leader, and demands that the individual subordinates themselves to the state.
A key goal for Scharff Smith has been to understand why young people go to war and fight against democratic ideals in favor of irrational and utopian ideologies.
What drove Danish men who grew up in a free society in one of Europe's most stable democratic states to fight for fascism? Why did they want to contribute to history's greatest attack to date on democracy, the rule of law, and human rights?
The book provides new research on how ideology regarding "sub-humans" and "super-humans" and the desire for a "great and pure nation" played a decisive role in radicalising the soldiers.
Who were those who volunteered for the Waffen-SS?
The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the Nazi organisation Schutzstaffel (SS), serving as an ideological elite army during the Second World War. It evolved from bodyguards into a large force of both German and foreign volunteers, including Norwegians and Danes.
Approximately 12,000 Danish men volunteered for German war service, and about half became soldiers in the Waffen-SS during the war. A significant portion of the roughly 4,500 Norwegians in German service were also incorporated into the Waffen-SS.
Several of them served in the Wiking Division, which consisted mainly of volunteers from the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
The division fought on the Eastern Front from 1941. After the war, several people tried to explain away the German war participation by claiming those who joined were misfits.
However, various studies showed they were quite ordinary people.
At one point, however, the majority stood out: they were Nazis and ideologically motivated by ideas of their own superiority.
Intensive ideological training
The soldiers underwent rigorous ideological training in racial theory and National Socialism, in addition to military training. They fought as an elite force on all fronts and were involved in serious war crimes.
Many served on the Eastern Front in a war of extermination where ideology was put into practice, with genocide and a series of atrocities. It was not uncommon for Norwegian and Danish SS soldiers to show significant fighting spirit; many were among the last to defend the Third Reich in the streets of Berlin in the spring of 1945.
After the war, the Waffen-SS was classified as a criminal organization at the Nuremberg trials. Norwegians and Danes who had served in the Waffen-SS were prosecuted in Norwegian and Danish legal settlements.
- We must learn from history
Even if history does not repeat itself, we can learn from it. What happened before can happen again; we must look for the patterns, says Bals.
- If we are to ensure that today's fascist messages and struggles do not lead us into new wars and more genocides, we must put our foot down against dehumanizing language and messages that democracy is weak and needs to be replaced by something strong.
History is shaped by people. If we recognize patterns and understand more of history, we realize that it can always be shaped by the people living in their own time, he emphasizes. Authoritarian leaders learn from each other; they inspire each other and help each other, believes Bals.
- One of the most sinister things, also in a historical light, is how quickly developments are moving and in so many areas, says Scharff Smith.
Fascism's patterns are repeating
The government in the USA uses slogans and imagery taken from fascism's darkest period. ICE agents appear as a violence-ready unit of the president's men, whom he can use to create division and unrest, reminiscent of the German paramilitary terror units of the 1930s.
Perhaps ICE is being used to justify not holding a free election in the USA this autumn, Bals fears.
Bals believes, however, that Trump is more complex and simpler than just being called a fascist.
- But the actors around him, such as Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon, are fascists.
Furthermore, it is not as if society is either fascist or not; it is a process. We cannot talk about "half-Norwegians" and "full-Norwegians" in Norway either, Bals believes.
What kind of future we will have is largely determined by how much we manage to learn from history and whether we act before it is too late.
Sources
• Jonas Bals. Sammen bekjemper vi fascismen - strategier for antifascister i dag. Res Publica 2025.
