Nordische Gesellschaft

The Nordische Gesellschaft ("Nordic Society") was an association founded in 1921, with the objective of strengthening German-Nordic cultural and political cooperation. It was based in Lübeck, Germany. The association had both German and Scandinavian members. After the National Socialist take-over in Germany 1933 Nordische Gesellschaft came under the control of Alfred Rosenberg. A new board was formed. Rosenberg's ambition was that the organization could be utilized for the National Socialist cause. Heinrich Himmler became a member of the board.

As of 1940, the association had 40 local branches in different parts of Germany. The association published a notable amount of books and brochures which were distributed in Scandinavia.

During the Second World War it ran two publications, Pressedienst Nord and Der Norden, directed towards influencing the political debate in the Scandinavian countries towards a pro-German position.

Der Norden ('The North') was the flagship of the publishing activities of Nordische Gesellschaft. Initially known as Der Nordische Aufseher, it got the name Der Norden in 1935. It dealt mainly with Nordic issues and actively tried to foster a concept of a common Baltic Sea historical and cultural heritage, based on the legacy of the Hanseatic league. The publication presented the Hanseatic period as a golden era of the region. Several Scandinavian writers had their articles published in Der Norden.

Der Norden had a monthly edition of around 6-7000. It is assumed that the last issue was published in October 1944.

Pressedienst Nord ('Press Service North') was published weekly. In the summer of 1940 it had an edition of 3000 weekly. Its edition gradually increased until the spring of 1941. From that point until February 1945, its edition was 10 000 weekly. Its articles were mainly in German language but some were in Scandinavian languages, especially in Norwegian.

The articles dealt mainly with Nordic issues. The publishing house did a conscious effort to include Scandinavian writers, such as Knut Hamsun, Erling Björnsson and Karl Olivecrona.

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