Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II

The Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II consisted of around 15,000 men, recruited from Norwegian refugees and trained at a number of secret camps in Sweden.

During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany many Norwegians fled to Sweden to escape from the occupiers. Nearly 50,000 registered refugees arrived in Sweden during the war years. In 1942 head of the Swedish National Laboratory of Forensic Science, Harry Söderman, made a visit to London, where he met the exiled Norwegian Minister of Justice Terje Wold. Wold asked Söderman about the possibilities for training Norwegian policemen in Sweden. Söderman himself was positive, but due to Sweden's neutrality policy such a task was not possible in 1942. In February 1943, when the number of Norwegian refugees had steadily increased, there was a contact between Söderman and Olav Svendsen, head of the legal office at the , and the two then agreed on a plan to start a course for training fifty Norwegian policemen. These policemen were to support the expected legal investigations needed after the war. Svendsen was responsible for getting funding from the Norwegian exile government in London, while Söderman got a go from the Swedish Minister of Social Affairs Gustav Möller.

The first course for 20 policemen started in Stockholm 1 July 1943, and further courses were held over time. The goal was to train policemen who could participate in the legal purge in Norway after the war. Another course was held at the manor Johannesberg, north of Stockholm, for training uniformed police. Around 1,500 men were trained here, and their education included use of weapons and military training. Among the driving forces in the planning phase were, in addition to Söderman, surgeon Carl Semb, who had organized "health camps" where the refugees were classified, and Ole Berg, military attaché at the Norwegian legation. Funding and other details were discussed by the Norwegian government-in-exile in London.

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Wikipedia