03/11/2006 11:50:27 am
Back From Oslo. The conference where I spoke yesterday took place in the fortress Oscarsborg, which is situated on an island outside of Oslo. It was built to protect the entrance to the Norwegian capital. And indeed it was given that task decades after it was built, when Nazi Germany was about to invade on April 9th 1940. A fleet of cruisers and smaller ships entered during the night with no lights on, but were spotted. The head of the old fortress managed to mobilise some people and load the cannons. (From Swedish Bofors, by the way.) The cruiser Blücher was sank - and the German staff that had the task of capturing the King and Government sank with it. Thus, the Norwegian Government got the time to escape. This is 66 years ago. The world - and Europe - is indeed so much better today in many ways.



One of the cannons at Oscarsborg.