Folklore Fights the Nazis: Humor in Occupied Norway, 1940–1945

11. Germany's Bleak Prospects for Victory: High Hopes for Haakon's Return

11 Germany's Bleak Prospects for Victory: High Hopes for Haakon's Return Wishful thinking, a vital component of so much other occupation humor, logically played a particularly prominent role in the many jokes that predicted the end of German domination and the return of King Haakon. WAITING FOR HAAKON While Nazi propaganda, as already noted, denounced Haakon as a treacherous deserter and suppressed all hopes of the king's ever returning to an independent Norway, Jossing humor portrayed his refusal to collaborate as heroic, an image that began taking root and propagating during the summer of 1940. The increasingly favorable popular response to Haakon also benefited the government which had joined him in exile and which had borne the criticism for Norway's military unpreparedness.] Humorous quips and anecdotes eagerly spread the prospect that the former regime might soon replace Quisling. Ned med Quisling og fiskepolser. Opp med Kongen og fieskepolser. [Schou-Sorensen] (Down with Quisling and fish sausage Up with the King and pork sausage.) Nar enden er god-er Quisling gatt. [Ellingsen] (When the end is good, Quisling is gone, [i.e., the ending will be good when Quisling has gone].) This gibe echoes the Norwegian version of the proverb, "All's well that ends well": Nar enden er god er allting godt (When the end is good, everything is good), playing on the homonymous relationship of god! and gatt. 185 A stylized king sweeps out Nazi debris including the disenibodied heads of Hitler and Quisling, the swastika, and solkors ("sun cross," symbol of the Norwegian Nazi party), along with the slogan Germany Is Winning on All Fronts. Artist: Jens R. [Nilssen] (1880-1964); publisher: Humoristens forlag. 11: GERMANY'S BLEAK PROSPECTS FOR VICTORY 187 The theme of longing for Haakon's return also found expression in narrative jokes. A class was assigned an essay on the subject of cats. One pupil wrote: "When Haakon VII was king in Norway, all cats were happy." [Vigness 1970,251] In Bodo a class was assigned to write the sentence, "Quisling is our leader" ten times. One boy wrote ten times: "King Haakon is our leader." "What's this you're doing?" demanded the teacher. "I can't write the letter 'Q,'" said the boy. [Vigness 1970, 256] Det var fOr tvunget frammote, pinsler og mord begynte for alvor, da NS-folkene sendte sine drabanter om med opplysende foredrag. Et sted i Trondelag var det bl. a. ogsa mott fram en gammel bonde. Etter foredraget stod lederen av motet fram og sa at na var ordet fritt, om det var noe en hadde Iyst til a si eller sporre om. Bonden reiste seg. -E det rettelig fritt, ordet, da? Kan re si ka re vil? -Joda, vrer sa god. -Ja, da vii re si "Leve Kongen" da, sa han og slo ut med armene. Det ble tumult i salen. Lederen kom fort ned, tok bonden i armen og sa han hadde a gao Men bonden mente han hadde betalt sin krone og hadde rett til a bli til slutt. -Du kan fa att krona di, sa lederen sint og ga ham mynten. -Bonden gar mot dora, fulgt av alles blikk. I doren snur han seg mot publikum, lofter handen med mynten i vreret og sier lunt: -Ja, var det itj det re visst", at bade'n Haakon og re far krona igjen! [Hansen and Baggethun 1975, 19-20] (It was before compulsory attendance, torture and executions began in earnest, when the Nazis were sending their henchmen around to give informational lectures. Somewhere in Trondelag an old farmer was among the attendees. Following the lecture the arranger of the meeting announced that the floor was open, if anyone had something to say or ask about. The farmer stood up. "Can I really say what I want?" "Of course, please go ahead." "Well, then I want to say: 'Long Live the King.'" he declared as he dramatically threw out his arms. Tumult broke out in the auditorium. The meeting arranger rushed down to the audience, took the farmer by the arm and ordered him to leave. But the farmer said he'd paid his money and had a right to stay until the end. "Here's your crown [Norwegian currency] back," the arranger growled, handling over the coin. The farmer walked toward the door, with everyone's eyes on him. 188 FOLKLORE FIGHTS THE NAZIS Turning toward the audience when...