Figure 1.--

HBU does not know of any uniformed boys' youth groups, except the Boy Scouts, in Norway before the NAZI invasion of April 1940. The Norwegian Government in fact had banned the wearing of political uniforms in 1935 so political parties could not organize uniformed youth units. This changed almost over night after the German invasion when a a virtual riot of adult uniforms appeared. This was especially the case after Hitler officially asppointed Vidkun Quisling "Minister President". The Quisling and the NAZI occupation authorities organized a youth group and tried to recruit older boys for the war effort. Scouting was banned. Few Norwegian boys, but in 1941 Scouting and other youth groups were banned and all Norwegian boys had to join the Nasjonal Samling youth movement, the Umghird.

Background

Norway along with Denmark were the first western European countries invaded and occupied by the NAZIs. As in all the other occupied countries, the Nazi power profited from the support of local sympathisers. In the 1930s, Vidkun Quisling founded the Nasjonal Samling (National Union), a Fascist party that received subsidies from Germany. The Nasjonal Samling (NS) had no real importance in Norwegian politics bedore the German invasion. Quisling, a former Minister of Defense, launched the NS in 1933 after Hitler rose to power in Germany--no coincidence. The NS had no appeal to Norwegians. The Party before the War never even won a local council seat--much less a seat in the national Parliament.

Quisling visited Hitler in Berlin during the winter of 1939-40 (after the occupation of Poland) and pointed out how valuable it would be for Germany to occupy his country. Norway was in fact, early in the War, of emense strtegic importance because with possession of Norway, the German U-boats could much more easily enter the Atlantic. This advantage was rendered moot, however, with the unexpected fall of France in June 1940. Contrary to public opinion, Quisling and the NS played no real role in the April 1940 NAZI invasion, although they were overjoyed by it.

Immediately after the invasion, on the morning of April 9, 1940, Quisling proclaimed himself the new head of the government and ordered the Norwegian armed forces to stop battling the Germans. But Quisling's intervention backfired and stimulated the resistance. Thus, the occupying power quickly realized that--for the time being--Quisling did not serve their interests and they chose to base their administration of the country on a certain degree of give-and-take with the existing civilian authorities. The Germans eventually declared the Nasjonal Samling the only legal party. The Germans installed Quisling as prime minister ("Minister President") in 1942 and throughout the war he collaborated slavisly with the Nazis. Quisling became the archtype of a local collaborter, achieved the destinction of entering the English language as synnomanous with collaborator or traitor, especially someone who collaborates with the invaders of his country, especially by serving in a puppet government. Although the most notorious, perhaps because he was first, he was not the nost sinister or successful of the subsequent "quislings" that appeared throughout not NAZI-occupied Europe. Quisling was tried and executed after the war.

Hitler Youth

The NAZIs organized Hitler Youth units in some neigboring countries where there were Germans living or where there were "acceptable" Aryan populatioms. This does not appear to have occurred in Norway.

Scouting

The NAZI occupation authorities in 1941 banned Scouting.

The Umghird

The Nasjonal Samling (NS) youth unit was the Umghird. The wasan ancient Norse word meaning the King's followers or liegemen. It was the gebneral term used for the NS equivalent of the NAZI Strom Troopers (SA) and the Hitler Youth. Adult units were formed in 1933 after the NS itself was founded, but befor the German invasion never amounted to more than a few hundred members. I'm not sure when the Umghird was founded, but membership in the NS was very small before the 1940 German invasion, so it would have had no real following before the War. In addition, the Norwegian Government in 1935 had banned the wearing of political party uniforms.

Like the Hitler Youth, the Umghird was divided into two units, the Guttehird (boys 10-14 years old) and the Umghird (boys 14-18 years old). As in the Hitker Youth, the primary function for the older boys was to prepare them for and funnel them into military units. This was particularly true of the Umghird as the organization only became a reality after the War had begun. The various NS youth organizations: the Umghird, Unghirdmarinen, Guttehird, and the corespinding girls' organizations (Gjentehird and Småhird) were known collectively as the NS Ungdomsfylking (the NS Youth Front). Participation was at first after the German invasion voluntary, but on March 1, 1941, all physically fit Norwegin children between the ages of 10 and 18 years were required to join. All other Nrwegian youth organizations were at that time outlawed and their property seized by the state.

Umghird Uniform (Young Lads' Hird)

The Umghird uniform had a variety of seasonal and service variations.

Seasonal

The Umghird had destinctive summer and winter uniforms, understandable given the harsh Norwegian winter.
Summer: The summer uniform was a khaki shirt and dark blue shorts. Tholder boys wore a balck tie, the younger ones a green tie. The brassard, worn on the left arm was green with, for the Unghird a silver sun cross and silver swords on red, for the Guttehird the sun cross and swords were brown. Officers wore shoulder rank insignia whichwas identical to that of the Rikshird. Non-commissioned ranks, also wore on the shoulder srtraps, were green.
Winter: The winter uniform was a dark blue "battle dress" type of tunic with dark blue ski trousers.
Non-seasonal: Boys wore a dark blue forage cap with both the summer and winter uniform. The cap was worn with a metal NS eagle and sun cross.

Service braches

The Umghird had two destinctive service braches and corresponding uniforms. I'm not sure at what ages Umghird boys could or were transferred to these units.
Unghirdmarinen (Young Lads' Naval Hird): The Naval Hird wore a version of the naval uniform. The sea-going branch was established in May 1942, manly to train recruits for the German Navy.
Hirdens Flykorpset (Hird Air Section): Like the Unghirdmarinen, the Hirdens Flykorpset, was created in early 1942, and like its German counter part trained boys in the art of glidering and powered flight. As in the Unghirdmarinen, the goal was to recruit volunteers for the Luftwaffe. The uniform was an air force blue tunic, trosers (officers could wear trousers), and forage cap with a brown shirt and balck tie.