"Fascism must be countered with knowledge"

These words come from Jonas Bals, a historian, trade unionist, and author currently employed by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).

"The story of how Norwegian and Danish SS soldiers allowed themselves to be radicalised during the Second World War is becoming increasingly relevant," says Peter Scharff Smith. 

He is a professor at the University of Oslo's Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law.

Smith has recently published a book on the Nazi's Danish soldiers together with Claus Bundgård Christensen and Niels Bo Poulsen.

Fascism is breathing down our necks

Norwegian and Danish SS soldiers were active perpetrators in the German war of extermination from 1940 to 1945. 

Many decades later, hardly anyone is alive to tell the tale. The history is only accessible through sources. 

The view of the occupation has also changed significantly. It has become part of ‘normal’ history with limited news value, but at the same time, it has also become a politicised and normative battleground. The ideology still lives on.

Authoritarian and totalitarian winds are blowing cold across the world, including in old European democracies. Far-right and far-left parties and movements are advancing. 

"In several countries, large portions of the population perceive democracy as weak. They are calling for ‘strong men’ and radical solutions to problems," says Smith. 

The history of Nordic soldiers in German war service speaks directly to this. Men who were raised in democratic societies were radicalised and chose to fight for a totalitarian ideology – in conflict with democratic and liberal values.

Extreme nationalism breeds violence

Fascism is a far-right and authoritarian political ideology characterised by extreme nationalism, strong state control, and dictatorial rule. 

It rejects democracy and liberalism, glorifies violence and a strong leader, and demands that the individual submits to the state. 

A key goal for Smith has been to understand why young people go to war and fight against democratic ideals in favor of irrational and utopian ideologies.

What drove Danish men who grew up in a free society in one of Europe's most stable democratic states to fight for fascism? 

Why did they want to take part in what became the largest assault in history on democracy, the rule of law, and human rights? 

The book provides new research on how ideology regarding ‘sub-humans’ and ‘super-humans,’ and the desire for a ‘great and pure nation,’ played a decisive role in radicalising the soldiers.

Who were the men who volunteered for the Waffen-SS?

The Waffen-SS was the military branch of the Nazi organisation Schutzstaffel (SS) and served as an ideological elite army during World War II. 

It evolved from bodyguards into a large force of both German and foreign volunteers, including Norwegians and Danes. 

Approximately 12,000 Danish men volunteered for German war service. About half became soldiers in the Waffen-SS during the war. 

A significant portion of the roughly 4,500 Norwegians in German service were also incorporated into the Waffen-SS.

Several of them served in the Wiking Division. It consisted mainly of volunteers from the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The division fought on the Eastern Front from 1941. 

After the war, several people tried to explain away the German war participation by claiming that those who joined were misfits. 

However, various studies showed they were quite ordinary people. 

On one point, however, the majority stood out. They were Nazis and ideologically motivated by ideas of their own superiority.

Intensive ideological training

The soldiers underwent rigorous ideological training in racial theory and National Socialism, in addition to military training. 

They fought as an elite force on all fronts and were involved in serious war crimes. 

Many served on the Eastern Front in a war of extermination where ideology was put into practice, with genocide and a series of atrocities. 

It was not uncommon for Norwegian and Danish SS soldiers to show considerable willingness to fight.

Many were among the last to defend the Third Reich in the streets of Berlin in the spring of 1945.

After the war, the Waffen-SS was classified as a criminal organisation at the Nuremberg trials. 

Norwegians and Danes who had served in the Waffen-SS were prosecuted in Norwegian and Danish postwar trials.

"We must learn from history"

Even if history does not repeat itself, we can learn from it. What happened before can happen again; we must look for the patterns, says Bals. 

"If we are to ensure that today's fascist messages and struggles do not lead us into new wars and more genocides, we must put our foot down against dehumanising language and messages that democracy is weak and needs to be replaced by something strong," he says.

History is shaped by people. If we recognise patterns and understand more of history, we realise that it can always be shaped by the people living in their own time, he emphasises. 

Authoritarian leaders learn from each other; they inspire each other and help each other, believes Bals. 

"One of the most sinister things, also in a historical light, is how quickly developments are moving and in so many areas," says Smith.

The patterns of fascism are repeating

The government in the United States uses slogans and imagery taken from fascism's darkest period.

ICE agents appear as a violence-ready unit of the president's men, which he can use to create division and unrest.

This resembles the German paramilitary terror units of the 1930s, according to Bals.

Bals fears that perhaps ICE is being used to justify not holding a free election in the USA this autumn.

Nevertheless, he believes that Trump is both more complex and simpler than the label 'fascist' suggests.

"But the actors around him, such as Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon, are fascists," he says. 

It's not the case that a society is either fascist or not, as if it were a switch that you can simply turn on and off.

It's a process. We can't talk about ‘half-Norwegians’ and ‘full-Norwegians’ in Norway either, Bals believes. 

What kind of future we will have is largely determined by how much we manage to learn from history and whether we act before it's too late, according to Bals.

References:

Bals, J. 'Sammen bekjemper vi fascismen - strategier for antifascister i dag' (Together we fight fascism - Strategies for antifascists today), Res publica, 2025. ISBN: 9788282263436

Christensen et al. 'Nazismens danske soldater - Danskere i Waffen-SS fra besættelse til efterkrig' (The Nazi's Danish Soldiers, Danes in the Waffen SS: From Occupation to the Post-War Era), Lindhardt og Ringhof, 2025. ISBN: 9788711566626

Listen to the Norwegian podcast episode below:

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