May 1945, Quisling makes a run for it...
- Thread starter Cryptic
- Start date
May 08 – 19, 1945
A search of Telemark province and Frustration in Fyrendal, Bjorns slow world continues….
The slow delivery of the names of Quisling’s relatives and known friends. The even slower delivery of the complete list. The slow matching of names to residences, the even slower provision of the complete locations of outlying country “dachas” and hunting cabins. Yet, despite the evasive answers and sullen "cooperation" from many and the well meaning but inaccurate tips from still others, nets are cast and fish are caught.
To Bjorn, it seemed like everything but Quisling was coming up in the net: minor fascist flunky functionaries, a hundred and counting former Wiking / Nord / alphabet soup militia volunteers, Germans, Hiwis and Soviet POWS who simply did not want to go home, former camp followers, and the myriad wanna bes, misfits, dreamers and chronic losers who had loitered on the peripheries of the collaborationist government.
Even cleaning the catch was slow: Dozens of good investigators – the government still balked at using military personnel, were required to interview, guard and feed the fish. Most of the Norweigens were to be released after a slow process of posting bonds, registering and vetting.
A temporary Fatherland in Flensburg, Germany.
Though the allies may have sank 730 plus U boats, they were not nearly as focused on small fishing boats plying the water of Sweden, Norway and Denmark - especially if those small boats flew non German flags. Even the mines posed little threat as the crew had been tipped to their location by German customers interested in smuggled goods. Disembarkation involved a nod and a standard payment to a still functioning German customs official (following the norm, even after the surrender, reduced the chances of future hassles). Quisling and a lot of salted pork destined for the black market then disembarked quickly.
The mentally exhausted Quisling felt comfortable in Flensburg. Quisling’s accented German was far less noticeable as foreign in Danish influenced Flensburg, and when he needed to use them, his Danish identity papers raised few eyebrows. In addition, Flensburg was awash in displaced Germans from East Prussia - a lingering Dane was hardly noticed. Another plus was that at least for the time being, Flensburg was not awash in allied military units.
A search of Telemark province and Frustration in Fyrendal, Bjorns slow world continues….
The slow delivery of the names of Quisling’s relatives and known friends. The even slower delivery of the complete list. The slow matching of names to residences, the even slower provision of the complete locations of outlying country “dachas” and hunting cabins. Yet, despite the evasive answers and sullen "cooperation" from many and the well meaning but inaccurate tips from still others, nets are cast and fish are caught.
To Bjorn, it seemed like everything but Quisling was coming up in the net: minor fascist flunky functionaries, a hundred and counting former Wiking / Nord / alphabet soup militia volunteers, Germans, Hiwis and Soviet POWS who simply did not want to go home, former camp followers, and the myriad wanna bes, misfits, dreamers and chronic losers who had loitered on the peripheries of the collaborationist government.
Even cleaning the catch was slow: Dozens of good investigators – the government still balked at using military personnel, were required to interview, guard and feed the fish. Most of the Norweigens were to be released after a slow process of posting bonds, registering and vetting.
A temporary Fatherland in Flensburg, Germany.
Though the allies may have sank 730 plus U boats, they were not nearly as focused on small fishing boats plying the water of Sweden, Norway and Denmark - especially if those small boats flew non German flags. Even the mines posed little threat as the crew had been tipped to their location by German customers interested in smuggled goods. Disembarkation involved a nod and a standard payment to a still functioning German customs official (following the norm, even after the surrender, reduced the chances of future hassles). Quisling and a lot of salted pork destined for the black market then disembarked quickly.
The mentally exhausted Quisling felt comfortable in Flensburg. Quisling’s accented German was far less noticeable as foreign in Danish influenced Flensburg, and when he needed to use them, his Danish identity papers raised few eyebrows. In addition, Flensburg was awash in displaced Germans from East Prussia - a lingering Dane was hardly noticed. Another plus was that at least for the time being, Flensburg was not awash in allied military units.
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usertron2020
Donor
Lord Haw Haw was captured in Flensburg. Quisling may not be as safe as he thinks.
Frensburg or Flensburg?
Frensburg or Flensburg?
Lord Haw Haw was captured in Flensburg. Quisling may not be as safe as he thinks.
Frensburg or Flensburg?
Yikes, its Flensburg, by the Danish border. Thanks for the correction.
That and it is where many of the remaining government officials are. I also wish to point to Quislings speech perhaps being too clear, as those unfamiliar with Scandinavian tongues would try to Heimlich Danes as they seem to be choking when they speek.
^ All, thanks for the compliments. I will try my best.
May 19, 1945
Quisling fears a British invasion, by tanks, not beetles...
It was the British who had slandered his name, making it synonymous with "traitor" - despite the fact that they had flaunted Norwegian neutrality as well. It was the British who had undoubtedly saturated his photo as headliner, featured him in propaganda movies, and it was the British who had hosted Norwegian fighters as well as the alternative Norwegian government.
Now, it was the British who would occupy Flensburg. Already, they were in the harbor. Inevitably, they would come to the city. Quisling knew well what that entailed: whether German or British, occupations involved checkpoints, registrations, and labor drafts-and Flensburg's would be conducted by troops versed in European affairs and well versed in who he was.
A hope…
Yet, several hundred miles away, there was an occupation force who equated “Danish” with a dessert and Italy with the leaning tower of “Pizza”.
A matter of trust...
Quisling knew that ultimately he could neither trust German black marketers, nor a seedily opportunistic Swedish "Businessman" who remained in the city, nor the Norwegian traveler clans who exchanged foodstuffs in the market with Germans for Leica’s, lugers, lingerie (French preferred), illicit sex and the alike. That left the vacant authority of his former and hopefully current allies.
A risk is taken and an audience obtained, and a plea made...
Quisling’s claim to represent the Norweigan government, his bearing, and his name dropping members of the German naval command in Norway, got him past the petty officer and into the office of a Kapitan Zur See (the entire crumbling German government seemed to consist of U-boat personnel), who appeared to head a ministry without a mission. The decision to reveal his true identity had been difficult. After a slight hesitation, the the Kapitan Zur See left the room. Quisling waited for his return, and hoped that he would return alone…
To be cont.
May 19, 1945
Quisling fears a British invasion, by tanks, not beetles...
It was the British who had slandered his name, making it synonymous with "traitor" - despite the fact that they had flaunted Norwegian neutrality as well. It was the British who had undoubtedly saturated his photo as headliner, featured him in propaganda movies, and it was the British who had hosted Norwegian fighters as well as the alternative Norwegian government.
Now, it was the British who would occupy Flensburg. Already, they were in the harbor. Inevitably, they would come to the city. Quisling knew well what that entailed: whether German or British, occupations involved checkpoints, registrations, and labor drafts-and Flensburg's would be conducted by troops versed in European affairs and well versed in who he was.
A hope…
Yet, several hundred miles away, there was an occupation force who equated “Danish” with a dessert and Italy with the leaning tower of “Pizza”.
A matter of trust...
Quisling knew that ultimately he could neither trust German black marketers, nor a seedily opportunistic Swedish "Businessman" who remained in the city, nor the Norwegian traveler clans who exchanged foodstuffs in the market with Germans for Leica’s, lugers, lingerie (French preferred), illicit sex and the alike. That left the vacant authority of his former and hopefully current allies.
A risk is taken and an audience obtained, and a plea made...
Quisling’s claim to represent the Norweigan government, his bearing, and his name dropping members of the German naval command in Norway, got him past the petty officer and into the office of a Kapitan Zur See (the entire crumbling German government seemed to consist of U-boat personnel), who appeared to head a ministry without a mission. The decision to reveal his true identity had been difficult. After a slight hesitation, the the Kapitan Zur See left the room. Quisling waited for his return, and hoped that he would return alone…
To be cont.
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Mr. Quisling might be onto something there, but he might also wish to still be cautious. U.S. troops could be surprisingly perceptive.
Oh, Lordy Loo!
I trust that by now, you've brought yourself up to date?
The name "Quisling" was well enough in US popular culture back when I was in the 4th grade in the 1970s that I got it when Linus called Snoopy a "Quisling" (re revealing Linus's hiding out from the intervention against his blanket dependency). I was to be sure a disgustingly bookish kid, and the cartoon was probably from the mid-60s. I swear I also saw a few minutes of some British wartime comedy movie about sleazy Nazis that used the word "quisling." I thought the man had managed to make an indelible if infamous name for himself. Sigh.
-----
It's a curious timeline. I want it continue, to see what clever shenanigans the weasel gets up to trying to keep his neck unjerked. But I have no sympathy; he bloody well ought to get caught!
I suppose if he can make it to Spain he might be able to catch his breath; I can't be sure he'd be able to stay there indefinitely though. I don't know if Franco honored any extradition treaties whatsoever. I daresay though that with the collapse of Hitler and the British and Americans pretty much able to hold all Spanish overseas trade and contact with their little bits of leftover empire hostage at a whim (what's Franco going to do if the Anglo-Americans, either of them, get high-handed? Call on Stalin to use his UN vetoes on his behalf?
The French maybe Chiang Kai-Shek? Maybe that works in the 1950s, buddy, but not in 1945!) Franco would not want to step on Allied toes. I would guess that Spain was a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" situation for Reich refugees--as long as pro-Allied observers didn't notice fleeing Germans and their collaborators hiding out there, the Spanish police would not be proactive in ferreting them out. But if it became known that a camp commandant or puppet-state lackey were hanging out in a Spanish town, Franco's police would suddenly notice and grab him for extradition. At any rate I don't happen to have heard of anyone wanted for Nazi war crimes or crimes against humanity simply staying in Spain with impunity--whereas one does hear that about other places, notably in South America. Having decided to run, if he makes it, we know from hindsight that Argentina or Uruguay or someplace like that is where he has to wind up. Even there, any Nazi or collaborator with a name anyone would recognize would have to live under an assumed identity; only the very small-time refugees (I hate soiling the name of worthy refugees with Nazis on the lam by the way
) could live there openly.I've just glanced through the Wikipedia article on the man with a bit of extra attention to the last days of his regime and the outcome of his negotiated surrender to the incoming, Resistance-dominated, authorities (death by firing squad in October, after a trial which he appealed, but the Supreme Court rejected it on the grounds that it was a perfectly fair trial).
If he simply wanted to live, then running was the only option, simply put. I don't know his character well enough to decide if running was something he might have done. When he negotiated turning himself over, he might honestly have thought a trial might, if not totally exonerate him, at least sentence him lightly, above all not imposing the death penalty.
Notably the timeline has him running, not in fear of what the ultimately established post-war government might do, but what a mob of Resistance fighters might do to him before due authority was duly established.
I've been trying to learn more about just how the transition from the Nazi regime in Norway to its post-war freedom took place; the thread implies Norway was occupied, or anyway played host to, British soldiers, but the impression I'm getting is that there was no occupation whatsoever--though conceivably some British units were seconded to assist the Resistance forces already present in Norway and the returning government in exile, culminating in the return of King Haakon VII in early June. Norwegian forces in exile, notably at sea and in the air, had certainly worked closely with the RN and RAF through the war. What impresses me though is that the Resistance in-country was organized as a "fourth branch of the Norwegian military," Milorg (ie Military Organization) and this force, no ragtag band of self-appointed partisans but under the orders of the government in exile, maintained remarkable discipline and with very few exceptions refrained from any spontaneous vigilante justice when the Nazis surrendered in early May. Quisling, as I mentioned, OTL negotiated terms of surrender with them for some days before actually giving himself up.
Although then the OP description of posters threatening the same fate would befall Quisling as had Mussolini seemed very plausible in the general context of WWII Resistance to the Nazi regime, I have to wonder now whether any such thing actually happened in Norway. Are there examples of such posters in OTL? If so, given the discipline Milorg actually seems to have shown, it would seem they were pure propaganda and psychological warfare, threats meant to demoralize not only Quisling personally but all people who cooperated in any degree with the Nazi proconsuls. But as I say I have to wonder whether any such lurid posters were put up by anyone, in Milorg or any wildcat dissidents fed up with Nazi arrogance. If there were lots of such posters after all, well distributed, I'd guess only Milorg could possibly have been responsible for them. So the questions remain--were there any such posters at all, and if so, were there more than a scattered handful?
If there were none, we'd have to imagine that Quisling let his own imagination get the better of him. I'm not sure he'd be the kind of man that could happen to though. From his desciption in the Wiki article I'd say his nature was that he viewed the world in terms of an in-group--pure blooded Norweigians--versus their enemies. This helps explain his alleged affability among those who knew him and at the same time his harshness and high-handedness toward people and things he deemed stood against them.
So clearly OTL, when he negotiated his own surrender, he believed he was dealing with the former, not the latter.
He was a collaborator with little real power. He signed death warrants near the end of the war, which was part of his trial. That and a few other charges such as embezzlement, with silver spoons from Free Masons having the monograms filed off. A telling thing about him is how he kept needing to get larger and larger suits during the war. I would not call him an actively malicious man, but he was somewhat pathetic. On the plus side he is an example of why and how Norway had a resistance movement for the entire war, while others only got into the full swing once the Anglo-Americans touched down in Normandy.
s for the comment above about Norwegians, he used to think that the Russians had Varangian blood in them. Apparently their violence and the cultural revisionism (though it may be true) that they had nothing to do with Scandinavians convinced him. He still married a Russian. Also not that he first tried to join the more Socialist party in Norway but was declined.
Ah, and one more thing. He personally asked Hitler to invade Norway. As in he was within five feet of him when he did so.
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usertron2020
Donor
Actually, the "Peanuts" reference doesn't hold for Americans, I'm afraid. Charles Schultz was a tanker at the end of WWII, was near Dachau when it was liberated, and his "Linus" character was written as the intellectual of the comic strip, so HE would know the reference in the (you got the dates right) mid-60s comic strip. Yes, I know that particular strip in question well. I went to the encyclopedia to find out what a "Quisling" was. So would most Americans. I doubt that "Sparky" knew who Quisling was when he was in uniform. Perhaps he did, but he wouldn't have been expecting him in Bavaria.
I think EVERYONE would have expected him to flee to Sweden.
I suppose if he can make it to Spain he might be able to catch his breath; I can't be sure he'd be able to stay there indefinitely though. I don't know if Franco honored any extradition treaties whatsoever. I daresay though that with the collapse of Hitler and the British and Americans pretty much able to hold all Spanish overseas trade and contact with their little bits of leftover empire hostage at a whim (what's Franco going to do if the Anglo-Americans, either of them, get high-handed? Call on Stalin to use his UN vetoes on his behalf?
The UN is OUT!
At this time Stalin is preparing to invade Manchuria 3 months later. NO WAY does he want to rock the Allied boat! De Gaulle is still in charge of France, and China!? Are you kidding me? Yes, you're kidding.As to Quisling in Spain? IF he keeps his identity a secret, I certainly don't expect the Spanish to look for him. But he IS an undocumented Scandinavian in a Latin country. He can't exactly disappear. There is also the state of Norway to consider. Quisling is domestic Public Enemy #1
in their eyes, and they will move heaven and earth to find him. IF he is revealed to be in Spain, what do you think the Norwegians are going to do and say regarding Franco's Spain? Franco will hand Quisling over to Oslo like the radioactive hot potato he is, and Norway won't accept any measly "we just missed him" excuses from Fascist Spain.So, if Quisling is to make it out of Europe, he must not be recognized. Even if Quisling isn't recognized by Allied agents, if Franco finds Quisling in his country he will find Quisling a very nice sweetener to offer the Norwegians, both to smooth over relations with them and the Allies in general (at least a little, I should imagine).
It's not like Franco owes Quisling any favors AFAIK.
Having decided to run, if he makes it, we know from hindsight that Argentina or Uruguay or someplace like that is where he has to wind up. Even there, any Nazi or collaborator with a name anyone would recognize would have to live under an assumed identity; only the very small-time refugees (I hate soiling the name of worthy refugees with Nazis on the lam by the way
Quisling is a HUGE fish though (Whale, really). On the political level, at least. There is a large German emigre community in South America. But what about Norwegians? And could he trust any of them? I doubt it. Mengele survived by being allowed to adopt the identity of a dead SS officer whose own case AFAIK had already been adjudicated, so no one was looking for his fake identity persona.
It'll be totally up to the OP of course, but I don't see Quisling lasting for long in Europe. South America? IDK.
I am unsure how hard the Norwegians would search for him as it might be seen as better to let him vanish. One of his charges against the King during the war and at his trial was how he abandoned Norway. They might like the idea of Quisling just going away, even if it meant that he didn't stop a civil war.
usertron2020
Donor
Considering what happened in Belgium, I would think the King of Norway doesn't have a thing to worry about. YES, the King of Denmark stayed, and was alright. But he had the advantage of a nearly universally united people behind him. Sadly, that was not the case for Norway. Tho their record on collaboration was far better than most others.
Also, his vilification in Western propaganda, the fact that he asked Hitler to invade Norway, and he was instrumental in disrupting Norwegian defenses (the German conquest of Norway was a very near run thing as it was), makes his capture a political mandate. For all the big time collaborators on a national level, Quisling has the unlucky distinction of being the FIRST.
Vidkun Quisling = Benedict Arnold OR [insert your country's most infamous traitor's name here] on steroids
I do not believe that Quisling had much effect on defenses. As it was, Norway lasted longer from touchdown to German victory than FRANCE. As for the thing about the Norwegian King, I am aware he had nothing to worry about. It was simply a point about the propaganda angle of one abandoning his responsibilities after accusing another of doing so.
usertron2020
Donor
Didn't he launch a series of radio broadcasts, claiming to be speaking for the government, ordering troops not to mobilize as the 'government had already decided not to resist'? For a nation so dependent on a reserve force, mobilization is everything. Denmark had already decided not to resist, so its not so much a stretch that a political collapse might do the same to Norway. At least, you might as an officer be confused enough to hesitate.
It supposedly worked at one or two places where he had sympathizers, but on the whole people didn't listen to him and they refused to form a government with him as Prime Minister when the Germans said to. The Cabinet and Storting were reportedly unsure about what to do but their resolves were steeled when the King threatened to abdicate. Keep in mind, he was elected with an overwhelming majority to the position of king. Unlike the Prime Ministers.
19 May, 1945
A brief meeting between the heads of collapsed governments...
Quisling almost fainted from shock and joy when Admiral Doenitz strode into the room. Despite the personal loss of his son, the loss of 30,000 of his men and the loss of the war, Quisling saw that Doenitz was still a mesmorizing mix of warmth, an intense hunter’s instinct and Tuetonic beuracratic efficiency. A warm handshake was followed by affirmation, the promise of help, and terse advise not expect too much given the circumstances and that Quisling would be responsible for himself. Ten minutes of dialogue, the audience was over and Quisling was dismissed
May 21, 1945
Quisling's German assistance with a new name, a new profession and a promise of travel….
Quisling looked at the packet the Kapitan Zur See had dropped off and listened to his rapid instructions. They made perfect sense:
Quisling would be personally escorted to a selected large encampent of displaced Germans from East Prussia and the Baltics on the moors around Flensburg. He would be introduced to the friendly and also non inquiring medical staff as: Hans Gruber, a Latvian born Baltic German psychiatric nurse who had “greatly assisted the German people”. Hans Gruber would need to be assigned to a reclusive position in the encampent as a medical orderly. Additionally, when movement was allowed to the American zone, “Hans Gruber” needed to be on the first transport.
To avoid brain lapses, both his Danish and German identities kept the name “Hans”. Quisling’s fluent Russian would further add plausibility to his identity as a Baltic German and any claimed position in health care, even a non doctor in an obscure specialty, was in dire need and that commanded a certain amount of respect and autonomy.
May 30, 1945
A Quisling is netted, and also a possible red herring
Maria, Vidkun's better half, along with the family of an Norweigan Waffen SS Captain had finally been picked up at a sympathizer owned hunting cabin in the northeren part of Telemark province, Norway. The cabin, isolated, yet with ample creature comforts and a large garden had made an ideal hide out.
Under a certain amount of stress, but not too much for western tastes, other detained fascists confirmed that Quisling had been in Telemark province, and Maria swore that Quisling then fled to Sweden guided by two men, wearing “folk knives” and decorated blue shirts. Bjorn suspected that the allusion to Sa’ami guides to Sweden was too convenient. Telemark province was south- especially for the normally reclusive traditional leaning Sa’ami. Even still, the claim could not be totally discounted and if anybody knew how to cross Scandanavian land borders, it was the Sa’ami.
June 03 1945
Bjorn contemplates fishing trips abroad...
After three weeks and still no Vidkun Quisling in the net, Bjorn concluded that the nets needed to be expanded quickly. The finest spots for productive fascist fishing were Sweden (via liasion) and, to a greater extent if his instincts were correct, Germany (where direct fishing was permitted). Spain, where Degrelle was flashing his iron cross - first in the hospital and later in the cantinas, was also possible. Bjorn, however, suspected that a confident Quisling would have already surfaced if he was in Spain.
A brief meeting between the heads of collapsed governments...
Quisling almost fainted from shock and joy when Admiral Doenitz strode into the room. Despite the personal loss of his son, the loss of 30,000 of his men and the loss of the war, Quisling saw that Doenitz was still a mesmorizing mix of warmth, an intense hunter’s instinct and Tuetonic beuracratic efficiency. A warm handshake was followed by affirmation, the promise of help, and terse advise not expect too much given the circumstances and that Quisling would be responsible for himself. Ten minutes of dialogue, the audience was over and Quisling was dismissed
May 21, 1945
Quisling's German assistance with a new name, a new profession and a promise of travel….
Quisling looked at the packet the Kapitan Zur See had dropped off and listened to his rapid instructions. They made perfect sense:
Quisling would be personally escorted to a selected large encampent of displaced Germans from East Prussia and the Baltics on the moors around Flensburg. He would be introduced to the friendly and also non inquiring medical staff as: Hans Gruber, a Latvian born Baltic German psychiatric nurse who had “greatly assisted the German people”. Hans Gruber would need to be assigned to a reclusive position in the encampent as a medical orderly. Additionally, when movement was allowed to the American zone, “Hans Gruber” needed to be on the first transport.
To avoid brain lapses, both his Danish and German identities kept the name “Hans”. Quisling’s fluent Russian would further add plausibility to his identity as a Baltic German and any claimed position in health care, even a non doctor in an obscure specialty, was in dire need and that commanded a certain amount of respect and autonomy.
May 30, 1945
A Quisling is netted, and also a possible red herring
Maria, Vidkun's better half, along with the family of an Norweigan Waffen SS Captain had finally been picked up at a sympathizer owned hunting cabin in the northeren part of Telemark province, Norway. The cabin, isolated, yet with ample creature comforts and a large garden had made an ideal hide out.
Under a certain amount of stress, but not too much for western tastes, other detained fascists confirmed that Quisling had been in Telemark province, and Maria swore that Quisling then fled to Sweden guided by two men, wearing “folk knives” and decorated blue shirts. Bjorn suspected that the allusion to Sa’ami guides to Sweden was too convenient. Telemark province was south- especially for the normally reclusive traditional leaning Sa’ami. Even still, the claim could not be totally discounted and if anybody knew how to cross Scandanavian land borders, it was the Sa’ami.
June 03 1945
Bjorn contemplates fishing trips abroad...
After three weeks and still no Vidkun Quisling in the net, Bjorn concluded that the nets needed to be expanded quickly. The finest spots for productive fascist fishing were Sweden (via liasion) and, to a greater extent if his instincts were correct, Germany (where direct fishing was permitted). Spain, where Degrelle was flashing his iron cross - first in the hospital and later in the cantinas, was also possible. Bjorn, however, suspected that a confident Quisling would have already surfaced if he was in Spain.
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