Nazi concentration camps in Norway

During the Nazi occupation of Norway, both the Nazi occupying authorities and the Quisling regime operated a number of camps in Norway. These were not classified as "KZ-Lager" by the Nazis, but rather as ”Häftingslager” under the administration of the Nazi "security police," the SS and Gestapo. Although abuse, torture, and murder were commonplace in these camps, none of them was designated or functioned as extermination camps, nor did they reach the scale seen in camps in Germany, Poland, and Austria.

The camps served varying purposes, such as:

• Internment of political prisoners, especially socialists and communists, but also religious dissenters
• Internment of prisoners of war, especially Russian and Yugoslavian soldiers
• Internment of so-called "bomb hostages" - prominent Norwegians who would be executed in the event of the resistance movement bombing Nazi targets
• Transit internment of various prisoners bound for camps in Germany and Poland, including Jews, prominent political prisoners, and others

The Nazi authorities destroyed most of the records related to the camps and prisons they ran during the occupation. Some distinction was made between camps and prisons run by Norwegian Nazis and those run by German Nazi organizations, though it is safe to say that all atrocities took place under the authority of a unified command.

Effectively every local prison was used for these purposes by the Nazis, but several fully-fledged camps were also established. Though these were small compared to camps in Germany and Poland, they nevertheless represented the cruelty and lawlessness of the Nazi occupation. To this day, the term "Grini" (the name of the largest camp) has strong and horrifying associations for Norwegians.

The list below is by no means exhaustive - for example, prisoners of war were held in camps throughout the country, and a systematic study of these has not been completed.

Articles in category "Nazi concentration camps in Norway"

B

• Berg concentration camp
• Bredtvet concentration camp

F

• Falstad concentration camp

G

• Grini

S

• Sydspissen concentration camp

V

• Vollan prison