Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian military officer and politician who led a collaborationist government during Nazi Germany’s occupation of Norway. Executed for treason in 1945, his surname became a word for a traitor who aids an occupying power.

Norway in World War II: Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1945, while a government-in-exile and resistance movement continued the war. The occupation created the political setting in which Quisling claimed authority.
Quisling's coup: Quisling’s coup was his radio declaration of a new government on 9 April 1940, as German forces invaded Norway. The declaration began his bid to govern, though German authorities did not immediately accept it.
Holocaust in Norway: The Holocaust in Norway was the persecution and deportation of the country’s Jews during Nazi occupation, including deportations to Auschwitz. Norwegian collaborators assisted persecution while Quisling’s regime operated under occupation.
Quisling (word): Quisling is a common noun meaning a traitor who collaborates with an occupying enemy. The word derives directly from the public association between Quisling and collaboration.
Nasjonal Samling: Nasjonal Samling was the Norwegian fascist party founded by Quisling in 1933. The party was his vehicle for seeking power before and during the occupation.
Josef Terboven: Josef Terboven was the Nazi German Reich Commissioner who governed occupied Norway from 1940 to 1945. Terboven held ultimate German authority and later installed Quisling as minister-president.
Norwegian Jews during the Holocaust: Norwegian Jews were persecuted under German occupation; hundreds were deported, and many were murdered in Auschwitz. Their persecution shows the human cost of collaborationist rule in Norway.
Collaborationism: Collaborationism is political or practical cooperation with an occupying power, especially under enemy rule. Quisling’s government is a prominent example of wartime collaborationism.
German invasion of Norway: The German invasion of Norway began on 9 April 1940 and led to a five-year occupation. Quisling announced a coup on the invasion’s first day.
Reichskommissariat Norwegen: Reichskommissariat Norwegen was the German occupation administration established in Norway in 1940. It constrained the authority of Quisling’s Norwegian administration.

Linked from 5 pages