More than 700 people commemorated the deportation of Norwegian Jews to concentration camps at the Oslo City hall.
Norway had around 2,100 Jewish residents in 1940, and many received help to flee to Sweden after Nazi Germany’s invasion. A total of 738 Norwegian Jews were nonetheless killed in the Nazi’s concentration camps.
“It’s important to learn from history,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in his address at the memorial ceremony in Oslo. While many fear history is repeating itself, Støre insisted that the ceremony “is a reminder that we must preserve our democratic society, and work to promote human rights, diversity and inclusion every single day.”
Støre said his own government is worried by the degree of racist and other extreme views in today’s society. “We’re taking this seriously,” he said. “It’s our responsibility and duty to fend off antisemitism and racism. In our time’s uneasy Europe, with war and a new wave of refugees, it becomes even more important to keep this work high on the agenda.”
