The Betrayal
by Harry Rødner
What the government and the King in exile knew
about the extermination of the Norwegian Jews
Harry Rødner argues in The Betrayal more thoroughly than anyone else that anti-Judaistic and anti-Semitic attitudes were widespread in Norway before the war, and that these notions accompanied the government in exile. Towards the summer of 1942, the government in London received clear information about the preparations for the extermination of the Jews, including the Norwegians.
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The Donau operation itself was briefly referred to in the government as a "foreign policy matter". Through religious rhetoric, the government's press agency Norsk Tiend accused the Jews of betrayal, and of causing their own fates. In particular, Prime Minister Nygaardsvold and Foreign Minister Lie were against any special treatment of the Jews.
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The "White Buses" did not save Norwegian Jews. They were left out of the lists that formed the basis of prisoners to be brought out of Germany. However, 64 interned Norwegian Jews were brought from Berg and Grini to Sweden at the beginning of May 1945. Jews were discriminated against during the return of confiscated assets after the war.
Harry Rødner
The author
Harry Rødner (born 26th April, 1943 in Stockholm) grew up by Majorstuen in Oslo after the war. He is married, has two children and five grandchildren. His wife encouraged him to write a book about the exile government's and King Haakon's betrayal of the Jews, a topic that had occupied him for several years.
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Bjørn Meier Scharff
Painting by Vebjørn Sand
The picture on the cover was painted by the artist Vebjørn Sand, and shows Bjørn Meier Scharff as a two-year-old climbing aboard the bus on 26 November 1942, together with other Jewish women, the elderly and children. The bus journey ended at Pier 1 where Donau was waiting.