Nortraship: The Norwegian Merchant Fleet in the Second World War

Ken Privratsky, a retired major general in the U.S. Army, holds multiple advanced degrees and was a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. He has written or edited several books, including The Norwegian Merchant Fleet in the Second World War, the first detailed account in English of Norway’s critical contribution to the Allies.

In early 1940, when Hitler invaded Norway, both the British and Germans rushed to seize Norway’s fleet of ships, then spread around the world. King Haakon VII and his government nationalized the fleet and established the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission. Nicknamed Nortraship, it became overnight the largest shipping company the world had seen with a thousand ships and, eventually, offices on six continents. It became a priceless Allied asset without which victory over Germany would arguably have been impossible. By the end of the war, about half of Nortraship’s fleet had been lost. Merchant mariners returning from the war found their country ill-prepared to look after their needs.

After this presentation, Olaf Engvig will briefly discuss his personal experiences as a Norwegian Resistance messenger boy of 5-6 years old, and his interactions with WWII veterans as a young sailor in the merchant marines.

A small reception will take place thereafter, where guests can interact with the presenters and see the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation’s diorama of the Norwegian Merchant Marine, titled “How Norway Helped Win World War II.”