Den nordiske besættelsesroman
Summary
Summary
The German occupation of Denmark and Norway from 1940 to 1945 has been a subject of great
public interest in both countries since the occupation. In the last couple of years that interest has
shown itself I various ways on the Nordic cultural scene. The most expensive Danish film
production ever is the film Flame and Citron (2007) about two of the most prominent members
of the Danish resistance. The film has received many positive reviews from film critics, and the
grand film is probably one of the reasons why the interest in the Danish occupational years is
also seen in many other parts of the Danish and Norwegian art world. A new Norwegian film
about the Norwegian resistance during the occupation will be shown in cinemas in Norway in
December 2008, and also in literature and art exhibitions the occupation is present.
This thesis concerns three Nordic novels which revolve around the occupation in
Scandinavia from 1940 to 1945. The novels are Meeting at the Milestone by Norwegian author
Sigurd Hoel (1947), No One Knows the Night by H. C. Branner (1955) and The Naked Trees by
Tage Skou-Hansen (1957). Through analyses of the three novels it is the aim to present a
different view on the occupation than the one which is presented in the various media today. By
turning to 40s and 50s literature it will be possible to find out which subjects marked the cultural
crisis that influenced literature in the post-war era. This part of the Nordic literary period has
been neglected since the 1960s, because of the modernistic breakthrough in the early 60s. 50s
literature got a rather negative reputation in those years, and it is often associated with a dull,
conservative form. Another aim of this thesis is therefore to find out to which extend, those
associations are fair to their material.
30s literature was greatly influenced by the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, and
both Hoel and Branner had their literary basis in the 30s. Therefore, this thesis includes some
aspects of Freud’s theories.
In the post-war era the debate about guilt and responsibility was dominating, and in
connection to that the existentialism of Kierkegaard and Sartre inspired the literature including
the one of Hoel, Branner and Skou-Hansen. Existentialist theory is therefore also used in the
analyses of the three novels.
Through the analyses of the novels it becomes clear, that they all have the
existentialist obligation in common. The main characters all have to realize that they are
obligated to help others around them and make responsible choices. When they fail to do so, for
example in their relationships with their loved ones, it leads to misery and despair.
Den nordiske besættelsesroman
Summary
The fact that the setting of the events in the novels is the occupation makes the
situations and problems of the novels more intense and harder to solve.
A reading of the works of Hoel, Branner and Skou-Hansen contradicts the
reputation that 50s literature has had since the 60s. Branner shows a great deal of willingness to
experiment with both topics and form in No One Knows the Night, where he for example
includes sexually diverging nature in the behavior of the characters and doesn’t submit to normal
grammar. In Meeting at the Milestone the composition holds the key to understanding the main
character which is also the narrator. He has repressed most knowledge of the consequences of his
actions during the occupation, so he is and unreliable narrator. That isn’t fully obvious to the
reader at first glance, so the narrator of this novel is complex. He shares that part of his
characteristics with the main figure of The Naked Trees. He is also unreliable when it comes to
his own feelings and weaknesses. Both of them tell a fascinating story about war vs. peace,
dictatorship vs. democracy and racism vs. humanism. These are themes, which are also
significant in the present day and probably will be in the future as well. Therefore, a reading of
these three novels will always provide the reader with something significant.