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Blogs by Rolf Richardson
Last Weiss 10/7/2019 1:10:40 AM
History's forgotten men Writing fiction can be an education for an author, research often the cornerstone. I'd read masses of books about the Third Reich, but wanted to focus on the final few months, when it had become clear the party was over and people were starting to think about life after Adolf.
Although Hitler loved to meddle in anything military, he was generally a slothful sort, happy to spend months on end in his alpine retreat watching old movies; once he had appointed someone for a job, he more or less lost interest.
This was the situation when a middle-ranking Nazi was told to head north and run newly-conquered Norway. Forget the better known Quisling, the man who ruled Norway for five years as Hitler's trusted henchman was Josef Terboven.
Ever heard of Terboven? Full marks if you have, because this is a name that has almost disappeared from history. I could find nothing about him in English and, unsurprisingly, nothing in German; just a few old press cuttings and - the one gold mine - an old academic work in Norwegian.
There must be many other Terbovens, forgotten people, out there waiting to be re-discovered. Get exploring!
