Operation Nordlicht

Norwegian town of Kirkenes burning after withdrawal of German forces.

A Norwegian guard watching the movements of the Germans.It was reported to Norwegian Headquarters in eastern Finnmark that the civilian population on the island of Sørøya in Western Finnmark was living under very difficult conditions due to the complete destruction by the Germans of everything on the Island. An expedition was set to the island and Norwegian forces evacuated a number of civilians eastwards and took care of the population until the evacuation could take place. In the middle of the February four British destroyers arrived at the island and evacuated the rest of the civilian population.

In November 1944, Nazi Germany forcibly removed civilians from Indre Finnmark and burnt down their houses as part of their scorched-earth policy. A good number of people managed to escape the forced relocations and flee into the fjells where they encountered major difficulties. On the Swedish side of the border, large quantities of clothes and food were collected for the people in Finnmark. The boy in the photograph has just received rolled oatmeal and peas as part of that collection.

Etter at russerne hadde rykket inn i Kirkenes og Øst-Finnmark kom i begynnelsen av november Den norske militærkommisjonen under ledelse av oberst A.D. Dahl og de første norske troppestyrker fra Storbritannia, for sammen med Den russiske ishavsarme å føre kampen videre mot tyskerne i Nord-Norge. Bildet er tatt under et besøk som representanter for Misjonen avla i Vadsø kort etter ankomsten til Norge. En ser oberst Dahl i samtale med den nyutnevnte fylkesmann, redaktør Peder Holt. London, 29.12.1944