The Klipfish Code Read online

  Some 3,300 people escaped from Norway via small boats—with heavy losses—and close to 50,000 people crossed the border on foot, largely into Sweden.

  After five bitter years of German occupation in Norway, Winston Churchill declared over British radio that peace had come at last to Europe. On May 8, 1945, bells rang out joyously across Norway. The Norwegian flag shot up every flagpole. Radios came out of hiding. On May 17, children marched throughout Norway in their annual Children's Parade on Independence Day, which had been banned since the occupation. Finally, on June 7, fireworks filled the sky as Norwegians celebrated their greatest symbol of freedom—the long-awaited return of their exiled king.

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  Glossary

  Norwegian Words:

  alt for Norge (ahlt forr nor-geh) all for Norway

  Bestemor (behss-tah-moor) Grandmother

  Bestefar (behss-tah-faar) Grandfather

  bunad (boo-nahd) traditional costume of Norway, consisting of blouse, vest, and skirt for women and girls; and shirt, vest, and knickers for men and boys

  dyne (dee-nah) a down-filled quilt, or eiderdown filled duvet

  fattigmann (faht-tih-mahn) twisted and fried dough flavored with cinnamon and cardamon seed

  frokost (froo-kost) breakfast

  God Jul (goo-yewl) Merry Christmas

  god morgen (goo-maw-ern) good morning

  god natt (goo-nahtt) good night

  hei (hay) a greeting; hey there

  hytte (hit-ah) cabin

  ja (ya) yes

  jakke (yak-keh) jacket or coat

  jøssing (yuhs-sing) a Norwegian patriot

  Julaften (yewleh-ahf-tern) Christmas Eve

  Juletid (yewleh-teed) Christmastime

  kaffe (kahf-feh) coffee

  Kaptain (kahp-tayn) captain

  klippfisk (klip-fisk) klipfish; split, salted, and dried cod

  kraken (krah-ken) a sea monster of Norwegian folklore, an enormous octopus/crab creature said to pull ships down with its tentacles

  krumkake (kroom-kah-keh) a cone-shaped cookie baked on an iron, similar to a waffle iron

  lefse (lef-sah) a thin potato pancake

  lutefisk (loo-teh-fisk) a type of dish made from air-dried whitefish, prepared with lye, soaked many hours, and served with butter

  Marit (Mahr-it) a first name

  Mor (moor) Mother

  Nasjonal Samling (NS) (nah-shoo-naal sahm-ling) national gathering; or Norwegian Nazi Party

  nei (nay) no

  nisselue (nissah-luah) red stocking cap

  Norge (nor-geh) Norway

  pensum (pen-summ) syllabus of classwork

  quisling (quiz-ling) a traitor; a term used for Norwegians who collaborated with the Nazis, so named because of Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian who worked with Nazis during the occupation

  risengrot (rees-ehn-gruht) warm rice pudding sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar

  sandkaker (sahn-kaa-ker) almond cookies in fluted tins

  sølje (suhl-yeh) type of Norwegian silver broach

  takk (tahkk) thank you

  tekopp (teh-kopp) teacup

  tusen takk (two-sehn tahkk) a thousand thanks, or many thanks

  uff da (oohf-dah) an exclamation of dismay

  vaffel (vahff-ell) waffle

  vel (vehl) well!

  velkommen (vehl-kom-mehn) Welcome

  vesla (vehs-lah) "little one"

  Norwegian Places:

  Ålesund (ohleh-sunn) city on the western coast of Norway

  Alnes (ahl-nes) fishing village on the north of Godøy Island

  Åndalnes (ohn-dahl-nes) a city at the end of Romsdal Fjord in west-central Norway

  Giske (gih-skeh) an island off Norway's western coast near Ålesund

  Godøy (goo-dey) an island off Norway's western coast near Ålesund

  Isfjorden (ees-fjorh-ehn) a village at the end of Romsdal Fjord

  German Words:

  Fräulein (froy-leyen, or froy-line) girl; miss

  Gestapo (Geh-stah-poh) Germany's secret police

  Halt! Was ist los? (Halt, pronounced as in English; Vahs ist lohs) Stop! What's the matter?

  Heil (heyel, or hile) Hail

  Herr (hehrr) man; mister

  Reich (rahyk) empire; German Nazi state

  Was ist das? (Vahs ist dahs) What is that?

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  For Further Reading

  Folklore Fights the Nazis: Humor in Occupied Norway

  by Kathleen Stokker

  Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995

  Norway 1940

  by François Kersaudy

  New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990

  Norway 1940–45: The Resistance Movement

  by Olav Riste and Berit Nokleby

  Oslo: Tanum-Norli, 1970

  The Shetland Bus

  by David Howarth

  New York: Lyons Press, 1951

  Snow Treasure

  by Marie McSwigan

  New York: E. P. Dutton, 1942

  War and Innocence:

  A Young Girl's Life in Occupied Norway

  by Hanna Aasvik Helmersen

  Seattle: Hara Publishing, 2000

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