Rick Steves’ Europe: Living history brings your travels to life
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My Uncle Thor lived through the Nazi occupation of Norway. He took me to Oslo’s Grand City Hall to show me the huge âOccupation Muralâ and share his story of those dark days with the visual support of powerful art. Walking slowly, in a soft voice, he told the story scene by scene in the present tense – as if the mural told of his personal experience as it unfolded: âThe German blitzkrieg is overwhelming our country. Men head for the mountains to organize a resistance movement. Women snuggle up nicely in the neighborhood, traditionally where the news goes, while traitors listen. As the Germans bomb and occupy Norway, a family gathers in their living room. As a boy clenches his fist and a child holds our Norwegian flag – we love it so much – the Gestapo burst in. Columns lie on the ground, symbolizing how, by shutting down newspapers and the university, the Germans did what they could to shut down culture. Finally, years later, the war is over, the prisoners are freed, and Norway celebrates its happiest day: May 17, 1945. âThor’s voice broke as he added,â Our first Constitution Day afterwards five years under Nazi control. ” He ended by waving his arm wide and saying, “And today, every December, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in this great hall.”
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