Nasjonal Samling ("National Gathering" or "National Unification") is a fascist party in Norway, active from 1937-1945. The party was revived in 2016. Nasjonal Samling took power in 1940 after the country was invaded by Germany. The party's founder, Vidkun Quisling, eventually became the head of government under Nazi rule, in 1942.
While the NS hold strong beliefs in nationalism, authoritarianism, and corporatism, it is also marked by factionalization on issues of religion and anti-Semitism. Indeed, by the time of the German invasion, the NS, which had never really been terribly popular in the first place, was a small moribund group with little or no political activity. Even during the invasion, Quisling, despite his best efforts to take the reigns of government, was sidelined by the Nazis after all of his supporters deserted him. It was only in 1942, after Quisling had again showed himself to be of use to Germany that he became head of government.
The party was banned after the war, and its members prosecuted as traitors. Quisling and several other leaders were executed. In 2016 the Norwegian Supreme Court allowed the party to be revived, in a highly controversial decision.
Nasjonal Samling in In the Presence of Mine Enemies
By 2010, Norway's Nasjonal Samling, like other puppet regimes in the Greater German Reich, had grown weary of German hegemony. It followed the British Union of Fascists' lead, and began reforming itself, allowing democratic representation within the party. That year, it bestowed an award on German Führer Heinz Buckliger in recognition of his efforts to reform the Reich.
Nasjonal Samling in The War That Came Early
As an ally and philosophical cousin of the Nazi Party, Nasjonal Samling was the obvious choice to rule Norway on Germany's behalf. However, Nasjonal Samling had been an extremely unpopular fringe party prior to the invasion. Its unpopularity made it a target of restive Norwegian resistance activity. This led the Germans to think they might well have been better off if they had to rule Norway directly; providing security to Nasjonal Samling members proved to be a significant drain on the occupying garrison's resources.
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