(; shortened STAPO) was from 1941 to 1945 a

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

armed police force that consisted of Norwegian officials after

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

pattern. It operated independently of the ordinary Norwegian police. The force was established on 1 June 1941 during the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

. The initiative for the force came from the later chief Karl Marthinsen and other prominent members of the collaborationist party

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such ...

. At its peak, in 1944 there were 350 employees in Statspolitiet, in addition to a larger number who collaborated or rendered services for them.

Description

Its purpose was primarily to combat so-called ''political crimes'', refugees, espionage, sabotage, armed resistance and other kinds of resistance against the German occupation forces or the Norwegian collaborationist

Quisling regime The Quisling regime or Quisling government are common names used to refer to the fascist collaborationist government led by Vidkun Quisling in German-occupied Norway during the Second World War. The official name of the regime from 1 February 19 ...

. Statspolitiet played an important role during the

Holocaust in Norway The German occupation of Norway began on 9 April 1940. In 1942, there were at least 2,173 Jews in Norway. At least 775 of them were arrested, detained and/or deported. More than half of the Norwegians who died in camps in Germany were Jews. 742 ...

, aiding in the deportation of the

Jews in Norway The history of Jews in Norway dates back to the 1400s. Although there were very likely Jewish merchants, sailors and others who entered Norway during the Middle Ages, no efforts were made to establish a Jewish community. Through the early mod ...

. Norwegians were arrested by contemporary laws, and many were later sent to prison camps in Norway and

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

s in what was then Germany. Statspolitiet was organized with a headquarters in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

and six subsidiaries in Oslo and Aker, Stavanger,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

and Kirkenes.aftenposten.n
Slik opererte det norske Gestapo
''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 milli ...

'' October 22, 2012 Statspolitiet was subordinate to the chief of the security police and the Norwegian Minister of Police, Jonas Lie. Statspolitiet also received orders directly from the Reich Security Main Office.Eirik Veum: Nådeløse nordmenn: Statspolitiet 1941-1945. Kagge forlag, 2012 The general of Statspolitiet, Karl A Marthinsen was assassinated by the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governmen ...

on 8 February 1945. This caused massive reprisals, in which 34 imprisoned resistance fighters were executed at

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

After World War II

After the German capitulation on May 8, 1945, Statspolitiet was disbanded immediately. Former officers of Statspolitiet were arrested and tried in Norwegian courts, and were found guilty of varying degrees of such crimes as treason, illegal detention, torture, maltreatments, murders and illegal executions. The punishments were harsh and included the use of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. The death sentences for the Statspolitiet officers Reidar Haaland, Arne Saatvedt, Hans Jacob Skaar Pedersen, Holger Tou, Ole Wehus, Olav Aspheim and

Einar Dønnum Einar Olav Christiansen Dønnum (19 April 1897 – 22 April 1947) was a Norwegian Nazi collaborator who was executed during the legal purge in Norway after World War II. Early life Before the war, Einar was a manager and Sunday school tea ...

were fulfilled, the officers being executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

.Asbjørn Jaklin: ''De dødsdømte'' (page 101), Gyldendal, Oslo 2011,

Ranks and rank insignia

References

{{Uniforms, insignia and ranks of Nazi Germany Organisations based in Oslo 1941 establishments in Norway 1945 disestablishments in Norway Government agencies established in 1941 Organizations disestablished in 1945 Defunct law enforcement agencies in Norway Norway in World War II The Holocaust in Norway Norwegian collaborators with Nazi Germany Collaboration during World War II Government paramilitary forces Collaboration with the Axis Powers