The Society Guard (), sometimes Norwegian Society Guard (''Norsk Samfundsvern''), was a volunteer

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organisation in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It was founded in 1923 in connection to the anti-strike Society Aid (''Samfundshjelpen''). Organised by the centre-right parties, these "emergency groups" were prepared to mobilise in case of war or revolution. The organisation was directed specifically against the

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

, and recruited officers and volunteers for an armed guard against revolutionary activists. Led by officers, it was organised in small secret armed groups. In accordance with the "police law" of 1928, it could be used as a reserve police force. Around 1930, it reportedly had between 10,000 and 15,000 members. From 1925, the organisation was led by Ragnvald Hvoslef. Other leading figures included

Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen (7 June 1890 – 3 June 1965) was a Norwegian aviation pioneer, military officer, polar explorer and businessman. Among his achievements, he is generally regarded a founder of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Background ...

. The organisation Leidangen which emerged in 1931 had its background in the Society Guard. To counter such organisations, the Labour Party started organising "Labour Protection Groups" in the 1930s. The Society Guard was dissolved in 1935 following the establishment of the Labour Party

Nygaardsvold's Cabinet __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile) was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority governments that had dominated Norwegian p ...

, after it was revealed that it operated military training with material from the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

. According to

Hans Fredrik Dahl Hans Fredrik Dahl (born 16 October 1939) is a Norwegian historian, journalist and media scholar, best known in the English-speaking world for his biography of Vidkun Quisling, a Nazi collaborationist and Minister President for Norway during the ...

, the Society Guard was the closest Norway came to a White Guard.

References

{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1923 1923 establishments in Norway Organizations disestablished in 1935 1935 disestablishments in Norway Anti-communist organizations Paramilitary organisations based in Norway Defunct organisations based in Norway