Norwegian
police have apologized for the first time over their role in arresting and
deporting over 700 Jews while under German occupation during World War II. The
prime minister apologized earlier this year.
The
statement came on Monday, the 70th anniversary of the first deportation of
Jews, when 532 people were sent to the Auschwitz death camp.
"Norwegian
police officers participated in the arrest and deporation of Jews," said
police chief Odd Reidar Humlegaard.
"It is
fitting that I express my regret for the role police played in the arrest and
deportation of these completely innocent victims," he added.
Norway's
role
German
forces occupied Norway from April 9, 1940 to May 8, 1945. Norway's leader
during the occupation, Vidkun Quisling, ordered the registration of Jews in
1942, and the state was complicit in their deportation.
After the
war, individual members of the Norwegian police were convicted of varying
crimes, including torture and executions.
Norway's
government acknowledged its role in the affair in 1998 and paid approximately
$60 million (46 million euros) to Norwegian Jews and Jewish organizations for
lost property.
The state
controversially did not issue a full apology at the time, but in May of this
year Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg made a formal apology.
"I
could say it was about time, but it was good to hear," said 89-year-old
Samuel Steinman, the only surviving Norwegian Jewish deportee.
Deportations
during the war
Of the 772
Norwegian Jews and Jewish refugees deported to Nazi concentration camps, only
34 survived the war.
The Jewish
population of Norway increased from 1,700 before the war to 2,100 by 1942, as
refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia fled mainland Europe.
dr/pfd (dpa, Reuters)
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