15 апреля / 2021
Norwegian documentary Front Fighters
Excerpt from the briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, April 15, 2021
We have taken note of a documentary drama titled Frontkjempere (“Front Fighters”) that came out on April 6 on the NRK channel of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation to mark the anniversary of Norway’s occupation during World War II (April 9, 1941). The plot of the film is rather unsightly: the film tells the story of former members of the Norwegian Legion of the Waffen-SS who fought “heroically” on the Eastern Front, including near Moscow, Leningrad, in the Caucasus and North Karelia. Notably, Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Defence were involved in creating this so-called documentary.
Hiding behind the “benefits” of a non-politicised exchange of opinions, the film creators distorted and turned history upside down presenting war criminals and voluntary Nazi collaborators as naïve victims of Hitler’s propaganda and patriots who were resisting the expansion of Bolshevism. The creators are urging viewers to refrain from condemning the “front fighters” but instead try and understand their motives. The “veterans” are broadcasting a complete lack of remorse or repentance, while their complicity in Nazi atrocities has been left out of the script. The “heroes” are flaunting their “achievements in battle” and recall, with smiles, the efficiency of German machine guns and the heavy death toll of the Red Army.
We would like to remind director Alexander Kristiansen and other creators of the film about one fact that evaded their attention. During the Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive, including battles for liberation of Eastern Finnmark, the Soviet Union lost over 6,000 soldiers. Some 12,678 Soviet prisoners of war died in Nazi camps on the Norwegian territory. For comparison, Norway’s total casualties in World War II amounted to 10,262 people.
The film creators are not even perturbed by the fact that the activity of the Waffen-SS received a legal judgment under international law during the Nuremberg trials, the outcome of which is not subject to review.
This kind of pandering to war criminals has nothing to do with freedom of speech. It leads directly to the glorification of Nazism and is fraught with the falsification of our common history.
Until recently, Norway never made such major attempts to revisit the WWII events, with government bodies actually encouraging such distressing projects.
We remember very well the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of Northern Norway from Nazi occupation in Kirkenes. The anniversary in October 2019 was attended by King of Norway Harald V. Sergey Lavrov headed the Russian delegation.
We praise the exemplary maintenance of Soviet war burials in Norway, installation of new monuments and Norway’s diligence in identifying the people who perished in Nazi camps on the Norwegian territory, as well as the care and attention it shows towards our veterans. As you remember, in September 2020, we commented on the ceremony at the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow where Great Patriotic War veteran Mikhail Podgursky was presented with Norway’s state medal for the participation in the defence of Norway on behalf of the King of Norway.
Broadcasting such an anti-masterpiece by a Norwegian state television and radio company is absolutely unacceptable and shameful. It is good to know that the documentary has already been criticised in Norway itself. We also expect an honest and unbiased response from official Oslo.
We have taken note of a documentary drama titled Frontkjempere (“Front Fighters”) that came out on April 6 on the NRK channel of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation to mark the anniversary of Norway’s occupation during World War II (April 9, 1941). The plot of the film is rather unsightly: the film tells the story of former members of the Norwegian Legion of the Waffen-SS who fought “heroically” on the Eastern Front, including near Moscow, Leningrad, in the Caucasus and North Karelia. Notably, Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Defence were involved in creating this so-called documentary.
Hiding behind the “benefits” of a non-politicised exchange of opinions, the film creators distorted and turned history upside down presenting war criminals and voluntary Nazi collaborators as naïve victims of Hitler’s propaganda and patriots who were resisting the expansion of Bolshevism. The creators are urging viewers to refrain from condemning the “front fighters” but instead try and understand their motives. The “veterans” are broadcasting a complete lack of remorse or repentance, while their complicity in Nazi atrocities has been left out of the script. The “heroes” are flaunting their “achievements in battle” and recall, with smiles, the efficiency of German machine guns and the heavy death toll of the Red Army.
We would like to remind director Alexander Kristiansen and other creators of the film about one fact that evaded their attention. During the Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive, including battles for liberation of Eastern Finnmark, the Soviet Union lost over 6,000 soldiers. Some 12,678 Soviet prisoners of war died in Nazi camps on the Norwegian territory. For comparison, Norway’s total casualties in World War II amounted to 10,262 people.
The film creators are not even perturbed by the fact that the activity of the Waffen-SS received a legal judgment under international law during the Nuremberg trials, the outcome of which is not subject to review.
This kind of pandering to war criminals has nothing to do with freedom of speech. It leads directly to the glorification of Nazism and is fraught with the falsification of our common history.
Until recently, Norway never made such major attempts to revisit the WWII events, with government bodies actually encouraging such distressing projects.
We remember very well the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of Northern Norway from Nazi occupation in Kirkenes. The anniversary in October 2019 was attended by King of Norway Harald V. Sergey Lavrov headed the Russian delegation.
We praise the exemplary maintenance of Soviet war burials in Norway, installation of new monuments and Norway’s diligence in identifying the people who perished in Nazi camps on the Norwegian territory, as well as the care and attention it shows towards our veterans. As you remember, in September 2020, we commented on the ceremony at the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow where Great Patriotic War veteran Mikhail Podgursky was presented with Norway’s state medal for the participation in the defence of Norway on behalf of the King of Norway.
Broadcasting such an anti-masterpiece by a Norwegian state television and radio company is absolutely unacceptable and shameful. It is good to know that the documentary has already been criticised in Norway itself. We also expect an honest and unbiased response from official Oslo.
