Barnes County Museum to host Lecture Series, “A Child’s View of WWII”, Jan. 19th

The Barnes County Historical Society Lecture Series Season 22 presents: Rev. Aanen D. Gjovik and K. Peder Gjovik, Ph.D, “A Child’s View of WWII,” 7 p.m., Thursday January 19th, at the Barnes County Museum,

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 the capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8 May 1945. Throughout this period, a pro-German government named Den nasjonale regjering (English: the National Government) ruled Norway, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and the prewar government escaped to London, where they formed a government in exile. Civil rule was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen (Reich Commissariat of Norway), which acted in collaboration with the pro-German puppet government. This period of military occupation is, in Norway, referred to as the "war years", "occupation period" or simply "the war." (Wikipedia)

Rev. Aanen D. Gjovik was born in southern Norway. In 1947 he immigrated to the United States with his parents and siblings two years after WWII ended. His father and family farmed south of Pekin, ND. His story is quite interesting and most of the presentation surrounds molybdenum mining and the Nazi occupation of his family village in Knaben, Norway. The program will discuss the struggles of occupation for his family that involved rationing, forced labor, and the mine being bombed by British and American air groups to impede the production of molybdenum.

K. Peder Gjovik, Ph.D, recently retired as an Emeritus Professor from VCSU. He will provide background on the bombings and other activities by the Allies and Norwegian underground to hinder the Nazi military machine. The discussion will center on actions taken to deprive the Nazis of deuterium oxide produced in Rjukan, Norway. Deuterium oxide was critical to the Nazi effort to develop the atomic bomb.

The public is cordially invited. All lecture presentations are held at the Barnes County Historical Society Museum and held in conjunction with Valley City State University. They are free and open to the public.

For more information contact Wes Anderson at 701-845-0966.

The Barnes County Historical Society and Museum are located at 315 Central Ave N in Valley City.