Editing Vidkun Quisling (section)

==World War II==
===Coming of war===
In 1939, Quisling turned his attention towards Norway's preparations for the anticipated European war, which he believed involved a drastic increase in the country's defence spending to guarantee its neutrality. Meanwhile, Quisling presented lectures entitled "The Jewish problem in Norway"<ref>{{cite book|author=Maynard M. Cohen|title=A Stand Against Tyranny: Norway's Physicians and the Nazis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cmx6u2GF80C&pg=PA53|year= 2000|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn=0-8143-2934-9|pages=53–}}</ref> and supported [[Adolf Hitler]] in what appeared to be growing future conflict. Despite condemning ''[[Kristallnacht]],'' he sent the German leader a fiftieth-birthday greeting thanking him for "saving Europe from Bolshevism and Jewish domination".<ref name="dahl134">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=134–137}}.</ref> Quisling also contended that should an Anglo-Russian alliance make neutrality impossible, Norway would have "to go with Germany."<ref name="dahl137">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=137–142}}.</ref> Invited to the country in the summer of 1939, he began a tour of a number of German and Danish cities. He was received particularly well in Germany, which promised funds to boost ''Nasjonal Samling's'' standing in Norway, and hence spread pro-Nazi sentiment. When war broke out on 1 September 1939, Quisling felt vindicated by both the event and the immediate superiority displayed by the German army. He remained outwardly confident that, despite its size, his party would soon become the centre of political attention.<ref name="dahl137"/>

For the next nine months, Quisling continued to lead a party that was at best peripheral to Norwegian politics.<ref name="dahl137"/> He was nonetheless active, and in October 1939 he worked with Prytz on an ultimately unsuccessful plan for peace between Britain, France and Germany and their eventual participation in a new economic union. Quisling also mused on how Germany ought to go on the offensive against its ally the Soviet Union, and on 9 December travelled to Germany to present his multi-faceted plans.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=142–149}}.</ref> After impressing German officials, he won an audience with Hitler himself, scheduled for 14 December, whereupon he received firm advice from his contacts that the most useful thing he could do would be to ask for Hitler's help with a pro-German coup in Norway,{{refn|Quisling considered the fourth and constitutionally dubious session of the Parliament of Norway, due to open on 10 January 1940, as the mostly likely time for ''Nasjonal Samling'' to face an exploitable crisis. During 1939 he had firmed up a list of candidates for an incoming government.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=153}}.</ref>|group="nb"}} that would let the Germans use Norway as a naval base. Thereafter, Norway would maintain official neutrality as long as possible, and finally the country would fall under German rather than British control.<ref>{{cite book|title=The German Northern Theater of Operations 1940–1945|year = 1959|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw0VAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA8|publisher=Brill Archive|pages=8–|id=GGKEY:BQN0CQURHS1}}</ref> It is not clear how much Quisling himself understood about the strategic implications of such a move, and he instead relied on his future Minister of Domestic Affairs [[Albert Viljam Hagelin|Albert Hagelin]], who was fluent in German, to put the relevant arguments to German officials in Berlin during pre-meeting talks, even though Hagelin was prone to damaging exaggeration at times.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=149–152}}.</ref> Quisling and his German contacts almost certainly went away with different views as to whether they had agreed upon the necessity of a German invasion.<ref name="dahl153">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=153–156}}.</ref>

On 14 December 1939, Quisling met Hitler. The German leader promised to respond to any British invasion of Norway ([[Plan R 4]]), perhaps pre-emptively, with a German counter-invasion, but found Quisling's plans for both a Norwegian coup and an Anglo-German peace unduly optimistic. Nonetheless, Quisling would still receive funds to bolster ''Nasjonal Samling''.{{refn|Immediately after the meeting on 14 December, Hitler ordered his staff to draw up preparations for an invasion of Norway.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=157}}.</ref>|group="nb"}} The two men met again four days later, and afterwards Quisling wrote a memorandum that explicitly told Hitler that he did not consider himself a National Socialist.<ref name="dahl153"/> As German machinations continued, Quisling was intentionally kept in the dark. He was also incapacitated by a severe bout of illness, probably [[nephritis]] in both kidneys, for which he refused hospitalisation. Though he returned to work on 13 March 1940, he remained ill for several weeks.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=160–162}}.</ref> In the meantime, the [[Altmark incident|''Altmark'' incident]] complicated Norway's efforts to maintain its neutrality. Hitler himself remained in two minds over whether an occupation of Norway should require an invitation from the Norwegian government. Finally, Quisling received his summons on 31 March, and reluctantly travelled to [[Copenhagen]] to meet with Nazi intelligence officers who asked him for information on Norwegian defences and defence protocols. He returned to Norway on 6 April and, on 8 April, the British [[Operation Wilfred]] commenced, bringing Norway into the war. With [[Allied campaign in Norway|Allied forces in Norway]], Quisling expected a characteristically swift German response.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=162–170}}.</ref>

===German invasion and coup d'état===
{{See also|Quisling regime#1940 coup}}
In the early hours of 9 April 1940, [[Operation Weserübung|Germany invaded Norway]] by air and sea in "Operation ''Weserübung''", or "Operation Weser Exercise", intending to capture King [[Haakon VII]] and the government of Prime Minister [[Johan Nygaardsvold]]. However, alert to the possibility of invasion, [[Conservative Party (Norway)|Conservative]] [[President of the Storting|President of the Parliament]] [[C. J. Hambro]] arranged for their evacuation to [[Hamar]] in the east of the country.<ref>{{harvnb|Hayes|1971|p=211}}.</ref> The [[German cruiser Blücher|''Blücher'']], a German cruiser which carried most of the personnel intended to take over Norway's administration, [[Battle of Drøbak Sound|was sunk by cannon fire and torpedoes]] from [[Oscarsborg Fortress]] in the [[Oslofjord]].{{refn|Dahl suggests that the mix-up was in part due to Quisling's earlier statement to the Germans that he "did not believe" the Norwegian sea defences would open fire without previous orders to do so.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=166, 171}}.</ref>|group="nb"}} The Germans had expected the government to surrender and to have its replacement ready; neither happened, although the invasion itself continued. After hours of discussion, Quisling and his German counterparts decided that an immediate [[coup]] was necessary, though this was not the preferred option either of Germany's ambassador [[Curt Bräuer]] or of the [[German Foreign Ministry]].<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=170–172}}.</ref>

In the afternoon, German liaison-person [[Hans-Wilhelm Scheidt]] told Quisling that should he set up a government, it would have Hitler's personal approval. Quisling drew up a list of ministers and, although the legitimate government had merely relocated some {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=}} to [[Elverum]], accused it of having "fled".{{refn|The option of a "Danish solution"—welcoming the invaders in order to avoid conflict—was still on the table. In this way, the Nazis were avoiding choosing between the rival centres of power.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=173}}.</ref> This became impossible only after Quisling's announcement at 19:30.<ref>{{harvnb|Hayes|1971|pp=212–217}}.</ref>|group="nb"}}

Meanwhile, the Germans occupied Oslo and at 17:30 [[NRK|Norwegian radio]] (NRK) ceased broadcasting at the request of the occupying forces.<ref name="dahl172">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=172–175}}.</ref> With German support, at approximately 19:30, Quisling entered the NRK studios in Oslo and proclaimed the formation of a new government with himself as prime minister. He also revoked an earlier order to mobilise against the German invasion.<ref name="dahl172"/><ref>{{harvnb|Ringdal|1989|p=58}}.</ref> He still lacked legitimacy. Two of his orders—the first to his friend Colonel Hans Sommerfeldt Hiorth, the commanding officer of the army regiment at [[Elverum]],<ref>{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=377}}.</ref> to arrest the government, and the second to [[Kristian Welhaven]], Oslo's chief of police—were both ignored. At 22:00, Quisling resumed broadcasting, repeating his earlier message and reading out a list of new ministers. Hitler lent his support as promised, and recognised the new Norwegian government under Quisling within 24 hours.<ref name="dahl172"/> Norwegian batteries were still firing on the German invasion force, and at 03:00 on 10 April, Quisling acceded to a German request to halt the resistance of the [[Bolærne]] fortress.{{refn|Though now accepted, this charge was later one of the few for which the jury at Quisling's trial did not find sufficient evidence.<ref>{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=755}}.</ref>|group="nb"}}<ref>{{harvnb|Hayes|1971|p=221}}.</ref> As a result of actions such as these, it was claimed at the time that Quisling's seizure of power in a [[puppet government]] had been part of the German plan all along.<ref>{{harvnb|Block (ed.)|1940|pp=669–670}}.</ref>

Quisling now reached the high-water mark of his political power. On 10 April, Bräuer travelled to Elverum where the legitimate [[Nygaardsvold's Cabinet|Nygaardsvold government]] now sat. On Hitler's orders, he demanded that King Haakon appoint Quisling head of a new government, thereby securing a [[peaceful transition of power]] and giving legal sanction to the occupation. Haakon rejected this demand.<ref name="dahl175">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=175–178}}</ref> Later, in a meeting with his cabinet, Haakon told his ministers that neither the people nor the Storting had confidence in Quisling. The king went further, saying that he could not appoint Quisling as prime minister, and would abdicate before appointing a Quisling-led government. Hearing this, the government unanimously voted to support the King's stance. It formally advised him not to appoint any government headed by Quisling,<ref name="hoidal384">{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=384}}</ref> and urged the people to continue their resistance.<ref name="dahl175"/> With his popular support gone, Quisling ceased to be of use to Hitler. Germany retracted its support for his rival government, preferring instead to build up its own independent governing commission. In this way, Quisling was manoeuvred out of power by Bräuer and a coalition of his former allies, including Hjort, who now saw him as a liability. Even his political allies, including Prytz, deserted him.<ref name="dahl175"/>

In return, Hitler wrote to Quisling thanking him for his efforts and guaranteeing him some sort of position in the new government. The transfer of power on these terms was duly enacted on 15 April, with Hitler still confident the [[Administrative Council (Norway)|Administrative Council]] would receive the backing of the King.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=183}}.</ref> Quisling's domestic and international reputation both hit new lows, casting him as both a traitor and a failure.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=183–188}}.</ref>

===Head of the government===
{{See also|Quisling regime}}
[[File:Vidkun Quisling på talerstolen i anledning Reichsjugendführer Axmanns besøk. (8617530334).jpg|thumb|Quisling in Oslo in 1941]]
[[File:Fra venstre- Vidkun Quisling, fru Fuglesang, ukjent kvinne, Rolf Jørgen Fuglesang. (8615478575).jpg|thumb|Vidkun Quisling and [[Rolf Jørgen Fuglesang]]]]
Once the King had declared the German commission unlawful, it became clear that he would never be won over. An impatient Hitler appointed a German, [[Josef Terboven]], as the new Norwegian {{lang|no|[[reichskommissar]]}}, or governor-general, on 24 April, reporting directly to him. Despite Hitler's assurances, Terboven wanted to make sure that there would be no room in the government for the ''Nasjonal Samling'' nor its leader Quisling, with whom he did not get along.<ref name="dahl188">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=188–194}}.</ref> Terboven eventually accepted a certain ''Nasjonal Samling'' presence in the government during June, but remained unconvinced about Quisling. As a result, on 25 June, Terboven forced Quisling to step down as leader of the ''Nasjonal Samling'' and take a temporary leave of absence in Germany.<ref name="dahl188"/> Quisling remained there until 20 August, while Rosenberg and Admiral [[Erich Raeder]], whom he had met on his earlier visit to Berlin, negotiated on his behalf. In the end, Quisling returned "in triumph," having won Hitler over in a meeting on 16 August. The {{lang|no|Reichskommissar}} would now have to accommodate Quisling as leader of the government, then allow him to rebuild the ''Nasjonal Samling'' and bring more of his men into the cabinet.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=194–200}}.</ref> Terboven complied and addressed the Norwegian people in a radio broadcast in which he asserted that the ''Nasjonal Samling'' would be the only political party allowed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Norway: Commission State|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802044-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107085600/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802044-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2012|work=Time Magazine|page=1|date=7 October 1940|access-date=31 May 2011}}</ref>

As a result, by the end of 1940 the monarchy had been suspended, although the Parliament of Norway and a body resembling a cabinet remained. The ''Nasjonal Samling,'' the only pro-German party, would be cultivated, but Terboven's {{lang|no|Reichskommissariat}} would keep power in the meantime. Quisling would serve as [[acting (law)|acting]] prime minister and ten of the thirteen "cabinet" ministers were to come from his party.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=200–207}}.</ref> He set out on a programme of wiping out "the destructive principles of the [[French Revolution]]", including [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralism]] and parliamentary rule. This reached into local politics, whereby mayors who switched their allegiance to the ''Nasjonal Samling'' were rewarded with much greater powers. Investments were made in heavily censored cultural programmes, though the press remained theoretically free. To bolster the survival chances of the Nordic [[genotype]], [[contraception]] was severely restricted.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=207–212}}.</ref> Quisling's party experienced a rise in membership to a little over 30,000, but despite his optimism it was never to pass the 40,000 mark.<ref name="dahl215">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=215}}.</ref>
[[File:Vidkun Quisling og reichskommissar Terboven utenfor NRK-bygget i anledning kringskastingstale..jpg|thumb|German occupation forces in [[German-occupied Norway|Norway during World War II]], along with assembled German [[Ordnungspolizei|order police]] soldiers and Quisling, before a German propaganda event at the Colosseum cinema in Oslo, May 1941]]
On 5 December 1940, Quisling flew to Berlin to negotiate the future of Norway's independence. By the time he returned on 13 December, he had agreed to raise volunteers to fight with the German {{lang|de|[[Schutzstaffel]]}} (SS). In January, SS head [[Heinrich Himmler]] travelled to Norway to oversee preparations. Quisling clearly believed that if Norway supported Nazi Germany on the battlefield, there would be no reason for Germany to annex it. To this end, he opposed plans to have a German SS brigade loyal only to Hitler installed in Norway.<ref name="dahl219"/> In the process, he also toughened his attitude to the country harbouring the exiled king, the United Kingdom, which he no longer saw as a Nordic ally. Finally, Quisling aligned Norwegian policy on Jews with that of Germany, giving a speech in Frankfurt on 26 March 1941 in which he argued for compulsory exile, but warned against [[Final Solution|extermination]]: "And since [[Jewish question|the Jewish question]] cannot be solved by simply exterminating the Jews or sterilizing them, secondly their parasitic existence must be prevented by giving them, like the other peoples of the earth, their own land. However, their former land, [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], has been the land of the Arabs for centuries. There is therefore no better and milder way to solve the Jewish problem than to get them another so-called promised land and to send them all there together, so as to, if possible, bring the eternal Jew and his divided soul to rest."<ref name="dahl219">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=219–225}}.</ref><ref>[http://virksommeord.no/tale/2463/ Kampen mellem arier og jødemakt, Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945) Frankfurt 28. mars 1941]</ref>

In May, Quisling was shattered by the death of his mother Anna, as the two had been particularly close. At the same time, the political crisis over Norwegian independence deepened, with Quisling threatening Terboven with his resignation over the issue of finance. In the end, the Reichskommissar agreed to compromise on the issue, but Quisling had to concede on the SS issue: A brigade was formed, but as a branch of the ''Nasjonal Samling.''<ref name="dahl219"/>

Meanwhile, the government line hardened, with Communist Party leaders arrested and trade unionists intimidated. On 10 September 1941, [[Viggo Hansteen]] and [[Rolf Wickstrøm]] were executed and many more imprisoned following the [[milk strike]] in Oslo. Hansteen's execution was later seen as a watershed moment, dividing the occupation into its more innocent and more deadly phases.<ref name="dahl225"/> The same year {{lang|no|[[Statspolitiet]]}} ("the State Police"), abolished in 1937, was reestablished to assist the [[Gestapo]] in Norway, and radio sets were confiscated across the country. Though these were all Terboven's decisions, Quisling agreed with them and went on to denounce the government-in-exile as "traitors." As a result of the toughened stance, an informal "ice front" emerged, with ''Nasjonal Samling'' supporters ostracised from society.<ref name="dahl225">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=225–232}}.</ref> Quisling remained convinced this was an anti-German sentiment that would fade away once Berlin had handed power over to ''Nasjonal Samling.'' However, the only concessions he won in 1941 were having the heads of ministries promoted to official ministers of the government and independence for the party secretariat.<ref name="dahl232">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=232–237}}.</ref>
[[File:Vidkun Quisling, Josef Terboven og to piker (8618020459).jpg|thumb|Two girls in [[Bunad]] greet Reichskommissar [[Josef Terboven]] and Minister President Vidkun Quisling on 1 February 1942.]]
In January 1942, Terboven announced the German administration would be wound down. Soon afterwards he told Quisling that Hitler had approved the transfer of power, scheduled for 30 January. Quisling remained doubtful it would happen, since Germany and Norway were in the midst of complex peace negotiations that could not be completed until peace had been reached on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], while Terboven insisted that the {{lang|no|Reichskommissariat}} would remain in power until such peace came about.<ref name="dahl232"/> Quisling could nevertheless be reasonably confident that his position within the party and with Berlin was unassailable, even if he was unpopular within Norway, something of which he was well aware.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=240–242}}.</ref>

After a brief postponement, an announcement was made on 1 February 1942, detailing how the cabinet had elected Quisling to the post of [[minister president]] of the national government.<ref>{{harvnb|Borgen|1999|p=284}}.</ref><ref name="dahl247"/> The appointment was accompanied by a banquet, rallying, and other celebrations by the ''Nasjonal Samling'' members. In his first speech, Quisling committed the government to closer ties with Germany. The only change to the Constitution was the reinstatement of the [[History of the Jews in Norway|ban on Jewish entry into Norway]], which had been [[Norwegian Constitution#Development|abolished in 1851]].<ref name="dahl247">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=247–249}}.</ref>

===Minister President===
[[File:Vidkun Quisling hos norske frivillige på østfronten..jpg|thumb|Quisling with Norwegian volunteers on the eastern front in 1942]]
[[File:Quisling's office at the Royal Palace 1945.jpg|thumb|alt=A black and white image of a large room, with two large windows on the back wall, with two more walls coming away from this wall at right angles. There are a number of large sofas spaced around the room, as well as single chairs, and a large desk surrounded by chairs. On the walls that do not have windows, one has a large map of northern Europe, whilst the other wall has a large doorway leading out of the room.|Quisling's office at the Royal Palace, into which he moved in February 1942]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2004-1001-500, Vidkun Quisling, Autogramm schreibend.jpg|thumb|alt=A middle-aged man in a dark coloured suit is writing on a pad of paper. Standing close to him and watching is a woman in her late twenties to early thirties. She is smiling, and wearing dark-coloured dungarees, with a shirt underneath and a scarf tied around her neck.|Quisling signing an autograph, 1943]]His new position gave Quisling a security of tenure he had not previously enjoyed, although the {{lang|no|Reichskommissariat}} remained outside his control. A month later, in February 1942, Quisling made his first state visit to Berlin. It was a productive trip, in which all key issues of Norwegian independence were discussed—but [[Joseph Goebbels]] in particular remained unconvinced of Quisling's credentials, noting that it was "unlikely" he would "...ever make a great statesman."<ref name="dahl250">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=250–255}}.</ref>

Back at home, Quisling was now less concerned about ''Nasjonal Samling's'' membership and even wanted action to clean up the membership list, including purging it of drunkards. On 12 March 1942, Norway officially became a [[one-party state]]. In time, criticism of, and resistance to, the party was criminalised, though Quisling expressed regret for having to take this step, hoping that every Norwegian would freely come around to accepting his government.<ref name="dahl250"/>

This optimism was short-lived. In the course of the summer of 1942, Quisling lost any ability he might have had to sway public opinion by attempting to force children into the ''Nasjonal Samlings Ungdomsfylking'' youth organisation, which was modelled on the [[Hitler Youth]]. This move prompted a mass resignation of teachers from their professional body and churchmen from their posts, along with large-scale civil unrest. His attempted indictment of Bishop [[Eivind Berggrav]] proved similarly controversial, even amongst his German allies. Quisling now toughened his stance, telling Norwegians that they would have the new regime forced upon them "whether they like it or not." On 1 May 1942, the German High Command noted that "organised resistance to Quisling has started" and Norway's peace talks with Germany stalled as a result.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=255–264}}.</ref> On 11 August 1942, Hitler postponed any further peace negotiations until the war ended. Quisling was admonished and learned that Norway would not get the independence he so greatly yearned for. As an added insult, for the first time he was forbidden to write letters directly to Hitler.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=269–271}}.</ref>

Quisling had earlier pushed for a corporate alternative to the [[Storting|Parliament of Norway]], the {{lang|no|Storting}}, which he called a {{lang|no|Riksting}}. It would comprise two chambers, the {{lang|no|Næringsting}} (Economic Chamber) and {{lang|no|Kulturting}} (Cultural Chamber). Now, in advance of ''Nasjonal Samling's'' eighth and last national convention on 25 September 1942 and becoming increasingly distrustful of professional bodies, he changed his mind. The ''Riksting'' became an advisory body while the {{lang|no|Førerting}}, or Leader Council, and parliamentary chambers were now to be independent bodies subordinate to their respective ministries.{{refn|Only the Cultural Chamber actually came into being with the Economic Chamber postponed because of unrest within the professional bodies it was supposed to represent.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=271–276}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=275–276}}.</ref>|group="nb"}}

After the convention, support for ''Nasjonal Samling,'' and Quisling personally, ebbed away. Increased factionalism and personal losses, including the accidental death of fellow politician [[Gulbrand Lunde]], were compounded by heavy-handed German tactics, such as the shooting of ten well-known residents of [[Trøndelag]] and its environs in [[Martial law in Trondheim in 1942|October 1942]]. In addition, the ''[[lex Eilifsen]]'' [[Ex post facto law|''ex-post facto'' law]] of August 1943, which led to the first death sentence passed by the regime, was widely seen as a blatant violation of the Constitution and a sign of Norway's increasing role in the [[Final Solution]], and would destroy everything the convention had achieved in terms of boosting party morale.<ref name="dahl279"/>

With government abetment and Quisling's personal engagement, Jews were registered in a German initiative of January 1942. On 26 October 1942, German forces, with help from the Norwegian police, arrested 300 registered male Jews in Norway and sent them to [[concentration camp]]s (most went to the [[Berg concentration camp]]) and manned by {{lang|no|[[Hirden]]}}, the paramilitary wing of ''Nasjonal Samling.''<ref name="hoidal597"/> Most controversially, the Jews' property was confiscated by the state.{{refn|Property confiscations were enabled by a law of 26 October 1942. Quisling's motivations in passing such a law have proved controversial, alternately labelled as collaborationist<ref name="hoidal597">{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=597}}.</ref> and an actively anti-collaborationist attempt to stop the occupiers from confiscating Jewish property.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=285}}.</ref>|group="nb"}}

On 26 November, the detainees were deported, along with their families. Although this was an entirely German initiative—Quisling himself was left unaware of it, although government assistance was provided—Quisling led the Norwegian public to believe that the first deportation of Jewish people, to camps in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|Nazi-German occupied Poland]], was his idea.<ref name="dahl279">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=279–287}}.</ref> A further 250 were deported in February 1943, and it remains unclear what the party's official position was on the eventual fate of the 759 Norwegian deportees. There is evidence to suggest that Quisling honestly believed the official line throughout 1943 and 1944 that they were awaiting repatriation to a [[Madagascar Plan|new Jewish homeland in Madagascar]].<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=288–289}}.</ref>{{refn|In reality, their destination was the extermination camp at [[Auschwitz]]. That Quisling understood the realities of the final solution is suggested by authors such as Høidal, but this has never been proven.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=289}}.</ref>|group="nb"}}
[[File:Fo30141711060048 "Germanske SS Norge paraderer på Slottsplassen" 1944-06-03 (NTBs krigsarkiv, Riksarkivet).jpg|thumb|Vidkun Quisling inspects Norwegian volunteers in the [[Germanic SS#Organizations|Germanic SS Norway]] (''Germanske SS Norge'') at [[Slottsplassen]] in Oslo, 1944]]
At the same time, Quisling believed that the only way he could win back Hitler's respect would be to raise volunteers for the now-faltering German war effort,<ref>{{harvnb|Hayes|1971|p=289}}.</ref> and he committed Norway wholeheartedly to German plans to wage [[total war]].<ref>{{harvnb|Høidal|1989|p=609}}.</ref> For him at least, after the German defeat at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] in February 1943, Norway now had a part to play in keeping the German empire strong. In April 1943, Quisling delivered a scathing speech attacking Germany's refusal to outline its plans for post-war Europe. When he put this to Hitler in person, the Nazi leader remained unmoved despite Norway's contributions to the war effort. Quisling felt betrayed over this postponement of Norwegian freedom,<ref name="dahl297">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=297–305}}.</ref> an attitude that waned only when Hitler eventually committed to a free post-war Norway in September 1943.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=316}}.</ref>

Quisling tired during the final years of the war. In 1942 he passed 231 laws, 166 in 1943, and 139 in 1944. Social policy was the one area that still received significant attention. By that autumn, Quisling and [[Anton Mussert|Mussert]] in the Netherlands could be satisfied they had at least survived.<ref name="dahl306"/> In 1944, the weight problems Quisling had been having during the preceding two years also eased.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=328}}.</ref>

Despite the increasingly dire military outlook in 1943 and 1944, ''Nasjonal Samling's'' position at the head of the government, albeit with its ambiguous relationship to the ''[[Reichskommissariat]],'' remained unassailable.<ref name="dahl306">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=306–308, 325}}.</ref> Nevertheless, the Germans exerted increasing control over law and order in Norway. Following the deportation of the Jews, Germany deported Norwegian officers and finally attempted to deport students from the [[University of Oslo]]. Even Hitler was incensed by the scale of the arrests.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=319}}.</ref> Quisling became entangled in a similar debacle in early 1944 when he forced compulsory military service on elements of the ''[[Hirden]],'' causing a number of members to resign to avoid being drafted.<ref name="dahl345">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=345–350}}.</ref>
[[File:Quisling på talerstolen. (8617784523).jpg|thumb|Quisling gives a speech in [[Borre National Park|Borreparken]]]]
On 20 January 1945, Quisling made what would be his final trip to visit Hitler. He promised Norwegian support in the final phase of the war if Germany agreed to a peace deal that would remove Norway's affairs from German intervention. This proposal grew out of a fear that as German forces retreated southwards through Norway, the occupation government would have to struggle to keep control in northern Norway. To the horror of the Quisling regime, the Nazis instead decided on a [[scorched earth]] policy in northern Norway, going so far as to shoot Norwegian civilians who refused to evacuate the region.<ref name="dahl345"/> The period was also marked by increasing civilian casualties from [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] air raids, and mounting [[Norwegian resistance movement|resistance to the government]] within occupied Norway. The meeting with the German leader proved unsuccessful and upon being asked to sign the execution order of thousands of Norwegian "saboteurs," Quisling refused, an act of defiance that so enraged Terboven, acting on Hitler's orders, that he stormed out of the negotiations.<ref name="dahl345"/> On recounting the events of the trip to a friend, Quisling broke down in tears, convinced the Nazi refusal to sign a peace agreement would seal his reputation as a traitor.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|p=353}}.</ref>

Quisling spent the last months of the war trying to prevent Norwegian deaths in the showdown that was developing between German and Allied forces in Norway. The regime worked for the safe repatriation of Norwegians held in German [[prisoner-of-war camp]]s. Privately, Quisling had long accepted that National Socialism would be defeated. Hitler's suicide on 30 April 1945 left him free to pursue publicly his chosen end-game, a naïve offer of a transition to a power-sharing government with the government-in-exile.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=358–360}}.</ref>[[File:Villa Grande Quisling-5.jpg|thumb|alt=A large white building with a dark coloured roof. The building is surrounded by a number of trees.|Quisling's residence, [[Villa Grande (Oslo)|Villa Grande]], in 1945, which he called "[[Gimlé]]", a name taken from [[Norse mythology]]]]

On 7 May, Quisling ordered police not to offer armed resistance to the Allied advance except in self-defence or against overt members of the Norwegian resistance movement. The same day, Germany announced it would surrender unconditionally, making Quisling's position untenable.<ref name="dahl364">{{harvnb|Dahl|1999|pp=364–366}}.</ref>
A realist, Quisling met military leaders of the resistance on the following day to discuss how he would be arrested. Quisling declared whilst he did not want to be treated as a common criminal, he did not want preferential treatment compared to his ''Nasjonal Samling'' colleagues. He argued he could have kept his forces fighting until the end, but had chosen not to so as to avoid turning "Norway into a battlefield." Instead, he tried to ensure a peaceful transition. In return, the resistance offered full trials for all accused ''Nasjonal Samling'' members after the war, and its leadership agreed he could be incarcerated in a house rather than a prison complex.<ref name="dahl364"/>