Editing History of Norway (section)

===1945–1950===
A [[legal purge in Norway after World War II|legal purge took place in Norway after WWII]] in which 53,000 people were sentenced for [[treason]] and 25 were executed.<ref name="s130" /> The post-war years saw an increased interest in [[Scandinavism]], resulting in [[Scandinavian Airlines System]] in 1946, the [[Nordic Council]] in 1952<ref name="s143">Stenersen: 143</ref> and the [[Nordic Passport Union]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.norden.org/en/about-nordic-co-operation/agreements/treaties-and-agreements/passport-issues-citizenship-and-national-registration |title=Passport Issues, Citizenship and National Registration |publisher=[[Nordic Council]] |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318061342/http://www.norden.org/en/about-nordic-co-operation/agreements/treaties-and-agreements/passport-issues-citizenship-and-national-registration |url-status=dead}}</ref> along with the [[metric system]] being introduced.<ref name="Thuesen: 224" /> Reconstruction after the war gave Norway the highest economic growth in Europe until 1950, partly created through [[rationing]] private consumption allowing for higher industrial investments. The Labor Party retained power throughout the period and maintained a policy of public planning.<ref name="s134">Stenersen: 134</ref> The [[University of Bergen]] was created in 1946.<ref>Thuesen: 335</ref> The 1950s saw a boom in construction of hydroelectricity<ref>Stenersen: 137</ref> and the state built the steel mill [[Norsk Jernverk]] and [[Årdal og Sunndal Verk|two aluminum works]].<ref>Stenersen: 135</ref> State banks such as the [[Norwegian State Housing Bank|State Housing Bank]], the [[Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund|State Educational Loan Fund]] and [[Postbanken]] allowed for governmental control over private debt. Oslo hosted the [[1952 Winter Olympics]].<ref name="s138">Stenersen: 138</ref>

Norway retained its neutrality policy until 1947, focusing on its membership in the United Nations,<ref name="s140">Stenersen: 140</ref> where [[Trygve Lie]] had become the first [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|secretary-general]].<ref>Thuesen: 334</ref> However, there was no enthusiasm for the UN at the time.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1080/09592290903455741 |title=The Absent-Minded Founder: Norway and the Establishment of the United Nations |journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=619–637 |year=2009 |last1=Götz |first1=Norbert |s2cid=153680303}}</ref> Anti-communism grew with a Soviet proposal for joint control over Svalbard and especially after the [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état]], after which the Communist Party lost all influence.<ref name="s140" /> Norway started negotiations for the creation of a [[Scandinavian defense union]], but instead opted to become a founding member of the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). However, Norway never allowed permanently stationed foreign troops or nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil to avoid agitating the Soviet Union, with which Norway from 1944 [[Norway–Russia border|shared a land border]].<ref>Stenersen: 141</ref> NATO financed large parts of the Norwegian military investments, which ultimately resulted in numerous airports being built during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>Malmø: 66</ref>