• The Centrer for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities – Villa Grande
Villa Grande was built in 1911. Between 1941 and 1945, it was the residence of Norwegian prime minister Vidkun Quisling who collaborated with the German occupying forces.
Since 2005, Villa Grande has been home to a research centre on the Holocaust and religious minorities.
Image: Oslo, 1945, Villa Grande as residence of Vidkun Quisling, HL-Senteret
Oslo, 1945, Villa Grande as residence of Vidkun Quisling, HL-Senteret

Image: Oslo, 2007, The study centre in Villa Grande, Caroline Schubarth
Oslo, 2007, The study centre in Villa Grande, Caroline Schubarth
In April 1940, following several weeks of fighting, the Kingdom of Norway was occupied by the German Wehrmacht. The democratically elected government under social democrat Johan Nygaardsvold went into exile in London - like the king and many others.
The majority of Norwegian society stood in opposition to the National Socialists and the Norwegian fascist party »Nasjonal Samling« (»National Gathering«) under Vidkun Quisling, which had been founded in 1933. Between 1942 and 1945, Quisling was prime minister of Norway, having been appointed by the German occupying forces. His policy of »nazification« was met by widespread civil disobedience. Military resistance groups were formed.
Already in October 1941, German security police, assisted by the Norwegian administration and police, registered all Norwegian Jews and marked their identification cards. In 1942, the Norwegian collaborationist government introduced anti-Jewish measures, many of which were very similar to the German anti-Jewish laws. From October 25, 1942, all Norwegian Jews were gradually arrested, their belongings confiscated and approximately 766 Jews were deported from Norway. About half of all Norwegian Jews managed to flee to Sweden, frequently with the help of resistance groups.
Quisling was arrested on May 8, 1945. He was sentenced to death for high treason and executed in the Akershus fortress in Oslo on October 24, 1945.
Image: Oslo, 1945, Villa Grande as residence of Vidkun Quisling, HL-Senteret
Oslo, 1945, Villa Grande as residence of Vidkun Quisling, HL-Senteret

Image: Oslo, 2007, The study centre in Villa Grande, Caroline Schubarth
Oslo, 2007, The study centre in Villa Grande, Caroline Schubarth
The institute is dedicated to research on the Holocaust and other genocides, it deals with the topics of human rights and the history and position of minorities in Norway.
Villa Grande was built in 1911 and handed over to the Norwegian government in 1928. The representative Wilhelminian style residence, constructed in the form of a medieval castle, was remodelled numerous times.
Under German occupation the villa was the official residence of Vidkun Quisling, the »Fører« of the Norwegian fascist party »Nasjonal Samling«. After the war, the building was for a long time used as a hospital. In the mid-1990s, a public debate on the fate of Norwegian Jews during the Holocaust was ignited in Norway. In 1999, the Norwegian parliament settled on individual restitution for victims and created funds for larger projects. These funds enabled the establishment of the study centre, which was opened in August 2005. The centre closely cooperates with the University of Oslo.
Image: Oslo, 2007, The study centre in Villa Grande, Caroline Schubarth
Oslo, 2007, The study centre in Villa Grande, Caroline Schubarth

Name
Senter for studier av Holocaust og livssynsminoriteter
Address
Villa Grande, Huk Aveny 56
0287 Oslo
Phone
+47 (0)22 842 100
Web
http://www.hlsenteret.no
E-Mail
post@hlsenteret.no
Open
Monday to Sunday 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Possibilities
Exhibition, guided tours, seminars, academic conferences, workshops on human rights, flight and expulsion