Victor Mogens
Encyclopedia
Victor Andreas Emanuel Mogens (16 August 1886 – 17 January 1964) was a Norwegian journalist, editor and politician for Fedrelandslaget
.
, and grew up in Bergen, Trondheim
, Kristiania
and Holmestrand
before returning to Bergen to finish
his secondary education at Bergen Cathedral School in 1905. He then went through some years of law studies. He was a journalist in Landsbladet from 1910 to 1911, and was then hired in Verdens Gang
where he soon became subeditor. He then edited the periodical Ukens Revy
from 1914 to 1921 and his own magazine Utenrikspolitikken from 1921 to 1924, but the latter publication went defunct. He was a journalist in Vor Verden from 1927 and editor from 1929 to 1932. He also edited Norges Næringsveier.
Mogens had a parallel career in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation radio. He started as a foreign news journalist there in 1927, and soon started as a commentator. Some liked him, but many complained about him being biased, and he was pressured to resign in 1936. Among the complainers were the British legation
in Norway. Mogens instead started and edited his own publication, Utenrikspolitisk kronikk.
In the same year he was a candidate for the Norwegian parliamentary election, 1936
for the anti-Communist organization Fedrelandslaget
for the constituency Akershus
. The candicacy was unsuccessful, but he chaired this organization from 1938.
on 9 April 1940 as a part of World War II
. The Nazi Vidkun Quisling
performed a coup d'état, but Mogens tried to have Quisling removed, as he was still hoping that Fedrelandslaget and not Quisling's party Nasjonal Samling would be the main cooperator with the German occupants. On 26 April 1940, the Bremen
-based broadcaster of Norwegian-language propagandistic news, Edvard Sylou-Creutz
, lamented the absence of Mogens as a commentator, stating that if Mogens had continued, the Norwegian people might have been more friendly towards Germany.
Mogens did return to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He was asked by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen
s Hauptabteilung Volksaufklärung to become a commentator, radio lecturer or editor of the broadcast programming magazine Hallo-Hallo!. He declined all these offers, but held his first speech on 11 June 1940, one day after Norway's capitulation. In it, he criticized Quisling as well as the pre-war, now-exiled Labour government. Two weeks later he hailed the downfall of the parliamentarian system.
He was favored by many Germans; according to historian Hans Fredrik Dahl he was "the Germans' alternative to Quisling". He was later discussed as a government minister, but disappeared from the spotlight in the autumn of 1940. The reason was that the Norwegians who were counterparts to German occupants in governmental negotiations , could not stomach Mogens and his views conveyed on 11 June.
From 1942 he lived in a cabin in Vågå
, and in 1943 he wrote the self-apologetic book Tyskerne, Quisling og vi andre which was published after the war in 1945. He was not sentenced for treason during the legal purge in Norway after World War II
. The main reason was his outspoken antipathies towards Nasjonal Samling.
(1892–1980). He spent much of his later life living abroad, and continued writing books. The best known book was Folket som ikke vil dø ("The People Who Will Not Die"), a pro-Israel
publication. He died in January 1964 in Oslo.
Fedrelandslaget
The Fatherland League was a political organisation in Norway, which was founded on 25 January 1925. By the initiative of young industrialist Joakim Lehmkuhl, the organisation was co-founded with polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen and former Prime Minister Christian Michelsen...
.
Pre-war life and career
He was born in BergenBergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, and grew up in Bergen, Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Kristiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and Holmestrand
Holmestrand
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Holmestrad. The city was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . The neighboring rural municipality of Botne was merged into the municipality of Holmestrand on 1 January...
before returning to Bergen to finish
Examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
his secondary education at Bergen Cathedral School in 1905. He then went through some years of law studies. He was a journalist in Landsbladet from 1910 to 1911, and was then hired in Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang (1868-1923 newspaper)
Verdens Gang is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1868 to 1923.It was established as a weekly magazine in 1868, later expanded to three issues a week, and was issued daily from 1885. It was the most widespread political newspaper in Norway for many years, and had considerable...
where he soon became subeditor. He then edited the periodical Ukens Revy
Ukens Revy
Ukens Revy was a Norwegian periodical, published in Oslo.It was founded in September 1914 as a conservative-leaning literary and political periodical. The first editor was Hjalmar Christensen, who co-edited with Ronald Fangen and Victor Mogens. From issue #5/1914 Mogens took over the editor chair....
from 1914 to 1921 and his own magazine Utenrikspolitikken from 1921 to 1924, but the latter publication went defunct. He was a journalist in Vor Verden from 1927 and editor from 1929 to 1932. He also edited Norges Næringsveier.
Mogens had a parallel career in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation radio. He started as a foreign news journalist there in 1927, and soon started as a commentator. Some liked him, but many complained about him being biased, and he was pressured to resign in 1936. Among the complainers were the British legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
in Norway. Mogens instead started and edited his own publication, Utenrikspolitisk kronikk.
In the same year he was a candidate for the Norwegian parliamentary election, 1936
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1936
The parliamentary election of 1936 was the last one held in Norway before World War II and the German invasion of Norway.-Results:*...
for the anti-Communist organization Fedrelandslaget
Fedrelandslaget
The Fatherland League was a political organisation in Norway, which was founded on 25 January 1925. By the initiative of young industrialist Joakim Lehmkuhl, the organisation was co-founded with polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen and former Prime Minister Christian Michelsen...
for the constituency Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
. The candicacy was unsuccessful, but he chaired this organization from 1938.
World War II
Fedrelandslaget was disestablished in 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded NorwayOperation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
on 9 April 1940 as a part of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Nazi Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
performed a coup d'état, but Mogens tried to have Quisling removed, as he was still hoping that Fedrelandslaget and not Quisling's party Nasjonal Samling would be the main cooperator with the German occupants. On 26 April 1940, the Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
-based broadcaster of Norwegian-language propagandistic news, Edvard Sylou-Creutz
Edvard Sylou-Creutz
Edvard Sylou-Creutz was a Norwegian classical pianist, composer and radio personality, who was especially active in Nazi-controlled radio in Germany and occupied Norway between March 1940 and the autumn of 1942....
, lamented the absence of Mogens as a commentator, stating that if Mogens had continued, the Norwegian people might have been more friendly towards Germany.
Mogens did return to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. He was asked by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen
Reichskommissariat Norwegen
The Reichskommissariat Norwegen, literally "Reich Commissariat of Norway", was the civilian occupation regime set up by Nazi Germany in German-occupied Norway during World War II. Its full title in German was the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten norwegischen Gebiete...
s Hauptabteilung Volksaufklärung to become a commentator, radio lecturer or editor of the broadcast programming magazine Hallo-Hallo!. He declined all these offers, but held his first speech on 11 June 1940, one day after Norway's capitulation. In it, he criticized Quisling as well as the pre-war, now-exiled Labour government. Two weeks later he hailed the downfall of the parliamentarian system.
He was favored by many Germans; according to historian Hans Fredrik Dahl he was "the Germans' alternative to Quisling". He was later discussed as a government minister, but disappeared from the spotlight in the autumn of 1940. The reason was that the Norwegians who were counterparts to German occupants in governmental negotiations , could not stomach Mogens and his views conveyed on 11 June.
From 1942 he lived in a cabin in Vågå
Vågå
Vågå is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo....
, and in 1943 he wrote the self-apologetic book Tyskerne, Quisling og vi andre which was published after the war in 1945. He was not sentenced for treason during the legal purge in Norway after World War II
Legal purge in Norway after World War II
When the occupation of Norway ended in May 1945, several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens were tried and convicted for various acts that the occupying powers sanctioned...
. The main reason was his outspoken antipathies towards Nasjonal Samling.
Personal and post-war life
From 1911 to 1924 Mogens was married to diplomat's daughter Hedvig Ellingsen (1882–1944). From 1930 he was married to Russian-born writer Nina ArkinaNina Arkina
Nina Arkina was a Russian-born Norwegian writer.She was born in Odessa, but lived in Norway. She issued biographical novels about Catherine the Great , Alexander I of Russia , Nicholas I of Russia and Alexander Pushkin , Alexander II of Russia , Alexander III of Russia and Nicholas II of Russia ,...
(1892–1980). He spent much of his later life living abroad, and continued writing books. The best known book was Folket som ikke vil dø ("The People Who Will Not Die"), a pro-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
publication. He died in January 1964 in Oslo.