Category:Album - Norge i krig - Norway at War, Preus Museum

English: Photo album by photographer Olav Tjønneland (1914 – 2000), documenting the German invasion of Norway during World War II in April and May 1940 (Operation Weserübung). The photos capture Norwegian soldiers in the field and as prisoners of war, troops of Nazi Germany, and damaged buildings, bridges and military equipment. The locations include Romsdalshorn and Molde, Elverum, Åndalsnes, Hvalsmoen, roadblocks at Haugsbygda, Gjøvik, Lillehammer, Østerdalen, Rena, Sollia, Rondane, Hjerkin, Einund Bridge, Lesjaskog, Veblungsnes, Hen POW camp, Isefjorden, prisoners in Romsdalen, Gudbrandsdalen, Vignes Bridge, Minnesund Bridge, Sundbroen, Norwegian officers as captives at Akershus, Oslo Military Hospital, and more.

The Preus Museum, the national museum for photography located in Horten, Norway, acquired this album from a private individual in 1996. Tjønneland, active in cultural dissemination and communications, demonstrated a clear awareness that his April and May 1940 photographs could serve as vital sources for future generations. He intentionally created identical copies and the accompanying texts provide factual and impartial descriptions of a small nation and its under-equipped soldiers striving to defend their country. The narratives convey both a sense of love for the land, echoing the opening line of the Norwegian national anthem, and an understanding of the German soldiers as comrades with years of shared experience. Tjønneland's approach remains free of bitterness or indignation, acknowledging the commonality among mobilized individuals facing the impact of war.