Abstract
The article analyses the fate of the mentally ill living in northern Norway during the 2 nd World War, and the way the war changed their lives. The study is the first to give a systematic account of how the mentally ill fared during the deportation of Finnmark and Northern Troms and afterwards. The reader is introduced to the general conditions for mentally ill persons living in the north, their households and communities, the mental care systems and psychiatric institutions. The article also draws comparisons between Nazi politics and actions towards mentally ill in Norway and Germany. The article is an important contribution to an understanding of the impact of war and deportation on this part of the population.
Highlights
Norway was occupied by Germany in 1940–1945 and from February 1942 the Government was led by Nazi German dictatorship
As the private care developed in Northern Norway, there was as a general rule no more than one, and only in a few cases two, insane patients in each caretaking household
The number of mentally ill living in private family care in the medical district of Hammerfest had increased after the closure of the nursing home, and in October 1944 the number had risen to 55 individuals
Summary
Norway was occupied by Germany in 1940–1945 and from February 1942 the Government was led by Nazi German dictatorship. In Germany, more than 300,000 mentally ill were killed during the Nazi regime’s programme of killing institutionalised patients in 1939–1945 (Meyer 1988, Burleigh 1994, Browning 2005, Gittelman 2006) The reason why this could happen in Germany is found in both the eugenic movement and economic causes (Meyer 1988, Mueller and Beddies, 2006). Before answering the questions it is necessary to describe the mental health care system in the two northernmost counties in Norway – Troms and Finnmark – what it was like and how it functioned in 1940, before the German invasion. The fate of the mentally ill during the Second World War
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