On the quiet southern side of Bygdøy, far from the tourist bustle of the museums at Bygdøynes, stands Villa Grande, a grand white mansion with one of the darkest histories of any building in Norway. During the Second World War, this was the private residence of Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the Norwegian Nazi party Nasjonal Samling, whose name became a worldwide synonym for traitor. Quisling lived here with his wife Maria from 1941 to 1945, and researchers later discovered that some of the furniture in the villa had been plundered from the homes of deported Jewish families.
Today the building houses the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, known as HL-senteret. It was founded in 2001, following a national reckoning with Norway's role in the Holocaust. For decades, Norway had largely avoided confronting the fact that Norwegian police and civil servants actively participated in the arrest and deportation of Norwegian Jews. On 26 November 1942, 532 Jewish men, women and children were transported from Oslo's harbour on the German cargo ship Donau, sent to Auschwitz, where almost all were murdered upon arrival. In total, 765 Norwegian Jews were killed during the war, roughly one third of the country's Jewish population. Only 35 of those deported to Auschwitz survived.
The permanent exhibition traces the history of the Holocaust in Norway and Europe, from the rise of antisemitism through the deportations to the aftermath. It also addresses the persecution of other minorities, including the Roma and the Sami. Below the villa, there is a bunker built for Quisling during the war, which was opened to the public in 2014.
The museum is a sobering but important visit. It is somewhat out of the way compared to the other Bygdøy museums, but that isolation feels appropriate for the subject matter.
Today the building houses the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, known as HL-senteret. It was founded in 2001, following a national reckoning with Norway's role in the Holocaust. For decades, Norway had largely avoided confronting the fact that Norwegian police and civil servants actively participated in the arrest and deportation of Norwegian Jews. On 26 November 1942, 532 Jewish men, women and children were transported from Oslo's harbour on the German cargo ship Donau, sent to Auschwitz, where almost all were murdered upon arrival. In total, 765 Norwegian Jews were killed during the war, roughly one third of the country's Jewish population. Only 35 of those deported to Auschwitz survived.
The permanent exhibition traces the history of the Holocaust in Norway and Europe, from the rise of antisemitism through the deportations to the aftermath. It also addresses the persecution of other minorities, including the Roma and the Sami. Below the villa, there is a bunker built for Quisling during the war, which was opened to the public in 2014.
The museum is a sobering but important visit. It is somewhat out of the way compared to the other Bygdøy museums, but that isolation feels appropriate for the subject matter.
