World War I Essay Example for Free

World War I Essay The economy of Christiania steadily grew until before World War I. When the First World War broke out in 1914, Norway declared its neutrality. However, Christiania benefited economically from the war by carrying British cargoes inspite of the loss of Norwegian lives and ships that were caught in the war (Compton 610). After the war Christiania settled back to its normal life. In 1924, Christiania was renamed back to Oslo (â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). Second World War On April 9, 1940 Oslo was defeated by the Germans almost with only a slight resistance due to the betrayal by Norwegian Officer and Fascist politician Vidkun Quisling who collaborated with the Nazis. As a result, the city was only slightly damaged during the war (Halsey 239). In 1942, Germany installed a puppet government in Norway under National Union leader Vidkun Quisling. However, the Norwegians resisted the Germans and its puppet regime. Oslo became a place of opposition strikes. Other citizens were secretly involved in the large-scale industrial sabotage and espionage on behalf of the allied powers. (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). During their occupation of the city the Nazis used Akershus as a prison and place of execution for those convicted of allied conspiracy and today its the site of Norways Resistance Museum, which provided a detailed account of German takeover and the Norwegian struggle against it (Thodock 2003). The German forces that overran Norway surrendered in May 8, 1945 enabling the exiled King Hakon VII to return to Norway from London in June. Oslo then began to rebuild its ruin buildings while at the same time prosecuted â€Å"about 90,000 alleged cases of treason and defection†. Convicted traitors faced execution foremost of which was Vidkun Quisling (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). When it came to The Cold War, that is the postwar to World War II, two major alliances were created. Although, in World War I a system of alliances did not work, the systems of alliances that formed after World War II were bigger and they werent buddy-buddy alliances. These two alliances were formed to bring peace throughout the world, to end The Cold War, and to prevent anymore future high scale wars. Toward the end of the war, hostility between Norwegians and the German occupying forces grew considerably stronger. A prime cause was the German withdrawal from all fronts. Retreating German units from the fronts in the north, the USSR and Finland, withdrew to Norwegian territory. In the autumn of 1944, the Red Army followed the Germans into Finnmark, where it liberated Kirkenes and the northeastern areas. As the occupying troops retreated, they ordered an evacuation of the entire Norwegian population in Finnmark and in Troms south to Lyngen. In Lyngen, three German army corps dug in. Then the entire region north of Lyngen was burned and destroyed. The destruction included 10,400 homes, bridges, power stations, factories, fishing vessels, telephone facilities and other types of infrastructure. The scorched earth area was much larger than all of Denmark. After the Soviet Red Army crossed into North Norway, a Norwegian military mission and a small number of Norwegian soldiers from Great Britain and Sweden followed. The Russians withdrew from Norway in September 1945, a few months after the German capitulation. When the costs of the war were estimated in Norway, the tally showed that 10,262 Norwegians had been killed, including 3,670 seamen. The Germans had executed 366 and tortured 39 to death. Among political prisoners and members of the underground, 658 died at home and 1,433 abroad. After the war, legal proceedings were initiated against those who had betrayed their country. About 46,000 persons were punished for treason. Among these, 18,000 were sentenced to prison terms, 28,000 were fined and deprived of their rights as citizens. A total of 45 Norwegians and Germans received death sentences, 37 of the executions were carried out. It did not take long for the country to recuperate from the effects of World War II. Industrial production and the gross domestic product were greater in 1946 than in 1938. Three years later, the countrys national wealth had also returned to its pre-war level. Part 3: Major Event in the modern Era of the City The world over there is no other coveted price that comes even in comparison to the Nobel peace prize. It is one of a kind and its importance and value can not be underrated. Oslo helped to promote the preservation of worldwide peace when it was chosen to be the place for the annual awarding of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Alfred Nobel, a renowned Swedish inventor of the dynamite, left in his will dated November 27, 1895 the order to use some of his fortune as a prize for any individuals, irregardless of his race, who helped promote peace in the world. The Nobel peace was to be specifically awarded to person or persons who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses. In 1901 the first Nobel Prize was awarded to International Red Cross founder Henry Dunant and International Pacifist Frederic Passy. In succeeding years Nobel Peace Prize according to an Oxford Dictionary of Twentieth Century World History, became The worlds most prestigious prize. † The prize was to be awarded by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting†. The members of the committee are all Norwegians and for more than a hundred years the committee members were able to generally make a respectable and decent selection although controversies were also present. The criteria for choosing the recipients have enabled the world to get acquainted with Norwegian perception or definition of peace. In the study of the recipients of the award, it can be said that the values that Nobel Prize committee members adhered to represented the â€Å"Norwegian version of Western liberal internationalism. Thus, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has been a strong believer in international organizations, from the Inter-Parliamentary Union to the League of Nations and the United Nations†. Moreover, Norwegians believed that â€Å"small nations almost instinctively prefer international law to the might they do not possess, and they believe in the arbitration, mediation and peaceful solution of international disputes†. In this context, the Nobel Prize actively encouraged and awarded humanitarian assistance to the weak and the poor especially with the exercise of their human rights as well as the control of military power that may threatened the peace and order of the world. In a more personal level, Nobel left no explanation as to why he chose the Norwegians to award the Nobel Peace Prize. Educated inferences were presented to explain his action. Nobel may have been aware of the close ties between Sweden and Norway since the latter was once ruled by the former. Aside from that he may have admired Norway’s participation in settling international disputes of the 1890’s. Perhaps he may have regarded Norway as a more peace-oriented and more democratic country than