Sami wedding amid German occupation (1940)
In April of 1940, German forces entered Norwegian territory. Despite German occupation, Norway refused to surrender and remained allies with Britain, even as Britain had to transfer resources to the fight in France. Even though the Norwegian people had the enemy in their backyards, they refused to give up their lives to the occupation. This wedding procession in the northern Norwegian city Karasjok shows indigenous Sami Norwegians carrying on with their celebrations, even under the gaze of Gebirgsjäger, German mountaineering soldiers.
The Sami were forced to act as guides to the German military during the occupation of port cities like Narvik, served as laborers to build railroads and load trains to support the Germans, among other atrocities. The Sami had an advantage in understanding the terrain and the climate, and while the war destroyed a good deal of their culture and communities, the Sami culture has survived.
