Norwegian Nurses in the Service of the Third Reich: A Criminological Study of Atrocity Perpetration and Claims to Victimhood

My project is a qualitative and interdisciplinary research that; applies criminological theory and conceptual tools, critically engages with historical literature, and collects primary data from the National Archives of Norway, to solve the puzzle about a group of Norwegian nurses' participation as part of the German Red Cross during the Second World War. My main research question is: what explains Norwegian nurses' contribution to Nazi atrocity crime in their role as part of the German Red Cross?
The project will examine a sub-group of Norwegian nurses who volunteered to serve as part of the German Red Cross at the Front from 1942-1945. Out of the estimated 447 nurses, 167 were sentenced for treason during the Norwegian treason trials post-war (1945-1953). Nurses were punished to various degrees, including being sent to prison, losing their right to vote or losing the right to work in the public sector. In 2015, the Norwegian Red Cross publicly apologised to the nurses, stating that based on the Genève Convention and the Red Cross guidelines, the nurses should never have been punished for providing humanitarian aid to all in times of conflict. This public apology displays a dominant post-war narrative that supports the nurses' claim of victimhood status. However, there also exists evidence of nurses' complicity with Nazi aims, displaying the complexity of this group and the question of how to understand their participation as nurses who volunteered to serve at the Front.
The aim of this project is to use and interpret historical source material from a criminological lens to stimulate interdisciplinary thinking and develop new perspectives about a female group of nurses that remains marginal in historical and criminological research. By doing so it seeks to contribute to challenge and shape post-genocide collective memory in Norway and internationally in ways that enhance long-term transitional justice.