H08352 NORWEGIAN LEGION RECRUITMENT POSTER. (Werben Plakat) In May 1933 the Norwegian Nasjonal Samling, (National Unity), party was founded by Vidkun Quisling and was designed and structured on the German NSDAP, party and held a lot of the same ideological beliefs. Since the Germans viewed the Norwegians as being suitably "Germanic", an active recruitment policy was enacted by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler shortly after the successful German invasion and occupation of Norway in April 1940 with Quisling’s approval. Originally the Norwegians were recruited into the newly forming SS Nordland Regiment with little success until the German invasion of Russia. After the German invasion of Russia a new recruitment drive was instituted to entice the Norwegians to join in the battle against Bolshevism. This new recruitment drive met with better success and resulted in the formation of the Norwegian Legion on June 29^TH 1941. One of the cheapest and effective forms of luring new recruits was the production of recruitment posters. The posters were generally designed to extol the virtues of fighting the Russians and usually offered the recruits a national identity. Of Note: Later in the war Norwegians were also recruited into the 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking", the 6.SS-Gebirgs-Division "Nord" and the 11.SS-Freiwillingen-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Nordland", and it is estimated that roughly 50,000 Norwegians ended up serving with the Germans in one capacity or another during the war. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Roughly 24 3/4" tall, 17 3/8" wide, multi-colored, printed recruitment poster features stylized artwork of a uniformed and helmeted soldier clutching a rifle with an affixed bayonet in the foreground with large unfurled, Norwegian and Finnish national flags in the upper background and a column of soldiers advancing towards a flaming landscape in the lower background. The only insignia visible on the soldier in the foreground is a Norwegian national flag worn on his upper right sleeve. The bottom edge of the poster has blue printed script on a white background field, "Den Norske Legion", (The Norwegian Legion). The poster also has two small printed names, "domsleth", and "Herolden", which are presumably the artist and the publisher. The poster shows minor age yellowing, a couple of light fold creases and a few small tears to the outside edge. Scarce Norwegian recruitment poster.

GRADE ***1/2                             PRICE $920.00