When Quisling met Notodden's fury

Place: notodden · Approximate position

Early in the occupation the war was still new and the outcome uncertain. When Vidkun Quisling appeared at Notodden, large crowds turned out in the square.

It was no quiet demonstration of obedience. The mood was marked by anger and protest, and uniformed Norwegian officers who had joined the new regime were met with shouts that they were deserters.

Before Milorg, radio transmitters and weapons drops came open contempt. At Notodden Torv people showed early that the occupiers could control the streets without necessarily controlling the population. On the west side of the square stands today the liberation monument "Gutten som beseiret løven" (The boy who defeated the lion) by the sculptor Gunnar Janson, in memory of those who fell in the war of 1940–45.

The coordinate represents the square itself in Notodden, calculated as the midpoint between the official address points Torvet 1, 2, 2B and 3 – not a particular speaking spot. The source (krigsradioregisteret.no) gives no date for Quisling's appearance; the year 1940 in the timeline is an inference from the wording that this happened early in the occupation, and should be checked against contemporary local newspapers (Telen/Teledølen) at Nasjonalbiblioteket, the National Library.

Sources

• Notodden – Krigsradioregisteret — Store folkemengder på torget, stemningen «preget av sinne og protest», uniformerte offiserer møtt med rop om «desertører!». Ingen dato oppgitt.
• Torvet (Notodden) – lokalhistoriewiki.no — «Torvet på Notodden ligger midt i sentrum på østsiden av Storgata», med en hesteskoformet park på vestsiden som rommer frigjøringsmonumentet «Gutten som beseiret løven» av billedhuggeren Gunnar Janson, til minne om de falne i krigen 1940–45.
• Adressepunkter Torvet 1/2/2B/3, 3674 Notodden – Kartverkets adresse-API — Brukt til å beregne torgets midtpunkt: 59.55936 N, 9.25914 Ø.