Oslo—During the Second World War, Nazi Germany occupied Norway over five brutal years. By the time the Scandinavian nation was liberated by Allied forces and its indigenous resistance movement, more than 10,000 Norwegians had lost their lives and almost as many had spent time in German concentration camps throughout Europe. The experience indelibly shaped the generation of Norwegians who lived through it. In the post-war period, Norway became a transatlantic stalwart determined to help resist the totalitarian terror looming to the East. Today, Norwegian armed forces are actively supporting NATO missions in both Afghanistan and Libya.

I arrived in Oslo yesterday to cover the Oslo Freedom Forum, a vibrant annual gathering of human rights journalists and activists. With the official start to the Forum a day away, I hit the streets in search of some smørrebrød, a Nordic-style open faced sandwich and a cold beer, and ran into a large group of Norwegians marching loudly toward the ornate Parliament building, at the heart of downtown.