Fedrelandslaget

Fedrelandslaget was an ultra-patriotic, staunchly anti-communist Norwegian organization active in the 1930s. Its significance in this account lies chiefly in the political setting around Anders Lange, its secretary, whose changing views connected interwar nationalism with postwar opposition to state intervention.

Character and Leadership

Anders Lange was secretary of Fedrelandslaget in the 1930s. The organization’s most prominent personality was Fridtjof Nansen, known in Norway for polar expeditions and relief work during famine in the Soviet Union. During that relief effort, Vidkun Quisling served as one of Nansen’s trusted helpers. The account places these figures in a shared political landscape, while explicitly cautioning that Lange cannot be regarded as Quisling’s direct successor.

Lange’s Political Development

Lange appears to have been more radical than Nansen and most of his associates in Fedrelandslaget. In his younger years, he described himself as a fascist and supporter of Mussolini. The war led him, as it did others, to distance himself from totalitarian opinions. In the postwar period he became a forceful opponent of state intervention in private affairs, although his politics retained a racial slant. This shift marks a change in political emphasis, not a complete break with racial nationalism.

Later Public Activity

In 1948, Lange began publishing Hundebladet, initially as an extension of his interest in dogs and his kennel. The newsletter soon addressed subjects well beyond that field. Lange’s commitment to a tolerant editorial policy made it a gathering point for varied alternative perspectives, including speculation about flying saucers. This later publishing activity is evidence of Lange’s broader interests; the account does not identify Hundebladet as a publication of Fedrelandslaget.