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Quisling, after Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling, who assisted Nazi Germany to conquer his own country and ruled the collaborationist Norwegian government, is a term used to describe traitors and collaborators. It was most commonly used for fascist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II, as well as for their members and other collaborators.

The term was coined by the British newspaper The Times on 15 April 1940, entitled "Quislings everywhere." The editorial asserted: "To writers, the word Quisling is a gift from the gods. If they had been ordered to invent a new word for traitor... they could hardly have hit upon a more brilliant combination of letters. Actually it contrives to suggest something at once slippery and tortuous."

The term was used by the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill during an address to both houses of Congress in the United States of America on the 26 December 1941. Commenting upon the effect of a number of Allied victories against Axis forces, and moreover the United States’ decision to enter the war, Churchill opined that; “Hope has returned to the hearts of scores of millions of men and women, and with that hope there burns the flame of anger against the brutal, corrupt invader. And still more fiercely burn the fires of hatred and contempt for the filthy Quislings whom he has suborned.”^[1] It subsequently entered the language, and became a target for political cartoonists.^[2]

The noun has survived, and is still in current use, appearing during 2008 and 2009 in articles in the New York Times,^[3] Die Zeit,^[4], and The Times of London.^[5] In contrast, the back-formed verb "to quisle" (pronounced "quizzle"), has largely disappeared from contemporary usage.^[6] The verb seems to have fallen out of use comparatively quickly, since by early 1944 there was evidence that H.L. Mencken - generally considered to be a leading authority on the common English usage in the United States of America - was not aware that it already existed.^[7]

That Quisling's name should be applied to denote the whole phenomenon of collaborationism is probably due to the place of Norway on the list of countries occupied by the Third Reich.^{[citation needed]} Unlike Poland, Norway was considered 'Aryan' in Hitlerian ideology, and unlike Denmark, it was further off, nearer Britain, and did not share a land border with any territory under German control. Thus, Norway was the first country where local, non-German, fascist parties took part in the conquest of their own country after the start of the war. The universality of the term in the English language may be due to the involvement of Britain in the battle for Norway so early on in the war.

In contemporary usage, "Quisling" is synonymous with "traitor", and particularly applied to politicians who appear to favour the interests of other nations or cultures over their own. In American English, the term is less well known than the equivalent phrase "Benedict Arnold". Nonetheless it appeared in the 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon Tom Turk and Daffy, uttered by a Thanksgiving turkey whose presence is betrayed to Porky Pig by Daffy Duck.

Also, in Norwegian, when one removes the "q" and the "i" in "quisling" - the result is "(a) usling" which means "someone who is ignoble or iniquitous". This was used more or less humorously during World War II in Norway.^{[citation needed]}

The term 'quisling' was also used by Max Brooks in his recent zombie-themed novel, World War Z, to describe human survivors of the zombie war who subsequently lost their minds, and would comport themselves in a manner that was indistinguishable from the actual undead.

Contents 1 Quisling organisations in World War II 1.1 Albania 1.2 Denmark 1.3 Belgium 1.4 France 1.5 Greece 1.6 Hungary 1.7 Norway 1.8 The Netherlands 1.9 Romania 1.10 Yugoslavia 2 References 3 See also

[edit] Quisling organisations in World War II

[edit] Albania

• Balli Kombëtar
• Legaliteti

[edit] Denmark

• National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark

[edit] Belgium

• Flemish National Union
• Rex

[edit] France

• Mouvement Franciste
• Légion Française des Combattants
• Amis de la Légion
• Légion Française des Combattants et des volontaires de la Révolution Nationale
• Service d'Ordre Légionnaire
• Parti Populaire Français
• Rassemblement National Populaire

[edit] Greece

• Greek National Socialist Party
• National Union of Greece
• ESPO
• Security Battalions
• Forces of Konstantinos Logothetopoulos and Ioannis Rallis

[edit] Hungary

• Arrow Cross Party

[edit] Norway

• Nasjonal Samling

[edit] The Netherlands

• Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging

[edit] Romania

• Iron Guard

[edit] Yugoslavia

• Chetniks (Serbia)
• Bela garda (Slovenian "White Guard")
• Domobranci (Slovenian "Homeland Defence")
• Ustasha
• Domobrani (Croatian "Homeland Defense")
• Forces of Dimitrije Ljotić and Milan Nedić
• Forces of Kosta Milovanović Pećanac

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Fifth column
• Collaborationism
• Mir Jafar
• Hanjian