Snow lay deep on the hills around Oslo. On Christmas Day, as always, Norwegians thronged the ski slopes. Men over 45 and boys under 18, outside the Nazi slave-labor brackets, began practicing for this winter's illegal championship, the fourth since Norway's athletes went on strike.
The sports strike started in November 1940, when Nazis suppressed the Norwegian Sports Association with its 300,000 members, a tenth of the population. Patriots rebelled at the New Order's all-powerful little Führers in every sport and district. They substituted secret cross-country meets and ski championships.
The boycott was immediately effective. The world-famed ski meet on Holmenkollen, attracting 450...
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