#ScandiReadingChallenge: Postwar & 1950s

In May, the focus of the 2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge is books that take place after World War II and in the 1950s. World War II was such a significant time for Norway and it took years for the country to recover. Find below some highlights from that time period along with book suggestions.

Do you have any Scandinavian books that take place during this time period that you recommend or know of? Leave a comment or email me any suggestions. I’d love to hear them.

Some highlights from this time period:

  • May 1945 – With help from the Allied Forces, Norway was liberated (May 8 – Liberation Day)
  • Main priority after the war was reconstruction of the country
  • 1948-1952 – Norway receives aid from USA through Marshall Plan to rebuild and modernize
  • Rationing and price and wage controls continued for many years after the war (sugar and coffee rationed until 1952)
  • During the 1950s, importation and sale of private cars was strictly limited. The private car was “a problem and a potential burden on the national economy”. (Source: Taylor and Francis Online)
  • Telephone booths became “housewives’ window to the outside world” (Source: Telenor Cultural Heritage)
  • 1952 – Winter Olympics in Oslo (694 athletes representing 30 countries)

Books in English translation:

Books in Norwegian (No translations yet):

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1900/1910s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1920s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1930s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1940s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1960s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1970s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1980s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 1990s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 2000s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: 2010s

Go to #ScandiReadingChallenge: Multiple Decades or Places


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