Object of the Month – Norwegian – Russian phrasebook

«This is not a textbook in Russian, just a small collection of words and phrases that can be helpful when you spend time with the Russians during the liberation of our homeland.»
 

This year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Eastern Finnmark in 1944, during World War II. For the occasion, we are displaying some objects from our collection: A Norwegian-Russian phrasebook, a Russian uniform hat from World War II and a beret used by Rolf Ottem of the Alta Battalion in the Norwegian Army. The phrasebook was prepared for the Norwegian police troops who participated in the liberation of Finnmark and Norway. The quote above is taken from the preface of this phrasebook. We have no information on how this little dictionary became part of our collection.

The uniform hat was part of the standard uniform of the Soviet army during World War II. It was acquired for our popular exhibition about the evacuation and burning of Finnmark at Alta Museum in 1994. The beret has become a part of our collection in recent years. 

Written by Ann-Silje Ingebrigtsen, collection staff