War Drums, Norwegian Faith in Authority, And Göring’s Recipe For Obedience
Steven Crozier
steigan.no
Where is the peace movement when we need it? And why have all the parties in Parliament become puppets of the arms industry?
In a prison cell in Nuremberg in 1946, while awaiting his death sentence, former Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring delivered a ruthless lesson in political psychology to American intelligence officer Gustave Gilbert. Göring dismissed the notion that free democracies are immune to warmongering. "Naturally, the common people don't want war," he remarked dryly, "but it is always the leaders who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along."
The method required neither political genius nor persuasive argument: "All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for a lack of patriotism and for exposing the country to danger." Göring paused to emphasize the universal truth of his own cynicism: "It works the same way in any country."
Eight decades later, Göring’s precise diagnosis echoes across a Europe now arming itself for a new major war. Germany, the architect of the previous century’s catastrophe, is spearheading this new militarization. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Chief of Defense Carsten Breuer have set a stark deadline: by 2029, Russia could be capable of attacking a NATO country. Germany must become kriegstüchtig—combat-ready. The population is being systematically prepared for the end of peacetime.
Here in Norway, this psychological mechanism takes on a distinctive and dangerous twist. Our society is built on a foundation of trust—a deep, institutionalized belief that the state, the authorities, and the dominant media wish us nothing but well. This trust, the very engine of the Norwegian welfare state, also serves as the perfect lubricant for political and military mobilization.