Norway - This World of Ours, 1950

[Music] On the western slope of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as though about to slide off into the sea, is Norway, the roof of the world. Almost 1100 m from north to south by airline. This is the land of the fjord. Blue saltwater inlets reaching far inland to touch the depths of pleasant deep cut valleys which fall off from great heights to the level of the sea. Here live a sturdy, blonde, and blue-eyed people. Descendants of the ancient Vikings who discovered America. For more than a score of centuries, they have inhabited this land. Today, as then, a great seafaring and trading nation, but in these modern times, working not only as men of the sea, but as craftsmen and farmers as well. Although hardly more than 5% of the land is under cultivation due mainly to the rugged topography, farming is the largest industry in Norway, supporting about 1/3 of the country's 3 million population. Men and women share the daily work on the small Norwegian farm, almost 95% of which are owned by the farmers who work them, whose products are marketed through a very practical system of farm cooperatives. Distinctly a Norwegian product is the Fjord pony. Thousands of these ponies, which have stamina comparable to our American mule, are bred for domestic use as well as for export. An interesting farming operation peculiar to Scandinavia is the summer farm. During the few weeks of the summer, when grass grows at the higher altitudes, the valley farmer drives his cattle up to graze. The summer farm is almost always tended by women who milk the cows and make the butter and cheese. Food stuffs are placed in quaint food storehouses. This one being the property of one family for more than 300 years. The architecture and decorations of the storehouses differ with the section of the country. While the American farmer usually devotes full time to his vocation, in Norway it is quite customary for a man to spend part of his time farming and part-time in the fishing industry. Less than an hour before these scenes were taken, the men seen here stacking dried cod were cutting hay in a nearby field. Developed by the combined efforts of part-time fishermen and the commercial fishing companies, Norway's fishing industry is one of the largest in Europe and among the largest in the world. Although not one of the major industrial nations of the world, Norway offers its people a modern convenience not easily accessible to some of the more highly industrialized countries. Plentiful lowcost electric power. For Norway, perhaps more than any other country in Europe, as water power, which transformed into electrical energy by hydroelect electric power plants, makes available to all towns and most rural districts electricity, light, power, heat, and transport facilities at a cost lower than anywhere else in the world. It is this abundance of lowcost power that is largely responsible for the electrochemical and metallurgical industries that have become so important as factors in the economy of the nation. It is this power that serves Norway's extensive shipyards where a large percentage of the ships comprising Norway's vast merchant marine are built and repaired. Passenger and cargo vessels of every size and description which carry such a large percentage of the world's tonnage. [Music] One thing that always impresses the visitor to Norway is its cleanliness, its modern cities. Situated at the head of a great fjord on the southeastern coast is Oslo. With a population of 400,000, Norway's largest city, A is in the best traditions of European capitals, a city beloved by Norwegian and visitor alike. In the center of the city is the Royal Palace. Although Norway is a monarchy nominally ruled by a hereditary king, it is one of the world's most notable examples of the democratic way of life. The Norwegian takes great pride in his independence and along with women who share equal voting privileges, he seldom neglects to vote for his choice of representatives to parliament, known in Norway as the storing. Norway's second city is Bergen. Long a port of call for seafaring men and commercial traders, Bergen also possesses great cultural interests. It was near here that Edvard Grig composed much of his music, which is one of Norway's proudest contributions to the world's common property. We visit the fish market, as much a part of Scandinavia as the language itself. To these markets 6 days a week, 52 weeks of the year, between the hours of 9 and 1, comes the Norwegian housewife to make her selections of the basic of the Norwegian diet, fish. Another of the many pleasant things to be seen when visiting Norway is an occasional glimpse into the past. These Norwegian women seen here emerging from an old stave church are displaying typical colorful native costumes. While here, the cradle is being rocked as the spinning wheel is worked to twist the yarn which will become warm clothing against the Norwegian winter. Whatever present is the Norway of today, modern, progressive, compulsory education has abolished illiteracy, and social welfare is in a more advanced stage than in most countries of the world. Free medical and dental care for infants and school children along with many other safeguards to the national well-being are offered mainly through a system of health insurance maintained by deductions from wages. An authority on modern Norway has this to say of its way of life. All modern progress in Norway is bound up with democracy. A true democracy in the widest sense of the word. A society where everybody has the same rights. A society with a deep respect for the individual. A democracy founded upon a broadly educated people and where everyone feels personally interested in the progress and well-being of the nation. This is a contented people working hard for their daily sustenance but possessing the ability to enjoy life in a manner perhaps unequaled by any others in the world. The Norwegian is proud of his heritage of adventurous sons who explored, conquered, and settled distant lands of many great names who have brought pleasure to the world and honor to the land of their birth. and of his athletic prowess, particularly in the field of winter sports. Of all ski contests, the international tournament held annually at Hullman Colin on the outskirts of Oslo is indeed a classic, attracting the world's greatest jumpers. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] A hearty, independent people in a modern country whose roots are embedded deep in a past as glorious as the splenders of its midnight sun. This then is Norway, well integrated as a nation in this world of ours. [Applause]