The Prewar Period
The outbreak of war in 1939 did not, it must be said, catch the International Committee completely unawares. The political situation in 1938 had already caused much anxiety to those who, because of their functions or their responsibilities, were called upon to follow the course of events closely. Moreover, the International Committee had had occasion to extend its activities, not only during the war in Abyssinia4, but also during the Spanish Civil War5. The latter presented it with the opportunity to renew the experience it had gained during the World War of 1914-1918. It had to make provision for the development of new weapons and to take into account the fact that the strategy of combat was keeping step with what has been called "progress" in military techniques. However, it could not have conceived for a moment that armed conflict would reach the peak of horror which eventually had to be faced and of which Norway was one of the truly noble and truly unfortunate victims.