On May 17, 1933, "Nasjonal Samling" (National Unity) was formed in Oslo, Norway. Most other Norwegian political parties were pro-democracy: the NS was proudly fascist. Like Hitler's National Socialism, party head Vidkun Quisling's "Universism" had the Individual finding personal salvation and freedom by joining his will with that of God and Society. Taking their cue from Germany, NS supported instead a "fører" (leader) system and envisioned a state where Quisling would be absolute ruler, and all other political parties would be abolished.

Alas, while Quisling had achieved some fame in Norway (mostly for his work in the Soviet Union during the 1930s famine and for his stint as Minister of Defense in 1931-33) and had a reputation as a hard-working intellectual, few Norwegians were ready to follow him down the road to dictatorship. He planned for a World Universism League … but was only able to garner 27,850 votes during the 1933 elections, and that only by co-operating with the Farmers Aid organisation, (Bydgefolkets Krisehjelp). While that first showing was not completely unimpressive for a new party, Norwegians soon tired of Quisling. Early support from Church leaders and conservative Norwegians evaporated as the NS became increasingly pro-German and anti-Semitic. By 1936 the NS was in tatters, as the popular Johann Bernard Hjort split off from Quisling's group. Some estimate that in 1939 the NS had no more than 2,000 members.

While Quilsing was a marginal figure at best in Norway, he was quickly gaining a reputation elsewhere. In 1935 he attended the Italian-led "International Fascists Convention" in Montreaux, together with colleagues like Oswald Mosley of Britain's National Front. In 1939 Quisling had met with Hitler and recommended a German invasion of Norway. When the Germans finally did invade, on April 9, 1940, Quisling wasted no time in announcing a new Norwegian government. Unfortunately for Quisling, the Germans had other ideas, and Josef Terboven was instated as Reichskommissar of Norway on April 14th. While Quisling and Terboven didn't get along well, Terboven thought having a Norwegian in a position of power might reduce resentment in the population. Accordingly, he named Quisling to the post of Minister President (Prime Minister) in 1942, a title which carried little power. Parliament was dissolved; all political parties save the NS were banned, and the court system fell under the control of the Reichskommissar.

Unfortunately, Quisling's fellow Norwegians generally liked him even less than they liked the Germans. An underground was spontaneously organised by individuals who wanted to continue fighting the occupying forces. Other troops were dropped in by parachute or transported into the country, on small vessels - the so-called "Shetland bus" - aboard submarines, or by the land route across the Swedish border. These clandestine forces included radio operators, sabotage experts and military instructors. In their wake followed weapon and equipment deliveries, commanded by Jens Christian Hauge and coordinated from London by Norway's government-in-exile.

Quisling tried to organize Norwegian forces to work with the Germans, but received only lukewarm support from the Germans and active hostility and sabatoge from his fellow Norwegians. The combined forces of the Norwegian underground and the British effected one of the most damaging sabotage operations of the war - the destruction of the Norsk Hydroelectric Company plant, which produced heavy water, a key element in the German effort to produce an atomic bomb. Quisling faced strikes, boycotts, an illegal press, and the establishment of escape routes: his efforts to deport Jews were met with open protests in Norway's churches.

Unpopular as Quisling may have been with his countrymen, there were a fair number who bet on his success. After the German capitulation some 90,000 Norwegians were named as NS members or supporters. There were also Norwegians who supported the Germans in their anti-Semitic efforts. Records showed that Norwegian Police who rounded up Jews for deportation had they complained about a Nazi decision to exempt Jews who were married to non-Jews. In one case, Norway's second largest department store chain seized the assets of a Jewish competitor who was sent to his death at Auschwitz by a Quisling official who was the son of his rival. Norwegian SS units wearing German uniforms fought on the northern front and later had been evacuated.

After the war Quisling became infamous throughout Europe as a traitor; few wept when he was sentenced to death by firing squad. Still he considered himself a Norwegian patriot, even as he went to his execution. In his last words to his friends, Quisling said "Do not handicap yourself with the idea of revenge, for the trend of things will revenge your wrong not only upon the individuals responsible for your persecution, but on the society that has permitted this lawlessness."