The Spring of Peace 1945
Displayed on three units, each with three sides, the exhibition presents photographs from the celebrations in Kristiansand during May 1945, when the Second World War came to an end. Alongside the historic images, you’ll also see details from the monumental tapestry War and Peace (Krig og fred), by the renowned local textile artist Else Marie Jakobsen (1927 – 2012). The full tapestry is on display inside at ARKIVET. Jakobsen was a teenager when the second world war ended, and her personal memories of liberation and newfound peace are woven into the artwork. The tapestry is dominated by light pink – a colour she personally associated with peace.
Unit 1: Closest to the main entrance of ARKIVET
On the afternoon of May 7, 1945, the announcement finally came: the war was over. Germany had surrendered on all fronts, and peace had returned to Norway.
For hours — as had been the case for days — the town square in Kristiansand was packed with a crowd holding its breath in anticipation. When the good news finally arrived, jubilation erupted, and at last, they could celebrate their freedom.
On May 8, Liberation Day, people celebrated by singing, dancing and waving Norwegian flags which had been banned during the war, but now triumphantly brought out from hiding.
Local newspapers published their first uncensored edition, without the Nazi’s censorship for the first time in years, devoured eagerly by the public.
Unit 2: In the middle
For many, the first days of peace brought more than just celebration – they carried uncertainty, longing and for some, also sorrow.
Some doubted whether the message of peace could truly be trusted.
Others waited for news: Where was their family? Would loved ones return from captivity soon?
Some received devastating confirmation that friends or family members had not survived.
Many were still far from home, separated from those they ached to be with on this momentous occasion.
Released prisoners began returning from concentration camps in the following days. But for many, the journey home would stretch over weeks and months.
Joy, sorrow and longing walked hand in hand those early days. The war had left a lasting mark on countless lives.
Unit 3: Closest to the road
Norway’s National Day, May 17, marks the anniversary of the Constitution in 1814. During the Second World War, it was illegal to celebrate this day.
The first May 17, after the war had ended, returned in full force with an enormous celebration of freedom, peace, relief and renewal of democracy. For many children, it was their very first real experience of the National Day, complete with parades, flags, music, and all the traditions that had been prohibited for the last five years.
In Kristiansand, the weather that day was wet and rainy, but that didn’t dampen the joy or celebrations.
Graduating high school students, known in Norway as russ, revived the tradition that had been banned during the war. In the brief window of May 8 and May 17, they managed to prepare the essentials: matching red clothes. The red dye in their newly coloured clothing ran in the rain, staining everything pink. This memory – of red turning into pink – is what inspired Else Marie Jakobsen’s use of the colour in her tapestry to symbolise peace.
After more than five years of living in an occupied country and being away from loved ones, peace could never erase the memories and experiences that the years without peace had left. War leaves a lasting mark not only on those who lived through it, but also on the generations that come after.
The exhibition was created by Historian and Collections Manager Lena Sannæs in collaboration with DesignPilot.