Anti-American Flyers in Oslo, Norway: All Details & Who’s Made Them

Norway made international news when US airship carrier “USS Gerald R. Ford” docked in Oslo in late May 2023. This lead to over 4,500 US sailors and other airship carrier personnel to visit Oslo in the four days they stayed docked in the capital city of Norway.

Most people were more than happy to greet the Americans (especially bar owners who made a lot of money!), but it seem like not everyone was quite as happy as most people.

Several anti-American posters was spotted around in Oslo at the time when USS Gerald R. Ford was docked in the capital, and has lead to a lot of discussion online. Its message was that they felt that US sailors were provoking Russia, and that they do not want any foreign military in Norway.

But who put them up, what’s their motive, and how do regular Norwegian citizens feel about the visit? Keep reading to find out all the answers!

The Anti-American poster

You can see a photo of the actual poster yourself below to see what it looked like:

The bottom part of the text is in Norwegian, and can be translated to “Regards from Oslo citizens who want to look forward to the summer and not live in fear of a world war”.

There were around 200 posters put up at various places around Oslo, but many of them have been torn down by this point.

Anti-American poster transcription

Below is a complete transcription of the poster:

“YANKEE GO HOME

Hi, American marine soldier.
Your military presence is not welcome in Oslo.

• We want peace, but your military has the world’s longest record of war crimes.
• We want safety, but your military supports the use of nuclear weapons.

You are increasing the risk of nuclear war. Please go home!

Hilsen Oslo-folk som vil glede oss til sommeren og ikke leve i frykt for verdenskrig.“

The people behind the poster

Even though the posted is signed by “Oslo citizens”, it is absolutely not representing most Oslo citizens. The people behind the posters are a group of leftist activists in their 20s. The activists have publicly decleared their identity in Norwegian news (such as on NRK and TV2).

The activists are affiliated with the party Rødt (The Red Party), Norway’s most leftist party. Rødt has a long history of being aligned with anti-imperialistic views, and some of their members are pro-Russia.

The stance of the party itself is to be pro-Ukraine, but at the same time against both Russia, NATO and the United States. However, many of their members still feel that the party should do even more to remove the US military from Norwegian soil.

Rødt have recently supported shipment of weapons to Ukraine, so they have moved towards a more centrist view compared to what they did one year ago.

They also fear that increased American presence in Norway is provoking Russia to view Norway as an enemy instead of a friendly neighbor. The party officially want a Nordic defense unit as an alternative to being a member of NATO.

PS. it is important to keep in mind that the posters were put up by activists who are members of Rødt, not from the actual party itself.

Do regular Norwegian citizens feel the same way?

The general view in Norway is that Norway should stay a part of NATO, and welcome all NATO soldiers and personnel to Norwegian soil to partake in joint training exercises. Most Norwegians are glad that the Norwegian military do get some help from NATO to protect our borders. So these posters do not reflect the view of most Norwegian citizens.

Generally speaking, most Norwegians were perfectly fine with a US aircraft carrier docking in Oslo, even though there were some concerns about the fact that the ship is powered by nuclear reactors.

Many Norwegians are provoked by the fact that the activists made it seem like this is a message from Oslo’s citizens, when it does in fact not represent many of them at all.