Thank you for the article "Jewish life in Norway during WWII recalled" (May 21 Ballard News-Tribune). However, there was a misunderstanding of some facts that I presented and so the article, as well as its title, gives an erroneous impression of what happened to the Norwegian Jews during World War II.

It was after WWII that the Norwegian government under Einar Gerhardsen determined to "exchange" the 700 Norwegian Jews who the Nazis murdered with Jewish refugees from Hungary, Poland and Germany. The Norwegian government worked with the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (the "Joint") to set up and implement this program, extending kindness and hope to 400 Jewish refugees who came in.

This was the first wave of Jewish refugees. Thus, Norway helped three distinct groups of Jews, but all were after WWII.

Eugene Normand

Seattle