Tore Pryser

Tore Pryser (born 9 January 1945) in Oslo, is a Norwegian historian. He is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Innlandet and has worked primarily on social history, local history, contemporary history, the history of the labor movement, the interwar period and the Second World War.

In addition to several books on various subjects, Pryser has written Norsk historie 1800-1870 : frå standssamfunn mot klassesamfunn (Norwegian history 1800-1870: from class society to class society), a textbook intended for undergraduate history students. He also wrote Volume 4 of the History of the Labour Movement in Norway, entitled Klassen og nasjonen : (1935-1946) (The Class and the Nation: (1935-1946)).

An overarching theme for Pryser's research on the German occupation of Norway is "betrayal and grey areas". While much of the history of the occupation has been black and white, Pryser has highlighted that much of the history of the occupation period is characterised by grey areas. The usual thing was not heroes and villains, but that most people in Norway adapted. Instead of a national focus, Pryser believes it is more informative to view the period from an international perspective. Then one will see that Norway was largely a peaceful place, with very little physical resistance.