Ministry of Culture and Enlightenment (Norway)

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The Ministry of Culture and Enlightenment (Norwegian: Kultur- og folkeopplysningsdepartementet) was a ministry in Norway, established on 26 September 1940, and closed down at the end of World War II.

The ministry was set up on 25 September 1940 by Reichskommissar Josef Terboven as a consequence of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It consisted of three departments and four directorates. The ministry was initially headed by Gulbrand Lunde until 30 November 1942, and thereafter by Rolf Jørgen Fuglesang

One of the departments, the Propagandaavdelingen (Propaganda Department), was renamed Avdeling for folkeopplysning (Department for Popular Enlightenment) in 1944.

The directorate which was probably best known was the Pressedirektoratet (Press Directorate). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), the National Gallery of Norway, the Norwegian National Academy of the Arts and all other non-scientific museums were subordinate to the Pressedirektoratet.

The department was modelled after the Reichskommissariats Hauptabteilung Volksaufklaerung und Propaganda ("Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda"), trying to spread Nazi ideology in Norway.

Documents from this department are archived at the National Norwegian Archive Riksarkivet.