During the German retreat in WWII, Finnmark and Nord-Troms were laid waste - villages, schools and hospitals razed and 60,000 people driven into mountain hideouts - but, come liberation, those who’d survived in caves and huts returned with fierce determination to rebuild their homeland.

In the autumn of 1944, contrary to the order of the Nazi command to evacuate to the south, residents of the Norwegian town of Kirkenes took refuge in an abandoned mine. The command of the Soviet Army became aware of the intentions of the Nazis to blow up the old tunnels of the city, but the Soviet soldiers managed to prevent the tragedy.