Operation Claw (Norwegian: Lillehammer-kuppet) was a joint Swedish–American operation, with Norwegian support,[1] that was carried out at Lillehammer shortly after the German capitulation by the end of World War II. Thirty-five German intelligence specialists were transferred along with various equipment first to Sweden and then to U.S. camps in occupied Germany through an agreement between the Americans and the German High Command of the Wehrmacht in Norway.
The intelligence material from Operation Claw, among it a Soviet codebook, became very useful for the Americans during the Cold War. Operation Claw was controversial both when it happened and afterwards. In 1945, it was controversial that the Americans operated in what was seen as a British controlled country, and that they secured information about its ally the Soviet Union, in cooperation with neutral Sweden. In later years, a hypothesis that the Norwegian resistance fighter Kai Holst's sudden death in June 1945 was related to his involvement in the Operation Claw has been put forward by among others the historian Tore Pryser.
- ^ "The day after the message of the German capitulation in Norway arrived, a Tuesday, Törneman arrived on request from Petersén around one PM. With Petersén was the Norwegian major Dahl, then chief of the Norwegian intelligence office in Stockholm. At the visit there were stated a wish for Törneman to travel to Lillehammer and there take contact with Sala and from him receive certain content. More was not said of that part, and to Stockholm transfer this content and also as much content as Törneman could get his hands on from the German staff at Lillehammer. Törneman were promised assistance from available Norwegian personnel and he selected a Lieutenant Sjetne and Hans Peter Eggen.", statement by Törneman in 1948, from the radio program Den mystiska kofferten från Lillehammer, from 21:05 in the recording