This work investigates the structural integration of the Norwegian economy into the German war machine during the period of occupation. Alan S. Milward, a noted economic historian, utilizes primary archival data and trade statistics to analyze how the Quisling regime and German authorities attempted to reorganize Norwegian industry and agriculture. The text argues that the economic exploitation of Norway was constrained by the logistical realities of the war and the specific industrial dependencies between the two nations.

Historians and economists recognize this text as a foundational study on the economic mechanics of the Third Reich's occupation policies. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the rigorous reliance on statistical evidence to support the author's conclusions.