for the West Coast ended on the 1st of May 1940 when Steffens fled north from Sandane when overwhelmed by the invading forces. British escape British soldiers fled to Nordfjordeid through Stryn, by walking over the mountains. Attempting to get to the coast after the battles in Gudbrandsdalen. 29 soldiers where smuggled from Nordfjordeid to the coast where they were saved by British warships. Nazi war school Once the German occupation of Norway was under way, the Germans constructed installations to host up to 1000 soldiers in Nordfjordeid. From 1943 the training grounds at Nordfjordeid became a war school for the Wehrmacht. The school was known as Kampfschule Nordfjordeid. It was a recruit school, and also offered anti tank courses, skiing courses and educated petty officers. Weapon smuggling The Norwegian resistance movement established an arms smuggling route from the island of Silda to Nordfjordeid. From Norfjordeid the route fed into the eastern parts of Norway. The activity was discovered in 1943, 3 men from Nordfjordeid where arrested by Gestapo and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. The bombing of Wartheland On the 12th of December 1944, 23 allied aircraft participated in a bombing campaign targeting a German ship convoy stationed close to Nordfjordeid. The convoy consisted of three trade ships and two military escort ships. They were traveling from Ålesund to Bergen. 20 de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito aircraft attacked the convoy. The 4000 tonn Wartheland was hit, capsizing less than 200 meters from the Nordfjordeid shoreline. Three German soldiers where killed in the attack. The wreckage can still be found today in the fjord. Nazi capitulation After the Nazi capitulation in 1945 the remaining German soldiers stationed in Sogn og Fjordane, where all sent to Nordfjordeid, before returning to Germany. The soldiers where forced to build a football field in Nordfjordeid before returning. Tourism Nordfjordeid is a growing tourist destination, situated in the fjords of western Norway, it is within short travel distance to many of the most popular destinations in the area. Thousands visit each year. Cruise Since 2019 Nordfjordeid has operated a cruise ship port. In 2019 it received 19 ships with 60 000 visitors. After the COVID-19 pandemic the number has risen to 57 ships in 2022, with continued expected growth upwards of 200 000 visitors. The port of Nordfjordeid has a cruise terminal and a SeaWalk. The SeaWalk is 220 m long and 4,2- m wide.