 Bredtveit Prison | |
 | |
| Location | Oslo, Norway |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 59°56′56″N10°51′33″E / 59.94889°N 10.85917°E Coordinates: 59°56′56″N10°51′33″E / 59.94889°N 10.85917°E |
| Capacity | 312 |
| Opened | 1 January 1923 |
Bredtveit Prison (formally named Bredtveit Prison Service, Custody and Supervision Unit, Norwegian : Bredtveit fengsel, forvarings- og sikringsanstalt) is a prison located in the neighborhood of Bredtvet in Oslo, Norway. During World War II it was a concentration camp.
It originated at Bredtvet farm as a learning home (lærehjem) for young boys, erected 1918 and in use from 1919 to 1923. In 1923 the state took over the property from Det norske lærehjem- og verneforbund. In 1929 it was decided to turn the property into a juvenile center with teaching of labour skills; the green light was given in 1939. This plan did not materialize, [1] as the construction of the facility was halted by war. [2]
In 1940, Norway was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. From 1941 the Nazi collaborationist party Nasjonal Samling used Bredtveit as a political prison. [2] It bore a similarity to Falstad concentration camp, in the original purpose of the facility.
People incarcerated at Bredtveit during the war included several professors arrested during the crackdown on the University of Oslo in October 1943: Johan Christian Schreiner, Odd Hassel, Ragnar Frisch, Johannes Andenæs, Carl Jacob Arnholm, Bjørn Føyn, Eiliv Skard, Harald K. Schjelderup and Anatol Heintz. [3] Also, a group of Jewish prisoners that arrived in Oslo after the departure of SS Donau stayed at Bredtveit. They left Bredtveit on 24 February 1943, and were shipped towards Auschwitz on the following day. Personnel in the camp include physician Hans Eng. [4]
In 1945, after the war was over, Bredtveit was used as a prison for women who awaited trial for collaboration, as a part of the legal purge in Norway after World War II. [1] Later politician Aaslaug Aasland served as prison director in the initial period. [5] From 1949 it was a general women's prison, which included a facility for forced labour. Forced labour ceased to exist in Norway in 1970, whereupon the prison got the name Bredtveit fengsel og sikringsanstalt. [1] It is one of three women's prisons in Norway, the others being Sandefjord and Ravneberget. [6] It has a capacity of 54 inmates. [7]
Amongst the people incarcerated at Bredtveit after the war included Veronica Orderud and Kristin Kirkemo who were convicted in the Orderud murder case. [8]
Grini prison camp was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here.
Ingrid Bjerkås was the first female minister in the Church of Norway.
Oddleiv Sigurd Bang Hølaas was a Norwegian journalist and writer. He won the Riksmål Society Literature Prize in 1964.
Milly Elise "Lise" Børsum was a Norwegian resistance member during World War II, survivor from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and known for her writings and organizing work after the war.
Johan Christian Schreiner was a Norwegian historian. He was a professor at the University of Oslo, and his speciality was the Middle Ages.
Conrad Vogt-Svendsen was a Norwegian priest. He was assistant seamen's priest in Hamburg during Second World War, helped with the White Buses operation in 1945, and was later main priest for the deaf in Norway.
Johannes Bratt Andenæs, often shortened to Johs. Andenæs was a Norwegian jurist. He was a professor of jurisprudence at the University of Oslo from 1945 to 1982, and served as rector from 1970 to 1972.
Alfhild Hovdan was a Norwegian journalist, and later tourist manager for the city of Oslo for more than forty years. She is known for initiating the tradition of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, a present from the city of Oslo to the people of London, in recognition of their assistance during World War II.
Carl Jacob Arnholm was a Norwegian jurist.
Bjørn Føyn was a Norwegian zoologist, especially known for researching the genetics of algae.
Endre Qvie Berner was a Norwegian organic chemist, author and educator.
Harald Krabbe Schjelderup was a Norwegian physicist, philosopher and psychologist. He worked with all three subjects on university level, but is best remembered as Norway's first professor of psychology.
Anatol Heintz was a Russo-Norwegian palaeontologist.
Aaslaug Aasland was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She served as Norwegian Minister of Social Affairs from 1948 to 1953.
Bredtvet is a neighborhood in the borough of Bjerke in Oslo, Norway.
Edvard Welle-Strand was a Norwegian journalist and novelist.
Aksel "Azach" Zachariassen was a Norwegian politician, newspaper editor, secretary and writer.
Odd Lindbäck-Larsen was a Norwegian military officer and war historian. He participated in the Norwegian Campaign in Northern Norway during the Second World War as the chief-of-staff, under general Fleischer. He spent most of the war in Norwegian and German concentration camps. He continued his military career after the war, eventually with the rank of major general and military attaché in Stockholm. He wrote several books on Norwegian military history.
Ludvig Hope was a Norwegian lay preacher, writer, teacher and organizer. He was a popular preacher from the late 1890s, and could gather up to 5,000 listeners at his meetings. He was a central leader for the organization Kinamisjonen. His demand for a "free" communion, outside the churches, was met with opposition, but was finally settled by law in 1913. During World War II he was imprisoned for 15 months at the Grini concentration camp, after having signed a protest letter together with other church leaders.
Jonas Brunvoll was a Norwegian opera singer and actor.
