Norwegian legation in Stockholm

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Minister Jens Bull receives Swedish greetings at the legation on 17 May 1942. 17. mai og frigjoringsdagen (6992608674).jpg
Minister Jens Bull receives Swedish greetings at the legation on 17 May 1942.

The Norwegian Legation in Stockholm played a significant role during the Second World War. Until 9 April 1940 the legation consisted of four persons, and at the end of the war about 1,100 persons were connected to the legation. [1] Refugee cases were among the legation's most central tasks. [2] In 1941 a Military office was established, and this was later split into separate offices for intelligence (XU related cases), and for Milorg related cases. [1]

Legation diplomatic mission not headed by an ambassador

A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations were originally the most common form of diplomatic mission, but they fell out of favor after World War II and were upgraded to embassies.

Stockholm Capital of Sweden

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and the most populous urban area in the Nordic countries; 965,232 people live in the municipality, approximately 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropolitan area. The city stretches across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea. Outside the city to the east, and along the coast, is the island chain of the Stockholm archipelago. The area has been settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl. It is also the county seat of Stockholm County.

World War II 1939–1945, between Axis and Allies

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Contents

Management

The legation was led by minister Johan Wollebæk from 1921 until his death in October 1940. [3] In 1940 Jens Bull took over as chargé d'affaires, and recognized as minister by the Swedish authorities from 1942. [4] Government representatives in Stockholm during parts of the Second World War were Anders Frihagen and Johan Ludwig Mowinckel. [3]

Johan Wollebæk Norwegian diplomat

Johan Herman Wollebæk was a Norwegian jurist and diplomatist. He worked with international law, and is known for his time as leader of the Norwegian legation in Stockholm from 1921 to October 1940, a period which includes the early phase of World War II.

Jens Bull Norwegian diplomat

Jens Steenberg Bull was a Norwegian jurist and diplomatist. He played his most important role during World War II, when he represented his country in Stockholm, Sweden.

<i>Chargé daffaires</i> head of diplomatic mission when no higher official exists

A chargé d'affaires, often shortened to chargé (French) and sometimes to charge-D, is a diplomat who heads an embassy in the absence of the ambassador. The term is French for "charged with matters". A female diplomat may be designated a chargée d'affaires, following French declension.

Important monetary loans to the Norwegian home front was handled by contact between Frihagen and Mowinckel in Stockholm, and people like Tor Skjønsberg and Øystein Thommessen in Norway. [5]

Tor Vangen Skjønsberg was a Norwegian resistance leader, by education he was a lawyer.

Øystein Thommessen was a Norwegian lawyer.

Refugee Office

During the Second World War, about 50,000 Norwegian refugees found their way to Sweden. [4] The refugees were received at Öreryd and later Kjesäter, and a number of camps were established. Many of the refugees were educated as police troops. [2] Annæus Schjødt led the refugee office from 1942 to 1943. [6]

Öreryd Village and parish in Småland, Sweden

Öreryd is a village and parish in Småland, Sweden, in the county of Jönköping. During World War II, Öreryd hosted a refugee camp and transit center for refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in occupied Norway, from March 1941 until June 1942, when it was replaced by the camp Kjesäter. From 1944 Öreryd was one of the approved training sites for the Norwegian police troops in Sweden.

Kjesäter

Kjesäter is a manor in the municipality of Vingåker in the county of Södermanland that now serves as a folkhögskola and youth hostel. During World War II, it served as a refugee camp and transit center for refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in Norway.

Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II

The Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II consisted of around 15,000 men, recruited from Norwegian refugees and trained at a number of secret camps in Sweden.

From 1942 Harald Gram was leading the so-called Idrettskontoret, which organised courier traffic between Norway and Sweden. [7] Idrettskontoret was a blind for agent practice, among others for 2A agents. Annæus Schjødt's wife Hedevig Schjødt, a 2A agent like her husband, was active in Idrettskontoret as well. [6] However Idrettskontoret also organised courses in physical education, as an equivalent to the National Gymnastic School (now: the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences) which still operated in occupied Norway. The leader of the course was Sigurd Dahle, acting director of the National Gymnastic School from 1945 to 1947. [8]

Harald Gram Norwegian politician

Harald Gram was a Norwegian jurist, politician and genealogist. He was secretary general for the Conservative Party of Norway for 22 years, deputy mayor of Aker, member of Parliament from 1928 to 1936, and stipendiary magistrate in Oslo from 1936 to 1957. He was also noted for his work during World War II.

The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences is a public university located at Sognsvann in Oslo, Norway. It has the national responsibility for education and research related within sport sciences. It provides education at the Bachelor, Master and Doctorate levels.

Military Office

Ragnvald Alfred Roscher Lund was a military attaché at the Legation from June to October 1940. [9] The Military Office was established in 1941. This office was later, in 1943, split into the sections Mi II and Mi IV, numbers corresponding to sections in the Norwegian High Command in London, [10] FO II (intelligence cases, with Roscher Lund as Head) [11] and FO IV (Milorg cases). [12] Starting in 1943 Mi II was headed by Major Ørnulf Dahl, who also was responsible for the Legation's contacts with the clandestine organisation XU. Part of the XU organisation was led from Stockholm, while part was led from Oslo and communicated directly with the Norwegian High Command in London. [13]

Ragnvald Alfred Roscher Lund was a Norwegian military officer, with the rank of colonel. He was a military attaché at the Norwegian legation in Stockholm in 1940. He served as head of the Office FO II at the Norwegian High Command in exile in London during World War II, responsible for Military Intelligence.

The Norwegian High Command was Norway's top military leadership from 1970 to 2003. It was established in Northern Norway in 1940 by General Otto Ruge. It was then re-established by the Norwegian Government-in-exile in London in 1942, lasting until 1946. The High Command was re-established in 1970, lasting until 2003, when a different organization was formed.

Intelligence has been defined in many ways, including: the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. More generally, it can be described as the ability to perceive or infer information, and to retain it as knowledge to be applied towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.

Publications

The Press Office, led by press attaché Jens Schive, [14] issued the newspaper Norges-Nytt from 1941. Norges-Nytt had a circulation of up to 40,000 copies. [15] The Legation funded the underground newspaper Håndslag , edited by Eyvind Johnson, Torolf Elster and Willy Brandt, and distributed illegally in Norway. [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 Barstad, Tor Arne (1995). "Stockholmslegasjonen". In Dahl; Hjeltnes; Nøkleby; Ringdal; Sørensen (eds.). Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 400. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  2. 1 2 Grimnes, Ole Kristian (1995). "flyktningesamfunnet i Sverige". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 109. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  3. 1 2 Norby, Reginald (2005). "Johan Wollebæk". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). 10. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  4. 1 2 Dæhlen, Kåre (2000). "Jens Bull". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). 2. Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  5. ↑ Haukaas, Kaare (1969). "Thommessen, Øystein". In Jansen, Jonas; Anker, Øyvind; Bøe, Gunvald (eds.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). 16 (1st ed.). Oslo: Aschehoug. pp. 243–244.
  6. 1 2 Dahl, Hans Fredrik. "Annæus Schjødt D.E.". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  7. ↑ Moland, Arnfinn (1995). "Gram, Harald". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 139. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  8. ↑ Stene, Fridtjov (1970). "Utdanningen av kroppsøvingslærere i Norge. Et historisk oversyn". 100 år. Den Gymnastiske Centralskole 1870–1915, Statens gymnastikkskole 1915–1968, Norges idrettshøgskole 1968–1970 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. p. 9.
  9. ↑ Nøkleby, Berit (1995). "Lund, Ragnvald Rosher". In Dahl; Hjeltnes; Nøkleby; Ringdal; Sørensen (eds.). Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. pp. 256–257. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  10. ↑ Nøkleby, Berit (1995). "Forsvarets Overkommando, FO". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. pp. 114–115. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  11. ↑ Nøkleby, Berit (1995). "Forsvarets Overkommandos 2. kontor, FO II". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 115. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  12. ↑ Nøkleby, Berit (1995). "Forsvarets Overkommandos 4. kontor, FO IV i London". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 115. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  13. ↑ Nøkleby, Berit (1995). "XU". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. pp. 453–454. ISBN   82-02-14138-9 . Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  14. ↑ Barstad, Tor Arne (1995). "Schive, Jens". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. pp. 369–370. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  15. ↑ Hjeltnes, Guri (1995). "Norges-Nytt". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 297. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  16. ↑ Dahl, Hans Fredrik (1995). "Håndslag". Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 191. ISBN   82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2009.

Coordinates: 59°20′02″N18°06′26″E / 59.3338°N 18.1073°E / 59.3338; 18.1073

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