Hans Eng
Encyclopedia
Hans Eng was a Norwegian physician and Nazi collaborator during World War II
.
to lay down their weapons. He volunteered for front service in Germanic SS Norway, but was never at the front. He was the private physician for Vidkun Quisling
and his family, chief physician for Nasjonal Samling's department of public health, police physician with the title of "police inspector", physician in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and physician at Bredtveit concentration camp. According to Julius Paltiel
he was unwilling to treat the Jews incarcerated at Bredtveit. He was also present as a medical expert at several executions
, including that of Gunnar Eilifsen in August 1943.
However, he was feared mainly as a police informer. Eng infamously notified Statspolitiet about Oslogjengen
's May 1944 sabotage of Arbeidstjenesten's offices. The office which Max Manus
, Edvard Tallaksen
and Gregers Gram
were supposed to assault, lay at the address Kirkeveien 90, where Eng also had one of his apartments. In addition to the three saboteurs, Dick Zeiner-Henriksen
held guard at the front door and four people from Milorg
were placed in the area to assist with fire-power in case enemies showed up. In the court of appeal
case against Eng, he testified that he thought the four guards had showed up to assassinate him. He phoned Statspolitiet, who managed to capture three of the four guards: Lars Eriksen, Jon Hatland and Per Stranger-Thorsen. The fourth guard Hans-Peter Styren as well as Tallaksen, Gram, Manus and Zeiner-Henriksen managed to escape. Two other persons associated with these three captured guards were later killed.
The court of appeal found that fear of assassination was a viable reason to notify Statspolitiet. It later surfaced that Eng was a part of the Osvald Group
's hit list at least as early as March 1942. Asbjørn Sunde
and some associates set up an attempt to assassinate him on 20 August 1942, but Eng did not show up at the location he was expected. This prompted Sunde to lead the famous attack on Statspolitiet's office on 21 August.
, with minimal support or equipment. An image of Vidkun Quisling was hanging in his Burfjord
office, and in a 1978 interview he stated that he still followed Nasjonal Samling's ideology. He remained in Kvænangen the rest of his life, retired in 1985 and died in 1995. In 2004 there was a heated debate on whether he should be remembered for his Nazi sympathies or his achievements as a physician.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
World War II
In 1940 he called for Norwegian soldiers in the Norwegian CampaignNorwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
to lay down their weapons. He volunteered for front service in Germanic SS Norway, but was never at the front. He was the private physician for Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
and his family, chief physician for Nasjonal Samling's department of public health, police physician with the title of "police inspector", physician in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and physician at Bredtveit concentration camp. According to Julius Paltiel
Julius Paltiel
Julius Paltiel was one of the 26 Norwegian Jews who returned from Auschwitz.-During WWII:During the Second World War, Paltiel's family ran a textile company in Trondheim. On 6 October 1942, he and his family were arrested and sent to Falstad concentration camp, where they stayed until they were...
he was unwilling to treat the Jews incarcerated at Bredtveit. He was also present as a medical expert at several executions
Capital punishment in Norway
Capital punishment in Norway was abolished in peacetime with the criminal law that was passed in 1902 with enforcement beginning in 1905. Capital punishment was also abolished in times of war in 1979....
, including that of Gunnar Eilifsen in August 1943.
However, he was feared mainly as a police informer. Eng infamously notified Statspolitiet about Oslogjengen
Oslogjengen
Oslogjengen was a sabotage group operating in Oslo from May 1944 to May 1945, during the last year of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The group had its basis in both the British Special Operations Executive and the Norwegian Milorg, was coordinated by Gunnar Sønsteby, and had around ten...
's May 1944 sabotage of Arbeidstjenesten's offices. The office which Max Manus
Max Manus
Maximo Guillermo "Max" Manus DSO, MC & Bar was a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II.Manus was born in Bergen to a Norwegian father and a Danish mother...
, Edvard Tallaksen
Edvard Tallaksen
Johan Edvard Tallaksen was a Norwegian resistance member during World War II, as an ensign in the Oslo Gang and Norwegian Independent Company 1.-Early life:...
and Gregers Gram
Gregers Gram
Gregers Winther Wulfsberg Gram MC MM was a Norwegian resistance fighter and saboteur. A corporal and later second lieutenant in the Norwegian Independent Company 1 during the Second World War, he was killed in 1944....
were supposed to assault, lay at the address Kirkeveien 90, where Eng also had one of his apartments. In addition to the three saboteurs, Dick Zeiner-Henriksen
Dick Zeiner-Henriksen
Richard "Dick" Zeiner-Henriksen is a Norwegian businessperson and resistance member during World War II.-World War II:On 9 April 1940 Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Norway as a part of World War II. Young Zeiner-Henriksen became a member of the Norwegian Independent Company 1...
held guard at the front door and four people from Milorg
Milorg
Milorg was the main Norwegian resistance movement in World War II....
were placed in the area to assist with fire-power in case enemies showed up. In the court of appeal
Court of appeal (Norway)
In Norway, the court of appeal is the second level of courts of justice, reviewing criminal and civil cases appealed from the district courts. There are six courts of appeal, each covering a jurisdiction and based in a city. Each court is led by a senior judge president and several appellate...
case against Eng, he testified that he thought the four guards had showed up to assassinate him. He phoned Statspolitiet, who managed to capture three of the four guards: Lars Eriksen, Jon Hatland and Per Stranger-Thorsen. The fourth guard Hans-Peter Styren as well as Tallaksen, Gram, Manus and Zeiner-Henriksen managed to escape. Two other persons associated with these three captured guards were later killed.
The court of appeal found that fear of assassination was a viable reason to notify Statspolitiet. It later surfaced that Eng was a part of the Osvald Group
Osvald Group
The Osvald Group was a Norwegian sabotage organisation during the Second World War, and led by Asbjørn Sunde, who used Osvald as one of his cover names. The organisation was originally a branch of the Wollweber League, a subsidiary to the Soviet secret police organization NKVD which dissolved when...
's hit list at least as early as March 1942. Asbjørn Sunde
Asbjørn Sunde
Asbjørn Edvin Sunde was a Norwegian sailor, communist, a saboteur against the Nazi occupation of Norway during the Second World War, and a convicted spy for the Soviet Union. During the war, from 1941 to 1944, Sunde's group - the Osvald Group - carried out approximately 200 acts of sabotage and...
and some associates set up an attempt to assassinate him on 20 August 1942, but Eng did not show up at the location he was expected. This prompted Sunde to lead the famous attack on Statspolitiet's office on 21 August.
Post-war life
In December 1948 his sentence was announced: seven years of forced labour, ten years without political rights and one year's absence from the medicinal profession. He actually served three and a half years in prison. He was then allowed to return to medicine, but then as district physician in remote KvænangenKvænangen
Kvænangen is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Burfjord. The European route E6 highway goes through the municipality and over the Sørstraumen Bridge, and most people stop at the mountain pass of Kvænangsfjellet to view the...
, with minimal support or equipment. An image of Vidkun Quisling was hanging in his Burfjord
Burfjord
Burfjord is a village and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kvænangen in Troms county, Norway. It is home to the municipal council of Kvænangen. The population of Burfjord area was 397....
office, and in a 1978 interview he stated that he still followed Nasjonal Samling's ideology. He remained in Kvænangen the rest of his life, retired in 1985 and died in 1995. In 2004 there was a heated debate on whether he should be remembered for his Nazi sympathies or his achievements as a physician.