Max Manus
Encyclopedia
Maximo Guillermo "Max" Manus DSO
, MC & Bar
(9 December 1914 – 20 September 1996) was a Norwegian
resistance fighter during World War II
.
Manus was born in Bergen to a Norwegian father and a Danish mother. His father's name was originally Johan Magnussen, but he changed his name to Juan Manus after living several years in foreign (mainly Spanish
-speaking) countries.
After fighting as a volunteer for Finland in the Soviet-Finnish Winter War
of 1939–40, he returned to Norway on the day of the German invasion of Norway
, 9 April 1940. He was a pioneer of the Norwegian resistance movement
and was arrested by the Gestapo
in 1941. He escaped to the United Kingdom
for training and went back as a saboteur
for the Norwegian Independent Company 1
, better known as Lingekompaniet. He became a specialist in ship sabotage and, by using Limpet mine
s, sank ships that were important to the German Kriegsmarine
, including the SS Monte Rosa in 1944, and the SS Donau
on 16 January 1945. Max Manus ended the war as a First Lieutenant
(Løytnant).
He was famous for being one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II, and after the war he wrote several books about his adventures. After the war, he started the successful office supply company Max Manus AS.
He was awarded Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, the War Cross with sword
. He was awarded this decoration twice: the War Cross with two swords. In addition to his Norwegian decorations, Manus received the British Military Cross
and Bar
.
During the final years of his life, Manus and his wife Tikken
lived primarily in Spain
, where he died at the age of 81.
and went to fight in a volunteer detachment with the Finns against the Russians.
After the war in Finland, Max Manus returned to Norway as the Germans invaded on April 9, 1940. He fought during the Norwegian campaign
, whereupon he decided to return to Oslo
and work underground against the occupiers, both organising a resistance movement, illegal public propaganda
and the manufacture of weaponry. He and his comrades tried to assassinate Himmler and Goebbels
when they visited Oslo.
His work was effective and he soon became a wanted man by the Gestapo. He was eventually captured and received injuries trying to escape. He had to be treated in the main Oslo hospital. The doctor at the hospital gave the Gestapo officers a false explanation and said Max Manus needed treatment for a broken back, damaged shoulder and serious concussion. The truth, however, was that he was only bruised and had a light concussion. After 27 days, with the aid of a nurse, he managed to escape through a second-floor window using a rope. In a dramatic flight, he crossed the border into Sweden
. By then, the Soviet Union had entered the war against Nazi Germany, so Manus travelled through the Soviet Union
, via Turkey
, Arabia, by ship via Cape Town
to the US, to eventually be able to return to the fight in Europe.
He reconnected with the Norwegian military in the US and went on to further training in Canada
and later crossed the Atlantic again to Belfast
, then England
. Here and in Scotland
he trained further and developed professional skills in sabotage and undercover work of many kinds. He was then required to learn parachuting
and was dropped in the forests near Oslo with a sabotage team.
In Norway he resumed his organizational work and made various sabotage attempts on ships in the Oslofjord
with home-designed limpet mines and even ‘swimmer-assisted torpedoes’. The former were the more successful, sinking and damaging some vessels. It was a long but intense learning process of great practical difficulty and hazard. He made numerous hazardous trips back and forth across the border to Sweden, where he was able to get a respite from the constant mental and physical pressures of being undercover. Many of his comrades-in-arms were killed, captured and tortured, but Manus managed to survive through a combination of determination not to be taken and some very narrow escapes.
Max Manus’ second book was Det blir alvor ("It Gets Serious"), in which he continues the saga of his resistance work and his great successes in sinking in 1945 two large vessels of great importance to the German war machine. When peace was declared, Max Manus found himself to be chosen to be the personal protection officer of the then Crown Prince of Norway on his triumphal parade in Oslo, and then also with King Haakon VII. This was a great honour, and he was lauded as one of Norway’s most resilient and successful fighters, aged only 30 at the time.
Manus' books have been translated into English twice; initially an American, very loose and somewhat concise translation entitled 9 Lives Before Thirty, and, a few years later, Underwater Saboteur, a one-book adaptation of both of Manus' books, also somewhat concise. Both of these translations were made in the early years after the War, and names have been changed in the interest of "protecting the guilty"; although Manus himself never changed any names.
and Philips
office machines. The company still exists today.
Max Manus married Ida Nikoline 'Tikken' Lindebrække in 1947. They met while she was working as a liaison for the Norwegian saboteurs at the British consulate in Stockholm. Tikken was the daughter of the County Governor
of Bergen and was the sister of Sjur Lindebrække
, who was a bank manager, and later became chairman of Høyre
. In 1947, Lindebrække gave birth to Max Manus Jr., who is currently working as a teacher in Vest-Lofoten Videregående Skole (Vest-Lofoten High School), Vestvågøy, Lofoten.
Manus suffered from nightmares, alcoholism and bouts of depression after his experiences in the war, but he did tell about some of his experiences in interviews. After retirement, Max and 'Tikken' moved to Spain. Max died there in 1996.
In December 2007, it was announced that a film about the life of Max Manus
was to be made in Norway, starring Aksel Hennie
in the leading role. The film premiered on 19 December 2008 and received mostly positive reviews.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MC & Bar
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(9 December 1914 – 20 September 1996) was a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
resistance fighter during World War II
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...
.
Manus was born in Bergen to a Norwegian father and a Danish mother. His father's name was originally Johan Magnussen, but he changed his name to Juan Manus after living several years in foreign (mainly Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking) countries.
After fighting as a volunteer for Finland in the Soviet-Finnish Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
of 1939–40, he returned to Norway on the day of the German invasion of Norway
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
, 9 April 1940. He was a pioneer of the Norwegian resistance movement
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:...
and was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in 1941. He escaped to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for training and went back as a saboteur
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
for the Norwegian Independent Company 1
Norwegian Independent Company 1
Norwegian Independent Company 1 was a British SOE group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. It was organized under the leadership of Captain Martin Linge...
, better known as Lingekompaniet. He became a specialist in ship sabotage and, by using Limpet mine
Limpet mine
A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets; they are so named because of their superficial similarity to the limpet, a type of mollusk....
s, sank ships that were important to the German Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
, including the SS Monte Rosa in 1944, and the SS Donau
SS Donau
SS Donau was a Norddeutscher Lloyd refrigerated cargo ship. In the Second World War the Kriegsmarine used it as a transport ship between Germany and Norway. She became known as the "slave ship" after the SS and Gestapo transported 540 Jews from Norway to Stettin, from where they were taken by...
on 16 January 1945. Max Manus ended the war as a First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
(Løytnant).
He was famous for being one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II, and after the war he wrote several books about his adventures. After the war, he started the successful office supply company Max Manus AS.
He was awarded Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, the War Cross with sword
War Cross with sword
The War Cross with Sword is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary leadership during combat. A recipient deemed worthy of additional citations will receive up to an additional two swords on the medal ribbon in addition to...
. He was awarded this decoration twice: the War Cross with two swords. In addition to his Norwegian decorations, Manus received the British Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
and Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
.
During the final years of his life, Manus and his wife Tikken
Tikken Manus
Ida Nikoline "Tikken" Manus, née Ida Nikoline Lie Lindebrække, formerly married Bernardes was a Norwegian resistance member....
lived primarily in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he died at the age of 81.
His autobiographical accounts
Two books were written by Max Manus shortly after World War II. The first, Det vil helst gå godt ("It Usually Ends Well") describes some of his enterprising and event-filled wandering and working in the jungles of South America and Latin America. He returned to Scandinavia before the outbreak of World War II, upon which he soon joined up with the Norwegian ArmyNorwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
and went to fight in a volunteer detachment with the Finns against the Russians.
After the war in Finland, Max Manus returned to Norway as the Germans invaded on April 9, 1940. He fought during the Norwegian campaign
Norwegian 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...
, whereupon he decided to return to Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and work underground against the occupiers, both organising a resistance movement, illegal public propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and the manufacture of weaponry. He and his comrades tried to assassinate Himmler and Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
when they visited Oslo.
His work was effective and he soon became a wanted man by the Gestapo. He was eventually captured and received injuries trying to escape. He had to be treated in the main Oslo hospital. The doctor at the hospital gave the Gestapo officers a false explanation and said Max Manus needed treatment for a broken back, damaged shoulder and serious concussion. The truth, however, was that he was only bruised and had a light concussion. After 27 days, with the aid of a nurse, he managed to escape through a second-floor window using a rope. In a dramatic flight, he crossed the border into Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. By then, the Soviet Union had entered the war against Nazi Germany, so Manus travelled through the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, via Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Arabia, by ship via Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
to the US, to eventually be able to return to the fight in Europe.
He reconnected with the Norwegian military in the US and went on to further training in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and later crossed the Atlantic again to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, then England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Here and in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
he trained further and developed professional skills in sabotage and undercover work of many kinds. He was then required to learn parachuting
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
and was dropped in the forests near Oslo with a sabotage team.
In Norway he resumed his organizational work and made various sabotage attempts on ships in the Oslofjord
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
with home-designed limpet mines and even ‘swimmer-assisted torpedoes’. The former were the more successful, sinking and damaging some vessels. It was a long but intense learning process of great practical difficulty and hazard. He made numerous hazardous trips back and forth across the border to Sweden, where he was able to get a respite from the constant mental and physical pressures of being undercover. Many of his comrades-in-arms were killed, captured and tortured, but Manus managed to survive through a combination of determination not to be taken and some very narrow escapes.
Max Manus’ second book was Det blir alvor ("It Gets Serious"), in which he continues the saga of his resistance work and his great successes in sinking in 1945 two large vessels of great importance to the German war machine. When peace was declared, Max Manus found himself to be chosen to be the personal protection officer of the then Crown Prince of Norway on his triumphal parade in Oslo, and then also with King Haakon VII. This was a great honour, and he was lauded as one of Norway’s most resilient and successful fighters, aged only 30 at the time.
Manus' books have been translated into English twice; initially an American, very loose and somewhat concise translation entitled 9 Lives Before Thirty, and, a few years later, Underwater Saboteur, a one-book adaptation of both of Manus' books, also somewhat concise. Both of these translations were made in the early years after the War, and names have been changed in the interest of "protecting the guilty"; although Manus himself never changed any names.
After the war
Max Manus went into the office supply business after the war: in the fall of 1945, he and Sophus Clausen went to the United States to set up contracts for office machines. Together they started the company Clausen og Manus. In the years after the war, Manus also hired people who had been convicted for collaborating with Nazi Germany, among them Walter Fyrst. Manus did this after internal discussions and was motivated by a wish for reconciliation, as well as professional considerations. In 1952, the company was split into Sophus Clausen AS and Max Manus AS which now distributed OlivettiOlivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
and Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
office machines. The company still exists today.
Max Manus married Ida Nikoline 'Tikken' Lindebrække in 1947. They met while she was working as a liaison for the Norwegian saboteurs at the British consulate in Stockholm. Tikken was the daughter of the County Governor
County Governor
County Governor is a Norwegian government agency represented in 18 of the Norwegian counties responsible for a number of supervision and management duties. The Governor is the representative of the King and Government of Norway in each county, functioning as the connection between the state and...
of Bergen and was the sister of Sjur Lindebrække
Sjur Lindebrække
Sjur Lindebrække was a Norwegian banker and Conservative Party of Norway politician. From 1940 he worked as assistant manager in Bergens Privatbank, and became bank manager in 1945, administrative director in 1959, and from 1969 he was working chairman...
, who was a bank manager, and later became chairman of Høyre
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
. In 1947, Lindebrække gave birth to Max Manus Jr., who is currently working as a teacher in Vest-Lofoten Videregående Skole (Vest-Lofoten High School), Vestvågøy, Lofoten.
Manus suffered from nightmares, alcoholism and bouts of depression after his experiences in the war, but he did tell about some of his experiences in interviews. After retirement, Max and 'Tikken' moved to Spain. Max died there in 1996.
In December 2007, it was announced that a film about the life of Max Manus
Max Manus (film)
Max Manus is a Norwegian 2008 biographic war film based on the real events of the life of resistance fighter Max Manus . The story follows Manus from the Winter War against the Soviet Union, through the outbreak of World War II and the German occupation of Norway until peacetime in 1945...
was to be made in Norway, starring Aksel Hennie
Aksel Hennie
Aksel Hennie is a Norwegian actor, director and writer. He has acted in a number of successful Norwegian movies, and has received several awards....
in the leading role. The film premiered on 19 December 2008 and received mostly positive reviews.
Honours and awards
- War Cross with two swords
- Defence Medal 1940–1945 (with rosette)
- Haakon VII 70-Medal
- HM The King's Commemorative Medal (1940-1945)
- Distinguished Service OrderDistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(United Kingdom) - Military CrossMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
with BarMedal barA medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(United Kingdom) - Winter War commemorative with "Lappi" clasp
- Medal of Freedom with silver palm (United States)
- Medal of Norwegian volunteers to Finland 1940
External links
Max Manus AS - Hvem var Max Manus?- Obituary from The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Live video with Max Manus. Cabaret at "Skjermgaukan" 1970
- Dagbladet - Han var storforlangende og utålmodig (in Norwegian)