Norwegian legation in Stockholm
Encyclopedia
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. Refugee cases were among the legation's most central tasks. 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.
from 1921 until his death in October 1940. In 1940 Jens Bull
took over as chargé d'affaires
, and recognized as minister by the Swedish authorities from 1942. Government
representatives in Stockholm during parts of the Second World War were Anders Frihagen and Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
.
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.
and later Kjesäter
, and a number of camps were established. Many of the refugees were educated as police troops
. Annæus Schjødt
led the refugee office from 1942 to 1943.
From 1942 Harald Gram
was leading the so-called Idrettskontoret, which organised courier traffic between Norway and Sweden. 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. 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.
was a military attaché at the Legation from June to October 1940. 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, FO II (intelligence
cases, with Roscher Lund as Head) and FO IV (Milorg
cases). 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.
Jens Schive
, issued the newspaper Norges-Nytt from 1941. Norges-Nytt had a circulation of up to 40,000 copies. The Legation funded the underground newspaper Håndslag
, edited by Eyvind Johnson
, Torolf Elster
and Willy Brandt
, and distributed illegally in Norway.
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
played a significant role during the Second World War
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...
. 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. Refugee cases were among the legation's most central tasks. In 1941 a Military office was established, and this was later split into separate offices for intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
(XU
XU
XU was a clandestine intelligence organisation working on behalf of Allied powers in occupied Norway during World War II...
related cases), and for Milorg
Milorg
Milorg was the main Norwegian resistance movement in World War II....
related cases.
Management
The legation was led by minister Johan WollebækJohan Wollebæk
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 the World War II.-Personal life:He was born in Lier as...
from 1921 until his death in October 1940. In 1940 Jens Bull
Jens Bull
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.-Personal life:...
took over as chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
, and recognized as minister by the Swedish authorities from 1942. Government
Cabinet Nygaardsvold
Nygaardsvold's Cabinet was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It closed the brought to an end the non-socialist, minority Governments that had been dominating politics since the introduction of the parliamentary system in 1884, and replaced it with stable, Labour...
representatives in Stockholm during parts of the Second World War were Anders Frihagen and Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was a Norwegian political figure representing Venstre, the social liberal party. He served as Prime Minister of Norway between 1924 and 1926, again from 1928 until 1931, and finally between 1933 and 1935.Born in Bergen, he founded the shipping company A/S J. Ludwig...
.
Important monetary loans to the Norwegian home front was handled by contact between Frihagen and Mowinckel in Stockholm, and people like Tor Skjønsberg
Tor Skjønsberg
Tor Vangen Skjønsberg was a Norwegian resistance leader, by education he was a lawyer.In 1941 Tor Skjønsberg called for a meeting "Grimelundsmøtet" which is considered the start of organized resistance in Norway....
and Øystein Thommessen
Øystein Thommessen
Øystein Thommessen was a Norwegian lawyer.He was born in Kristiania as a son of Jakob Peter Thommessen and Maja Johannessen. He was a nephew of Ola Thommessen and a first cousin of Rolf Thommessen...
in Norway.
Refugee Office
During the Second World War, about 50,000 Norwegian refugees found their way to Sweden. The refugees were received at ÖrerydÖreryd
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...
and later Kjesäter
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....
, and a number of camps were established. Many of the refugees were educated as police troops
Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II
The Norwegian police troops in Sweden during World War II consisted of around 13,000 troops, recruited from Norwegian refugees and trained at a number of secret camps in Sweden.-Background:...
. Annæus Schjødt
Annæus Schjødt
Annæus Schjødt was a Norwegian lawyer. He is best known as the prosecutor of Vidkun Quisling.-Personal life:...
led the refugee office from 1942 to 1943.
From 1942 Harald Gram
Harald Gram
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...
was leading the so-called Idrettskontoret, which organised courier traffic between Norway and Sweden. 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. However Idrettskontoret also organised courses in physical education, as an equivalent to the National Gymnastic School (now: the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
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 Bachelor, Master and Doctorate level....
) 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.
Military Office
Ragnvald Alfred Roscher LundRagnvald Alfred Roscher Lund
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...
was a military attaché at the Legation from June to October 1940. 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
Norwegian High Command
The Norwegian High Command was Norway's top military leadership from 1970 to 2003. It was first 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...
in London, FO II (intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
cases, with Roscher Lund as Head) and FO IV (Milorg
Milorg
Milorg was the main Norwegian resistance movement in World War II....
cases). 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
XU
XU was a clandestine intelligence organisation working on behalf of Allied powers in occupied Norway during World War II...
. 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.
Publications
The Press Office, led by press attachéPress agent
A press agent, or flack, is a professional publicist who acts on behalf of his or her client on all matters involving public relations. Press agents are typically employed by public personalities and organizations such as performers and businesses...
Jens Schive
Jens Schive
Jens Schive was a Norwegian journalist and diplomat.Schive was born in Grimstad, and enrolled as a student in 1918. The same year, however, he started working as a journalist in the newspaper Vestlandske Tidende. In 1920 he left to work for the Norwegian News Agency, where he was made director of...
, issued the newspaper Norges-Nytt from 1941. Norges-Nytt had a circulation of up to 40,000 copies. The Legation funded the underground newspaper Håndslag
Håndslag
Håndslag was a Norwegian bi-weekly political magazine issued in Stockholm from June 1942 to June 1945. It was issued by Eyvind Johnson, and edited by Torolf Elster. Among the journalists were Willy Brandt and Helge Krog. The magazine was secretly distributed in occupied Norway. Towards the end of...
, edited by Eyvind Johnson
Eyvind Johnson
Eyvind Johnson, was a Swedish writer and author. He became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with Harry Martinson in 1974 with the citation: for a narrative art, far-seeing in lands and ages, in the service of freedom.Johnson was born Olof Edvin...
, Torolf Elster
Torolf Elster
Torolf Elster was a Norwegian newspaper and radio journalist, magazine editor, novelist, crime writer and writer of short stories. He was Director-General of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1972 to 1981....
and Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
, and distributed illegally in Norway.