Olaf Bjerke was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Communist Party

Communist Party of Norway

The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...

.

During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany

The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...

 he was arrested on 10 September 1941 after the milk strike

Milk strike

The milk strike was a strike in Nazi occupied Oslo on 8 and 9 September 1941. It led to strong reprisals from the German occupiers, in the form of martial law, court-martial, mass arrests, two executions and several long-term jail sentences.-Start:...

. He was imprisoned at Møllergata 19

Møllergata 19

Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here...

, then in Grini concentration camp, then in Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...

 until the end of World War II. The communist inmates formed a caucus

Caucus

A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...

 in the camp, and Bjerke was among the leading members along with Kristian Mugaas, Johan Strand Johansen

Johan Strand Johansen

Johan Strand Johansen was Norwegian Minister of Labour in 1945. From 1945-1949 and later from 1954-1957 he represented the Communist Party of Norway in the Parliament of Norway...

, Olaf Skramstad

Olaf Skramstad

Olaf Olsen Skramstad was a Norwegian politician for the Communist Party.He was organized in a trade union and the Norwegian Labour Party in 1915. He later joined the Communist Party and was a member of Åmot municipal council from 1926 to 1933. He was the secretary in the Norwegian Union of...

, Halvor Sørum

Halvor Sørum

Halvor Enok Sørum was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Communist Party.He was a painter by profession. He joined Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund in 1914, the Norwegian Labour Party in 1915. When NSU changed its name to the Young Communist League in 1921, Sørum chaired...

 and Erling Heiestad.

A railway worker, Bjerke was involved in the trade union Norwegian Union of Railway Workers

Norwegian Union of Railway Workers

The Norwegian Union of Railway Workers is a trade union in Norway. It was formed on 20 November 1892, and mainly organizes workers in Norges Statsbaner—with the exception of locomotive drivers— and the Norwegian National Rail Administration, including related companies such as...

. As former chairman Ludvik Buland

Ludvik Buland

Ludvik Buland was a Norwegian trade unionist. He chaired the Norwegian Union of Railway Workers, but was imprisoned and died during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany.-Early life and career:...

 died in a concentration camp in 1945, Bjerke came close to being elected chairman at the national convention later that year, but lost the vote to the Social Democrat Marius Trana

John Marius Trana

John Marius Trana was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party. He chaired the Norwegian Union of Railway Workers from 1945 to 1963, and served as a deputy representative in the Norwegian Parliament.-Career:...

. The electoral committee had been unified in its support of Bjerke, but reportedly Haakon Lie

Haakon Lie

Haakon Lie was a Norwegian politician who served as party secretary for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1945 to 1969. Coming from humble origins, he became involved in the labour movement at an early age, and quickly rose in the party system...

 and Trygve Bratteli

Trygve Bratteli

was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party and Prime Minister of Norway in 1971–1972 and 1973–1976.-Early life and career:...

 swayed the result in Trana's favor. He did become elected to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have more than 850,000 members of a Norwegian population of 4.8 million...

 secretariat, as the only communist.

He also entered the Communist Party leadership stratum. Bjerke served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from 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...

during the term 1954–1957. He died in September 1957.