Jan Baalsrud
Encyclopedia
Jan Sigurd Baalsrud, MBE (December 13, 1917 in Kristiania, Norway
– December 30, 1988 in Kongsvinger
, Norway) was a commando
in the Norwegian
resistance trained by the British
during World War II
.
in the early 1930s, where he lived until the 1950s. He graduated as an instrument-maker in 1939.
, but he was convicted of espionage and expelled from the country. He eventually arrived in Britain in 1941, after having traveled through the USSR, Africa
and USA, where he joined the Norwegian Company Linge. In early 1943, he, three other commandos and the boat crew of eight, all Norwegians, embarked on a dangerous mission to destroy a German
air control tower and recruit for the resistance movement
. This mission was compromised when he and his fellow soldiers, seeking a trusted resistance contact, accidentally made contact with an unaligned civilian shopkeeper of the same name as their contact who betrayed them to the Germans.
The morning after their blunder, on March 29, their fishing boat The Brattholm – containing 8 tons of explosives intended to destroy the air control tower – was attacked by a German vessel. The Norwegians scuttled their boat by detonating the 8 tons of explosive using a time delay fuse, and fled in a small boat; however the small boat was promptly sunk by the Nazis.
Jan and others swam ashore in ice cold arctic
waters. Jan was the only soldier to evade capture and, soaking wet and missing one sea boot, he escaped up into a snow gully, where he shot and killed the leading German Gestapo officer with his pistol. He evaded capture for roughly two months, suffering from frostbite
and snow blindness
. His deteriorating physical condition forced him to rely on the assistance of Norwegian patriots. It was during this time in a wooden hut at Revdal, which he called Hotel Savoy, that Jan was forced to operate on his feet with a pocket knife. He believed that he had blood poisoning and that drawing the blood of would help. Not long after that Jan was left on a high plateau on a stretcher in the snow for eighteen days due to weather and Nazi patrols in the town of Mandal, his life hanging by a thread. It was during this time while he lay behind a snow wall built round a rock to shelter him that Jan amputated nine of his toes to stop the spread of gangrene to his feet, which saved them. After that it was thanks to the efforts of his fellow Norwegians that Jan was transported by stretcher towards the border with Finland. Then he was put in the care of some Sami
(the native people of northern Scandinavian) who with reindeer pulled him on a sled across Finland and into neutral Sweden, where he was safe at last. From Saarikoski in northern Sweden he was collected by a seaplane of the Red Cross and flown to Boden
.
He spent seven months in a Swedish hospital in Boden before he was flown back to Britain in a de Havilland Mosquito
aircraft of the RAF. He soon went to Scotland to help train other Norwegian patriots who were going back to Norway to continue the fight against the Germans. After a long struggle to learn to walk properly again without his toes, he eventually got his own way, and was sent to Norway as an agent, where he was still on active service at the time of the Wars end in 1945. The end of the war signalled the end of German occoupation - and he was able to immediately travel to Oslo and re-unite with his family, whom he had left 5 years a before. (Source:- 'We Die Alone' by David Howarth, written in 1955 - and 1st Published 2002 ISBN 978 1 84767 845 4).
He was appointed honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire by the British. From Norway, he received the St. Olav's medal with Oak Branch
. He was a Second Lieutenant (Fenrik).
, Spain
where he lived for the most of the remainder of his life. He returned to Norway during his final years, and lived there until his death on 30 December 1988. He was 71 years old. His ashes are buried in Manndalen in a grave shared with Aslak Aslaksen Fossvoll (1900–1943), one of the local men who helped him escape to Sweden.
An annual remembrance march in his honour takes place in Troms
on July 25 where the participants follow his escape route for nine days. A meadow in Oppegård is named Baalsrud plass in his honour.
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...
– December 30, 1988 in Kongsvinger
Kongsvinger
is a town and is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger....
, Norway) was a commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
in the 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 trained by the British
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...
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...
.
Early life
Jan Baalsrud was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), and moved to KolbotnKolbotn
Kolbotn is the centre of Oppegård, Norway. The population is about 6,000.Kolbotn has several elementary schools, four middle schools and a high school.The Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone formed there in 1986....
in the early 1930s, where he lived until the 1950s. He graduated as an instrument-maker in 1939.
World War II
During the German invasion of Norway in 1940, he fought in Vestfold. He later escaped to SwedenSweden
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....
, but he was convicted of espionage and expelled from the country. He eventually arrived in Britain in 1941, after having traveled through the USSR, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and USA, where he joined the Norwegian Company Linge. In early 1943, he, three other commandos and the boat crew of eight, all Norwegians, embarked on a dangerous mission to destroy a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
air control tower and recruit for the resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
. This mission was compromised when he and his fellow soldiers, seeking a trusted resistance contact, accidentally made contact with an unaligned civilian shopkeeper of the same name as their contact who betrayed them to the Germans.
The morning after their blunder, on March 29, their fishing boat The Brattholm – containing 8 tons of explosives intended to destroy the air control tower – was attacked by a German vessel. The Norwegians scuttled their boat by detonating the 8 tons of explosive using a time delay fuse, and fled in a small boat; however the small boat was promptly sunk by the Nazis.
Jan and others swam ashore in ice cold arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
waters. Jan was the only soldier to evade capture and, soaking wet and missing one sea boot, he escaped up into a snow gully, where he shot and killed the leading German Gestapo officer with his pistol. He evaded capture for roughly two months, suffering from frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
and snow blindness
Snow blindness
Photokeratitis or ultraviolet keratitis is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected eyes to the ultraviolet rays from either natural or artificial sources. Photokeratitis is akin to a sunburn of the cornea and conjunctiva, and is not usually noticed until several...
. His deteriorating physical condition forced him to rely on the assistance of Norwegian patriots. It was during this time in a wooden hut at Revdal, which he called Hotel Savoy, that Jan was forced to operate on his feet with a pocket knife. He believed that he had blood poisoning and that drawing the blood of would help. Not long after that Jan was left on a high plateau on a stretcher in the snow for eighteen days due to weather and Nazi patrols in the town of Mandal, his life hanging by a thread. It was during this time while he lay behind a snow wall built round a rock to shelter him that Jan amputated nine of his toes to stop the spread of gangrene to his feet, which saved them. After that it was thanks to the efforts of his fellow Norwegians that Jan was transported by stretcher towards the border with Finland. Then he was put in the care of some Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
(the native people of northern Scandinavian) who with reindeer pulled him on a sled across Finland and into neutral Sweden, where he was safe at last. From Saarikoski in northern Sweden he was collected by a seaplane of the Red Cross and flown to Boden
Boden, Sweden
Boden is a locality and the seat of Boden Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 18,680 inhabitants in 2005.- History :The town of Boden started as a railway junction where the Northern Line met with the Ore Line from the rich iron ore fields in northern Sweden.The town experienced...
.
He spent seven months in a Swedish hospital in Boden before he was flown back to Britain in a de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
aircraft of the RAF. He soon went to Scotland to help train other Norwegian patriots who were going back to Norway to continue the fight against the Germans. After a long struggle to learn to walk properly again without his toes, he eventually got his own way, and was sent to Norway as an agent, where he was still on active service at the time of the Wars end in 1945. The end of the war signalled the end of German occoupation - and he was able to immediately travel to Oslo and re-unite with his family, whom he had left 5 years a before. (Source:- 'We Die Alone' by David Howarth, written in 1955 - and 1st Published 2002 ISBN 978 1 84767 845 4).
He was appointed honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire by the British. From Norway, he received the St. Olav's medal with Oak Branch
St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch is a Norwegian military award, which was instituted by King Haakon VII of Norway on 6 February 1942. In Norway, the medal is considered as a separate award from the civilian St...
. He was a Second Lieutenant (Fenrik).
Later years and death
After the war Baalsrud made a substantial contribution to the local scout and football associations in addition to the Norwegian Disabled Veterans Union of which he was chairman from 1957 to 1964. In 1962 he moved to TenerifeTenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, 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 lived for the most of the remainder of his life. He returned to Norway during his final years, and lived there until his death on 30 December 1988. He was 71 years old. His ashes are buried in Manndalen in a grave shared with Aslak Aslaksen Fossvoll (1900–1943), one of the local men who helped him escape to Sweden.
An annual remembrance march in his honour takes place in Troms
Troms
or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
on July 25 where the participants follow his escape route for nine days. A meadow in Oppegård is named Baalsrud plass in his honour.
Books
- We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, by David Howarth – 1955 – ISBN 1-55821-973-0
- Defiant Courage - Norway's Longest WW2 Escape by Astrid Karlsen Scott and Tore Haug (authors), Nordic Adventures, 2001. ISBN 0963433989; ISBN 978-0963433985
- Official Report on Operation Martin and Jan's subsequent escape. by Jan Baalsrud – 1943 – UK National Achieves, document reference HS 2/161
Movies
- Ni Liv (enEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Nine Lives) – 1957
External links
- A school paper on Baalsrud
- About the remebrance march
- About the 1957 film
- A 30 audio programme by Jim Mayer retracing Jan's route, including interviews with some of those who helped him escape.
- Piece details HS 2/161—Special Operations Executive: Group C, Scandinavia: Registered Files—Norway—Operation MARTIN; list of Norwegian refugees; Lt Jan Siguard Baalsrud's report, The Catalogue, The National Archives
- a New York Times commentary by David Brooks