Lauritz Sand
Encyclopedia
Lauritz Sand was a Norwegian topographer, military officer in the Dutch army, estate owner in the Dutch East Indies
, business man and resistance pioneer of World War II
. He was called the hardest tortured person in Norway during the war, and came to be an important symbol of the resistance against the Nazi regime
.
, as a son of Fritz Julius Sand and his wife Anna Bergithe Kavli. He studied architecture at Stockholms tekniske skole in Sweden from 1897 to 1899. Architecture was not his main interest, and he wanted to be an artist. He tried his way as a sculptor at the age of nineteen, but received negative criticism, and then immediately started on a military career. He married Dutch citizen Annie Elisabeth Maria Moll in Java
in 1911.
and Jakarta
. In the Dutch East Indies he subsequently participated as a geodete
in the surveying
of the Indonesian islands. He retired as an officer in 1906, and started to work in the plantation
business. He was manager of the Pagilaran Estates from 1911, and founded the Zuid Sumatra Syndicate in 1918. From 1922 to 1940 he was superintendent for the Anglo-Dutch Plantations.
. When the war broke out, he became a pioneer in the resistance work. He was active in several areas, but eventually focused on intelligence, particularly photographing and mapping of German military installations. His network, which among others included military officers John Hagle and Eivind Hjelle, developed into the clandestine organisation XU
. The name XU (X=unknown, U=undercover agent) was taken from an undercover group Sand had run in Indonesia during World War I
. Sand distinguished himself amongst the early resistance as "dynamic and outward, with temperament and inspiration."
Sand was arrested in September 1941, having been turned in by Abwehr
agent Laura Johannesen, who had befriended Sand and infiltrated his group. Through several friendly meetings with Sand at the restaurant Theatercaféen
at Oslo's Hotel Continental
Johannesen had acquired a good insight into the activities of Sand and his companions. He carried compromising documents at the time of the arrest. The same night Hagle and Helle were also hunted by the Germans, but managed to escape, fleeing to Sweden
and later travelled to London. The 62-year old Sand was heavily tortured by the Gestapo
at Victoria Terrasse
, Gestapo leader Siegfried Wolfgang Fehmer
leading the interrogations, and was brought to Grini "more dead than alive", seriously wounded in the head and back, and with broken arms and legs. New, violent interrogations followed. During the rest of the war he was kept in isolation, partly at Grini, partly at Møllergata 19
, and partly in hospitals. It was said he was the hardest tortured person in Norway, and his example became a symbol of the resistance against the Nazi regime. In the late phase of the war he was told that his execution by gunshot was planned for 17 May 1945; however he was saved when the Nazis surrendered on 8 May
.
Sand was haunted by pains, stress, nightmares and hallucinations after the liberation, but worked for war veterans for the rest of his life. He was decorated as a Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1945. A bust of Sand, with the single word "Nei" (No), was revealed at Griniveien near Eiksmarka
in 1952, with the presence of both King Haakon
and Crown Prince Olav
. Sand died in July 1956 in Bærum
. The bust was moved slightly in 1980.
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, business man and resistance pioneer of 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...
. He was called the hardest tortured person in Norway during the war, and came to be an important symbol of the resistance against the Nazi regime
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...
.
Early and personal life
Sand was born in TrondheimTrondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, as a son of Fritz Julius Sand and his wife Anna Bergithe Kavli. He studied architecture at Stockholms tekniske skole in Sweden from 1897 to 1899. Architecture was not his main interest, and he wanted to be an artist. He tried his way as a sculptor at the age of nineteen, but received negative criticism, and then immediately started on a military career. He married Dutch citizen Annie Elisabeth Maria Moll in Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
in 1911.
Military and plantation career
Sand had a military career in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army. He followed military education in HarderwijkHarderwijk
' is a municipality and a small city in the eastern Netherlands.- The history of Harderwijk :Harderwijk received city rights from Count Otto II of Guelders in 1231. A defensive wall surrounding the city was completed by the end of that century. The oldest part of the city is near where the...
and Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. In the Dutch East Indies he subsequently participated as a geodete
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
in the surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of the Indonesian islands. He retired as an officer in 1906, and started to work in the plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
business. He was manager of the Pagilaran Estates from 1911, and founded the Zuid Sumatra Syndicate in 1918. From 1922 to 1940 he was superintendent for the Anglo-Dutch Plantations.
World War II
Sand returned to Norway in 1938, settling at BekkestuaBekkestua
Bekkestua is a town in the municipality of Bærum, Norway, with a busy bus terminal and a station on one of Oslo's westbound T-bane lines, Kolsåsbanen. It also has its own library, McDonalds, police station and fire station...
. When the war broke out, he became a pioneer in the resistance work. He was active in several areas, but eventually focused on intelligence, particularly photographing and mapping of German military installations. His network, which among others included military officers John Hagle and Eivind Hjelle, developed into the clandestine organisation XU
XU
XU was a clandestine intelligence organisation working on behalf of Allied powers in occupied Norway during World War II...
. The name XU (X=unknown, U=undercover agent) was taken from an undercover group Sand had run in Indonesia during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Sand distinguished himself amongst the early resistance as "dynamic and outward, with temperament and inspiration."
Sand was arrested in September 1941, having been turned in by Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
agent Laura Johannesen, who had befriended Sand and infiltrated his group. Through several friendly meetings with Sand at the restaurant Theatercaféen
Theatercaféen
Theatercaféen is part of the Hotel Continental, in Oslo, Norway. The café opened in 1900, and is situated opposite from the National Theatre, that opened the previous year. The restaurant and the hotel was originally owned by Foss Brewery, but Caroline and Christian Boman Hansen took over the...
at Oslo's Hotel Continental
Hotel Continental, Oslo
Hotel Continental is a hotel in Oslo, Norway, that opened in 1900.The background story of the Continental is like an old fairytale, about a young couple, who through their hard work and entrepreneurship created a monument that will live for many years. It all started in Sweden in 1860, with the...
Johannesen had acquired a good insight into the activities of Sand and his companions. He carried compromising documents at the time of the arrest. The same night Hagle and Helle were also hunted by the Germans, but managed to escape, fleeing to Sweden
Sweden during World War II
Sweden during World War II maintained a policy of neutrality. When the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear...
and later travelled to London. The 62-year old Sand was heavily tortured 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...
at Victoria Terrasse
Victoria Terrasse
Victoria Terrasse is a building complex in central Oslo, Norway.Built in the 1880s, it was taken over the by Norwegian government in 1913 and put to use by the police and various political departments....
, Gestapo leader Siegfried Wolfgang Fehmer
Siegfried Wolfgang Fehmer
Siegfried Wolfgang Fehmer was a German Gestapo officer during World War II. He was stationed in Norway during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, and at the end of the war he was a Kriminalrat, the police investigator heading the infamous Abteilung IV from its headquarter in Victoria...
leading the interrogations, and was brought to Grini "more dead than alive", seriously wounded in the head and back, and with broken arms and legs. New, violent interrogations followed. During the rest of the war he was kept in isolation, partly at Grini, partly 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...
, and partly in hospitals. It was said he was the hardest tortured person in Norway, and his example became a symbol of the resistance against the Nazi regime. In the late phase of the war he was told that his execution by gunshot was planned for 17 May 1945; however he was saved when the Nazis surrendered on 8 May
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
.
Sand was haunted by pains, stress, nightmares and hallucinations after the liberation, but worked for war veterans for the rest of his life. He was decorated as a Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1945. A bust of Sand, with the single word "Nei" (No), was revealed at Griniveien near Eiksmarka
Eiksmarka
Eiksmarka is a suburb of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum with around 4,000 inhabitants, just west of Oslo. It is served by Eiksmarka station.It is an affluent area in the most expensive part of Bærum, north of the borough of Jar...
in 1952, with the presence of both King Haakon
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
and Crown Prince Olav
Olav V of Norway
Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...
. Sand died in July 1956 in Bærum
Bærum
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
. The bust was moved slightly in 1980.