Odd Nansen 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...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, author, and humanitarian, credited with his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Jews in the early years 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...

 and for being a founder of UNICEF.

Biography

Odd Nansen was the son of the scientist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...

 and was raised at Lysaker

Lysaker

Lysaker is a section of and a postal code area of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum, just west of Oslo.Geographically, it is bordered by Lysakerelven on the east, which also forms the border to Oslo; Fornebu to the south; Stabekk to the west; and Jar to the north...

 outside of Oslo. After his mother, Eva Nansen

Eva Nansen

Eva Helene Nansen was a celebrated Norwegian mezzosoprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing.-Personal life:...

, died in 1907, he was raised in the home of shipowner Klaveness.

Educated an architect and apprenticed to Arnstein Arneberg

Arnstein Arneberg

Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was a Norwegian architect. He was active as an architect for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. -Background:...

, he formed Nansenhjelpen

Nansenhjelpen

Nansenhjelpen was a Norwegian humanitarian organization founded by Odd Nansen in 1936 to provide safe haven and assistance in Norway for Jewish refugees from areas in Europe under Nazi control...

 in 1939 to provide relief for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in central Europe, focusing his efforts on the situation in Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. His wife Kari Nansen, he, and Tove Filseth established a field office in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 and traveled extensively in Europe in 1939 to get attention and help for refugees facing imminent destruction.

After returning to Norway, he joined the nascent Norwegian resistance and was himself arrested and detained 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...

, and ultimately deported to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen

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...

 Nansen maintained a diary during his imprisonment that he hid and preserved. These diaries were published after the war and provide an in-depth, first hand account of life and death in Nazi concentration camps.

He survived captivity in the camps and returned to Norway where he resumed his architectural career, while also initiating several humanitarian efforts. He was the president of One World from 1947 to 1956 and is considered a co-founder of UNICEF. He was also a co-founder of the Nansen Academy in Norway. He led restoration work for his childhood home at Polhøgda

Polhøgda

Polhøgda is a property between Lysaker and Fornebu in Bærum, Norway.-Use by Fridtjof Nansen:The property originally belonged to Fornebo farm, but was separated from the farm in 1897. Construction on the property took place in 1900 and 1901. It was the home of Fridtjof Nansen and Eva Nansen from...

.

Among Nansen's architectural works are the main terminal building at the (now decommissioned) Fornebo

Oslo Airport, Fornebu

Oslo Airport, Fornebu was the main airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one...

 airport from 1963. His son is the architect, athlete, and humanist Eigil Nansen

Eigil Nansen

Eigil Nansen is the son of architect and humanist Odd Nansen and the grandson of explorer and humanist Fridtjof Nansen.In 1991, he won The Lisl and Leo Eitinger Prize for his work with refugees and human rights, Eigil Nansen is also known for lighting the first Winter Olympic Flame in...

, and his daughter is writer Marit Greve.