Kristian Ottosen (15 January 1921,

Solund Solund is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. Solund is the westernmost island municipality in Norway. Holmebåen on the island of Steinsøy is the westernmost point in all of Nor ...

– 1 June 2006,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

non-fiction writer and public servant. While still a student, he was also active in the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governmen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was imprisoned as a

Nacht und Nebel ''Nacht und Nebel'' (German: ), meaning Night and Fog, was a directive issued by Adolf Hitler on 7 December 1941 targeting political activists and resistance "helpers" in the territories occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, who were to ...

inmate. He was imprisoned in Veiten from June to July 1942, then in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

from July to September, then in

Grini concentration camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by=Harry Söderm ...

from September to December. From December 1942 to June 1944 he was in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...

, then until September 1944 in Natzweiler-Struthof. He was then in Dachau concentration camp for three days, and Ottobrunn for one day. He was lastly in

Dautmergen Dautmergen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Dautmergen was a possession of the County of Hohenberg until 1381, when it became part of the Duchy of Austria's territory in Swabia. The town ...

from September to November 1944 and Vaihingen until the war's end. After the war, he finished his studies at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

, where he became the leader of the Det Norske Studentersamfund first in Bergen, and then as a full-time employee at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. He was the manager of the Foundation for Student Life in Oslo from 1950 to 1979. He led the commission that recommended the founding of regional university colleges throughout Norway and for establishment of the

Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund ( no, Statens lånekasse for utdanning) is a government agency that allocates loans and grants to Norwegian and certain foreign students for their education. Lånekassen was established in 1947. Lånekass ...

. He also chaired the board of

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

from 1972 to 1979, and

Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo ( no, Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christia ...

from 1981 to 1989. After he retired, Ottosen wrote a series of historical accounts from World War II. These included memoirs from his work in the Norwegian resistance as well as thorough historical surveys of Norwegians who were arrested and detained by Nazi authorities during the war. For this work he was honored with the Fritt Ord Honorary Award in 2004, made commander in the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, and named honorary member of the Norwegian Labour Party.

Notable writings

Ottosen's works include: * - about the work of the resistance group known as Theta Theta. * - about the Nacht und Nebel prisoners in the Natzweiler concentration camp, with an emphasis on the Norwegians held there. * - about the

. * - about the Ravensbrück concentration camp, primarily for women. * - about the deportation and imprisonment of Norwegian men and women in prisons throughout Germany. * - about the Jewish deportees from Norway during World War II, deportation and fate of Jews from Norway. * - an authoritative list of Norwegian individuals who had been held in German captivity during World War II. * - about Norwegian prisoners held in Japanese captivity during World War II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottosen, Kristian 1921 births 2006 deaths Grini concentration camp survivors Norwegian people imprisoned abroad Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors Vaihingen an der Enz concentration camp survivors Norwegian resistance members University of Bergen alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Labour Party (Norway) politicians Night and Fog program