Alfhild Hovdan (née Olsen; 13 September 1904 – 20 February 1982) was a Norwegian journalist, and later tourist manager for the city of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

for more than forty years. She is known for initiating the tradition of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, a present from the city of Oslo to the people of London, in recognition of their assistance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early career

Hovdan was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

, and grew up in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

. After

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

she started a career as journalist. From 1927 she worked for the Swedish newspaper ''

Stockholms Dagblad ''Stockholms Dagblad'' was a conservative morning newspaper published in Stockholm between 1824 and 1931. History and profile ''Stockholms Dagblad'' was established on 2 January 1824 as a newspaper for the Swedish capital. Under the editorship o ...

'', and for ''Oslo Aftenavis'' and the magazine ''Film''. In 1928 she became famous for walking all the way from Stockholm to Rome, crossing the Alps, including having an audience with the Pope in Rome, while a correspondent for Scandinavian newspapers. She also wrote articles on art, theatre and film for the female magazine '' Urd''. Hovdan was appointed secretary for ''Reisetrafikkforeningen for Oslo og Omegn'' in 1931, and was manager of the organization from 1932 to 1976.

World War II

Hovdan was a member of the

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

during the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

. She was arrested by the Nazi authorities in June 1941 for propaganda against Germany, incarcerated at

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. This ...

and

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

, and released in October 1941. She was involved with the activist network "2A", supported people hiding from the Nazis and helped them to escape to Sweden. She had to flee to Sweden in April 1942, where she worked at the

Norwegian legation in Stockholm The Norwegian Legation in Stockholm played a significant role during the World War II, Second World War. Until 9 April 1940 the legation consisted of four persons, and at the end of the war about 1,100 persons were connected to the legation. Refug ...

, in the "Sports Office" (), headed by

Harald Gram Harald Gram (18 September 1887 – 7 June 1961) was a Norwegian jurist, politician and genealogist. He was secretary general for the Conservative Party of Norway for 22 years, deputy mayor of Aker, member of Parliament from 1928 to 1936, and st ...

, which organized underground courier traffic between Sweden and Norway. While in Sweden, she was among the founders of the theatre group Fri Norsk Scene, which consisted of Norwegian actors residing in Sweden as refugees.

Post war

In 1947 she initiated the tradition of donating a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

to London, a present from the city of Oslo, in recognition of assistance from the people of London during

. In the following years she was always present at the ceremony when the tree was cut down, along with the mayor of Oslo. She continued her work as "Tourist Manager" for Oslo until 1976, and has been characterized as brave, dynamic and controversial, being called names such as "The Shrew" () and "The Bulldozer". Hovdan was awarded the

Medal of St. Hallvard The Medal of St. Hallvard () is the highest award of the City of Oslo, Norway. It is awarded to people who have made a particularly noteworthy contribution to the City of Oslo. It is named after the city's patron, Saint Hallvard (ca. 1020–1043) ...

in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovdan, Alfhild 1904 births 1982 deaths Norwegian resistance members Female resistance members of World War II Grini concentration camp survivors Writers from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian journalists People from Skien