Claus Helberg (31 January 1919 – 6 March 2003) was a Norwegian resistance fighter and

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

. He was a member of Company Linge, a resistance commando unit that was best known for carrying out

Norwegian heavy water sabotage The Norwegian heavy water sabotage (; ) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water (deuterium) production via hydroelectric plants in Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involving both Norwegian commandos and Al ...

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 ...

. After the war, he worked for the

Norwegian Mountain Touring Association The Norwegian Trekking Association (, DNT) is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism in this country". Today the goa ...

until his retirement in 1982. While volunteering with the Association after his retirement, he helped guide several members of the Scandinavian royalty. According to ''The New York Times'', "

e was E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plu ...

the favorite mountain guide of Scandinavian royalty..." These clients included

Queen Sonja Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway as the wife of King Harald V. Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relationship a secret due to the ...

and

Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until Abdication of Margrethe II, her abdication on 14 January 2024. Ha ...

Early life

He was born in

Rjukan Rjukan () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Tinn Municipality. The town is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley, between the lakes Møsvatn ...

on 31 January 1919. As a child, he spent much time on the mountains around Rjukan. In 1938, he started working for a touring organization that wanted to make the mountains less forbidding for visitors.

World War II

He escaped Norway with 400 other Norwegians in January 1942 and arrived in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Once there, he started commando training with other Norwegians refugees. Nine months later in October 1942, he parachuted, along with four other Norwegians, into the Rjukan region. Helberg, along with his team code-named "Swallow", were to help guide a British commando team to blow the local power plant

Vemork Vemork is a hydroelectric power plant outside the town of Rjukan in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to fix nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. ...

hydroelectric. This plant could have been used to develop

heavy water Heavy water (deuterium oxide, , ) is a form of water (molecule), water in which hydrogen atoms are all deuterium ( or D, also known as ''heavy hydrogen'') rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (, also called ''protium'') that makes up most o ...

, which could have been used to help

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

develop an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

. However, the British mission ended in failure. Rather than being pulled out, the team stayed during the winter while a new unit was trained to attack the plant. After

Operation Gunnerside The Norwegian heavy water sabotage (; ) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water (deuterium) production via hydroelectric plants in Norway in World War II, Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involving both Nor ...

, team Swallow stayed in place to monitor developments within the plant. However, Helberg was found out by a German soldier who doggedly pursued him as he skied away. After skiing for hours, an exchange of shots occurred between Helberg and the soldier; the latter was wounded and Helberg, though exhausted, finally got away from the patrol. Because it had gotten darker, he skied off a cliff and broke his arm. He continued to ski for another twelve miles and avoided yet another patrol of German soldiers near Mogen. After receiving help from Norwegians in Mogen and Rauland, he went to the Germans and was able to convince them that he had broken his arm while working for the Germans searching the Hardanger Plateau for the saboteurs. The soldiers believed his story and took him to the German field doctor, and then on to Dalen. Then he went to a hotel and was able to get a room. Soon after he arrived,

Josef Terboven Josef Antonius Heinrich Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the '' Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Terboven wa ...

, commissioner of

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

, arrived at the same hotel and demanded that a local woman have dinner with him. She refused, and Terboven ordered that everyone in the hotel be arrested and sent off to

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 ...

for questioning and possible internment. Helberg knew that if he was arrested and his identity as a resistance fighter discovered he would be executed. He jumped out of the bus that was being used to transport everyone from the hotel to the camp. As a result of the jump he re-injured his arm, but was able to escape.

Honours and awards

* Knight 1st Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1986) * St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch * King's Medal of Merit in Gold *

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be award ...

(with rosette) * King Haakon VII commemorative * Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

(Denmark) *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) *

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France) Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

(United Kingdom) *

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

with bronze palm (United States) * October revolution 80th anniversary (Soviet Union, 2000)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helberg, Claus 1919 births 2003 deaths People from Rjukan Norwegian resistance members Norwegian military personnel of World War II Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Military Medal