Eyvind Mehle (13 September 1895 – 15 July 1945) was a Norwegian radio personality, media professor and

Nazi collaborator In World War II, many governments, organizations and individuals Collaborationism, collaborated with the Axis powers, "out of conviction, desperation, or under coercion". Nationalists sometimes welcomed German or Italian troops they believed wou ...

Background

He was born as Eyvind Mæhle, but changed his last name in 1930. He was hired in 1925 in

Kringkastingsselskapet Kringkastingsselskapet A/S () was Norway's first radio broadcasting service and operated out of Oslo from 1925 until it was taken over by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) in 1933. History The Norwegian Telegraphy Administration starte ...

, the first broadcaster of Norwegian radio. One of his specialities were half-hour lectures in the form of travel descriptions. He later joined the Norwegian Fascist party

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

in its first year of existence, 1933, and served as its press spokesperson for some years. On 9 April 1940 Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany, and a

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

followed. On 25 September 1940, Mehle was named as director of verbal programs in

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

radio. As one of two program directors, the other being

Edvard Sylou-Creutz Edvard Sylou-Creutz (7 May 1881 – 11 May 1945) was a Norwegian classical pianist, composer and radio personality, who was especially active in Nazi-controlled radio in Germany and occupied Norway between March 1940 and the autumn of 1942. ...

, Mehle was considered as the successor of pre-war broadcasting director

Olav Midttun Olav Midttun (8 April 1883 – 5 January 1972) was a Norwegian philologist, biographer, magazine editor, and media executive. He edited the cultural magazine '' Syn og Segn'' for more than fifty years, and was the first national program di ...

, despite being a subordinate of commissary president

Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie (7 December 1778 – 10 October 1849) was a Norwegian attorney. He was a member of the National Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and served as the Norwegian Constituent Assembly secretary. Background Born in Kristiansu ...

. This command chain did not work well. Although there was some rivalry between Mehle and Sylou-Crantz,Dahl, 1991: p. 205 the most severe rivalry was between Mehle and Christie. To start with, Mehle had to hand Christie his inaugural speech on 29 September, because Christie had limited knowledge of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. In a broader context, as Nazis, Mehle was a

Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of Culture of Germany, German culture, Germans, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German ...

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

supporter whereas Christie was a more Norwegian-nationalistic

Quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English to mean a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force; it may also be used more generally as a synonym for ''traitor'' or ...

supporter. In addition, Christie's

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

caused resentment. Mehle intrigued by pitting Christie against the broadcasting department () of the

Reichskommissariat Norwegen The Norwegen was the Reichskommissariat, occupation regime set up by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, German-occupied Norway during World War II. Its full title in German was the ("Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Norweg ...

. He also treated his own subordinates badly; he threatened employees with a gun on numerous occasions, and showed signs of

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

and general mental instability.Dahl, 1991: p. 204

Final years and death

In the spring of 1941, Mehle became leader (

Führer ( , spelled ''Fuehrer'' when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially cal ...

) of the Nasjonal Samling party chapter at the Broadcasting Corporation. After a while, however, the personal antagonisms led to him seeking another job. He was appointed as professor of

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

at the Nazi-occupied

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. Since late 1943 no tuition or teaching had taken place at the University, only research. Around the end of World War II in Norway in May 1945, Mehle fled to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He drowned there later in 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehle, Eyvind 1895 births 1945 deaths Accidental deaths in Sweden Deaths by drowning Media studies writers Members of Nasjonal Samling Nazi fugitives NRK people Norwegian mass media scholars Norwegian radio personalities Academic staff of the University of Oslo

Background

Final years and death

See also

References