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

Background

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

Kringkastingsselskapet Kringkastingsselskapet A/S ("The Broadcasting Company") was Norway's first radio broadcasting service and operated out of Oslo from 1925 until 1933, when it was taken over by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). History The Norwegian Tel ...

, 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 Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian 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 and a group of supporters such ...

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 refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...

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

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation 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 larges ...

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, 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 German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

supporter whereas Christie was a more Norwegian-nationalistic

Quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for '' traitor''. The word or ...

supporter. In addition, Christie's

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

caused resentment. Mehle intrigued by pitting Christie against the broadcasting department (german: Abteilung Rundfunk) of the

Reichskommissariat Norwegen The Reichskommissariat Norwegen was the civilian occupation regime set up by Nazi Germany in German-occupied Norway during World War II. Its full title in German was the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten norwegischen Gebiete ("Reich Commiss ...

. 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 or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy conce ...

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

Final years and death

In the spring of 1941, Mehle became leader (

Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning " leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princi ...

) 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 at the Nazi-occupied

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 univers ...

. 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. 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