Frithjof Sælen, Jr. (24 December 1917 – 1 January 2004) was a Norwegian writer, illustrator and member of the resistance during World War II.

Early life

He was born 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 ...

as the son of Frithjof Sælen (1892–1975) and Astrid Weltzin (1892–1978). His father was an accomplished gymnast, with an Olympic gold medal from 1912. Sælen Jr. was a swimmer during his youth. He took the

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 ...

in 1937, studied one year at commerce school and then moved to Oslo to study drawing and advertising.

World War II

When

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

reached Norway on 9 April 1940, with the

German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) ...

, he volunteered and fought for Norway in the ensuing battles. He joined Norwegian forces for the first time at

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...

and fought in

Hallingdal Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. ...

. After the capitulation of the regular Norwegian forces, he joined the secret

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

as a member of

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

. Later he became the leader of Milorg., Bergen District, from 15 May 1943 until 26 February 1944 when he left the country. In 1941 Sælen famously wrote and illustrated the book ''Snorre Sel'' ("Snorri the Seal"). The book, subtitled "A fable in colors for adults and children", was a subtle

satire Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and was widely read and later translated to several languages. It was soon banned by the

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 ...

usurpant authorities. In 1942 he followed with ''Tre kalde karer'' ("Three Cold Fellows"), caricaturing the Axis Powers Germany, Italy and Japan. This book remained legal, but was sold under the counter in bookstores. He fled Norway in 1944, travelling the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

with Leif "Shetlands-Larsen" Larsen. In the United Kingdom he worked for the Norwegian High Command. He was decorated with the Defence Medal.

Post-war life

In 1946 he married Gerd Sundal (b. 1918). He wrote a biography of

Leif Larsen Leif Andreas Larsen DSO, DSC, CGM, DSM and Bar (9 January 1906 – 12 October 1990), popularly known as "Shetlands Larsen", was a highly decorated Norwegian sailor. He was arguably the most famous of the men who operated the Shetland bus e ...

in 1947, ''Shetlands-Larsen''. The book was also published in the United Kingdom under the title ''None but the Brave'', and in France under the title ''Mission Suicide''. The book sold well (500,000 copies by 2004) and along with Howarth's ''The Shetland Bus'' served as the source for the 1954 film in which Leif Larsen played himself – '' Shetlandsgjengen'' (released as ''Suicide Mission'' in the United States). The children's book ("A Brave Ant") followed in 1948. Sælen cited

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

as his inspiration as an illustrator. In 1975 he issued the book ''Tyske tanks var sør i dalen'', about his fighting experiences. He also wrote the history of several Bergen-based companies. In addition to writing, he worked with marketing, establishing a marketing bureau ''Marketing-Byrået'' with a colleague in 1955, and a consulting company in 1974. From 1994 until his death, he suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, and he spent his last year in a retirement home in

. He died on New Year's Day 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saelen, Frithjof 1917 births 2004 deaths Writers from Bergen Norwegian biographers Male biographers Norwegian illustrators Norwegian satirists Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian resistance members Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Military personnel from Bergen Neurological disease deaths in Norway Deaths from Parkinson's disease 20th-century biographers 20th-century Norwegian male writers