Henry Thingstad (9 April 1916 – 19 May 1943) was a Norwegian sports official and

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

resistance member. He was born in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is t ...

to a mother from

Skogn Municipality Skogn is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1962. The municipality was located to the south and southwest of the L ...

and a father from

Tynset Municipality Tynset is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tynset (town), ...

. Both died before Thingstad turned twenty. He was a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

by profession. Before the

Second World War 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 ...

he was active in the workers' sports club Arbeidernes TF and the Workers' Confederation of Sports. He chaired the district workers' sports organization in

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...

from 1938 to 1940. He also chaired the workers' sports club SK Ørnulf. In 1939 he supported the merger between the workers' and bourgeois sports organizations, in order to create a

unity front Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, ...

against

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. He had been a member of the

Young Communist League of Norway The Young Communist League of Norway (, NKU) was until April 2006 the youth league of Norges Kommunistiske Parti (NKP). The NKP declared on 1 April 2006 that the NKU was no longer its youth organization, and that all youths interested in joinin ...

since 1931. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany 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 ...

, Thingstad was one of the first to participate in 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 ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

, with the "Thingstad Group". His resistance activity was communist by nature, spurred by the banning of the

Communist Party of Norway The Communist Party of Norway (, NKP) is a communist party in Norway. The NKP was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. It was Stalinist from its establishment and, as such, supported the Soviet government while oppo ...

in August 1940. The Nazis had an active provocateur and infiltrator in Trøndelag, Henry Rinnan, who managed to unveil most of the communist resistance leaders in the district in October and November 1941. Thingstad had then participated in a failed assassination attempt on Rinnan. From early 1942 Thingstad became a part of the district leadership and underground central committee of the Communist Party. Thingstad was captured in February 1943 after involvement from Rinnan. He was subjected to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

. He was imprisoned in Vollan concentration camp. A German

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

sentenced him to death on 4 May 1943, and he was executed at

Kristiansten Fortress Kristiansten Fortress (, historically spelled ''Christiansten'') is located on a hill east of the city of Trondheim which is located within Trondheim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway, named after Christian V of Denmark-Norway. It was bu ...

together with ten other people on 19 May. His body was not disposed of, but buried in the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

graveyard.

Tore Pryser Tore Pryser (born 9 January 1945) is a Norwegian historian who has served as professor at the Lillehammer University College since 1993. Born in Oslo, he took a cand.philol. degree at the University of Oslo. He was appointed at the Lillehamme ...

's book ''Klassen og nasjonen 1935-1946'' featured a goodbye letter Thingstad wrote in his cell.Pryser, 1988: p. 381

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thingstad, Henry 1916 births 1943 deaths People from Trondheim Norwegian sports executives and administrators Communist Party of Norway politicians Norwegian resistance members Norwegian torture victims Communists executed by Nazi Germany Vollan concentration camp prisoners Norwegian civilians killed in World War II Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad Norwegian people executed by Nazi Germany