Johannes Kringlebotn (3 July 1898 – 1959) was a Norwegian newspaper editor. He edited ''

Folketanken was a Norwegian newspaper published in Risør in Agder county. The newspaper was edited by Johannes Kringlebotn who later served as the editor of Stavanger Aftenblad (; ) or simply ''Aftenbladet'' is a daily newspaper based in Stavanger, No ...

'' and, during the Nazi era in Norway, ''

Stavanger Aftenblad (; ) or simply ''Aftenbladet'' is a daily newspaper based in Stavanger, Norway, and owned by Schibsted Media Group. Norwegian owners held 42 percent of the shares in Schibsted at the end of 2015. is thus majority foreign-owned. History and ...

''. After serving a treason sentence he returned in the 1950s to edit the

historical revisionist In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...

newspaper ''

Folk og Land () was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Oslo. It was an organ of historical revisionism for Norwegians who were found to be Nazi collaborators during the Second World War. History ''Folk og Land'' had its predecessor in ''Skolenytt'', stenci ...

''. He was involved in politics and organizational life in the interwar period, and was also among Norway's top-ten middle distance runners.

Early life and career

He was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, but grew up in

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

and

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, ) was a county (''fylke'') in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . ...

. His father was the manager of Holt Agricultural School. He was a brother of politician

Berge Helle Kringlebotn Berge Helle Kringlebotn (22 January 1904 – 19 August 1992) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Tune. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Aust-Agder in 1961, but was not re-elected in 1965. Kring ...

. He was a member of

Noregs Ungdomslag Noregs Ungdomslag (NU, literally "Norway's youth society") is a Norwegian cultural society formed in 1896. It has around 17,000 members and 450 local chapters. Activities Among the society's activities are folk dance, theatre and the spreading of ...

and

Noregs Mållag Noregs Mållag (literally "Language Organisation of Norway") is the main organisation for Norwegian Nynorsk (New Norwegian), one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language Norwegian ( ) is a North Germanic language from th ...

during his younger days, and also competed for the sports club

IL i BUL Idrottslaget i Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo (also BUL, Oslo) is a sports club in Oslo, Norway, founded on 8 January 1913. It is one of several branches of Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo, a local chapter of Noregs Mållag and Noregs Ungdomslag. IL i BUL h ...

. In 1923 he was registered as among the top ten in two middle distance events; he was the ninth fastest Norwegian in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

(2:05.6 minutes at Dælenenga in August; the fastest Norwegian was later Nazi

Charles Hoff Charles Teilmann Hoff (9 May 1902 – 19 February 1985) was a Norwegian athlete, coach, sports journalist, novelist and sports administrator. As an active athlete he competed in pole vault, long jump, triple jump, sprints and middle dista ...

) and the seventh fastest Norwegian in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

(4:18.5 minutes at Dælenenga in June). He started his journalistic career in local newspapers as well as ''

Den 17de Mai ''Den 17de Mai'' is a former Norwegian newspaper, issued in Oslo from 1894 to 1935. History and profile The founder and first editor-in-chief of ''Den 17de Mai'' was Rasmus Steinsvik, who edited the newspaper until his death in 1913. Arne Garbo ...

'' and ''

Morgenbladet is Norway's oldest daily newspaper, covering politics, culture and science, now a weekly news magazine primarily directed at well-educated readers. The magazine is notable for its opinion section featuring contributions exclusively from Norweg ...

''. He edited the

Risør is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Ri ...

newspaper ''

'' from 1923, succeeding Andreas Hansson.

Second World War and beyond

When 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 ...

started, he turned ''Folketanken'' into a Nazi newspaper, and in 1941 he was hired as editor of ''

'' as it was usurped by Nazis and

Sven Oftedal Sven Oftedal (March 22, 1844 – March 30, 1911) was a Norwegian American Lutheran minister. He served as the 3rd president of Augsburg University and helped found the Lutheran Free Church. Background Sven Svensen Oftedal was born in Stavanger, ...

was fired. He was editor from 18 April 1941 to 27 June 1942. He lost his position at the war's end. During the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The legal purge in Norway after World War II (; ) took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was found to have Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborated with the German occupation of Norway, German occupat ...

he was tried in court for being a

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 ...

member from September 1940, being the local party leader in

from October 1940, being acting mayor in Risør from January to April 1941, being a

Hird The hird (also named "De Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls. Over time, it came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal arm ...

member and holding several pro-Nazi speeches all over Norway between 1940 and 1942. He was also tried for several actions as editor of ''Stavanger Aftenblad'', among others the denouncing of salesman Josef Kvavik and illustrator

Henry Imsland Henry Imsland (27 May 1900 – 14 June 1981) was a Norwegian illustrator. He was born in Stavanger as a son of Jacob Imsland (1868–1950) and Henriette Knudsen (1871–1941). He married Dorthea Grude (1906–1982). He became deaf at the age of n ...

.Imsland was supposedly imprisoned as a result of this, but he is not included in The prosecutor wanted eight years of forced labour and confiscation of money, but in the

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

in August 1946 he was sentenced for treason to four years of forced labour. None of his money was confiscated. He was acquitted for several of the trial points. In 1952 he became editor-in-chief of the

newspaper ''

''. He remained editor up to and including 1957, and was succeeded by former ''

Fritt Folk ''Fritt Folk'' ("Free People") was a Norwegian newspaper, published in Oslo. It was the official organ of the fascist party Nasjonal Samling, and came to prominence during the Second World War. History ''Fritt Folk'' had a predecessor in a p ...

'' editor and Nazi

Odd Erling Melsom Odd Erling Melsom (10 February 1900 – 9 June 1978) was a Norwegian military officer and newspaper editor. Pre-war career He was born in Kristiania as a son of travellers. He finished his secondary education at Kristiania Cathedral School in ...

. Kringlebotn died in 1959.

References

;Notes ;References {{DEFAULTSORT:Kringlebotn, Johannes 1898 births 1959 deaths People from Risør Norwegian male middle-distance runners Norwegian newspaper editors Members of Nasjonal Samling Mayors under the German occupation of Norway People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway Historical negationists