Nils Uhlin Hansen (6 May 1919 – 11 January 1945) was a Norwegian

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er and resistance member during

World War II 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 had a successful athletics career before the war; setting a Nordic long jump record which was not surpassed for 20 years (14 years after his death). He was killed less than four months before the end of the war, as he was surprised by

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

forces following a sabotage mission.

Pre-war life

He was born in

Trondheim 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 ...

, the son of Haakon Hansen and Swedish citizen Agnes Collin. Representing sports club SK Freidig, he had a successful career in the

; only nineteen years old he won the Norwegian championships. Jumping 7.39 metres, he was 25 centimetres ahead of runner-up Kaare Strøm. In 1939, Hansen won a silver medal behind Kaare Strøm. On 11 September 1939, Hansen established a new Norwegian record. Jumping 7.54 metres at

Bislett stadion Bislett Stadium () is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here. The original stadi ...

, he broke the two-year-old record of Otto Berg with two centimetres. This was also a Nordic record. His sporting career was cut short by

. As Norway was invaded by Germany in 1940, regular sports events and championships were discontinued. The

1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 21 September to 6 October 1940, in Tokyo City, Japan, and later rescheduled for 20 July t ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

were also cancelled.

Resistance work

Hansen joined 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 ...

in 1940. He had to flee the country, arriving in Sweden on 8 November 1941. He then escaped to England in 1942, where he became enrolled in the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (), a part of the British

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

. He conducted several sabotage missions in Norway, including one against the rail road

Røros Line The Røros Line () is a rail transport, railway line which runs through the districts of Norway, districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen, and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station ...

in January 1945. Saboteurs were active in

Central Norway Central Norway (, ) is an informal, unclearly defined region of Norway. In its most limited usage, the term "Central Norway" may refer only to Trøndelag county; however, it may also be understood to include all or parts of the county of Møre og ...

in late 1944 and early 1945, with sabotages against the Nordland Line, the

Dovre Line The Dovre Line () is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim (city), Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the main line between Eidsvoll Station and Trondheim Station, used b ...

and the

Rauma Line The Rauma Line () is a long railway between the town of Åndalsnes (in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county), and the village of Dombås (in Dovre Municipality in Innlandet county), in Norway. Running down the Romsdalen valley, the line ...

in addition to the Røros Line. This was of high strategic importance, as German forces were retreating from

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

, using the rail roads for troop transport. Although the war was going against Germany at the time, there were rumours that they would not leave Norway without an Allied invasion, thus, pockets of Norwegian resistance forces were prepared for warfare.Lyng, 1979: p. 116 On 10 January 1945, German forces reacted, and began searching for militants under the codename ''Aktion Hengst''. They had only vague knowledge on the whereabouts of Norwegian militants, but on 11 January they found a lone skier in Singsås Municipality.Lyng, 1979: p. 119 They questioned him, and then released him, only to follow his tracks. The tracks led the German task force to a cabin at Forsetvollan in Budal Municipality. Nils Uhlin Hansen was staying in the cabin at the time, and when shooting ensued, Hansen was killed. Two days after his death Norwegian saboteurs carried out Operation Woodlark, killing 70–80 troops by destroying the bridge over the Jørstadelva, west of Jørstad.

Awards and legacy

Uhlin Hansen was awarded the Norwegian War Medal, the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be award ...

and then the Norwegian War Medal with Star. A road in Trondheim has been named for him. His national long jump record stood until 1959, when it was broken by Roar Berthelsen with eleven centimetres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Nils Uhlin 1919 births 1945 deaths Norwegian male long jumpers Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II Norwegian resistance members Norwegian people of Swedish descent People from Trondheim Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Deaths by firearm in Norway Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen