Odd Bang-Hansen (9 April 1908 – 4 March 1984) was a Norwegian educator, journalist and author.

Biography

He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. His parents were Lauritz Bang-Hansen (1879–1960) and Astri Halvorsen (1880–1971). His father was a Lutheran priest who was later assigned to parishes in

Vadsø Municipality Vadsø (; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Vadsø (town), town of Vadsø, which is also the administrative centre of Fi ...

and Kristiansund Municipality. He received a cand.philol. degree in 1934 from the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. He became an associate professor at the Oslo Commerce School (''Oslo Handelsgymnasium'') in the late 1930s. 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 ...

, he sent his wife and children to live in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He was actively involved 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 ...

, making a significant effort to help Norwegian Jews out of the country. In 1943, he was forced to re-locate to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

where he was a consultant working with British officers in support of the Norwegian resistance. After the Liberation of Norway at the end of

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 was attached to the Labour Party publication ''

Arbeiderbladet is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. Eirik Hoff Lys ...

'' (now ''Dagsavisen'') as a film and theater critic. He remained at the newspaper as a journalist until his death in 1984. He made his literary debut in 1938 with the novel ''Fager er studentens drøm''. He wrote several children's books, including ''Mette og Tom i fjellet'' (1948), and ''Trapp med 9 trinn'' (1952). He was chairman of the

Norwegian Authors' Union The Norwegian Authors' Union (, DnF) is an association of Norwegian authors. It was established in 1893 to promote Norwegian literature and protect Norwegian authors' professional and economic interests. DnF also works in solidarity with persecu ...

from 1965 to 1971.

Selected works

*''Mette og Tom i fjellet'' (1948 * ''Mette og Tom og bokstavene'' (1949) *''Mette og Tom i hulen'' (1951) *''Trapp med 9 trinn'' (1952) *''Fly, hvite due'' (1953) *''Spillemann på flukt'' (1957) *''Fra mitt spisebord'' (1973)

Personal life

He married the physician Elise Aas (1907–2002) in 1936. He was the father of the theatre director

Kjetil Bang-Hansen Kjetil Bang-Hansen (born 16 May 1940) is a Norwegian actor, dancer, stage producer and theatre director. Early and personal life Bang-Hansen was born in Oslo as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and ch ...

(born 1940) and the film producer Pål Bang-Hansen (1937–2010).

References

1908 births 1984 deaths Writers from Oslo University of Oslo alumni Norwegian expatriates in Scotland Norwegian resistance members Norwegian educators Norwegian film critics Norwegian theatre critics Norwegian children's writers 20th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian journalists {{Norway-journalist-stub