Olaf Bjerke (6 January 1893 – 21 September 1957) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Communist Party. 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 was arrested on 10 September 1941 after the milk strike. He was imprisoned at

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway, where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This ...

, then in Grini concentration camp, then in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

until the end of World War II. The communist inmates formed a

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

in the camp, and Bjerke was among the leading members along with Kristian Mugaas, Johan Strand Johansen, Olaf Skramstad,

Halvor Sørum Halvor Enok Sørum (5 April 1897 – 1965) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Communist Party. He was a painter by profession. He joined Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund (NSU) in 1914, the Norwegian Labour Party in 19 ...

and

Erling Heiestad Erling () is a Scandinavian male name, meaning "heir of clanchief" or "descendant of the jarl / earl", i.e. prince or similar. Notable people named Erling include: Given name * Erling Aas-Eng (born 1965), Norwegian politician * Erling Aastad (1898� ...

. A railway worker, Bjerke was involved in the trade union Norwegian Union of Railway Workers. As former chairman

Ludvik Buland Ludvik Buland (6 May 1893 – 5 February 1945) was a Norwegian trade unionist. He chaired the Norwegian Union of Railway Workers, but was imprisoned and died during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. Early life and career Ludvik Bulan ...

died in a concentration camp in 1945, Bjerke came close to being elected chairman at the national convention later that year, but lost the vote to the Social Democrat Marius Trana. The electoral committee had been unified in its support of Bjerke, but reportedly

Haakon Lie Haakon Steen Lie (22 September 1905 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian politician who served as party secretary for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1945 to 1969. Coming from humble origins, he became involved in the labour movement at an early ag ...

and

Trygve Bratteli Trygve Martin Bratteli (11 January 1910 – 20 November 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor, a politician with the Norwegian Labour Party, and Nazi concentration camp survivor. He served as the prime minister of Norway from 1971 to 1972 a ...

swayed the result in Trana's favor. He did become elected to the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almo ...

secretariat, as the only communist. He also entered the Communist Party leadership stratum.Pryser, 1988: p. 569 Bjerke served as a deputy representative to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

from

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

during the term 1954–1957. He died in September 1957.

References

1893 births 1957 deaths Trade unionists from Oslo Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Politicians from Oslo Communist Party of Norway politicians Deputy members of the Storting {{Norway-politician-1890s-stub