Trandumskogen is a forest located in

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Jessheim. I ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It was the site of one of the first discoveries in May 1945 of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

s in

. The German

executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who effects a sentence of capital punishment on a condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to ...

Oskar Hans was the officer in command of the unit performing the executions. In total 173

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

, 6

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and 15

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

citizens were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

in Trandumskogen. Many had been sentenced to death by the German occupation forces, but there was also a great number who were subject to arbitrary executions. Most were resistance fighters, while the Russians were prisoners in German prison camps who had tried to escape. Five of the Britons had been arrested for planning to blow up the heavy water plant at

Vemork Vemork is a hydroelectric power plant outside the town of Rjukan in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to fix nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. ...

, and the sixth Briton was involved in a sabotage attempt on the battleship

Tirpitz Tirpitz may refer to: People * Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930), German admiral ** Tirpitz Plan, a plan for Germany to achieve world power status through naval power Ships * German battleship ''Tirpitz'', a World War II-era Bismarck-class ...

. After 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 ...

, Norwegian citizens sentenced for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, and leading members of the Norwegian national socialist party ''

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 ...

'' were forced to open the graves and

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

the bodies of the executed prisoners. The medical identification of the corps was led by professor in forensic medicine Georg Waaler, assisted by dentist Ferdinand Strøm. From May 5, 2020, Trandumskogen is protected as a national cultural

heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. The

king of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...

held a speech (on site), on the 80th anniversary of

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

Memorial

On 10 October 1954, the memorial in Trandumskogen was unveiled. Crown Prince Olav stood for the ceremony. Per Palle Storm, artist and sculptor and professor at the National Art Academy had carried out the artistic part of the work. The memorial is carved of light

Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

(''Iddefjordgranitt''). To the south side an inscription is carved in Norwegian. The same text translated into Russian is cut into the east side and in English to the west side. The memorial is located south of the burial ground. The memorial lists the names of those who were executed there. The memorial has status as a Norwegian national memorial. The text on the memorial reads: :IN THE COMBAT FOR FREEDOM
DURING THE 1940-1945 WAR
173 NORWEGIANS 15 SOVJET-
SUBJECTS AND 6 BRITONS WERE
HERE IN THE WOODS OF TRAN-
DUM EXECUTED BY THE ENEMY

The names of those executed at Trandumskogen

Grave 1, 1 March 1943

*Arthur Oskar Berg from Odda * Bjarne Dalland from Bergen *Daniel Theodor Danielsen from Voss *Thor Gerotti Espelid from Odda *Ole Kjell Karlsen from Oslo *Leif Arnoldus Kindem from Odda *Ingolf Kleppestø from Odda *Olav Kvernmo from Oslo * Ottar Lie from Oslo *Gustav Adolf Neråsen from Øyer *Lars Nordbø from Oslo *Olaf Prestegaard from Odda * Harald Andreas Gerotti Slåttelid from Odda *Arne Stensrud from Oslo *Reidar Svendsen from Oslo *Sigurd Syvertsen from Krokstadelva *Knut Veka from Odda

Grave 2, 3 September 1943

*Marius Nikolai Karlsen from Skjervøy *Hillfl David Lie from Oslo *Karsten Løvestad from Trøgstad

Grave 3, 30 October 1944

*Nicolai Bachilin from the Soviet Union *Jacob Brunelin from the Soviet Union *Jacob Magnus Frøyland from Farsund *Fedor Getnikow from the Soviet Union *Eyolf Haug from Kongsberg *Odd Trygve Christiansen from Fagernes *Audun Lavik from Lyngdal *Michael Lotikow from the Soviet Union *Vladimir Medownikow from the Soviet Union *Sverre Emil Narvesen from Modum *Thormod Johannes Nygaard from Oslo *Gunnar Onshuus from Sandefjord *Simon Peachawow from the Soviet Union *Rolf Edvin Pettersen from Drammen *Borti Reichelt from Kragerø *Boris Resnick from the Soviet Union *Hugo Rossnes from Oslo *Reidar Steen Olsen from Sandefjord *Olaf Strand from Bergen *Per Rolf Syvertsen *Karl Ludvig Sørensen from Sandefjord *Patike Tschikidse from the Soviet Union

Grave 4, 30 April 1942

*Leif Bye Nielsen from Oslo *Arne Grønn Disch from Tønsberg *Ole Elias Dyrøy from Borgund *Harald Bølerud from Oslo *Per Andreas Fillinger from Oslo *Jakob Otto Friis from Oslo *Andreas Gjertsen from Oslo *Leonard Godager from Furnes *Ole Kjeldserg from Nordstrand *Alfred Waldemar Garmann Larsen from Oslo *Ole Arntzen Lutzow Holm from Oslo *Einar Oliver Mjølhus from Hjelmland *Jesper Kjell Næss from Odal *Bjarne Fillip Olsen from Ålesund *Magnus Tuntland from Hjelmland *Peter Kristian Boe Young from Oslo *Birger Aasland from Hjelmland *Kåre Angell Elgenes from Molde (executed 1 May)

Grave 6, 5 September 1944

*Kristian Andresen from Gjøvik *Fedor Barkow from the Soviet Union *Finn Brede Bråthen from Modum *Peter Christensen from Oslo *Arne Reidar Gustavsen from Drammen *Reinhard Halvorsen from Norderhov *Petter Albert Hammerø from Oslo *Reidar Hansen from Norderhov *Åge Hansen from Oslo *Daniel Jacowitz from the Soviet Union *Ove Jensen from Asker *Georg Johannes Jenserud from Norderhov *Martin Kleppan from Oslo *Johan Karelius Moen from Norderhov *Helge Olsen from Norderhov *Kåre Pettersen from Drammen *Stephan Pleschatschew from the Soviet Union *Wasil Sacharschenko from the Soviet Union *Gunnar K Skinstad from Modum *Gjermund Karl Skaarud from Oslo *Per Thore Stensrud from Oslo *Alexander Szeinzuk from the Soviet Union *Benani Tschikikow from the Soviet Union

Grave 7, 3 June 1944

*Gunnar Hanssen from Oslo *Kaare Hexeberg from Nittedal *Oskar Haakon Johannessen from Nittedal *Per Grell Lønning from Oslo *Odd Næss from Oslo

Grave 8, 25/26 May 1944

25 May 1944

*Hans Skjærvø from Osen *Georg Stokke from Oslo

26 May 1944

*Thore Eugen Sentzen from Svanvik in Sør-Varanger *Magnus Dahlen from Fåberg *Lars Emil Erichsen from Oslo *John Hatland from Oslo *Frederik Wilhelm Holter from Oslo *Odvar Jacobsen from Oslo *Leif Richard Johansen from Oslo *Harald Reitan from Oslo *Per Arne Stranger Thorsen from Oslo *Sven Olav Vogt from Oslo

Grave 9, Unknown date

*F. Bonner from the United Kingdom *J. N. Blackburn from the United Kingdom *R. P. Evans from the United Kingdom *W. Jackson from the United Kingdom *J. Walsh from the United Kingdom *T. W. White from the United Kingdom

Grave 10, 2/3 March 1943

2. March 1943

*Johan Peter Bruun from Oslo *Haakon Marius Sunde from Kopervik

3 March 1943

*Ragnar Alf Anderson from Nesodden *Osmund Lindgård Brønnum from Oslo *Arne Gunnestad from Asker *Kaare Bjørn Jensen from Oslo *Thorleif Krogh from Oslo *Jacob Dybcad Sømme from Oslo *Lorentz Helge Aarnes from Oslo

Grave 11, 13/14 October

13 October 1943

*Anders Johansen Krok from Mjøndalen *Erling Christian Marthinson from Eidsvåg i Åsane

14 October 1943

*Thomas Henry Thornau Agnæs from Drammen *Sverre Andersen from Oslo *Reidar Furu from Drammen *Aksel Eugen Grønholdt from Oslo *Kaare Gundersen from Oslo *Sverre Emil Halvorsen from Oslo *Sigurd Jacobsen from Oslo *Alv Johan Johnsen from Drammen *Arthur Simensen from Nedre Eiker *Emil Gustav Hvaal from Sem *Lars Elias Telle from Sund *Olaf Østerud from Oslo *Christian Fredrik Fasting Aall from Fana

Grave 12, 21 May 1943

*Anton Bø from Nærbø *Olaf Ege from Vigrestad *Karl Hellestø from Sola *Jørstein Johannesen from Time *Magnus Mæland from Mæland *Martin Opstad from Bø *Ingvar Ree from Nærbø *Ole Rosland from Time *Torgeir Sikvaland from Time *Augustus Stensland from Time *Andreas Steinsland from Time *Ragnvald Torland from Torland *Trygve Varden from Vigrestad *Arne Vigre from Nærbø *Sverre Valdeland from Valdeland

Grave 13, 4 July 1944

*Ovin Christoffer Bronsta from Drammen *Jan Segelcke Koren from Oslo *Gay Børre Kristiansen from Kristiansand *Alf Leonard Lande from Nøtterøy *Per Nannestad Lindaas from Oslo *Tomas Per Trægde from Drammen *Olav Josef Wetterstad from Kongsberg

Grave 14, 7 September 1942

*Haakon Eriksen from Oslo *Bjarne Hansen from Nedre Eiker *Eli(as) Skjold Hansen from Oslo *Karl Johan Jacobsen from Oslo *Alf Kristiansen from Drammen *Reidar Kristoffersen from Krokstadelva *Karl Frithjof Schei from Nes på Romerike

Grave 15, 12 August 1942

*Poul Kvamme from Bergen *Unknown from the Soviet Union

Grave 16, 28 June 1943

*Ragnar Fredriksen from Kristiansand *Erling Karlsen from Oddernes

Grave 17, 9/10 May 1944

9. May 1944

*Arnt Andersen from Stavanger *Arne Thurin Bjørge from Arendal *Leif Dahl from Slagen *Olav Dyvik from Grimstad *Arthur Valdemar Emanuelsen from Stavanger *Johan Alfred Gøranson from Oppegård *Knut Haugneland from Stavanger *Martin August Johannesen from Egersund *Henry Victor Larsen from Stavanger * Arne Laudal from Kristiansand *Georg Osnes from Stavanger *Rolf Olav Schulstad from Oslo

10 May 1944

*Knut Bø from Bygland *Magnus Nielsen from Hetland *Ingvald Georg Nordbø from Stavanger *Lars Sandvik from Kvinneherad *Torleif Tellefsen from Grimstad *Ferdinand Tjemsland from Stavanger *Aanund Tveit from Vestre Moland

Grave 18, Flatnermoen, 29 December 1941

*Borgen Bøe from Stavanger *Karluf John Hans Bø from Stavanger *Georg Fjeldberg from Hjelmeland *Thomas Fjermstad from Stavanger *Georg Helland from Stavanger *Einar Hoseth from Stavanger *Martin Jacobsen from Stavanger *John Nilsen from Hetland *Carl Johan Oftedahl from Stavanger *Olav Ragnvald Olsson from Hetland *Arnt Plesner-Pedersen from Stavanger In May 2021, Forsvarsbygg cut down the trees in the forest causing widespread condemnation. This action resulted in a criminal complaint which is as of June 2021, still under investigation.

2021 investigation of agency's tree-cutting at the heritage site

In 2021, Forsvarsbygg cut down trees in the forest. On 2 June the county of

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the Göta canal *IF Viken, ...

ordered that the cutting must stop; the mayor of

filed a police report. The Cabinet ordered a fact-finding commission regarding what had happened and how to prevent similar events at similar sites, according to the minister of defence. As of June 2021, the tree-cutting at the heritage site is still under investigation.

References

External links

Kalde gufs fra fortiden
{{in lang, no Nazi war crimes Ullensaker Military history of Norway during World War II