Harald Viggo Hansteen (13 September 1900 – 10 September 1941) was a Norwegian lawyer. He was executed 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 ...

Biography

Harald Viggo Hansteen was born in

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 ...

, Norway. As a student he was a part of the establishment of the political organization

Mot Dag (, 'Towards Day') was a Norway, Norwegian political group. The group was active from the 1920s to the early 1930s and was first affiliated with the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party until 1925. After World War II, many of its former members were ...

. When cooperation between Mot Dag and the

Norwegian Communist Party The Communist Party of Norway (, NKP) is a communist party in Norway. The NKP was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. It was Stalinist from its establishment and, as such, supported the Soviet government while oppos ...

came to an end in 1929, he stayed in the Communist Party. He became a

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

advocate in 1933 and judicial consultant for 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 ...

in 1936. In 1940 he went with the

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but came back to Oslo in June. He contributed strongly to the prevention of the

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 ...

's attempt to gain control of the Confederation of Trade Unions. Hansteen was executed on 10 September 1941 during the state of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

which followed the so-called Milk Strike (). The reason for the strike was that food supplies had become increasingly worse by September 1941. Also executed at the same time was labour activist

Rolf Wickstrøm Rolf Wickstrøm (9 December 1912 in Oslo, Norway – 10 September 1941) was a Norwegian labour activist and a victim of the German occupation of Norway during World War II. Wickstrøm grew up in a working-class family. In 1935 he was hired as ...

, who was the

union steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

and chairman for the union workers at the

Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk was a mechanical workshop focusing on design and construction of railcars. It was established by Hans Skabo in Drammen, Norway, in 1864; it became the first rail car factory in the country when it took delivery of the c ...

in Oslo. Hansteen and Wickstrøm were the first two Norwegian citizens executed by the German officials during the five-year occupation of Norway (1940–1945). After the liberation of Norway in 1945, Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm were buried in

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour () is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemi ...

. Viggo Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm were honored by the naming of a section of road around Oslo which bears their names. In 1948, a memorial was erected in granite with a bronze relief at the site of Hansteen's execution at

Årvoll Årvoll is a residential community situated in the Bjerke (borough), Bjerke district of Oslo, Norway. It was here that Anti-fascism, anti-Nazi activists Viggo Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm – the first two Norwegians to be executed by the Nazis d ...

in the Bjerke district of

. The memorial was directed by Norwegian sculptor

Nic Schiøll Nicolai Marius "Nic" Schiøll (10 October 1901 – 29 December 1984) was a Norwegian sculptor and painter. He was most known for his public works, ornamental sculptures and memorials. Biography Schiøll was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), N ...

(1901–1984). It bears the following inscription:

Personal life

In 1930, he married

Kirsten Hansteen Kirsten Hansteen (5 January 1903 – 17 November 1974) was a Norway, Norwegian editor and librarian. She was appointed Minister of Social Affairs with Gerhardsen's First Cabinet in 1945 and was the first female member of cabinet in Norway. Biog ...

(1903–1974). In 1945, she was appointed Minister of Social Affairs in

Einar Gerhardsen Einar Henry Gerhardsen (; 10 May 1897 – 19 September 1987) was a Norwegian politician who served as the prime minister of Norway from 1945 to 1951, 1955 to 1963 and 1963 to 1965. With a total of 16 years in office, he is the longest serving Pri ...

's coalition government. She was Norway's first female cabinet member.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Photograph gallery at Oslo Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansteen, Viggo 1900 births 1941 deaths Communist Party of Norway politicians Norwegian communists People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Deaths by firearm in Norway Norwegian civilians killed in World War II Norwegian people executed by Nazi Germany Communists executed by Nazi Germany Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Mot Dag