Ånebyleiren (Aneby detention camp) was the first

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

prison camp in the

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

area, and the second in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

after Ulven near

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. Six

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

were built on

stilts Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...

from the autumn of 1940 to the spring of 1941. The prison camp was located in a field near Fossen farm, north of the current gas station in

Hakadal Hakadal is a village in the northern part of Nittedal municipality in Akershus, Norway. The village and parish is the site of Hakadal Church (''Hakadal Kirke''). Hakadal Church dates to around 1610 and was originally constructed in a rectangu ...

. The Germans called their camps in Norway " Häftlingslager".

Prisoners

The first prisoners were the 97 hostages taken by the Germans after the British commando raid on Lofoten on March 4, 1941. These prisoners spent four days onboard the troop transport ship "Bretagne" before arriving at the harbor in

Svolvær Svolvær () is the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, along the Vestfjorden. The town has a population (2018) of 4,720 which gives the ...

where they were then moved by train to

. After an initial stay in

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 is ...

, they arrived at Ånebyleiren on 15 March 1941. Ånebyleiren bauta

The prisoners were numbered from 1 and up. The last number assigned to an Åneby prisoner was 184, and the prisoner numbers at

Grini detention camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by= Harry Söderm ...

continued directly from this. In addition to the hostages, there were many who were imprisoned for minor acts of resistance, such as the demolition of posters or illegal newspapers, or for fighting with German soldiers.

Leadership

The commander's name was Georg Angerer and he was, among other things, head of security for the Germans in Møllergata 19. He had been a German spy in 1934 when he came to Norway as a refugee. Angerer disappeared from Ånebyleiren after only five days. After a short time,

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. The rank of ''Obersturmführer'' was first created in 1932 as the result of an expa ...

Hermann Koch (nicknamed "Stormfyrsten" by the prisoners) joined the leadership. He then went on to become the first commander of the

Notable prisoners

Ole Siem Ole Siem (11 January 1882 – 1979) was a Norwegian naval officer, businessman and politician. Personal life Siem was born in Trondheim to Martin Olsen Siem and Gjertrud Christlock. He married Marie Augusta Ursin Holm in 1912, and was the fathe ...

Nils Hønsvald Nils Hønsvald (4 December 1899 – 24 November 1971) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician for the Labour Party. He was one of the leading figures in Norwegian politics from 1945 to 1969. He served as President of the Nordic Council ...

Thorleif Karlsen Thorleif Oscar Karlsen (17 December 1909 – 31 January 2010) was a Norwegian police inspector and politician, who also became known through the radio program ''Trafikk og musikk''. He was born in Stavanger, to which his parents had moved in t ...

Moritz Rabinowitz Moritz Moses Rabinowitz (20 September 1887 – 27 February 1942) was a retail merchant based in the city of Haugesund, Norway. Rabinowitz was active in the Jewish community in Norway and was an early opponent of Nazism. After Nazi Germany invaded ...

References

World War II prisoner of war camps in Norway Nazi concentration camps in Norway The Holocaust {{Prison-stub