Andreas Aubert (3 August 1910 – 11 May 1956) was a Norwegian resistance member during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He joined

Norwegian Independent Company 1 Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...

in 1942 where he later became an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. Aubert was born in Oslo. His older brother, Kristian Aubert (1909-1942), was also an active resistance member during the war but was captured by Gestapo and died of torture in 1942. Aubert was the first prisoner tortured to death by the Germans at

Grini Grini is a district in northeastern Bærum, Norway. Concentration camp The name Grini is best known from the concentration camp of the same name, but this camp lay further west and had no actual connection to the Grini area. History The name ...

. Under the cruel torture he revealed nothing and he thus saved the lives of many he had worked with. Aubert soon became one of the key members of the sabotage group

Oslogjengen Oslogjengen (lit. ''The Oslo Gang'', also called Kompani Linge's Oslo Detachment) was a sabotage group operating in Oslo from May 1944 to May 1945, during the last year of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The group had its basis in both the ...

, which was under the command of

Gunnar Sønsteby Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO ( 1918 – 10 May 2012) was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II. Known by the nickname "Kjakan" ("The Chin") and as "Agent No. 24", ...

. Due to his leadership skills, he was often chosen to perform the most demanding missions carried out by the group. In early May 1945 Aubert among other members of Oslogjengen secured the archives in the Department of Justice, which revealed the actions the Nazis 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 ...

during the war. When the Norwegian Royal Family returned to Norway after the war, Aubert served as a bodyguard. He received the

War Cross with sword The War Cross with Sword (Norwegian Bokmål: ''Krigskorset med sverd, ''Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Krigskrossen med sverd'') is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary leadershi ...

, St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch and the H. M. The King's Commemorative Medal with bar 1940-1945. After the war Aubert lived a restless and tense life. He died in Oslo in 1956 at the age of 45 and is buried at the

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kre ...

cemetery.

Sources

*Gjems-Onstad, Erik (1995) ''Krigskorset og St. Olavsmedaljen med ekegren'' (Oslo: Grøndahl Dreyer)

External links

Andreas Aubert - oslogjengen.no (visited 24 October 2010)
1910 births 1956 deaths Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Norwegian military personnel of World War II Norwegian resistance members Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Military personnel from Oslo Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Burials at Vestre gravlund {{Norway-bio-stub