Arnold Rørholt (14 June 1884 – 1961) was a Norwegian military officer, known as a

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

member during

World War II 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 was also the secretary-general of the Royal Norwegian Automobile Club for many years.

Career

He was born in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

. He finished his secondary education in 1901 and graduated from the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

in 1905. He also graduated from the

Norwegian Military College The Norwegian Military College ( no, Den militære høyskole) was a military educational institution in Norway. It was established on 16 February 1817, with headquarters at Akershus Fortress. It was originally meant for artillery and engineer off ...

in 1907, and started working for the General Staff. He worked in

Oslo Militære Samfund Oslo Militære Samfund ("Oslo Military Society") is a Norwegian society of military commissioned officers founded in 1825. The society has published the magazine ''Norsk Militært Tidsskrift ''Norsk Militært Tidsskrift'' ( en, Norwegian Milit ...

from 1909 to 1926. From 1918 to 1920 he was the secretary of the Association of Regular Officers ( no, Hærens fastlønte offiserers landsforening) and edited their periodical ''Vår Hær''. In 1926 he moved to the Royal Norwegian Automobile Club, where he was secretary-general from 1929 to 1949 and chief executive from 1949 to 1953. He edited their magazine ''Motorliv'' as well as their yearbook. After retiring from the Royal Norwegian Automobile Club he was hired in the

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...

department of war history. He had already released a book about Oslo Militære Samfund; in 1925. In 1955 he became chairman of the pensioners' association Landslaget for statspensjonister, succeeding Per Skotte. Rørholt was deputy chairman from 1953 to 1955. In the military he reached the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and was a member of the illegal

group

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

during the

German occupation of Norway 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 the ...

. He became a member of the inner circle ''Rådet'' in May 1943, but had to flee to Sweden in January 1945. He continued the resistance from

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

until the May 1945 liberation of Norway, and was a member of the police troops in Sweden. His son

Bjørn Bjorn (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or less oft ...

, whom he had together with Luise Fredrikke Lund (1891–1965), was also involved in the resistance, as a

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

officer. When Rørholt's group

Skylark B Skylark B was a radio communications group that operated in Trondheim during the German occupation of Norway. The group was established and led by Erik Welle-Strand, who was a student in Trondheim. Preparations were done in 1940, when a transmitter ...

was unveiled by the Germans in September 1941, Arnold Rørholt was arrested by the Nazi authorities as a hostage. He was incarcerated 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 is ...

from 12 September 1941 to 23 April 1942, then at

Grini concentration 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 Söderma ...

until 9 November 1942.

Decorations

Arnold Rørholt held the

Defence Medal 1940–1945 The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be awarde ...

. He was decorated as a Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

, Knight First Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

, Commander of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

, and also with the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rorholt, Arnold 1884 births 1961 deaths People from Hamar Norwegian Military Academy alumni Norwegian Military College alumni Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian resistance members Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Grini concentration camp survivors Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of the Lion of Finland