![Arvid-storsveen-minnestein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Arvid-storsveen-minnestein.jpg)
Arvid Kristian Storsveen (9 July 1915 – 27 April 1943) was a Norwegian Military Officer and organizer of the secret agency
XU, the main intelligence gathering organisation within occupied
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
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 ...
.
Biography
Arvid Kristian Storsveen was born in
Aker, Norway
Aker was a former independent municipality in Akershus, Norway, that constitutes the vast majority of the territory of the modern city of Oslo.
The name originally belonged to a farm which was located near the current Old Aker Church. The church ...
. Storsveen studied engineering at the
Norwegian Institute of Technology
The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...
in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
. After graduation in 1939, he was employed at the Norwegian Water Resources and Electricity in
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 ...
, Norway.
Lt. Storsveen took part in the
Norwegian Campaign against the Nazi German invasion forces in the spring of 1940. Following the Norwegian surrender, he soon saw the value of an intelligence-gathering organisation for the Allies. This organisation, called '
XU', was started as early as July 1940 and became a reliable source of information for the
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Comm ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Many of the members were obtained from science students at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
. After two years of dangerous work, Storsveen was forced to escape to
neutral Sweden in July 1942, successfully evading the German units who were tracking him down.
He returned to Oslo in the spring of 1943, but due to an accident he was found and killed by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
on 27 April. Storsveen carried false documentation on his person; even after his death, the Gestapo never realised the true identity of the man they had killed and so his organisation was able to recover from the incident.
Øistein Strømnæs assumed the leadership of XU when Storsveen was killed. 1st Lt. Storsveen was posthumously awarded Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, 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 leadersh ...
. He was buried at
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 ...
in Oslo .
Legacy
Arvid Storsveens plass is a small park with playground at
Blindern
Blindern is the main campus of the University of Oslo, located in Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway.
Campus
Most of the departments of the University of Oslo are located at Blindern; other, smaller campuses include Sentrum (law), Gaustad (medicine), ...
in the district Nordre Aker in Oslo. A memorial to Storsveen has been unveiled at the site.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Norwegian resistance movement
The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms:
*Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...
*
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 ...
References
Further reading
* Sæter, E. & Sæter, S. (2007) ''XU: I hemmeleg teneste 1940-45'' (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget)
* Ryeng, N., Føre, O.C.& Ravn, O. (2009) ''Hemmelig krig i nord. Historien om XU i Nord-Norge'' (Oslo: Orion Forlag)
1915 births
1943 deaths
People from Akershus
Norwegian Army personnel of World War II
Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II
Norwegian resistance members
XU
Deaths by firearm in Norway
Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway)
Burials at Vestre gravlund
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