Karl Holter (June 30, 1885 – June 7, 1963) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

actor, writer, and Waffen--SS soldier. Holter was born in

Kristiania 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 ...

(now Oslo),

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 the ...

. He debuted in 1912 at the Central Theater and after that was mainly engaged with the Norwegian Theater until 1935. He was also a journalist for the newspaper ''

Stavanger Aftenblad ''Stavanger Aftenblad'' () (lit: ''Stavanger Evening Paper'') or simply ''Aftenbladet'' is a daily newspaper based in Stavanger, Norway, and owned by Schibsted Media Group. Norwegian owners held 42 percent of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'' from 1917 to 1920.

Literary activity

In 1936, at age 51, Holter won the Norwegian part of an international novel competition with the story ''Skinnbrevet'' (The Parchment Letter). This was also his debut as a writer. In 1941, Holter became a member of

Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian 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 and a group of supporters such ...

. The same year, he directed Henrik Ibsen's '' Ghosts'' for

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

's Radio Theater. In 1942 he volunteered for active front duty. After a short period of officer training, at age 57 Holter was sent to the Leningrad Front from October 1942 to March 1943 as a war correspondent. Holter was considered a prominent author in Nasjonal Samling circles, and he became one of

Gyldendal Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag A/S, usually referred to simply as Gyldendal () is a Danish publishing house. Founded in 1770 by Søren Gyldendal, it is the oldest and largest publishing house in Denmark, offering a wide selection of ...

's most published authors while the publisher was led by

Tore Hamsun Tore Hamsun (6 March 1912 – 10 January 1995) was a Norwegian painter, writer, and publisher born in Hamarøy. He was the son of the Nobel Prize winning novelist Knut Hamsun and actress Marie Hamsun. At the age of five, his family moved f ...

. After the war, Holter was convicted of treason and sentenced to three years and three months of forced labor and limited loss of rights. After serving his sentence, Holter did not return as an actor, but he continued to write and published five books. Among these was ''Frontkjempere'' (Front-Line Soldiers, 1951), a description of experiences at the Leningrad Front.

Bibliography

* 1936: ''Skinnbrevet'' * 1940: ''Kleivdøler'' * 1944: ''I veideskog: Jaktminner'' * 1948: ''Bliss'' * 1951: ''Frontkjempere'' * 1953: ''Terkel'' * 1956: ''Gode makter''

Filmography

* 1926: '' Baldevins bryllup'' as a butcher * 1939: ''

Mot nya tider ''Mot nya tider'' (Toward New Times) is a Swedish film from 1939 directed by Sigurd Wallén. It portrays the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. The film was shot from February to May 1939 at Sandrew Studios ( sv, Sandrewateljé ...

'' as Henrik Thygesen * 1939: ''

Valfångare ''Whalers'' (Swedish: ''Valfångare'') is a 1939 Swedish drama film directed by Anders Henrikson and Tancred Ibsen and starring Allan Bohlin, Tutta Rolf, and Hauk Aabel. It was Rolf's final film. The film's sets were designed by the art direct ...

'' as the captain of ''Kosmos II'' * 1940: '' Bastard'' as Iwan, a farmer * 1941: '' Gullfjellet'' as Hans Benningstad * 1942: ''

Trysil-Knut ''Trysil-Knut'' is a Norwegian film from 1942. Rasmus Breistein directed this skiing melodrama during the German occupation of Norway. It tells the story of the legendary skier Knut from Trysil, an ardent patriot at the beginning of the 1800s w ...

'' as Ole Kynsberg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holter, Karl 1885 births 1963 deaths Norwegian novelists Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian male silent film actors 20th-century Norwegian male actors Norwegian military personnel of World War II Members of Nasjonal Samling Male actors from Oslo