Kristian Welhaven (11 October 1883 – 27 July 1975) was a Norwegian police officer. He was chief of police of
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 ...
for 27 years, from 1927 to 1954.
He was a leading force in establishing an organized Norwegian intelligence service before World War II, and in re-establishing it after the war. During the war years Welhaven was arrested by the Germans and imprisoned in both Norway and Germany, before spending the remainder of the war as a civilian internee in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
.
Personal life
Welhaven 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 ...
as the son of parish priest Johan Andreas Welhaven (1825–1893) and his wife Gerda Kathinka Elisabeth Hansen (1857–1948). He married Margit Aagaard on 12 October 1917 in Kristiania. He was a nephew of poet
Johan Sebastian Welhaven
Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven (22 December 1807 – 21 October 1873) was a Norwegian author, poet, critic, and art theorist. He has been considered "one of the greatest figures in Norwegian literature."
Background
Johan Welhaven was born ...
, writer
Elisabeth Welhaven
Elisabeth Cathrine "Lise" Welhaven (6 March 1815 – 26 July 1901) was a Norwegian writer.
Personal life
She was born in Bergen as a daughter of the priest Johan Ernst Welhaven (1775–1828) and Else Margrethe Cammermeyer (1785–1853), the daught ...
and culture personality
Maren Sars
Maren Cathrine Sars (née Welhaven; 17 August 1811 – 27 December 1898) was a Norwegian socialite.
Personal life
She was born in Bergen as a daughter of priest Johan Ernst Welhaven (1775–1828) and Else Margrethe Cammermeyer (1785–1853), the ...
(married to
Michael Sars
Michael Sars (30 August 1805 – 22 October 1869) was a Norwegian theologian and biologist.
Biography
Sars was born in Bergen, Norway. He studied natural history and theology at Royal Frederick University from 1823 and completed a cand.theol. de ...
, and mother of
Georg Ossian Sars
Prof Georg Ossian Sars HFRSE (20 April 1837 – 9 April 1927) was a Norwegian marine and freshwater biologist.
Life
Georg Ossian Sars was born on 20 April 1837 in Kinn, Norway (now part of Flora), the son of Pastor Michael Sars and Maren Sa ...
,
Ernst Sars
Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...
and
Eva Nansen
Eva Helene Nansen (née Sars; 17 December 1858 – 9 December 1907) was a celebrated Norwegian mezzo-soprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing.
Personal life
Born in Christiania (now Oslo), she was a daughter of priest and profes ...
). In addition to these three he was a first cousin of
Hjalmar Welhaven
Hjalmar Welhaven (26 December 1850 – 18 April 1922) was a Norwegian architect, palace manager, and sportsman.
Biography
Personal life
Welhaven was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of writer Johan Sebastian Welhaven ...
. He died in Oslo in 1975.
Pre-war career
Welhaven
finished
Finished may refer to:
* ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard
* ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film
* "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp
See also
*Finishing (disa ...
his secondary education at the
Kristiania Cathedral School in 1901. He studied at 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- ...
( no, Krigsskolen) from 1901 to 1902, and then law at the
Royal Frederick University
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 ...
, graduating with the
cand.jur.
Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries.
...
degree in 1907. He worked in
Tana Tana may refer to:
Places
Africa
* Lake Tana, a lake in Ethiopia (and a source of the Nile River)
* Tana Qirqos, an island in the eastern part of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, near the mouth of the Gumara River
* Tana River County, a county of Coast Pro ...
,
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
and Kristiania until he was appointed Chief of Police in
Rjukan
Rjukan () is a town and the administrative centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Lake Tinn, and got its name after Rjukan Falls west of the town. The Tinn municipality council grant ...
in 1916. He became Chief of Police of Oslo in 1927, and held this position until 1954, except for the war years.
[
He was chairman of ''Statens Idrettsråd'' from 1936 to 1940.][
One of Welhaven's keen interests was surveillance and intelligence gathering, and he was central in establishing the Oslo police force's surveillance department before the war.] Amongst the people that Welhaven wanted to keep under surveillance was the Norwegian communist Viggo Hansteen
Harald Viggo Hansteen (13 September 1900 – 10 September 1941) was a Norwegian lawyer. He was executed during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany.
Biography
Harald Viggo Hansteen was born in Oslo, Norway. As a student he was a part o ...
. Another group deemed as worthy of surveillance was the Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, Welhaven responding to a pre-war request from the Gypsy registry in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
that as soon as a national registry had been established in Norway it would be sent to Vienna.
World War II
Early phase
At the outbreak of 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 ...
Welhaven was made head of a commission set up to plan the evacuation of the population of Oslo in case of war. When the German invasion of Norway
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 ...
came on 9 April 1940, attempts were made to evacuate people, but in the chaos of the invasion the organization fell through and at 1300hrs Welhaven called off the evacuation work. At the same time German troops entered Oslo after having captured Fornebu Airport
Oslo Airport, Fornebu ( no, Oslo lufthavn, Fornebu), was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redev ...
in an airborne operation, their seaborne attack having been blunted at the battle of Drøbak Sound
The Battle of Drøbak Sound took place in Drøbak Sound, the northernmost part of the outer Oslofjord in southern Norway, on 9 April 1940. It marked the end of the "Phoney War" and the beginning of World War II in Western Europe.
A German flee ...
early that morning. Welhaven had been contacted by Minister of Justice and the Police
In Norway, the Minister of Justice and Public Security is the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police and a member of Government of Norway. The current Justice Minister is Emilie ...
Terje Wold
Terje Wold (23 August 1899 – 6 September 1972) was a Norwegian judge and politician for the Labour Party.
Terje Wold was born in Evenes. He graduated as cand.jur. in 1921. He worked as a jurist, becoming a Supreme Court Justice of Norway in ...
in the early hours of 9 April and had been authorized to use all municipal powers to prepare Oslo for war, especially in case of bombing. Welhaven was given responsibility for aiding the civilian population in case of bombing, and was tasked with taking over civilian power in the capital in case the government had to evacuate Oslo. Wold had also told Welhaven to arrest Norwegian Fascist leader Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (, ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally headed the government of Norway during the country's occupation by Nazi Germ ...
if the opportunity presented itself. At around noon on 9 April, Wold ordered Welhaven to surrender the city to the Germans. After the German occupation of Oslo Welhaven was asked by the German envoy Curt Bräuer
Curt Bräuer (24 February 1889 – 8 September 1969) was a German career diplomat.
Born in Breslau, in what is modern-day Poland, Bräuer entered service in the German foreign ministry in 1920. From 1928 to 1930 he was a member of the German Dem ...
to telephone the Norwegian government and try to organize a meeting between Bräuer and King Haakon VII
Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...
personally to negotiate for peace. Bräuer got his meeting with the king, but it led nowhere and the fighting continued. Welhaven also facilitated contact between the local authorities in Oslo and Bräuer, and provided a police escort and support for bishop Eivind Berggrav
Eivind Josef Berggrav (25 October 1884 – 14 January 1959) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop. As primate of the Church of Norway (Norwegian: ''Preses i Bispemøtet i Den norske kirke''), Berggrav became known for his unyielding resistance ag ...
during his later infamous journey to Krokskogen
Krokskogen is a forested area which located outside of Oslo, Norway. It is a part of Oslomarka and is situated between Bærumsmarka, Vestmarka and Nordmarka.
The wooded and hilly area of around 300 square kilometres is bordered by Oslo and by t ...
outside Oslo to encourage irregular Norwegian forces to lay down their arms. Welhaven, together with Director of Public Prosecutions Haakon Sund
Haakon Ragnvald Olsen Sund (5 April 1873 – 31 December 1965) was a Norwegian judge and prosecutor.
He took the cand.jur. degree in 1895, and became police chief in Bodø in 1904. In 1913 he was promoted to Public Prosecutor ( no, statsadvokat) ...
and Mayor of Oslo Trygve Nilsen
Trygve Nilsen (26 August 1893 – 5 October 1973) was a Norwegian civil servant and Mayor of Oslo with the Labour Party.
Biography
He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of Nils Nilsen (1856-1941) and Eli Johannessen (1858-1 ...
, also signed radio broadcast announcements on 12 April which quoted the Hague Conventions on the laws of war. The same announcements warned that francs-tireurs
(, French for "free shooters") were irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). The term was revived and used by partisans to name two major French Resistance movements se ...
taking part in irregular fighting would be punishable by death in a court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
. The concern of Welhaven and the other dignitaries was that Norwegians would not know the regulations of the Hague Conventions nor understand the concept of being francs-tireurs, and be then court martialled by the Germans Among Welhaven's other actions following the German invasion was to order the Norwegian surveillance archives destroyed by burning.
Under German occupation
During the occupation, Welhaven refused to cooperate with the German occupiers and the Norwegian Nazi collaborators.[ Welhaven, together with Supreme Court Justice ]Paal Berg
Paal Olav Berg (18 January 1873 – 24 May 1968), born in Hammerfest, was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. He was Minister of Social Affairs 1919–1920, and Minister of Justice 1924–1926. He was the 12th Chief Justice of the ...
, Oslo mayor Trygve Nilsen and Commissioner of finance Hartmann approached the German authorities to have Quisling's government removed. This led to the establishment of the Administrative Council
Administrative Council () was a part of Council of State of the Congress Poland. Introduced by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland in 1815, it was composed of 5 ministers, special nominees of the King and the Namestnik of the Kingdom of Polan ...
on 15 April and the temporary removal of Quisling's government. Welhaven was removed from his position by the Germans 23 September 1940, and replaced with the Nazi-loyal Bernhard Askvig. He was arrested by the Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
12 September 1941 and incarcerated at the 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 19 January 1943. He was transferred to Germany where he was kept in custody from 1943 to 1945, first in 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 ...
prison in Prinz-Albrecht-Straße in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, and later interned
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
in Landsberg am Lech
Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech.
Overview
Landsberg is situated o ...
, Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
with his wife Margit and daughter Gerda. Didrik Arup Seip
Didrik Arup Seip (31 August 1884 – 3 May 1963) was a professor of North Germanic languages at the University of Oslo.
He earned his doctorate ( dr.philos.) in 1916 and was appointed professor the same year, retiring in 1954. Together with Herman ...
and his wife, who was in a similar situation, visited the Welhaven family in Landsberg in 1943. In March 1945 the family was brought to Gross Kreutz
Gross may refer to:
Finance
*Gross Cash Registers, a defunct UK company with a high profile in the 1970s
*Gross (economics), is the total income before deducting expenses
Science and measurement
*Gross (unit), a counting unit equal to 144 i ...
outside Berlin by Johan Bernhard Hjort
Johan Bernhard Hjort (25 February 1895 – 24 February 1969) was a Norwegian supreme court lawyer. Having joined the law firm of Harald Nørregaard in 1932, he continued the firm after World War II as Advokatfirmaet Hjort, which today is one ...
, whose family had also been interned in Germany during the war years, and in April they were brought to Sweden as part of the White Buses
White Buses was a Swedish humanitarian operation with the objective of freeing Scandinavians in German concentration camps in Nazi Germany during the final stages of World War II. Although the White Buses operation was envisioned to rescue Scan ...
operation.
["}
]
Post-war career
After 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 ...
Welhaven worked with rebuilding the police force of Oslo, being its leader until his retirement in 1954.[Andersen 1992: 240] Welhaven used his influence to ensure that the post-war purge of the Norwegian police force was as gentle as possible.
In addition to ordinary police work he was instrumental in the establishment of a national surveillance organization. In the early post-war days surveillance operations were carried out by individuals outside of government control, and by Western intelligence services.[ The national organization that Welhaven built together with chief of surveillance ]Asbjørn Bryhn
Asbjørn Johan Bryhn (24 August 1906 – 21 January 1990) was a Norwegian police officer, known for his resistance work during World War II, and later head of the Norwegian Police Surveillance Agency.
Personal life
Bryhn was born in Drammen as th ...
was based around the Oslo police service and led by Welhaven himself.[Andersen 1992: 239-240]
He was decorated as a Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
in 1947, and also of the Danish Order of 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 ...
and the Swedish Order of Vasa
The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...
and 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 ...
.[
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welhaven, Kristian
1883 births
1975 deaths
Police officers from Oslo
Norwegian Military Academy alumni
Norwegian police chiefs
Norwegian people of World War II
Grini concentration camp survivors
Norwegian people imprisoned abroad
World War II civilian prisoners
University of Oslo alumni
Order of the Polar Star
Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog
Commanders of the Order of Vasa