Kåre Trygve Rein (8 April 1911 – 20 March 1995) 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 the ...

trade unionist. He was a trade unionist before the war, a secretary in the Union of Employees in Commerce and Offices. He was also a member of the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party ( nb, Arbeiderpartiet; nn, Arbeidarpartiet; A/Ap; se, Bargiidbellodat), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party ( no, Det norske Arbeiderparti, DNA), is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centr ...

, but together with people like

Håkon Meyer Håkon Meyer (11 March 1896 – 23 October 1989) was a Norwegian politician, trade unionist and businessperson. Meyer was born in Kristiania, the son of Ludvig Meyer and Emma Metz. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was an active and leading Labour P ...

he joined ''Fagopposisjonen av 1940'' in 1940 and the Fascist party

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 a ...

in September 1941. From 1940 Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, and the Nazis controlled the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions ( no, Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions ...

. Following the Milk strike a Nazi-friendly leadership was installed, with

Odd Fossum Odd Fossum (15 December 1905 – 23 July 1958) was a Norwegian shop assistant, and leader of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions from 1941 to 1945, under the Nazi regime during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The oc ...

as leader, Erling Olsen as deputy leader and Kåre Rein as secretary. Many years later, Rein claimed that he was ordered to take over as secretary by an armed German, and that he received threats of being arrested for sabotage if he declined. Rein remained secretary until New Year's in 1943. He was then acting leader until September 1943, when he became the leader of '' Sol i Arbeid''. This was a Norwegian version of '' Schönheit der Arbeit'' (''

Kraft durch Freude NC Gemeinschaft (KdF; ) was a German state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany.Richard Grunberger, ''The 12-Year Reich'', p. 197, It was part of the German Labour Front (german: link=no, Deutsche Arbeitsfront), the national labour org ...

''). In March 1945 he became Nazi-installed leader of the Confederation of Trade Unions, succeeding Odd Fossum. He lost all positions in 1945 at the war's end. During the

legal purge in Norway after World War II The purge in Norway after World War II was a purge that took place between May 1945 and August 1948 against anyone who was deemed to have collaborated with the German occupation of the country. Several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens wer ...

he was convicted of treason and in 1947 sentenced to six years of forced labour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rein, Kaare 1911 births 1995 deaths Labour Party (Norway) politicians Members of Nasjonal Samling Norwegian trade unionists People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway