Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as a war correspondent and was killed while on a bombing mission to

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 constitu ...

Background

Nordahl Grieg was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

, Norway. He was the son of Peter Lexau Grieg (1864–1924) and Helga Vollan (1869–1946). He was the brother of Norwegian publisher

Harald Grieg Harald Grieg (3 August 1894 – 6 October 1972) was a Norwegian publisher. He was director of Gyldendal Norsk Forlag and for many years was a leading figure in the Norwegian book industry. Biography Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the ...

(1894–1972) and was distantly related to composer

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

. In 1940, he married actress Gerd Egede-Nissen (1895–1988). He studied at the Royal Frederick University (now 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 ...

) and spent time travelling abroad, sometimes as a tourist and sometimes as a sailor. Receiving the 1924

Norway Scholarship The Norway Scholarship is a scholarship to the University of Oxford that is awarded in Norway. Norway Scholars receive funding for one or two years of study and research at Oxford University, and the scholar always becomes a member of Wadham C ...

, Grieg spent a year at

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, studying history and literature. At least one of Grieg's poems, "Kapellet i Wadham College" was inspired by his stay there, where he was a contemporary of

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...

Career

Poet, playwright and journalist

Grieg debuted in 1922 with his first book of poetry ''Omkring Kap det gode Haab'', based on his seagoing experiences – as was ''Skibet gaar videre'' (1924). The latter book aroused controversy for its exposure of sailors' harsh living and working conditions. Grieg spent 1927 as a newspaper correspondent in China, where he witnessed firsthand the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

between the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

and the

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. The same year Grieg's plays ''En ung manns Kjaerlighet'' and ''Barabbas'' were produced. The latter was a modern revolutionary interpretation of

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

character

Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...

. The 1929 poetry collection ''Norge i våre hjerter'' expressed deep love for his country and his people in their poverty and misery and attracted critical acclaim. His 1935 play ''Vår ære og vår makt'' depicted the lives of Norwegian sailors during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in which Norway remained neutral and traded with both sides. The work was an attack on the shipping industry's exploitation of seafarers. From 1936 to 1937, Grieg published the magazine ''Veien Frem'', which initially succeeded in attracting prominent writers, but as the magazine adopted an increasingly Stalinist position relating to the Moscow Trials, most of them severed ties with it and it ceased publication. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-17036-0005, Spanischer Bürgerkrieg, Nordahl Grieg, Ludwig Renn

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-17036-0005, Spanischer Bürgerkrieg, Nordahl Grieg, Ludwig Renn

His 1937 dramatic play ''Nederlaget'' was about the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

. The

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

was the subject of ''Spansk sommer'' (1937) and partly also of ''Ung må verden ennu være'', whose plot shifts between Spain and the Soviet Union. The war also inspired the 1936 poem ''

Til ungdommen ''Til ungdommen'' (English: "To the Youth"), also known by the words of the first line ''Kringsatt av fiender'' ("Surrounded by Enemies"), is a poem from 1936 by Norwegian poet and writer Nordahl Grieg (1902–1943) . It was set to music in 1952 b ...

'', one of his most well-known works, which was set to music in 1952 by Danish composer

Otto Mortensen Otto Hübertz Mortensen (18 August 1907 – 30 August 1986) was a Danish composer and conductor. He also played the organ and piano. For a number of years he worked at the Royal Danish Theatre as a rehearser for the opera, and later worked at ...

and was performed on numerous occasions (see

Communism

Compassion for the poor and exploited led Grieg to join the

Norwegian Communist Party The Communist Party of Norway ( no, Norges Kommunistiske Parti, NKP) is a communist party in Norway. The NKP was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. It was Stalinist from its establishment and, as such, supported the ...

. From 1933 to 1935, he lived in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, where he was officially invited to study the techniques of Soviet stage and film. On returning to Norway, he became an ardent supporter of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

's policies, and became the chairman of the Friends of the Soviet Union (1935–1940). In 1937, he famously wrote a defence of the

Moscow Trials The Moscow trials were a series of show trials held by the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938 at the instigation of Joseph Stalin. They were nominally directed against " Trotskyists" and members of " Right Opposition" of the Communist Party o ...

, attacking Norwegian authors who had criticized them. His novel ''Ung må verden ennu være'' was also a defence of Stalin and the Moscow Trials. In many articles, he criticized the supporters of

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

, who lived in Norway from 1937 to 1939.

World War II

Portrett av Gerd (1895-1988)og Nordahl Grieg (1902-1943)

The outbreak of

, and especially the German invasion and occupation of Norway, led Grieg to oppose Stalin's policies. In 1939, the Soviet Union signed the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

with Nazi Germany and, until the 1941 Nazi invasion, instructed Communists worldwide to regard the ongoing war as an "Imperialist" war in which they should not take part. Grieg was a staunch anti-Nazi and Norwegian patriot and committed himself in 1940 to the struggle against the Nazi occupation. In the winter of 1939–40, Grieg served in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbour ...

on neutrality guard during the Russo-Finnish

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. In 1940, after serving during the Norwegian Campaign against German forces, he escaped to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

aboard the same vessel that carried the Norwegian Royal family and the National Gold reserves.

War correspondent

Once in Britain, Grieg served the

Norwegian government in exile __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile, Norwegian: ''Norsk eksilregjering'') was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority Gove ...

, and participated in making patriotic radio programs. He was commissioned 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 ...

and served as a war correspondent. His work involved visiting and reporting on Norwegian units around Britain. He met Norwegian servicemen on duty in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

and other remote outposts. In the summer of 1942 Grieg spent several weeks on the Norwegian island of

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger ...

in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

during which time he wrote the poem ''Øya i Ishavet''. As with other war correspondents, he joined operational missions over occupied Europe. In the course of one of these he lost his life, carrying the rank of captain.

Final mission

On the night of 2–3 December 1943, Grieg was one of several observers for an Allied air raid on

. He was attached to 460 Squadron,

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF), which was based at

RAF Binbrook Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook was a Royal Air Force station, now closed, located near Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. The old domestic site (married quarters) has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was pri ...

. Grieg joined the crew of a Lancaster Mk.III (serial number ''LM316'', squadron code "AR-H2") captained by Flying Officer A. R. Mitchell, RAAF. Berlin was well-defended. It lay in the east of the country, requiring crews to test the limits of their fuel supply and of their own endurance. The long journey took them over the ranges of many

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

s. 460 Squadron lost five aircraft that night, including ''LM316.'' 37 airmen had been on board these aircraft, but only eight survived, none of them from ''LM316''. The survivors spent the rest of the war in a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

. In addition to Grieg, the seven crew members (four Australians and three Britons) were killed in the crash. Grieg was neither the only correspondent shot down that night, nor the only Norwegian. Grieg's burial place went unrecorded after the crash. In the early 2000s, the grave was believed to be located under a highway between Potsdam and Berlin. A new theory emerged in 2013, when journalist Asbjørn Svarstad stated that he believed that Grieg had been first buried in Berlin in 1944, and then exhumed and reburied at the Berlin Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at

Heerstraße ''Heerstraße'' is the German word for military road, a type or road that was built to enable the rapid movement of armies. Specific roads built for this purpose include the: * Aachen-Frankfurter Heerstraße * Bernauer Heerstraße * Lüneburger ...

in 1949. In response to the new information, the leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party,

Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian parliament in 2001. In 2006, he b ...

, declared that Grieg should be exhumed and reburied in Bergen, Norway. Nordahl Grieg Memorial in Kleinmachnow Plaque

Legacy

Grieg became a hero in Norway because of his resistance to the Nazi Occupation. Grieg is still popular in Norway, especially for his anti-fascist poetry. The pre-war controversies in which he was involved were overshadowed by his war record. Grieg was a friend of English novelist

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

, who wrote about various aspects of Grieg's life and wartime career in his 1980 biographical work '' Ways of Escape''. The two met when Grieg turned up unannounced at Greene's cottage at

Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

in 1931. In 1945, a collection of his war poems, ''Friheten'', was published and remained a best-selling Norwegian poetry collection. In 1957, a statue of Grieg by Roar Bjorg (1912–1984) was unveiled at

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

in Bergen. In 1990, the musical ''Nordahl Grieg i våre hjerter'' written by Erling Gjelsvik with music by Knut Skodvin, debuted in Bergen. In 2003, a memorial stone was unveiled at the site () where Nordahl Grieg died in

Kleinmachnow Kleinmachnow is a municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated South-West of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and East of Potsdam. First mentioned in the Landbuch of Kar ...

. In 2010, Nordahl Grieg videregående skole in Rådal was opened in the Rådal neighborhood of Bergen.''Med Nordahl Grieg i Berlin'' (Hordaland fylkeskommune)
/ref>

Selected works

* ''Rundt Kap det gode Håp'', 1922 – Around the Cape of Good Hope * ''Skibet gaar videre'', 1924 – The Ship Sails On * ''Stene i strømmen'', 1925 – Stone in the stream * ''Kinesiske dage'', 1927 – Chinese Day * ''En ung manns Kjærlighet'', 1927 – A Young Man's Love * ''Barabbas'', 1927 * ''Norge i våre hjerter'', 1929 – Norway in our hearts * ''Atlanterhavet'', 1932 – The Atlantic * ''De unge døde'', 1932 – The youth died * ''Vår ære og vår makt'', 1935 – Our Honor and Our Glory * ''Men imorgen'', 1936 – But Tomorrow * ''Nederlaget'', 1937 – The Defeat * ''Til Ungdommen'' (Kringsatt av Fiender), 1936 – For the Youth * ''Spansk sommer'', 1938 – Spanish Summer * ''Ung må verden ennu være'', 1938 – Young Must the World Still Be * ''Øya i Ishavet'', 1942 – The Island in the Ice Sea * ''Friheten'', 1945 – Freedom * ''Flagget'', 1945 – The Flag * ''Håbet'', 1946 – Hope

References

Other sources

* Andreassen, Jostein (1992) ''Nordahl Grieg pa Sørlandet: Et studieheft om forfatterskap og miljø'' (J. Andreassen) * Borgen, Johan (1945) ''Nordahl Grieg'' (Oslo: Gyldendal) * Boyson, Emil (1961) ''Norsk poesi fra Henrik Wergeland til Nordahl Grieg: En antologi'' (Oslo: Gyldendal) * Hoem, Edvard (1989) ''Til ungdommen : Nordahl Griegs liv'' (Oslo: Gyldendal) * Mjoberg, Joran ( 1947) ''Nordahl Grieg; Fosterlandsvannen och Revolutionaren'' (C. W. K. Gleerups) * Nag, Martin (1989) ''Ung ma Nordahl Grieg enna være'' (Solum) * Skjeldal, Gudmund (2012) ''Diktaren i bombeflyet : ein biografi om Nordahl Grieg'' (Oslo:Cappelen Damm)

External links

Nordahl Grieg Lodge – Sons of Norway

Nordahl Grieg videregående skole website

Nordahl Grieg Leikarring og Spelemannslag website

Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grieg, Nordahl People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School Norwegian anti-fascists Marxist journalists Norwegian communists Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian military personnel killed in World War II Norwegian people of the Spanish Civil War 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Writers from Bergen Communist poets Journalists killed while covering World War II 1902 births 1943 deaths Norwegian expatriates in the Soviet Union Norwegian war correspondents 20th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights War correspondents of the Spanish Civil War Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford 20th-century Norwegian journalists Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Germany Burials at Berlin 1939–1945 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery