Odd Lindbäck-Larsen (21 April 1897 – 18 August 1975) was a Norwegian military officer and war historian. He participated in the Norwegian Campaign in Northern Norway during the

Second World War 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 ...

as the chief-of-staff, under general

Fleischer Fleischer (or Fleisher) is a common German and Yiddish family name. Its literal meaning is "butcher". Other German family names with the same meaning include Metzger, Mezger, Fleischman, and Fleischmann. People * Amy Fleischer, American mechanica ...

. He spent most of the war in Norwegian and German concentration camps. He continued his military career after the war, eventually with the rank of major general and military attaché in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. He wrote several books on Norwegian military history.

Early and personal life

Lindbäck-Larsen 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 Ludvig Martinius Larsen and Fanny Olivia Lindbäck. He graduated from

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

in 1915, from 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- ...

in 1918, and from the Norwegian Military College in 1921. He was a candidate at the general staff ( no, Generalstaben) from 1922 to 1926, and adjoint from 1929 to 1933. He resided in Finland for the purpose of studies in 1926, and in Germany in 1933. He married telegraph operator Dagny Kaspara Lund on 25 July 1927. His son,

Tore Lindbekk Tore Lindbekk (8 April 1933 – 29 September 2017) was a Norwegian sociologist and politician for the Conservative Party. He was born in Oslo as the son of Odd Lindbäck-Larsen. He graduated as mag.art. in sociology in 1959, was chairman of the N ...

(born 1933), is a sociologist and politician.

Career

Pre-war

Lindbäck-Larsen was a

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

from 1934 to 1936. From 1936 he was the chief-of-staff of the 6th Division in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

Second World War

Norwegian Campaign and aftermath

Lindbäck-Larsen participated in the Norwegian Campaign in Northern Norway during the

as the chief-of-staff and right-hand man of General

Carl Gustav Fleischer Carl Gustav Fleischer KCB (28 December 1883 – 19 December 1942Fleischer 1947, p. 216) was a Norwegian general and the first land commander to win a major victory against the Germans in the Second World War. Having followed the Norwegian gove ...

, the commander of the 6th Division. Following the conclusion of the campaign on 10 June 1940 and the departure to exile in 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 North ...

of General Carl Gustav Fleischer, Lindbäck-Larsen became the military chief-of-staff of Finnmark County Governor Hans Gabrielsen. In this respect Lindbäck-Larsen commanded a Norwegian border guard force of two infantry battalions and an artillery battery. The border forces had been allowed by the Germans in the capitulation agreement to remain stationed in Eastern Finnmark as a safe-guard against 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 national ...

after the Norwegian capitulation. Plans were made by General

Otto Ruge Otto Ruge (9 January 1882 – 15 August 1961) was a Norwegian general. Ruge was Commander-in-chief of the Royal Norwegian Armed Forces after Nazi Germany's assault on Norway in April 1940. Early career Ruge grew up in Kristiania (Oslo) i ...

to use the 1,600–1,700 men strong border guard to rebuild a Norwegian elite army in Finnmark, outside of German control. The border guard was however ordered to be dissolved by the Germans in July 1940.

Imprisonment

Lindbäck-Larsen was arrested by the Germans in November 1940 and incarcerated for the rest of the war, first at

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This is ...

prison, then at

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 ...

, and finally at

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

in Germany. Lindbäck-Larsen was never convicted of anything and was referred to by the Germans as

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Germa ...

Josef Terboven Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Early life Terboven was born in Essen ...

's personal prisoner, the two having clashed before Lindbäck-Larsen's arrest.

Post-war

After the war he continued his military career. From 1946 to 1952 he was in charge of Agder Infantry Regiment. From 1952 he held the rank of Major General and was the commander-in-chief of District Command North Norway. From 1958 to 1962 he was a military attaché in

. He was decorated Commander with Star 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 1958. He was also awarded the St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch and made a Commander of the Swedish

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

and an Officier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He wrote several books, including a book on military psychology (), about the Norwegian Army in 1814 (), and a book on the Norwegian Campaign in 1940 (). He died 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 ...

in August 1975.

Selected works

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindback-Larsen, Odd 1897 births 1975 deaths Writers from Oslo People educated at Oslo Cathedral School Norwegian Military Academy alumni Norwegian expatriates in Finland Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian Army generals Grini concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Norwegian World War II memoirists 20th-century Norwegian historians Norwegian military attachés Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch Commanders of the Order of the Sword