Odd Nansen (6 December 1901 – 27 June 1973) 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 ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, writer, and humanitarian. He is credited with being a co-founder of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

and for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s in the early years 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 ...

Biography

Odd Nansen was born in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

, Norway. He was the second youngest of five children born to scientist and explorer

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

. He was raised at

Lysaker Lysaker is an area in Bærum Municipality, Viken County, Norway. Lysaker is the easternmost part of Bærum and borders Oslo proper. Lysaker was initially a farming community, later becoming a residential area. Today it is primarily known as a bu ...

outside of Oslo. After his mother,

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 ...

, died in 1907, he was raised in the home of his neighbor,

Anton Klaveness Anton Fredrik Klaveness (29 April 1874 – 5 November 1958) was a Norwegian ship-owner. Personal life He was born in Sandar as a son of ship-owner Anton Fredrik Klaveness (1839–1904) and Birthe Marie Andersen (1845–1932). He was a nephew of ...

. In 1920 he began studying architecture at the

Norwegian Institute of Technology The Norwegian Institute of Technology (Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was m ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. From 1927-30, he worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. During 1930, he returned to Oslo and apprenticed with

Arnstein Arneberg Arnstein Rynning Arneberg (6 July 1882 – 9 June 1961) was a Norwegian architect. He was active professionally for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. Personal life Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was b ...

. In 1931 Nansen started his own architectural practice in Oslo. He also formed the humanitarian organization

Nansenhjelpen Nansenhjelpen (formally called Nansen Hjelp, variously called the Nansen Relief in English and Nansenhilfe in German) was a Norwegian humanitarian organization founded by Odd Nansen in 1936 to provide safe haven and assistance in Norway for Jewish ...

in 1936 to provide relief for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in central Europe. The

Jewish Children's Home in Oslo The Jewish Children's Home in Oslo was established in 1939 under the auspices of Nansenhjelpen, the Nansen Aid, a humanitarian organization established in 1936 by Odd Nansen, the son of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen. It was intended as ...

(''jødiske barnehjemmet i Oslo'') was established during 1939 under the auspices of Nansenhjelpen. Nansen focused his efforts on the situation in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Together with his wife Kari Nansen and journalist Tove Filseth, wife of publisher

Max Tau Max Tau was a German-Norwegian writer, editor, and publisher. Life Tau grew up in an environment characterized by what he later termed the "Jewish-German" symbiosis, in a Jewish household heavily influenced by the Jewish enlightenment. He stu ...

, he established a field office in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and traveled extensively in Europe in 1939 to get attention and help for refugees facing imminent destruction. After returning to Norway, he joined the nascent Norwegian resistance and was himself arrested and detained by 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 ...

, and ultimately deported to the concentration camp at

Sachsenhausen 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 ...

. He was also a forced laborer at the

Veidal Prison Camp The Veidal Prison Camp ( no, Veidal fangeleir, german: Gefangenenlager Veidal Kvænangen) was established in Kvænangen in August 1942 by the German occupation authorities. The prison camp was a subunit of the Grini Prison Camp and, together with t ...

. Nansen maintained a diary during his imprisonment that he hid and preserved. These diaries were published after the war and provide an in-depth, first hand account of life and death in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

. He survived captivity in the camps and returned to Norway where he resumed his architectural career, while also initiating several humanitarian efforts. He was the president of One World from 1947 to 1956 and is considered a co-founder of UNICEF. For his humanitarian efforts, Odd Nansen received many Norwegian and international decorations and honors. He was appointed commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1970. He was decorated with the Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

, and received the

Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

. Among Nansen's architectural works are the main terminal building at the (now decommissioned)

Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...

Airport from 1963. He also led restoration work for his childhood home at

Polhøgda Polhøgda is the home of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. It was originally built as the private home of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. The manor home’s architecture is Roman Revival, and the former estate lies between Lysaker and Fornebu in ...

. Nansen was married to Karen "Kari" Hirsch (1903–1985). They were the parents of architect and humanitarian,

Eigil Nansen Eigil Nansen (18 June 1931 – 27 February 2017) was the son of architect and humanist Odd Nansen and the grandson of explorer and humanist Fridtjof Nansen. In 1991, he won The Lisl and Leo Eitinger Prize for his work with refugees and human rights ...

and jurist Marit Greve, wife of diplomat

Tim Greve Tim Greve (20 February 1928 – 27 April 1986) was a Norwegian historian, biographer, civil servant, diplomat and newspaper editor. Personal life Greve was born in Bergen as the son of consul Arent Wittendorph Greve (1892–1950) and Anna Gad ...

References

Bibliography

* * the English translation of ''Fra dag til dag'' * * - book about

Thomas Buergenthal Thomas Buergenthal (born 11 May 1934, in Ľubochňa, Czechoslovakia, today Slovakia) is a renowned international lawyer, scholar, law school dean, and former judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He resigned his ICJ post as of 6 Se ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nansen, Odd 1901 births 1973 deaths People from Bærum Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni Norwegian diarists 20th-century Norwegian writers 20th-century Norwegian architects Norwegian resistance members Norwegian World War II memoirists Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors The Holocaust in Norway UNICEF people Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Norwegian officials of the United Nations 20th-century diarists

Biography

References

Bibliography

Related reading

External links