Olaf Bjerke (6 January 1893 – 21 September 1957) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany he was arrested on 10 September 1941 after the milk strike. He was imprisoned at Møllergata 19, then in Grini concentration camp, then in Sachsenhausen concentration camp until the end of World War II. The communist inmates formed a

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

in the camp, and Bjerke was among the leading members along with Kristian Mugaas, Johan Strand Johansen, Olaf Skramstad,

Halvor Sørum Halvor Enok Sørum (5 April 1897 – 1965) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Communist Party. He was a painter by profession. He joined Norges Socialdemokratiske Ungdomsforbund (NSU) in 1914, the Norwegian Labour Party in 1915 ...

and

Erling Heiestad Erling is a Scandinavian male name, meaning "Heir of clanchief", i.e. prince or similar. Notable people named Erling include: Given name *Erling Aas-Eng (born 1965), Norwegian politician * Erling Aastad (1898–1963), Norwegian long jumper and spr ...

. A railway worker, Bjerke was involved in the trade union

Norwegian Union of Railway Workers The Norwegian Union of Railway Workers ( no, Norsk Jernbaneforbund, NJF) is a trade union in Norway. It was formed on 20 November 1892, and mainly organizes workers in Norges Statsbaner—with the exception of locomotive drivers— and th ...

. As former chairman

Ludvik Buland Ludvik Buland (6 May 1893 – 5 February 1945) was a Norwegian trade unionist. He chaired the Norwegian Union of Railway Workers, but was imprisoned and died during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. Early life and career Ludvik Buland ...

died in a concentration camp in 1945, Bjerke came close to being elected chairman at the national convention later that year, but lost the vote to the Social Democrat Marius Trana. The electoral committee had been unified in its support of Bjerke, but reportedly Haakon Lie and

Trygve Bratteli (11 January 1910 – 20 November 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician with the Norwegian Labour Party. He served as the 26th prime minister of Norway from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1973 to 1976. He was president of the No ...

swayed the result in Trana's favor. He did become elected to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions secretariat, as the only communist. He also entered the Communist Party leadership stratum.Pryser, 1988: p. 569 Bjerke served as a deputy representative to the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

from

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 ...

during the term 1954–1957. He died in September 1957.

References

1893 births 1957 deaths Trade unionists from Oslo Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Politicians from Oslo Communist Party of Norway politicians Deputy members of the Storting {{Norway-politician-1890s-stub