Osmund Lindgaard Brønnum (23 March 1907 – 3 March 1944) was a Norwegian sports official and

communist 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 ...

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

member. He was born in Sandar outside of Sandefjord as a son of Nils Olsen and Hilda Larsen; both from Sandar. After his father's death in 1908, his mother Hilda lost the small farm and moved with the kids to

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 ...

, then named Kristiania, in order to find work. From 1929 to 1932 he was enrolled at the KUNMZ University in Moscow, Russia. On his return he was elected leader of the NKU, The Young Communist League, the youth wing of the NKP, the Communist Party of Norway. In 1937 he married Dagny, a woman from Drammen. He was employed as a functionary for the municipal sports fields of

. He was active in the trade union ''Friområdenes Fagforening'', a member body of the

Union of Municipal Employees The Union of Municipal Employees (german: Gewerkschaft der Gemeindebediensteten, GdG) was a trade union representing local authority workers in Austria. The union was founded in 1945 by the Austrian Trade Union Federation. By 1998, it had 174,423 ...

. As a boxer, he represented the sports club Vika IF, and was a part of the leadership in the Workers' Confederation of Sports. In 1939 he supported the merger between the workers' and bourgeois sports organizations, in order to create a unity front against

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Brønnum participated in the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

in various ways. He worked in the illegal press, and also joined the military organization

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

, founding its

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

branch of District 13. He was also a central committee member of the

Communist Party of Norway 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 t ...

, which was banned from August 1940. He was arrested by the Nazis for the first time on 3 October 1940, and was incarcerated in Møllergata 19 until 4 December 1940. In April 1943 he had to flee the country for

neutral Sweden Swedish neutrality refers to Sweden's former policy of neutrality in armed conflicts, which was in effect from the early 19th century to 2009, when Sweden entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic ...

, but this was discovered by a denouncer, and Brønnum was held up at Skotterud, not far from the Swedish border. Before his second arrest, he briefly held the title as military leader of the Communist Party resistance. Arrested on 8 April 1943, he was held in Møllergata 19 to 4 May 1943, then in

Grini detention 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 Söderm ...

to 2 March 1944. He was then transferred to

Trandum Trandum leir is a former army camp Ullensaker, Norway. The camp was shut down when the civilian airport at Gardermoen was built since most of the buildings were located directly underneath the flightpath for planes landing there. The woods near T ...

. He had been sentenced to death in November 1943, by a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

(a ''SS- und Polizeigericht'') led by Hans Paul Latza. He was executed at

Trandumskogen Trandumskogen is a forest located in Ullensaker, Akershus county, Norway. It was the site of one of the first discoveries in May 1945 of Nazi Germany, German mass graves in Norway. The German executioner Oskar Hans was the officer in command of t ...

on 3 March 1944 together with six other men, including biologist

Iacob Dybwad Sømme Iacob Dybwad Sømme (5 September 1898 – 3 March 1944) was a Norwegian ichthyologist and resistance member. Personal life He was born in Etnedal as a son of chief physician Jacob Dybwad Sømme (1866–1923) and Helene Sofie Sørensen (1870–1 ...

. Brønnum is buried at

Nordre gravlund Nordre Gravlund is a cemetery located between Ullevål University Hospital and the district of Sagene in Oslo, Norway. History The cemetery was first established on the site in 1884. The cemetery has been expanding several times and now has an ...

, at the memorial to the 20 members of the Communist Central Committee who were killed by the Nazis during the occupation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broennum, Osmund 1907 births 1944 deaths People from Sandefjord Politicians from Oslo Norwegian sports executives and administrators Communist Party of Norway politicians Norwegian resistance members Norwegian civilians killed in World War II Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad Deaths by firearm in Norway Grini concentration camp prisoners Burials at Nordre gravlund Norwegian people executed by Nazi Germany