Trandumskogen is a forest located in

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality i ...

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 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It was the site of one of the first discoveries in May 1945 of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

mass graves in

. The German executioner

Oskar Hans Oscar Hans (born 6 February 1910, date of death unknown) was a German war criminal, leader of a SS-Sonderkommando during the occupation of Norway. He was born in Volmeringen, Lorraine, German Empire. Hans led the execution of more than 300 pers ...

was the officer in command of the unit performing the executions. In total 173

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...

, 6 British and 15

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

citizens were executed in Trandumskogen. Many had been sentenced to death by the German occupation forces, but there was also a great number who were subject to arbitrary executions. After 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 ...

, Norwegian citizens sentenced for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, and leading members of the Norwegian national socialist party '' Nasjonal Samling'' were forced to open the graves and

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

the bodies of the executed prisoners. The medical identification of the corps was led by professor in forensic medicine

Georg Waaler Georg Waaler (21 March 1895 – 27 February 1983) was a Norwegian physician, a professor of forensic medicine, and chairman of the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine. Personal life Waaler was born in Hamar on 21 March 1895 to physician Peder F ...

, assisted by dentist

Ferdinand Strøm Ferdinand Strøm (10 June 1903 – 29 November 1990) was a Norwegian dentist, and a pioneer in developing forensic dentistry in Norway. He was born in Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of ...

. From May 5, 2020, Trandumskogen is protected as a national cultural heritage site.

Memorial

On 10 October 1954, the memorial in Trandumskogen was unveiled.

Crown Prince Olav Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

stood for the ceremony.

Per Palle Storm Per Palle Storm (1 December 1910 – 6 January 1994) was a Danish-born Norwegian sculptor and professor at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts. Biography He was born in Copenhagen and was raised in Argentina. He was the son of Hans Pet ...

, artist and sculptor and professor at the National Art Academy had carried out the artistic part of the work. The memorial is carved of light

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

(''Iddefjordgranitt''). To the south side an inscription is carved in Norwegian. The same text translated into Russian is cut into the east side and in English to the west side. The memorial is located south of the burial ground. The memorial lists the names of those who were executed there. The memorial has status as a Norwegian national memorial. The text on the memorial reads: :IN THE COMBAT FOR FREEDOM
DURING THE 1940-1945 WAR
173 NORWEGIANS 15 SOVJET-
SUBJECTS AND 6 BRITONS WERE
HERE IN THE WOODS OF TRAN-
DUM EXECUTED BY THE ENEMY

The names of those executed at Trandumskogen

Grave 1, 1 March 1943

*Arthur Oskar Berg from Odda *

Bjarne Dalland Bjarne Dalland (27 August 1906 – 1 March 1943) was a Norwegian trade unionist, politician and communist resistance member. Dalland was born in Bergen as the son of Christoffer Dalland from Manger, Norway, Manger and Ingeborg Tvedt from Meland. H ...

from Bergen *Daniel Theodor Danielsen from Voss *Thor Gerotti Espelid from Odda *Ole Kjell Karlsen from Oslo *Leif Arnoldus Kindem from Odda *Ingolf Kleppestø from Odda *Olav Kvernmo from Oslo *

Ottar Lie Ottar Lie (5 March 1896 – 1 March 1943) was a Norwegian communist and resistance member. He was born in Løten, to a father from Vang and a mother from Ås. He was married twice, last to Inga, née Knutsen. He had two children, and lived in O ...

from Oslo *Gustav Adolf Neråsen from Øyer *Lars Nordbø from Oslo *Olaf Prestegaard from Odda * Harald Andreas Gerotti Slåttelid from Odda *Arne Stensrud from Oslo *Reidar Svendsen from Oslo *Sigurd Syvertsen from Krokstadelva *Knut Veka from Odda

Grave 2, 3 September 1943

*Marius Nikolai Karlsen from Skjervøy *Hillfl David Lie from Oslo *Karsten Løvestad from Trøgstad

Grave 3, 30 October 1944

*Nicolai Bachilin from the Soviet Union *Jacob Brunelin from the Soviet Union *Jacob Magnus Frøyland from Farsund *Fedor Getnikow from the Soviet Union *Eyolf Haug from Kongsberg *Odd Trygve Christiansen from Fagernes *Audun Lavik from Lyngdal *Michael Lotikow from the Soviet Union *Vladimir Medownikow from the Soviet Union *Sverre Emil Narvesen from Modum *Thormod Johannes Nygaard from Oslo *Gunnar Onshuus from Sandefjord *Simon Peachawow from the Soviet Union *Rolf Edvin Pettersen from Drammen *Borti Reichelt from Kragerø *Boris Resnick from the Soviet Union *Hugo Rossnes from Oslo *Reidar Steen Olsen from Sandefjord *Olaf Strand from Bergen *Per Rolf Syvertsen *Karl Ludvig Sørensen from Sandefjord *Patike Tschikidse from the Soviet Union

Grave 4, 30 April 1942

*Leif Bye Nielsen from Oslo *Arne Grønn Disch from Tønsberg *Ole Elias Dyrøy from Borgund *Harald Bølerud from Oslo *Per Andreas Fillinger from Oslo *Jakob Otto Friis from Oslo *Andreas Gjertsen from Oslo *Leonard Godager from Furnes *Ole Kjeldserg from Nordstrand *Alfred Waldemar Garmann Larsen from Oslo *Ole Arntzen Lutzow Holm from Oslo *Einar Oliver Mjølhus from Hjelmland *Jesper Kjell Næss from Odal *Bjarne Fillip Olsen from Ålesund *Magnus Tuntland from Hjelmland *Peter Kristian Boe Young from Oslo *Birger Aasland from Hjelmland *Kåre Angell Elgenes from Molde (executed 1 May)

Grave 6, 5 September 1944

*Kristian Andresen from Gjøvik *Fedor Barkow from the Soviet Union *Finn Brede Bråthen from Modum *Peter Christensen from Oslo *Arne Reidar Gustavsen from Drammen *Reinhard Halvorsen from Norderhov *Petter Albert Hammerø from Oslo *Reidar Hansen from Norderhov *Åge Hansen from Oslo *Daniel Jacowitz from the Soviet Union *Ove Jensen from Asker *Georg Johannes Jenserud from Norderhov *Martin Kleppan from Oslo *Johan Karelius Moen from Norderhov *Helge Olsen from Norderhov *Kåre Pettersen from Drammen *Stephan Pleschatschew from the Soviet Union *Wasil Sacharschenko from the Soviet Union *Gunnar K Skinstad from Modum *Gjermund Karl Skaarud from Oslo *Per Thore Stensrud from Oslo *Alexander Szeinzuk from the Soviet Union *Benani Tschikikow from the Soviet Union

Grave 7, 3 June 1944

*Gunnar Hanssen from Oslo *Kaare Hexeberg from Nittedal *Oskar Haakon Johannessen from Nittedal *Per Grell Lønning from Oslo *Odd Næss from Oslo

Grave 8, 25/26 May 1944

25 May 1944

*Hans Skjærvø from Osen *Georg Stokke from Oslo

26 May 1944

*Thore Eugen Sentzen from Svanvik in Sør-Varanger *Magnus Dahlen from Fåberg *Lars Emil Erichsen from Oslo *John Hatland from Oslo *Frederik Wilhelm Holter from Oslo *Odvar Jacobsen from Oslo *Leif Richard Johansen from Oslo *Harald Reitan from Oslo *Per Arne Stranger Thorsen from Oslo *Sven Olav Vogt from Oslo

Grave 9, Unknown date

*F. Bonner from the United Kingdom *J. N. Blackburn from the United Kingdom *R. P. Evans from the United Kingdom *W. Jackson from the United Kingdom *J. Walsh from the United Kingdom *T. W. White from the United Kingdom

Grave 10, 2/3 March 1943

2. March 1943

*Johan Peter Bruun from Oslo *Haakon Marius Sunde from Kopervik

3 March 1943

*Ragnar Alf Anderson from Nesodden *Osmund Lindgård Brønnum from Oslo *Arne Gunnestad from Asker *Kaare Bjørn Jensen from Oslo *Thorleif Krogh from Oslo *Jacob Dybcad Sømme from Oslo *Lorentz Helge Aarnes from Oslo

Grave 11, 13/14 October

13 October 1943

*Anders Johansen Krok from Mjøndalen *Erling Christian Marthinson from Eidsvåg i Åsane

14 October 1943

*Thomas Henry Thornau Agnæs from Drammen *Sverre Andersen from Oslo *Reidar Furu from Drammen *Aksel Eugen Grønholdt from Oslo *Kaare Gundersen from Oslo *Sverre Emil Halvorsen from Oslo *Sigurd Jacobsen from Oslo *Alv Johan Johnsen from Drammen *Arthur Simensen from Nedre Eiker *Emil Gustav Hvaal from Sem *Lars Elias Telle from Sund *Olaf Østerud from Oslo *Christian Fredrik Fasting Aall from Fana

Grave 12, 21 May 1943

*Anton Bø from Nærbø *Olaf Ege from Vigrestad *Karl Hellestø from Sola *Jørstein Johannesen from Time *Magnus Mæland from Mæland *Martin Opstad from Bø *Ingvar Ree from Nærbø *Ole Rosland from Time *Torgeir Sikvaland from Time *Augustus Stensland from Time *Andreas Steinsland from Time *Ragnvald Torland from Torland *Trygve Varden from Vigrestad *Arne Vigre from Nærbø *Sverre Valdeland from Valdeland

Grave 13, 4 July 1944

*Ovin Christoffer Bronsta from Drammen *Jan Segelcke Koren from Oslo *Gay Børre Kristiansen from Kristiansand *Alf Leonard Lande from Nøtterøy *Per Nannestad Lindaas from Oslo *Tomas Per Trægde from Drammen *Olav Josef Wetterstad from Kongsberg

Grave 14, 7 September 1942

*Haakon Eriksen from Oslo *Bjarne Hansen from Nedre Eiker *Eli(as) Skjold Hansen from Oslo *Karl Johan Jacobsen from Oslo *Alf Kristiansen from Drammen *Reidar Kristoffersen from Krokstadelva *Karl Frithjof Schei from Nes på Romerike

Grave 15, 12 August 1942

*Poul Kvamme from Bergen *Unknown from the Soviet Union

Grave 16, 28 June 1943

*Ragnar Fredriksen from Kristiansand *Erling Karlsen from Oddernes

Grave 17, 9/10 May 1944

9. May 1944

*Arnt Andersen from Stavanger *Arne Thurin Bjørge from Arendal *Leif Dahl from Slagen *Olav Dyvik from Grimstad *Arthur Valdemar Emanuelsen from Stavanger *Johan Alfred Gøranson from Oppegård *Knut Haugneland from Stavanger *Martin August Johannesen from Egersund *Henry Victor Larsen from Stavanger *

Arne Laudal Arne Laudal (25 September 1892 – 9 May 1944) was a Norwegian military officer, Milorg pioneer and resistance fighter during World War II. He was arrested by the Germans, sentenced to death and executed. Early life and career Born in Holum, Ves ...

from Kristiansand *Georg Osnes from Stavanger *Rolf Olav Schulstad from Oslo

10 May 1944

*Knut Bø from Bygland *Magnus Nielsen from Hetland *Ingvald Georg Nordbø from Stavanger *Lars Sandvik from Kvinneherad *Torleif Tellefsen from Grimstad *Ferdinand Tjemsland from Stavanger *Aanund Tveit from Vestre Moland

Grave 18, Flatnermoen, 29 December 1941

*Borgen Bøe from Stavanger *Karluf John Hans Bø from Stavanger *Georg Fjeldberg from Hjelmeland *Thomas Fjermstad from Stavanger *Georg Helland from Stavanger *Einar Hoseth from Stavanger *Martin Jacobsen from Stavanger *John Nilsen from Hetland *Carl Johan Oftedahl from Stavanger *Olav Ragnvald Olsson from Hetland *Arnt Plesner-Pedersen from Stavanger In May 2021,

Forsvarsbygg The Norwegian Defence Estates Agency ( no, Forsvarsbygg) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the real estate belonging to the Military of Norway. It is not part of the military operations, but is instead directly subordinate to the N ...

cut down the trees in the forest causing widespread condemnation. This action resulted in a criminal complaint which is as of June 2021, still under investigation.

2021 investigation of agency's tree-cutting at the heritage site

In 2021,

cut down trees in the forest. On 2 June the county of Viken ordered that the cutting must stop; the mayor of

filed a police report. The Cabinet ordered a fact-finding commission regarding what had happened and how to prevent similar events at similar sites, according to the minister of defence. As of June 2021, the tree-cutting at the heritage site is still under investigation.

References

External links

Kalde gufs fra fortiden
{{in lang, no Nazi war crimes Ullensaker Military history of Norway during World War II