Arthur Qvist (17 February 1896 – 20 September 1973) was a Norwegian military officer, Nazi collaborator and Olympic

horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. He commanded the Waffen-SS's

Norwegian Legion Norwegian Legion ( no, Norske Legion, german: Freiwilligen-Legion Norwegen) was a Norwegian collaborationist formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II. It was formed in German-occupied Norway on 29 June 1941, in support of the war aims of ...

during

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 ...

. Qvist competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

where he earned a silver medal and in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. During World War II he served as a Major in the Waffen-SS and was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his collaborationist crimes after the war.

Athletic career

In 1928 he and his horse ''Hidalgo'' won the silver medal as member of the Norwegian eventing team in the team eventing competition after finishing eighth in the individual eventing. Eight years later he finished 17th with his horse ''Jaspis'' in the individual dressage competition. As member of the Norwegian dressage team they finished seventh in the team dressage competition. Qvist also participated in the individual jumping competition with his horse ''Notatus'' and finished 24th. The Norwegian jumping team did not finish the team jumping competition, because only Qvist was able to finish the event.

Second World War

After the German occupation of Norway in

, Qvist joined a voluntary unit of the German Waffen-SS, the

. As an officer he eventually came to command the unit at the rank of Major. At his trial after the war he acknowledged his role as commander of the

and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

References

profile
1896 births 1973 deaths Norwegian male equestrians Event riders Norwegian dressage riders Show jumping riders Olympic equestrians of Norway Equestrians at the 1928 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Norway Olympic medalists in equestrian Members of Nasjonal Samling Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany SS-Obersturmbannführer SS and Police Leaders People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway Norwegian prisoners and detainees Norwegian Waffen-SS personnel Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics {{Norway-equestrian-bio-stub