Henry Thingstad (9 April 1916 – 19 May 1943) 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 ...

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 member. He was born in

Trondhjem 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 ...

to a mother from

Skogn Skogn is a village in Levanger municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern shore of the Trondheimsfjorden, about southwest of the town of Levanger. The European route E06 highway runs through the village ...

and a father from

Tynset Tynset is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset. Other villages in Tynset include Fådalen, Fåset, Telneset ...

. Both died before Thingstad turned twenty. He was a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

by profession. Before 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 ...

he was active in the workers' sports club Arbeidernes TF and the Workers' Confederation of Sports. He chaired the district workers' sports organization in

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...

from 1938 to 1940. He also chaired the workers' sports club SK Ørnulf. 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 ...

. He had been a member of the

Young Communist League of Norway The Young Communist League of Norway ( no, Norges Kommunistiske Ungdomsforbund, NKU) was until April 2006 the youth league of Norges Kommunistiske Parti (NKP). The NKP declared on 1 April 2006 that the NKU was no longer its youth organization, an ...

since 1931. During the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

, Thingstad was one of the first to participate 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, ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

, with the "Thingstad Group". His resistance activity was communist by nature, spurred by the banning 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 ...

in August 1940. The Nazis had an active provocateur and infiltrator in Trøndelag,

Henry Rinnan Henry Oliver Rinnan (14 May 1915 – 1 February 1947) was a notorious Norwegian Gestapo agent in the area around Trondheim, Norway during World War II. Rinnan led a group called ''Sonderabteilung Lola''. This group, known as ''Rinnanbanden'' among ...

, who managed to unveil most of the communist resistance leaders in the district in October and November 1941. Thingstad had then participated in a failed assassination attempt on Rinnan. From early 1942 Thingstad became a part of the district leadership and underground central committee of the Communist Party. Thingstad was captured in February 1943 after involvement from Rinnan. He was subjected to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

. He was imprisoned in

Vollan concentration camp 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 ...

. A German

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 ...

sentenced him to death on 4 May 1943, and he was executed at

Kristiansten Fortress Kristiansten Fortress ( no, Kristiansten Festning, historically spelled ''Christiansten'') is located on a hill east of the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway, named after Christian V of Denmark-Norway. It was built after the city fir ...

together with ten other people on 19 May. His body was not disposed of, but buried in the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

graveyard. Tore Pryser's book ''Klassen og nasjonen 1935-1946'' featured a goodbye letter Thingstad wrote in his cell.Pryser, 1988: p. 381

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thingstad, Henry 1916 births 1943 deaths People from Trondheim Norwegian sports executives and administrators Communist Party of Norway politicians Norwegian resistance members Norwegian torture victims Vollan concentration camp prisoners Norwegian civilians killed in World War II Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Executed Norwegian people People executed by Germany by firing squad Norwegian people executed by Nazi Germany