Per Asbjørn Pedersen Tjøstland (27 February 1918 – 14 December 2004), né Per Asbjørn Pedersen, was a Norwegian

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

activist and SS volunteer. As editor of the Norwegian SS newspaper ''Germaneren'', he belonged to the radical and

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...

wing of Nazism, and was a proponent of "a total

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

" and

racial war An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's position within so ...

SS volunteer

In 1941, he was among the first Norwegians to volunteer for service with the SS, where he held the rank of

Rottenführer ''Rottenführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of ''Rottenführer'' was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) an ...

, and by his own admission took part in massacres of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

on the Eastern Front.

Nazi writer and editor in Norway

After returning to Norway in 1943, he became deputy editor and then, in 1944, editor of the newspaper ''Germaneren'', the official publication of

Germanske SS Norge The Germanic SS () was the collective name given to paramilitary and political organisations established in parts of German-occupied Europe between 1939 and 1945 under the auspices of the '' Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The units were modeled on the '' ...

. Tjøstland belonged to a radical and

anti-capitalistic Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternative ...

Nazi faction that supported

Pan-Germanism Pan-Germanism ( or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanism seeks to unify all ethnic Germans, German-speaking people, and possibly also non-German Germanic peoples – into a sin ...

. His newspaper was, to the extent permitted by the circumstances, openly critical of the ruling Norwegian fascist party

Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...

for not being supportive of Pan-Germanism, for not being radical enough, for being unremarkable Nazis, for its perceived corruption and infiltration by people motivated by

opportunism 300px, ''Opportunity Seized, Opportunity Missed'', engraving by Theodoor Galle, 1605 Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances — with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opport ...

rather than conviction, and for being more concerned with Norwegian national interests than Nazism. Tjøstland was a supporter of a "total

" and

. He chastised "false National Socialists" who "declared themselves to be National Socialists in order to destroy National Socialism." He adopted the name Tjøstland in 1943.

Prison

Tjøstland was arrested in 1945. In 1946, he was sentenced to five years of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, and was released from prison in 1949."Dømte landssvikere," ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'', 10 May 1946 p. 5

Family and legacy

He had six children and 20 grandchildren. In 2014, his granddaughter Ida Jackson (née Tjøstland Søland) published the book ''Morfar, Hitler og jeg'' ("My Grandfather, Hitler, and I"), after discovering by reading the Norwegian Wikipedia article about her grandfather that he was a well-known Nazi activist.Ida Jackson (2014). ''Morfar, Hitler og jeg''.

Aschehoug H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), commonly known as Aschehoug,() is one of the largest independent publishing companies in Norway, founded in 1872. Headquartered in Oslo, the publishing house has 480 employees. The Aschehoug group also comprises o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tjostland, Per Pedersen 1918 births 2004 deaths Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine Norwegian editors Norwegian mass murderers Norwegian Waffen-SS personnel Norwegian Nazi propagandists People from Hjelmeland People from Lillesand People convicted of treason for Nazi Germany against Norway