Rolf Wickstrøm (9 December 1912 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway – 10 September 1941) was a Norwegian labour

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and a victim of the

German occupation of Norway 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 th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Wickstrøm grew up in a working-class family. In 1935 he was hired as a welder on the rapidly expanding Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk, the Skabo Rail Coach Factory. Dating from January 1940, he was labour representative and shop stewart at Skabo. He was arrested at

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway, where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This ...

in Oslo from 2 May to 26 May 1941. Wickstrøm was executed during the state of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

which followed the so-called milk strike (''Melkestreiken''), together with the labour lawyer

Viggo Hansteen Harald Viggo Hansteen (13 September 1900 – 10 September 1941) was a Norway, Norwegian lawyer. He was executed during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. Biography Harald Viggo Hansteen was born in Oslo, Norway. As a student he was ...

. The reason for the strike was that food supplies had become increasingly worse by September 1941. These two were the first labour representatives to be executed during the German occupation, and as such gained a great symbolic value for the continued resistance. Wickstrøm left behind his wife Signe (1913-1996) and son Tore (born 1938). After the war, Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm were buried in Vår Frelsers gravlund.''Speech by Viggo Hansteens and Rolf Wickstrøm 17 May 1995'' (Vår Frelsers gravlund i Oslo, 17. mai 1995)
/ref> Viggo Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm were honored by the naming of a section of road around Oslo which bears their names. In 1948, a memorial was erected in granite with bronze relief at the site of execution at

Årvoll Årvoll is a residential community situated in the Bjerke (borough), Bjerke district of Oslo, Norway. It was here that Anti-fascism, anti-Nazi activists Viggo Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm – the first two Norwegians to be executed by the Nazis d ...

in the Bjerke district of

. The memorial was directed by Norwegian sculptor Nic Schiøll (1901–1984). It bears the following:

References

Other sources

* Berntsen, Harald (1995) ''To liv - én skjebne: Viggo Hansteen og Rolf Wickstrøm'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) * 1912 births 1941 deaths Trade unionists from Oslo Executed trade unionists Norwegian people executed by Nazi Germany Norwegian civilians killed in World War II Deaths by firearm in Norway People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad People executed by Nazi Germany occupation forces Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour {{Norway-activist-stub