WALL  MEMORIES

The year 2017 is soon history. Only one more day to go. One more day to  make some reflections about the year gone , and to take a look around  on the walls in my private library thinking about the reasons for me to collect items from different countries. To my surprise I see that I had kept on the wall two interesting music instruments. I am not a musician at all. I used to play guitar and made a school performance at the age of twelve singing in Norwegian “ The Ballad of Davy Crockett”. He was a favorite at the time. The film about Davy Crockett was shown in Oslo in 1955 where the American actor Fess Parker presented the movie. I was there watching Fess Parker. But that is another story. On the wall I noticed a music instrument which I bought in Kenya in 1975. I was on a study tour for the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD) evaluating the development of public libraries in Eastern Africa ( Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana). Kalimba Thumb Piano is the name of the instrument. I never learned to play the instrument but I used the item in connections with my information about the problems and issues of the life in Eastern Africa.

Kalimba Thumb Piano has many names: Finger piano, Karimba, Sanza and the Mbria. The instrument is old. Some archeologists have dated the instrument back to 1000 BC. I used the instrument later on as a wall decoration in my library. So far,the African piano and my experience with the instrument.

What about the balalaika which have never been used except as a wall decoration. The Russian balalaika was bought in St. Petersburg in 1991  when Soviet Union fell apart . The cold war was over because the wall in Berlin had been torn down. The Russian balalaika is a stringed musical instrument with a triangular wooden, hollow body and three strings. The instrument is dated 

back to 1688.

Memories on the wall, nice to reflect on because of the travelling and the experience connected to the travels: Kenya in 1975 and Soviet Union after the collapse of the country and the official end of the cold war? I still have some space for new wall memories – we do not know what year 2018 might result in?

Happy New Year!

SØRLANDSPIKENE

THE HELGESEN SISTERS

“ SØRLANDSPIKENE”

Do you remember some nice, singing girls who were living in the southern part of Norway and famous during the fifties? Do you remember the songs: An evening in St.Pauli, or All Rocky Mountains stars, or Jonathan , or Violetta, or A Song about Tahiti? Just to mention some of the songs known among people for about fifty years ago in Norway.

The number of people who made a living working within the light entertainment industry in Norway after the Second World War was not many. “ Sørlandspikene” became famous after having taking part in an amateur contest called: “ Med lys og lykte “. The name of the  attractive sisters were: Thordis, Svanhild og Rigmor Helgesen. Singing was a major activity for the sisters already at an early age. They grew up in the city of Kristiansand situated at the southern part of Norway. The most popular radio reporter in Norway during the fifties, Rolf Kirkevaag, discovered the sisters. A contract was signed with the company, ODEON, for recordings of songs. Norwegian sailors were to be found all over the world. Romatic songs about the lonely sailors were popular songs at the time.

When the recordings of new songs were finished once and for all, they went on with local performances singing for people. They travelled around in the country too performing, singing romantic songs for the audience. In 1974 they participated in a television program produced by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) singing the song: “ An evening in St.Pauli – En aften i St.Pauli “. The title of the program was: “ Husker du “- ( Do you remember?). You find the performance on “ YouTube”.

Svanhild Johansen to the right in the photo. Rigmor Falla is the second lady from right. The photo is taken in 1974.

 The year is 2017.Aging in body but not in mind: The sisters, Thordis and Rigmor are still active. Svanhild Johansen died in December 2017, and the burial took place December 28 at the City of Tønsberg, Norway.

ARPA MAGICA EN MEXICO

I am not a good musician .Not at all.  But I did my best making a performance playing my type of music in Mexico. The main reason for my acting a musician was the musical instrument bought as souvenir during my visit in Mexico some years ago . But nobody told me to play it again – not even for old time sake-.

Teotihuacan is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in the State of Mexico northeast of Mexico City. The pyramid of Sun and the pyramid of the Moon are famous sites visited by many tourists every year. I have paid Teotihuacan a visit more than once during my visits to Mexico. I found it nice to climb both pyramids. Close to the famous Mexican pyramids, I made an attempt to act like a musician. I had to buy a Mexican toy for my grandson. The toy I bought was a handmade zither. One of the Mexicans who were selling different goods to tourists at the pyramids persuaded me to buy the instrument. Attached to the instrument I found written instructions how to play. To my surprise I found   detailed instructions how to play the famous song: The Internationale (L’Internationale). The site was an open field between the pyramid of the Sun and the pyramid of the Moon. None of my friends asked me to pay it again for old time sake- no. The music instrument was called ARPA MAGICA (Hecho por productos de calidad INMA).The titles of the songs attached were: Las Mananitas, A Dios Muchachos, Alma Llanera, Amapola, Cielito Lindo, Hace un Ano, La Cucaracha, La Feria de Las Flores, Mexico Lindo, Yo vendo unos ojos Negros, Ala vibora de la Mar, Campanas de Navidad, Cumpleanos Feliz, Dominique, El Chorito, Lindo Pescadito, Los 3 Cochinitos, Marcha Nupcial, Naranja Dulce, Obladi Oblada, Ansiedad, Candilejas, Extranos en la Norche, Jinetes en el Cielo, La Paloma, Mis Norches sin ti, Nunca en domingo, Solamente una vez, Deseo Amor, - and finally, the famous “ The Internationale: …Stand up , damned of the Earth….”.

The zither was returned to me this year due to the fact that the owner was not a kid anymore. No fun to play the Arpa Magica. But I keep the zither for old time sake.

HIMMLERS VALKYRJER: FRONT SISTERS ON THE EASTERN FRONT

Eirik Gripp Bay: Himmlers valkyrjer. Frontsøstrene på østfronten. Cappelen Damm.2017.

The Norwegian teacher in history Eirik Gripp Bay has written and published a book about the Norwegian Red Cross nurses who served on the Eastern front during the Second World War. The Norwegian Red Cross supported the work of the German Red Cross. The main aim of the work of the nurses was to make it possible for the wounded soldiers to return to the battlefields as soon as possible. The German attack on Russia in 1941 was the beginning of a terrible brutal and inhuman war. Germany wanted to make it possible for Germans and Norwegians too to settle in the new occupied places and countries. The official statement made by the Nazi- government of Germany about the reason for the war, was that the fight against communism was a fight for Western civilization. It was a wanted war. We have to make an end of the horrible communist regime of Russia.

The official statements made by the nurses of the Norwegian Red Cross after the end of the war, were that they all served the German army as nurses only. The Norwegian Red Cross was a part of the German Red cross. The girls who joined the fight on the Eastern front were young, wanted an education as nurse only and had no knowledge of the political conflicts and issues concerning the German attack on Russia. The Norwegian authorities did not believe the stories told by the nurses when they were accused of having supported the German army fighting in Russia.

Eirik Gripp Bay has studied the documents about the front sisters. The front sisters were treated as traitors after the war and sentenced for treason. The Norwegian Red Cross nurses were of the opinion that the sentence was unfair and unjust. They had just done the work they were supposed to do as members of the international Red Cross organization.

The main question to be asked was: Did the Norwegian nurses know about the link between the German Army and the German Red Cross? Were the front sisters politically involved in the fight against Russia?

Few of the nurses admitted that they had any political interests in the war at all. They should see to it that the wounded soldiers were taken care of in a good way.

The result of the studies of the situation of the nurses were not a result in favour of the nurses. No. On the contrary: They knew more about the brutal war than they wanted to tell when they returned to Norway.

Some of the nurses made public interviews about the work they did and why they did it.

The late Norwegian Red Cross nurse, Aase Grill Fasting, was interviewed in the Norwegian newspaper, Drammens Tidende, October 5, 2011, about her political approach to the war and her work as a nurse for the German Army. She was still convinced that her fight was a just one. She was a member of The right-wing party called  ” Nasjonal Samling “ –Norwegian for National Unity. She supported the German occupation of Norway and the German war against communism. She was not an innocent, young girl without any knowledge of the reasons for the war.

The research work done by the author has revealed that most of the front sisters knew what when on at the battlefields. War crimes were committed at sites, cities and countries were the nurses worked. No information is given in the book that they participated in war crimes. But they must have understood what went on. Jews were killed. Villages were burned down. People were killed. The German war on Russia was a brutal war.

The most shocking news revealed in the book is the story of the Norwegian front sister, Jane Lillian Steen.  She married an Austrian named Frantz Kutschera. He was SS- Brigadefuhrer. In the city of Mogilev he was responsible for the killing about 21 500 Jews. Later on he was moved to Poland where he acted very brutal. The Polish Resistance movement assassinated him on February 1, 1944.

When Jane Lillian Steen was sentenced for having assisted the German Army, nobody knew about her relationship with the Austrian mass murder.

The war crimes committed by the German soldiers were not on the agenda when the nurses were sentenced for treason.

Deutsche Rote Kreuz – The German Red Cross – was a part of the German military organization set up to support the German Army at all costs. The nurses were trained in Nazi ideology, in National Socialism genetics, racial hygiene and racial history .

The main conclusion of the facts presented in this book is that the Norwegian Red Cross nurses knew about the reasons for the work they had to do. Many of the nurses were also members of the Norwegian National Socialist Party (Nasjonal Samling). Any involvement with the German with the German Red Cross society was considered as an act of treason by Norwegian Authorities.

The Norwegian teacher in history, Eirik Gripp Bay, has done a good work. The book is based on his Master degree from 2014: “ Historien om frontsøstrene. De norske frontsøstrenes historie i et nytt lys.” Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og historie. Masteroppgave i historie. Universitetet i Oslo.

Photos byTedd Urnes

Photos from The German Red Cross, Berlin