THEE CITY OF SETE- FRANCE: WAR MEMORIALS

The City of Sete – known as Cette until 1928- is a commune in the Herault department in the Occitanie  region in southern France.

“… A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war…” – so far the definition of war memorials and the aim of setting up war memorials.

When I walked along the streets of Sete, I found a nice public park where a war memorial was set up for public viewing and information. From a historical point of view, I think any information about military events, political conflicts and issues dealing with a country,are facts of common interest even if the facts are unpleasant. The French wars in the French Indochina and the former French colony Algeria are controversial political issues that many want to forget. Many French soldiers were killed during the conflicts mentioned. Even if many disagreed with wars, people wanted to set up war memorials to pay homage to those who died. In Sete a war memorial is set up to in memory of the soldiers who died during the war in Algeria- “ La Guerre  d’Algeria A.F.N 1952 -1962 “. Some are  of the opinion that war memorials are made ony to glorify the wars, but some want to honor those who died even if the wars were not  wanted wars.

Historical facts are facts even if you dislike the information given to you.

HAUK – THE NORWEGIAN APHORIST

“…An aphorism is a short witty sentence which expresses a general truth or comment  or a pithy observation which contains a general truth…” so far the definition of aphorism.

The famous Norwegian aphorist, Gunnar Hauk Gjengset, has made it again publishing his own written aphorisms. His latest book was released in 2018 by his own publishing company HAUK Forlag AS. It is a small book contenting a critical selection of his already published aphorisms. Only 114 pages. The Norwegian title of the book is: “ Som oftest er det snarere tvert imot og andre sukk”. HAUK or Gunnar Hauk Gjengset, began writing aphorisms about 40 years ago. The Norwegian newspaper “Adressavisen ” located in the City of Trondheim,Norway,  found his writing interesting . For about 25 years the newspaper published his aphorisms. The aim of writing short sentences contenting witty observations mixed with some truth is not to make you laugh only. No. The writer is making an attempt to create general statements in the texts to convey a moral or philosophical idea hoping to present an universal truth. Anyway , reading the book I could not resist the temptation of laughing too much because I saw the fun described in the texts. But I know that HAUK is a serious working man. He is not an easy going man but rather a complicated person whose life is a story of dramatic events. For your information only: He was arrested in the former Soviet Union in January 1970 for demonstrating against the Brezhnev regime. Leaflets supporting the release of author Yuri Galanskov and Pyotr Grigorensko  were distributed by Gunnar Hauk Gjengset in Leningrad .He was sentenced  to one year of imprisonment . Due to international pressure ,he was released after a month in prison. His experience as a prisoner in Soviet Union was published in his book: “ Behind The Iron Curtain”.

KLASSEKAMPEN – NORWEGIAN  NATIONAL NEWSPAPER

Under the pseudonym ,HAUK, aphorisms are still published in the national newspaper, KLASSEKAMPEN. The daily column, Dagens sukk, - or in English: Sign of the DAY, has made the newspaper famous in Norway.

Gunnar Hauk Gjengset has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Umeå University in Sweden. He has written several books including plays and a biography of Gustav Vigeland the famous Norwegian sculptor.

Let me give you an impression of the content of his latest book. Sorry, but I have to quote in Norwegian.

“…Litteratur er en neddempet versjon av virkeligheten…”,  “…å passe tiden er anstrengende – den løper hele tiden fra en…”, “ … det viktigste ved enhver dag er at den aldri kommer igjen…”, ” …kunnskap er ikke å vite alt, men å vite hvor kunnskap finnes…”- and so we can go on for ever.

Good luck reading the book yourself. How to get the book: Contact the writer. Gjengset@online.no or teddnord@getmail.no

 Gunnar Hauk Gjengset  is making a presentation of his book.

 Tedd Urnes( left in the photo) and Gunnar Hauk Gjengset 

ESTONIA, HISTORY AND MOVIES: HOW TO GET EASY ACCESS TO THE DRAMATIC HISTORY OF ESTONIA?

If you want to get an easy access to the most dramatic stories about the history of Estonia that took place from about 1918 to 1945, I will recommend viewing of some interesting movies. Any movie dealing with historical events must add some fictional scenes mixed with facts of the events. The positive results of the viewing are that you have a good time at the same time as you get some facts about what went on during some dramatic years. Let me comment on three movies that I bought in Tallinn last week: “ 1944”, “NIMED MARMORTAHVLILL ( Eng.Title: Names In Marble)” and “ TUULEPEALNE MAA (Eng.Title:WINDWARD LAND)”.

1944

The movie is a dramatic war film where you not find any heroes only soldiers who were fighting a war without any positive hope. When the German army liberated Estonia from the military and political occupation of Estonia during the Second World War, many hoped that the Germans would support the setting up of an independent Estonia state. Therefore many young boys and girls joined the German army to fight the Russians. Even some believed that the Russians supported an independent Estonia state too or they accepted the political change making Estonia a state with the Soviet Union. All of the participants in the fighting for Estonia were betrayed. Between the German army and the army of the Soviet Union, a three fighting force had been established: The Forest Brothers. Those forest fighters managed to liberate parts of Estonia for a short period. But no support was given to the forest fighters because Soviet Union was supporting the Allies fight against Germany. The Estonians found themselves trapped in a difficult political and military situation. No victory for those who believed in a new Estonian state. The content of the movie deals with the feelings and hopes of the soldiers fighting in three different groups. A splendid movie directed by Elmo Nuganen. The film was released in 2015.

NAMES IN MARBLE

We have to return to 1918. The Estonia War of Independence is a reality. The movie deals with some students who had decided to fight on the nationalist side. The students are all boys. They are not well trained for military duties but they all fight hard. Some of the students got killed too. The movie reveals the conflicts between two ideologies: Estonian nationalism and Communism. The war lasted to 1920. The enemy was the army of Soviet Russia. The film was released in 2002. The story is based on a novel by Albert Kivikas. The director of the film is Elmo Nuganen.

WINDWARD LAND

I have viewed all the episodes of the Estonian television miniseries yesterday. Time consuming business viewing all the episodes  on one day! The movie deals with some of the most dramatic years of the history of Estonia. The movie was aired in 2008 and 2013. The series takes place from World War One, encompassing the war of Independence of Estonia , the story of an independent Estonia nation, the democratic struggles to make a democratic state of Estonia, the occupation of Estonia by the army of Soviet Union. The series was directed by Ain Prosa. The series make use of archival footage showing how the German army was welcomed by people in Tallinn believing that the Germans would support the fight for an independent Estonia state. We get to know the Forest Brothers too and the Fascist Vaps Movement of 1933.The members of the Forest Brothers fought the invading Soviets even when the WWII was ended in Europe. World War II decreased the Estonian population by 200,000 people. About 30,000 of the population were killed in battles, half of them wearing German or Finnish uniforms. About 800,000 people fled abroad. The guerilla warfare in Estonian forests continued for more than a decade.

All the movies can be bought at the Estonian Film Museum/ Estonian History Museum situated at Maarjamae Palace, Pirita tee 56, 10123 Tallinn, Estonia.Post@ajaloomuseum.ee.

Good luck with your historical education made by viewing historical movies.

ESTONIA: I CRY FOR YOU

Last week I stayed in Tallinn. I bought two small books about the history of Estonia dealing with the Second World War. Two small books and a movie too. The books were written by Mart Laar: “ Estonia in World War II” and “ Rød terror. Den sovjetiska ockupationsmaktens førtryck av Estland-Red terror. Repressions of the Soviet Occupation Authorities in Estonia”.

 A review of “ Estonia in World War II” was made by me January 7, 2010. Eight years ago. But the book is still topical as a historical document. Mart Laar was born in Viljandi. He graduated in 1983 from the University of Tartu. History was his favorite subject. In 1995 Mart Laar received his Master’s degree in Philosophy from the same university and his Doctorate in 2005. I think he is qualified to make historical statements about the different political and military issues dealt with in his books. The title of the movie I bought is: “1944”.

The movie is splendid contenting the complicated political and military situations for Estonian during the WWII. The film was released in 2015. The war drama was directed by Elmo Nuganen. The film deals with the mental conflicts of young Estonians who had been conscrited into the German forces and of those who had joined the Soviet forces. You do not find any heroes in the movies. The story of the battles are described to make you understand the difficult situations for all Estonians who were betrayed by all: The country was first occupied by Soviet Union, then the country was occupied by the German forces and finally occupied by the Red Army.The movie contents information about Scandinavians who sided with the German forces fighting in Estonia. But the Norwegian soldiers are not mentioned only the Danish soldiers. The Estonians hoped to gain independence by supporting the German forces. Betrayed by the German forces independent Estonian resistance movement tried to liberate the country by hard fighting. The Forest Brothers made an attempt to fight the communist terror and occupation- but invain. I cry for you, Estonia. You have suffered too much. Good luck.

The young Norwegian boy was only nineteen years of age when he died in Estonia.His name was: Thorvald Sandli Bergum.

ON BOARD WITH ART- JOIN THE SEE TO SEE MODERN SCULPTURES

CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION

The main aim of cruising in Mediterranean was not to view modern sculptures and modern art collections set up on the cruiser. No. But I was impressed by the art collections on the ship. I got a new activity hunting and exploring sculptures which were set up on sites where I did not expect to find modern art. The name of the ship is: “ Celebrity Constellation”. A splendid cruiser. Splendid crew. Splendid food and above all: Excellent entertainments in the evenings. An exhibition of modern art too.Please join me in my admiration for the art on board. I took some photos. But I could not find any information of the artists who made the sculptures? By doing some research I found the name of the sculptor who made the" man in uniform" sculpture: Daniel Oates.

Placards with names of the artists should be put close to the sculptures, I think.

Some fact about the cruise ship: GTS Celebrity Constellation is a Millennium –class cruise ship of Celebrity Cruises. The ship was built at the Chantiers de L’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France.During the summer period the ship sails to Mediterranean and the Caribbean(winter).

(winter).

TOM LEHRER: WANTED BACK TO PUBLIC LIFE TO WAKE UP PEOPLE

Tom Andrew Lehrer was born on April 9, 1928. He has retired as American musician, professional songwriter, singer, piano player, satirist  and above all: Teacher in mathematics. His humorous songs were recorded in the 1950s and 1960s.

“… I was only 18 years of age. But I did it. I went to his house, I rang the bell and I asked for a meeting  with Tom Lehrer. He accepted my request about a meeting. He is a nice person I recall…”

The story was told during a meal on the cruiser “ Celebrity Constellation”  by a   stranger about a week ago. The main reason for the talk about Tom Lehrer was my quotation from one of his famous songs: “ …we will all go together when we go…”. The ship was in trouble due to bad weather. We did not know about the next harbor for the ship. Anyway the talk with a person whose name I forgot to get made me think about my personal memories connected to Tom Lehrer. For your information only: The cruiser called Celebrity Constellation was inaugurated in 2002. The ship can take about 2,184 guests.

In 1967 the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) transmitted a television programme where Tom Lehrer performed playing piano and sang his own written songs. I was fascinated by the content of his songs. When I came home from travelling I did some research on Tom Lehrer by contacting WIKIPEDIA. With reference to Wikipedia the performance in Norway was recorded on video tape September 10 and aired that autumn. I still remember the performance.

Wikipedia was my main source for further information about Tom Lehrer: Life, career, songs, performances and statements about the reasons for his early retirement from public performances. Anyway I was surprised to see that no information about a Norwegian presentation of a selection of his songs recorded on long playing - full frequency range recording in 1967. The songs selected for the recording were: “ The Marines”, “ My Home Town”, “ So Long, Mom”, “ Pollution”, “ Brotherhood Week”, “ Be Prepared”, “Who’s Next”, “Smut”, “ MLF Lullaby”, “ I Hold Your Hand In Mine”, “ The Wienerschnitzel Waltz”, and  “ We Will All Go Together When We Go”.

The songs were all translated into Norwegian by August Mauritzen. Songs were performed by Sølvi Wang and Ola B. Johannessen.

For your information only: Tom Lehrer is 90 years of age. He wrote songs contenting issues that we need to evaluate today too. He might be regarded as an old man but his mind and songs are young and topical even today – and that is sad because we should have made some changes in the fields mentioned in his songs- welcome back Tom! We need you more than ever!

CORSICA/AJACCIO: CASA BUONAPARTE

Some year ago I made an attempt to pay a visit to Ajaccio aiming at a study of the house called “ Casa Buonaparte “.I failed due to transport problems on the island of Corsica. A new attempt to see the house was done some weeks ago. This time I made it. I found the house but again I had problems. The house was closed. I came too late. Anyway I spent some hours walking in the streets of Ajaccio waiting for the opening of the Museum of Napoleon. He was born in Ajaccio on August 15, 1769. The ancestors of Napoleon descended from Italian nobility of Tuscan origin. Napoleon was born in “ Casa Buonaparte “. When he was 27 years of age Napoleon changed his name from “ Napoleon di Buonaparte” to “ Napoleon Bonaparte”. The year was 1796.

When he was 9 year of age Napoleon enrolled at a religious school in Auton in 1779. Later on he was transferred to a military academy at Brienne-le- Chateau. In 1784 he was admitted to Ecole Militaire in Paris. Napoleon was the first Corsican to graduate from Ecole Militaire.

Even if he spoke both Italian and Corscian fluently, he learned French too . Anyway he never learned to spell French correctly.

The Museum of Napoleon was interesting. The house has a history to be told. But watch up for the opening hours when you go to the house. So far some facts about the man who later on became the Emperor of France.

AJACCIO: HISTORY ON THE WALLS –THE ISLAND OF CORSICA

Jean-Toussiant  Desanti

When I passed an ordinary house in the city of Ajaccio, Corsica, a week ago I had no information about the man who had lived here. No. But I am interested in Wall history, so to speak. Information that has been put on the walls making you understand the importance of the house, the history and the persons who had lived in the house are information of interest. A site might be evaluated with reference to persons who had stayed on the site a long time ago.  Frankly speaking, I went to Ajaccio to visit the house where the famous French officer and The Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had lived. But I passed a house where the French educator, writer and philosopher Jean- Toussaint Desanti  had lived. I took a photo of the house even if I did not know about the man who had stayed in the house. But I got information later on about him.

Jean- Toussaint Desanti was born in 1914 and he died in 2002. He wrote books. He taught philosophy at the Ecole Normanle Superieure in Paris, at the Lycee Lakanal, at Ecole normale superieure de Saint-Cloud and at Sorbonne. Above all: He was a member of the French Resistance movement during the Second World War associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Andre Malraux. In 1943 he joined the French Communist Party. He left the party in 1956.

He had studied both the philosophy of mathematics and phenomenology. 

Selected works

-Les Idealities mathemathiques, Recherches epistemologiques sur le developpement de la theorie des  fonctions de variables reelles(1968)

-Phenomenologie et praxis ( 1962)

-La Philosophie silencieuse ou Critique des philosophies de la science(1975)

-Reflexions sur le temps(1982)

-Philosophie, un reve de flambeur, conversations avec Dominique-Antoine Grisoni

-La liberte nous aime encore with Dominique Desanti and Roger-Pol Droit(2001)

I passed his house in the city of Ajaccio, Corsica, about  week ago, took a photo of the house and later on I studied the history of the man.

AN OLD AND FORGOTTEN HISTORICAL MOVIE: THE BATTLE OF SUTJESKA- MISSING FACTS, FICTION AND REALITY

THE AIM

Historical movies dealing with both fiction and reality about events reported in books and papers have paid my attentions for some years. Recently I bought an interesting book about movies made in Hollywood.  The aim of the book is to reveal what was the facts about the events described in the movies and what was fiction only. The title of the book is: “ Hollywood historier. Virkelighetens Hollywood. De sanne historiene bak storfilmene.”  (Eng.title: The stories of Hollywood. The true story of Hollywood and the true story of the great movies).

THE BATTLE OF SUTJESKA or THE FIFTH OFFENSIVE   

 

The research work to be done was to view the film again and again making notes of different actors, events, use of aircrafts and making a description of the content. The story of the film is the story of the famous battle of Sutjeska in Yugoslavia during the Second World War. The Yugoslav Partisans are chaired by Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The Axis are chaired by General Alexander Løhr (1885-1947) and General Rudolf Luters.

The role of General Alexander Løhr is played by Anton Diffring and General Rudolf Luters is played  by Gunter Meisner. Josip Broz Titio is played by Richard Burton.

BACKGROUNG HISTORY

In 1941 Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis. King Peter II went in exile to England where he sat up a government. In Yugoslavia the resistance against the Axis was organized by the royalist Draza Mihailovic and also by groups supported by the communist party of Yugoslavia. Josip Broz Tito was the commander of the communist resistance movement. He was a professional communist revolutionary who had taken part in the Spanish Civil War. Winston S. Churchill was an anti communist all his life but he evaluated the standard of the military forces with reference to the fighting ability of the soldiers. Therefore he decided to support Marshal Tito in his fight in Yugoslavia.

OPERATION TYPICAL

Special Operative Executive(SOE)

The movie is dealing with the British military operation called “ Operation Typical “. The operation was launched in may 1943. The British General Headquarters in the Middle East was responsible for the support to the Partisans. The movie does not give you a correct description of the British military support to Tito. In the movie only four British soldiers are parachuted. The names of the soldiers are not correct either. The official report of the mission makes it clear that six soldiers are parachuted- not only four. The mission is important because it is the first British assigned to Yugoslav Partisans HQ and to Marshal Tito. The British soldiers were departed on May 27, 1943 from Derna in Libya and arrived at Crno Jezero in Montenegro . The names of the soldiers were: Col. William Deakin, Capt. William F. Stuart, Sgt. Walter Wroughton , Sgt. Peretz ‘ Rose’ Rosenberg, Canadian- Yugoslav Ivan (John) Starcevic and Sgt. John Campbell.

The names of the British soldiers in the movie are:

-Captain Stewart, Captain Dicken, Sgt. Throten and Sgt. Roys.

What happened to the British soldiers? Captain William F. Stuart was killed and Captain William Deakin was wounded after a German air attack. Marshal Tito was also wounded the same day when German aircrafts attacked the Partisans.

BRITISH MILITARY MISSIONS IN YUGOSLAVIA

The SOE launched about 22 military missions to Yugoslavia during the war. Even Randolph Churchill -the son of Winston S. Churchill- took part in the fighting in Yugoslavia. Apart from three missions most of the missions were launched by airborne. Submarines were used only three times.

THE BATTLE OF SUTSJESKA

The content of the movie is the dramatic fighting between the Partisans and the Axis. The German generals wanted to destroy the Partisans once and for all. The fighting is described in a very realist way. We believe in the story. The policy of the German generals was the killing of Partisans, all people who supported the resistance movement- children, men, women – all should be killed.The Axis rallied about 127.000 troops for the offensive including German, Italian, Independent  State of Croatia  and Bulgarian soldiers. About 300 airplanes were used. The Yugoslav National Libration Army had about 22.148 soldiers in 16 brigades. The offensive lasted from May 15 to June 16, 1943.

The German offensive was a failure. The Axis did not an end to the fight of the Partisans. The guerrilla fighting went on till the end of the war.

THE GERMAN AIRCRAFTS USED N THE MOVIE

The Partisans are attacked by German aircrafts many times. The aircrafts which are dropping bombs on the camps of the Partisans are not correct German aircrafts.The aircraft used is named, SOKO 522. The aircraft was made in Yugoslavia in 1955. A military trainer and light attack aircraft which has been used in different movies .The aircrafts used for observation and to transport of officers are correct German aircrafts. The name of the aircraft is FIESELER Fi 156 STORCH. A German liason aircraft.

THE DESCRIPTION OF MARSHAL TITO

Richard Burton is playing the role of Marshal Tito. We do not get much information about Tito during the battle. No information of his political background, education, family, or his private life. No.

CONCULSION

The film gives you a description of the fighting in a true way. We believe in the story. A closer picture of Tito is missing and also a closer picture of the German generals who chaired the battle is missing. About 2537 pro-Partisan civilians were executed by the Axis. The Partisans lost about 7543 soldiers in the battle. The total casualities of Axis were about 913 killed, 2467 wounded and 2132 missing .The Serbian National Library in Belgrade was also destroyed during the fight against the Partisans.

Photo from the movie: Actor Gunter Meisner(1926 - 1994) as General Rudolf Luters.

THE GODFATHER

My  colleague from Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation(NRK), Odd Karsten Tveit, has written a provocative book about the famous Norwegian politician and former Secretary-General of United Nations, Trygve Lie. The Norwegian title of the book is: “ Gudfaderen. Trygve Lie- Generalsekretæren som sviktet FN “  (English title: The Godfather. Trygve Lie – The Secretary-General who deserted UN).

Trygve Lie was a Norwegian politician, diplomat, lawyer and  a former foreign minister of the Norwegian government-in – exile in London during the Second World War. He was born in 1896 and died in 1968. Trygve Lie was a leading member of the Norwegian Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet).

The author has not written a biography of Trygve Lie. No. The aim of the book is to highlight the official establishment of the state of Israel and the personal contribution of Trygve Lie in support of the new state of Israel. The Secretary- General of United Nations is appointed to work with political conflicts worldwide besides the administrative work of the organization. Trygve Lie was the first appointed Secretary-General of United Nations ( 1946-1952). The author is an expert in issues about the military and political situation in the Middle East. The main goal of the author is to document the the desert or betrayal of Trygve Lie in connections with the work to set up the new state Israel. The Secretary- General is not in the position to favor any country who is in conflict with other countries. He has to act in a diplomatic way to settle the conflicts to avoid military actions and wars. The facts presented in the book by the author are facts collected and are not representing any personal opinion of the author himself.

Odd Karsten Tveit  made an official presentation of his book at the restaurant, LORRY, in Oslo. Journalists from the main newspapers of Norway, old colleagues from NRK ,journalists from  radio – and television departments from both TV2 and NRK  and his Facebook friends were invited. Critical questions were asked about the main aim of the book and about the content of the book. Odd Kartsen Tveit made a statement that he had no intention of writing a biography of Trygve Lie. He said also that the content of the book is a result of the collections of archival footage from TV, radio , state archives and information given him from private persons while he was writing the book. But he made it quite clear that the content of the book is limited to UN, Trygve Lie the making of the new state of Israel. The conclusion of his studies is that Trygve Lie betrayed UN in favor of one nation only: Israel. He regarded himself as “The Godfather” of Israel.

The official information about the fight between the Arabic countries and Israel are based on lies according to the author.The most aggressive country was Israel- not the Arabic countries. The political aim of the Zionists was to get hold of as much land as possible without any respect of UN statements and critics from different foreign countries. I recall that an old friend of mine while we were in high school disagreed with me when I defended the rights of Israel to attack countries that were preparing war against Israel. We heard very little about the Palestine refugees who had been forced to move from their homes to make a place for people in Israel. Take a look at some of the book I studies from time to time. Trygve Lie is hardly mentioned in the books.

COUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE  ( 1895-1948)

The killing of the Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte was done by a militant Zionist group Lehi -  not by the Arab countries. He was chosen to be the Unites Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab-Israel conflict of 1947 -1948.To make peace between the Arab countries and Israel was a dangerous work. The Zionist group ,Lehi, did not like the opinions of the duke in the conflicts between the Arab countries and those who worked  for a new state Israel.

 But who was Folke Bernadotte? He was not an ordinary Swedish bureaucrat.No. He was a diplomat, a nobleman, former director of the Swedish Boy Scout Association (Sveriges scoutførbund), former chairman of the Swedish Red Cross and above all: He negotiated the release of about 31.000 prisoners from German concentration camps during the second World War. He had saved about 450 Danish Jews from Theresienstadt camp. He was not an officer or count only.

Conclusion

By reading the book about “The Godfather” you get an impression that the state of Israel is made by active military force, terror and a wish to dominate sites and places supported by USA and countries in Europe like Norway. The former Secretary- General of United Nations, Trygve Lie, was a good man for Israel as long as they needed him. Then another Norwegian was contacted for support of Israel: Haakon Lie. He did a good job for Israel too but he told them to make a change of the official policy of the occupied countries. No change was made.

KORITZINSKY: JEWISH-NORWEGIAN FAMILY HISTORY IN WAR AND PEACE

By Erik W. Koritzinsky

The author has studied the family history of Koritzinsky: A Polish Jewish family who emigrated to Sweden and later to Norway. Photos, documents and personal experience have been evaluated related to the story of family Koritzinsky. Besides, the author has made a personal report about the conditions of living for Jews after the Second World War in Norway. What was the main Jewish reason for not escaping to Sweden? Why did not his father escaped with his family when he knew how Germans treated Jews in Germany? An answer is given in the book, but his father died before he was moved to the concentration camp in Germany. Few believed that the Germans would imprison non Jewish members of a Jewish family. But in 1944 Vidkun Quisling made an official statement that members of any Jewish family were persons with bad qualifications. All the members of the family Koritzinsky could be moved to a concentration camp somewhere in Europe. But the family was lucky. The ships in the harbor of Oslo bound for Germany with unwanted Norwegians and Jews, were sunk by a Norwegian resistance group called: “ Pelle- Group”. The date for the sinking of the ships was November 23, 1944. Six ships were sunk. The leader of the saboteurs was Ragnar Solli. He was a communist and an active member of the communist resistance group called:” Osvald-Group”. The famous saboteur Asbjørn Sunde was the leader of the group. One of the members of the “ Pelle-Group” was Sverre Kokkin. Many years after the war, the author met Sverre Kokkin in France.

The family of Koritzinsky was not a poor family but rather wealthy. Even before the war the family had paid visits to France to see a relative who lived in “ Chateau Simone”. The contact and visit to the wine castle were popular after the war too. The author is debating about issues relating to being Jewish ,about anti-Semitism and the state of Israel. He is no dealing with different political issues relating to the present government of Israel . He is an advocate for the right of the existence of the state of Israel. But I think his brother Theo Koritzinsky and other members of the family might have a different point of view? The members of the family have a close and friendly attitude to each other even if they all differ in political matters.

I recommend reading the book because the author gives you an honest picture about his private life and a report about how to live in Norway after the war.

Erik W. Koritzinsky:

KORITZINSKY-Jewish-Norwegian Family History in War and Peace.

KOLON FORLAG AS .2018.