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.