“NORWAY IS FREE!!”

In June 1945, a Norwegian named Öivind Hansen writes a postcard to Dr Gerhard Rundberg, a Swedish Red Cross doctor, thanking him for everything he had done for Hansen and all his comrades.

When the Nazi occupation of Norway began, Öivind Hansen was working as a bicycle repairman. Through his involvement in the trade union movement, he soon became part of the active Norwegian resistance and began helping to distribute the banned publication Fri Fagbevegelse.

The Nazis regarded Norway’s independent newspapers as one of the strongest forces of resistance in the country. Fri Fagbevegelse managed to continue publishing until the end of the war in May 1945, but the struggle came at a heavy price. A total of 133 people associated with the publication were arrested, and 19 of them were murdered by the occupying forces. One of those arrested was Öivind Hansen.

On 6 March 1942, the Gestapo entered Öivind’s home and arrested him for his involvement in the illegal publication and distribution of newspapers. He was initially sent to Grini prison, the Nazi internment camp just outside Oslo. While Öivind was imprisoned, the Nazi Reich Commissioner for Norway, Joseph Terboven, introduced the death penalty for any involvement with resistance publications. After eleven months at Grini, Öivind learned that he was to be transferred to Germany.

Without knowing his exact destination or what fate awaited him, Öivind was sent on an arduous journey towards Germany. At one point, as the boat carrying him and his fellow prisoners approached land, some of them caught sight of a sign bearing the name “Oranienburg”. It was then that they realised they were being taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

By 1944, the Nazi occupying forces were under severe pressure across Europe, and the Allied forces appeared to be turning the tide of the war in their favour. On the continent, the Normandy landings had been successful, while on the Eastern Front, Soviet troops were advancing ever closer to Germany.

During the autumn of 1944, serious discussions began between Norway, Denmark and Sweden about attempting to rescue their citizens imprisoned in German concentration camps. Germany’s increasingly desperate position created an opportunity for negotiations, while fears about what might happen if the camps became caught up in frontline fighting made the situation urgent. Sweden therefore undertook to organise a Red Cross expedition to Germany and, as a neutral country, to provide medical care for sick Scandinavian concentration camp prisoners. In February 1945, the rescue expedition that would later become known as the White Buses was organised.

At the time, Gerhard Rundberg was the municipal medical officer in Norrköping, but he was soon recruited as the chief delegate of the medical personnel who would take part in the White Buses expedition.

The plan was for the White Buses initially to gather sick and injured Scandinavian prisoners from various concentration camps in a separate section of Neuengamme concentration camp, outside Hamburg. There were also plans to begin negotiations with the Nazi regime at a later stage over the possibility of transporting the prisoners to Sweden.

On 11 March, after almost three years in captivity, Öivind celebrated his 23rd birthday. Just a few days later, the first of the White Buses arrived at the camp, led by Dr Gerhard Rundberg.

Although still alive, Öivind was severely weakened by his long imprisonment and was suffering from chronic intestinal inflammation, among other ailments. He was placed on one of Gerhard Rundberg’s lists of prisoners in urgent need of medical care and considered suitable for immediate evacuation.

He was therefore among the first to leave Sachsenhausen and arrived shortly afterwards at the assembly camp in Neuengamme. From there, Öivind was later transported onwards to Denmark. On 25 May, following the final surrender of Nazi Germany, Öivind finally returned to his homeland.

On 14 June 1945, Öivind Hansen sent the postcard with a greeting and a message of thanks to Gerhard Rundberg:

“My heartfelt thanks for everything that was done for me and all my comrades.

[…]

Long live Sweden!

Öivind Hansen”

The picture on the front of the postcard depicts snow-covered mountains and two skiers standing beside a flagpole. The Norwegian flag is flying from the pole, and beside it someone has written: “Norway is free!!”