Beisfjord massacre

The Beisfjord massacre (Norwegian: Beisfjord-massakren[1]) was a massacre on July 18, 1942 in Beisfjord, Norway of 288 political[2] prisoners who were killed at Lager I Beisfjord (German: "No. 1 camp Beisfjord" - in Norwegian Beisfjord fangeleir).

The massacre had been ordered a few days earlier by the Reichskommissar for Norway Josef Terboven.[2]

Contents

Background

In order to build defences in Norway against the allies, the Germans brought in political prisoners and prisoners-of-war from their operations in Eastern Europe to work as forced labour on infrastructure projects.

In 1942, 900 Yugoslavian prisoners were transported by ship to Beisfjord (approximately 10 kilometers east of Narvik) where a prison camp was established.[3] 588 prisoners were transported to Bjørnefjell (approximately 30 km (19 mi) north-east of Beisfjord) to be quarantined there, and the camp at Øvre Jernvann was established.[3]

Conditions at the camp were unhealthy and there was an outbreak of typhus.[4]

July 17 and July 18

On the evening of July 17, "prisoners regarded as healthy" were marched out of Lager I Beisfjord by nearly all of the Norwegian[5] guards and a number of German superiors.[2] (Their destination was 30 km (19 mi) north-east — Bjørnefjell.[6]) The remaining 288 prisoners were assembled and ordered to stand in groups of twenty besides what was to became mass graves. Those who did were shot.[2]

A number of prisoners refused to leave the infirmary.[2] The building was set ablaze; those who jumped out of the windows were shot.[2]

Criticism of lack of focus on the involvement of Norwegian paramilitary soldiers

In 2009, Aftenposten wrote "That Norwegian pupils are sent on organized bus trips to Germany and Poland to get a sense of the atrocities there, without knowing that equivalent atrocities were committed in Norway, puzzles the leader of Nordnorsk Fredssenter in Narvik". Adding "That the events [of the massacre] were covered up, is feared by the head of a war museum in Narvik (Nordland Røde Kors Krigsminnemuseum)[note 1], because a paramilitary force of Norwegians (hirdmenn) participated in the atrocities". [2]

References

Notes
  1. ^ Nordland Røde Kors Krigsminnemuseum
Citations
  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ole Magnus Rapp (17 September 2009), "Gransker nordmenns rolle i leirene" (in Norwegian), Aftenposten, http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3173900.ece, "Alle hadde status som politiske fanger, og var arrestert for å ha motarbeidet Hitler-Tyskland." 
  3. ^ a b "Innsigelse til Reguleringsplan for NygÅrdsfjellet Vindkraftverk Trinn II, Narvik Kommune" (in Norwegian) (pdf), Government correspondence from Minister Erik Solheim, 26.09.2007, http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/MD/Vedlegg/Planlegging/Kommunal%20planlegging/Innsigelsessaker/brev_nygaardsfjellet.pdf, "I 1942 ble 900jugoslaviske fanger fraktet med båt til Beisfjord ca. en mil øst for Narvik der det bleopprettet en fangeleir" 
  4. ^ Mladjenovic
  5. ^ Sigurd Bakke Styrvold, "Heil og Sæl. Jeg er utdannet morder!” - Den norske SS Vaktbataljon 1942 – 45" (in Norwegian) (pdf), MA in hstory - University of Oslo: p. p.19, http://www.duo.uio.no/publ/IAKH/2009/91881/Styrvold.pdf, "ble alle de friske fangene sendt av gårde i en hard marsj mot Jernvatn på Bjørnefjell eskortert av nesten alle de norske vaktene i leiren, samt noen få tyske befalingsmenn." 
  6. ^ Sigurd Bakke Styrvold, "Heil og Sæl. Jeg er utdannet morder!” - Den norske SS Vaktbataljon 1942 – 45" (in Norwegian) (pdf), MA in hstory - University of Oslo: p. p.19, http://www.duo.uio.no/publ/IAKH/2009/91881/Styrvold.pdf, "ble alle de friske fangene sendt av gårde i en hard marsj mot Jernvatn på Bjørnefjell" 
Bibliography

External links