Osvald Group

The Osvald Group was a Norwegian sabotage organisation during the Second World War, and led by Asbjørn Sunde, who used Osvald as one of his cover names. The organisation was originally a branch of the Wollweber League, a subsidiary to the Soviet secret police organization NKVD which dissolved when Ernst Wollweber was arrested in 1940. The Osvald Group was the most active sabotage organization in Norway from 1941 to the summer^[1] of 1944.^[2][3]

It performed around 110^[1] sabotage actions.

History

After the arrest of Ernst Wollweber and the revelation of the Wollweber League, Asbjørn Sunde still had an intact organisation in Oslo, but had lost contact with Moscow,^[3] and had no funding. Sunde kept his organization alive and prepared caches of explosives around the country. They initiated their sabotage activities shortly after Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, and continued until the Osvald Group was demobilised in 1944, by orders from Moscow. Their first railway sabotage mission was undertaken on 20 July 1941, the explosion of a Wehrmacht train at Nyland Station in Oslo. This was the start of a series of actions. The Osvald group's active resistance policy was in opposition to the Communist Party of Norway (NKP), Milorg and other organizations that preferred a more passive resistance. The group cooperated with the group 2A and 2A's police group, as well as with Milorg, SOE and XU.

From the winter of 1942 NKP formed military groups, and Sunde had meetings with their leader Peder Furubotn. Sunde established a sabotage training center in Rukkedalen and recruited a network of saboteurs in the Torpo-Gol and Nesbyen area, down the Hallingdal and further to Oslo and Bergen. In September 1942 Sunde agreed to supply guards at the communist party's central camp in Hemsedal, in exchange for practical and financial support. Sunde became NKP's military leader, and the organisation became more efficient.

On 20 April 1943 it sabotaged an employment office in Oslo, on Pilestredet.^[1] (This sabotage has been confused ^[1] with a planned attack against the employment office in Heimdal Street—to be led by Kai Holst; and a 1944 attack at Pilestredet by Max Manus.)

In 1944 there was a break between the group and NKP's leader Peder Furubotn, when Furubotn demanded that the group should subordinate itself to his leadership.

The Osvald Group was closed down in 1944, following orders from Moscow. During its operative period from July 1941 to July 1944 the group was responsible for around 110^[1] known actions, dominating sabotage activity in Norway during this period.

35 of the saboteurs were killed, excluding the one killed in Bergen.^[1]

Organization

The number of members was over 200.^[1]

Post-war

Due to the political climate at the time and the group's close relations to the NKVD and Moscow, the Osvald Group received no recognition from the Norwegian Government after the war, and their members were never decorated.^[2]

A memorial was set up in Oslo 30 May 1995, in memory of saboteurs from the Osvald Group that perished during the Second World War.

In 2013, then minister of defence honored^[1] 8 members—of the 17 who are still alive.

Members

• Leif Kjemperud^[4]

Notes