Jan Baalsrud – Nordlige folk

With their lives at stake, the women and men of Nord-Troms saved Jan Baalsrud from certain death when he fled from the Germans in the spring of 1943. The dramatic escape from Rebbenesøya to Sweden, which lasted two months, has been depicted in books, films and theatre.

Published 22 November 2016

Jan Baalsrud from Kolbotn was a sergeant in «Company Linge», where he received special training for secret operations in Norway. In March 1943, he and three other men from Linge Company travelled to Senja on the ship Brattholm. The mission, called Martin Red, aimed to carry out sabotage and establish sabotage groups in northern Troms. On board were also men from the so-called «Shetland Gang».

Specified

When the boat was anchored in the Toftefjord on Rebbenesøy, the crew was betrayed by the local merchant and then surprised by a German warship. The crew blew up Brattholm to prevent the Germans from getting hold of the equipment on board. The Germans fired at the crew. One man was shot and killed during the escape. The survivors were arrested and taken to Tromsø. On the way there, one man died from the injuries he had sustained. In Tromsø, another man died under torture, and the remaining eight men were shot.

The 12th man

The twelfth man, Jan Baalsrud, escaped and embarked on an arduous flight through northern Troms.

Baalsrud swam between islands before reaching the mainland. Along the way, he received help from many Norwegians. Marius Grønnvoll from Furuflaten and others organised the relief work to get Baalsrud on towards neutral Sweden. Baalsrud suffered gangrene in his toes. From then on, he had to be transported lying down. He lay in a cave at the top of Manndalen for 17 days. The gangrene meant that he had to amputate several of his own toes. Baalsrud was eventually transported with Swedish Sami to Sweden.

The helpers were the heroes

Baalsrud himself never forgot the many people who helped him along the way. The war veteran repeated several times that he was only present during his own escape, and that it was the helpers who were the heroes.

More than 60 women and men had direct contact with Baalsrud and his escape. In addition, there were entire villages that knew what was going on. All of them lived in mortal danger and would have faced terrible punishment if the German occupiers revealed their illegal work.

Jan Baalsrud himself wanted his ashes to be buried in Manndalen after his death. Today we find his grave in Sandeng cemetery, together with that of Aslak Andersen Fossvoll, one of his helpers from Manndalen.

Watch the documentary They saved his life / They saved his life

Films and books

The film «Nine Lives» depicts Baalsrud's dramatic escape and is based on the book of the same name by David Howarths. The film is directed by Arne Skouen and stars Jack Fjeldstad as Baalsrud.

2017 will see the release of the film The 12th Man, directed by Harald Zwart and written by Peter Skavlan. The film stars Thomas Gullestad in the role of Baalsrud.