Harald Aasdalen – illegal weapons transport

Place: notodden · Approximate position

Harald Aasdalen (1924–1984) grew up at Strupa in Heddal. During the occupation he became one of those who moved weapons for the resistance movement in the Notodden area – according to the family's account he owned the lorry himself, with ammunition and dynamite hidden in the load. According to Svein Vetle Træ's book "Lamplight", he was on an assignment up towards Gransherad together with his brother-in-law Georg Bjørndahl and Adolf Rånman when an illegal weapons load was seized by the Germans down in Heddal in January 1945. The Germans opened fire with machine guns, and in the confusion Harald went down – as luck would have it, it turned out he had only fainted. Rånman and Aasdalen were taken prisoner, while Bjørndahl got away and fled up to the "Tysjå-karane".

Two primary documents tell the rest. The German prisoner card from the Staatspolizei lists him as ÅSDALEN, Harald, born 29.7.24 in Heddal, by occupation "Hilfsarbeiter" – labourer – resident in Heddal. He was delivered in on 6 February 1945 at 18.10, signed for by "Schulze, Zugw.", and the case is entered as "ill. Waffentransport" under geschäftszeichen 7217. He was twenty years old at the time.

The second document is his own questionnaire from Rikspolitiet, the national police, signed in Oslo on 9 May 1945 – the day after the liberation. There he states himself that he was a labourer, that his last permanent address before the arrest was Skilrud in Heddal, that he was arrested on 25 January 1945 by "tysk kontroll" – a German check – and that the reason was "Transport av sprengstoff og ammunisjon", transport of explosives and ammunition. He spent fourteen days with the Gestapo in Drammen and the rest of the time in Møllergata 19 in Oslo. Asked whether he had been maltreated, he answered "Ja, vanlig slag og spenn, kølle" – yes, the usual punches and kicks, a truncheon – carried out by two Gestapo men in Drammen and one Norwegian, whose name he could not give, with no witnesses present.

The same form asks whether he has reason to believe he was informed on by anyone. There he answered "nei", no. The family's account, by contrast, says that it was an informer who finally gave him away. The two statements do not rule each other out: a prisoner did not need to know why he was taken, and the family may have learned more in the years that followed. But what stands in the contemporary document is that he himself knew of no informer. Note too that the wording "navn kan ikke oppgis" – name cannot be given – in the form applies to the Norwegian who took part in the maltreatment, not to an informer.

After the war he settled in Skrivar Wessels veg in Heddal, first in the neighbouring house and later at number 21, where he died in 1984.

PROPOSED MOVE – the marker is here placed at Skilrud in Heddal instead of Strupa, and the change must be approved by the owner. The basis is Aasdalen's own questionnaire from Rikspolitiet, signed 9 May 1945, where "siste faste bopel før arrestasjonen" – last permanent address before the arrest – is given as "Skilrud i Heddal". Strupa – where he grew up – comes from the compensation claims register. Both pieces of information are documented and do not contradict each other; people move. Since this story is about the arrest in January 1945, Skilrud is the place he actually lived then. The coordinate is Kartverket's representation point for Skilrud (the central place-name register, place number 1092665, name object type "Tettsteddel", 59.5745 N / 9.20073 E) – an area point for the hamlet, not a particular dwelling. The place where the lorry was stopped is unknown in any case: "Lamplight" says only "nede i Heddal", down in Heddal. The former Strupa point was [9.21218, 59.56811] and can be put back if the owner prefers.

Sources

  • Harald Åsdalen – Norsk digitalt fangearkiv 1940–1945 (Fanger.no) — Registeret bruker skrivemåten «Åsdalen». Født 29. juli 1924 i Heddal, død 1984 på Notodden. Arrestert 25. januar 1945, arrestasjonsgrunn «ulovlig våpentransport»; fengslet i Drammen og fra 6. februar 1945 i Møllergata 19 (fangenummer 7217) til freden.
  • Fangekort – Harald Åsdalen (Arkivverket / Digitalarkivet) — Tysk fangekort (2 sider); primærkilden bak opplysningene i fangeregisteret.
  • Erstatningssøknad, Fordelingsstyret for fangeerstatningen 1960–1962 (Digitalarkivet) — Harald Aasdalen, f. 29.7.1924, Strupa i Heddal, står i erstatningssøknadsregisteret for tidligere fanger.
  • Svein Vetle Træ: «Lamplight – krig og motstand i Notodden/Øvre Telemark 1940–45» (2016) — Forteller om våpentransporten oppover mot Gransherad med svogeren Georg Bjørndahl og Adolf Rånman, og at våpenlasten ble tatt av tyskerne nede i Heddal i januar 1945; Rånman og Aasdalen ble tatt til fange, mens Bjørndahl flyktet opp til Tysjå-karane. Digitalisert utgave hos Nasjonalbiblioteket.
  • Strupa, Heddal – Sentralt stedsnavnregister (Geonorge) — Strupa i Heddal, brukt til å stedfeste hjemstedet hans.
  • Familieberetning — Fortalt av Harald Aasdalens barnebarn (nettstedets redaksjon).
  • Spørreskjema fra Rikspolitiet – Harald Aasdalen, underskrevet Oslo 9. mai 1945 — Primærdokument på to sider, stilt til rådighet av nettstedets redaksjon (Aasdalens etterkommere). Oppgir yrke «arbeider», legitimasjonskort utstedt av lensmannen i Heddal og «tatt av t.», siste faste bopel før arrestasjonen «Skilrud i Heddal», arrestert 25/1-45 av «tysk kontroll», grunn «Transport av sprengstoff og ammunisjon», fengsler «gestapo Drammen 14 dager, resten på Møllergt. 19 Oslo», angitt av noen: «nei», mishandlet: «Ja, vanlig slag og spenn, kølle» av «2 gestapo i Drammen og en norsk, navn kan ikke oppgis. ingen vitner». Dokumentet er ikke gjenfunnet i et maskinelt søk i Digitalarkivet her – se docs/poi-image-licences.md.
  • Skilrud, Notodden – Sentralt stedsnavnregister (Kartverket/Geonorge) — Stedsnummer 1092665, navneobjekttype «Tettsteddel», Notodden kommune, representasjonspunkt 59.5745 N / 9.20073 Ø. Eneste treff på navnet i Norge.