Andreas Aubert (resistance member)
Encyclopedia
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He joined Norwegian Independent Company 1
Norwegian Independent Company 1
Norwegian Independent Company 1 was a British SOE group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. It was organized under the leadership of Captain Martin Linge...
in 1942 where he later became an ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
Aubert was born in Oslo. His older brother, Kristian Aubert (1909-1942), was also an active resistance member during the war but was captured by Gestapo and died of torture in 1942. Aubert was the first German prisoner tortured to death at Grini
Grini
Grini prison camp was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945.-History:Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft named Ilen , on land bought from the Løvenskiold family by the Norwegian state...
. Under the cruel torture he revealed nothing and he thus saved the lives of many he had worked with.
Aubert soon became one of the key members of the sabotage group Oslogjengen
Oslogjengen
Oslogjengen was a sabotage group operating in Oslo from May 1944 to May 1945, during the last year of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The group had its basis in both the British Special Operations Executive and the Norwegian Milorg, was coordinated by Gunnar Sønsteby, and had around ten...
, which was under the command of Gunnar Sønsteby
Gunnar Sønsteby
Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II...
. Due to his leadership skills, he was often chosen to perform the most demanding missions carried out by the group. In early May 1945 Aubert among other members of Oslogjengen secured the archives in the Department of Justice, which revealed the actions the Nazis in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
during the war.
When the Norwegian Royal Family
Norwegian Royal Family
The Royal Family of Norway is the family of King Harald V of Norway. In Norway there is a distinction between the Royal House and the Royal Family. The Royal House includes only the King and his spouse, the Queen, the King's eldest son with spouse, being the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and the...
returned to Norway after the war, Aubert served as a bodyguard.
He received the War Cross with sword, St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
St. Olav's Medal With Oak Branch
St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch is a Norwegian military award, which was instituted by King Haakon VII of Norway on 6 February 1942. In Norway, the medal is considered as a separate award from the civilian St...
and the H.M. King's recollection Medal with bar 1940-1945.
After the war Aubert lived a restless and tense life. He died in Oslo in 1956 at the age of 45 and is buried at the Vestre gravlund
Vestre gravlund
Vestre gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway, located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway...
cemetery.
Other sources
- Gjems-Onstad, Erik (1995) Krigskorset og St. Olavsmedaljen med ekegren (Oslo: Grøndahl Dreyer) ISBN 82-504-2190-6