Defiant Courage: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance

by Astrid Karlsen Scott, Tore Haug, Harald Zwart (Foreword by)

Overview

The incredible true story of one man’s escape from Nazis in Norway.

“I remember reading We Die Alone in 1970 and I could never forget it. Then when we went to Norway to do a docudrama, people told us again and again that certain parts were pure fiction. Since I was a Norwegian that was not good enough; I had to find the truth. I sincerely believe we did,” writes author Astrid Karlsen Scott. Defiant Courage is the true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured as he tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway’s Troms District.

In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norwegian saboteurs arrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchor in Toftefjord to establish a base for their operations. However, they were betrayed, and a German boat attacked the cutter, creating a battlefield and spiraling Jan Baalsrud into the adventure of his life. The only survivor, a wounded Baalsrud begins a perilous journey to freedom, swimming icy fjords, climbing snow-covered peaks, enduring snowstorms, and getting caught in a monstrous avalanche. More than sixty people of the Troms District risk their lives to help Baalsrud, suffering from snow blindness and frostbite, to freedom. Meticulously researched for more than five years, Karlsen Scott and Haug bring forth the truth behind this captivating, edge-of-your-seat, real-life survival story.

Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628736649
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	06/03/2014
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Astrid Karlsen Scott first became acquainted with Jan Baalsrud’s story in 1970. In 1997, she began serious investigation of the details of the story. Scott has returned to Norway eight times in a period of three years in her efforts to find the truth. She met Dr. Tore Haug in 1997; they decided to combine their work and made many joint and separate trips to the Troms District to research this book. To gain a complete understanding of this magnificent drama, the coauthors explored the sites where the events took place, hiking up mountains and examining landmarks. Scott and Dr. Haug also met and interviewed all the survivors who helped Jan or who were indirectly involved and had knowledge of his story. Astrid, a native of Norway, is internationally known for her books on Norwegian culture. Her award-winning video, Christmas in Norway, has been shown on television in the United States and in Europe. She is also president of Nordic Adventure, a company dedicated to the promotion of Norwegian culture. She and her husband, Melvin McCabe Scott, Jr., live in Olympia, Washington. They have three children and thirteen grandchildren.

Dr. Tore Haug is a second cousin of Jan Baalsrud. He has been fascinated with Baalsrud's escape story since meeting Jan once as a boy in 1956. In 1995, after much research, he traveled with his family to the Troms District in northern Norway to further investigate Jan’s story. He found many people whose efforts on Jan’s behalf had not been acknowledged in previous accounts. Dr. Haug wanted to accurately tell the entire story of Jan and his incredible escape from the Gestapo, and of the undaunted courage of his many benefactors. Today, he is the person who knows the story better than anyone else in Norway. Haug is an M.D., a specialized general practitioner with a private practice in Norway. He studied and received his medical degree from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He has practiced medicine in Germany and Norway, and is fluent in German, Norwegian, and English. In 1976, Dr. Haug obtained his professional pilot’s license in the United States and Norway and flew as an executive pilot for five years. He and his wife, Wenche, live in Jessheim, Norway, with their daughter, Carolin.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7

Introduction 11

Norway at War 14

At Anchor in Scalloway 15

M/K Brattholm 19

The Convoys 23

The Linge Company 27

Fearless Men 29

Crossing the Atlantic 35

I Won't Tell a Soul 41

A Tragic Decision 47

Battle in Toftefjord 53

Explosion 59

Courage That Defied Death 65

Vårøna Island 71

The Gestapo Brings Terror 79

A Sickening Fear 83

A Warm Welcome on Hersøn Island 85

Tromsø Happenings 89

Fate of the Brattholm Men 91

A Triumphant Find 105

The Helpful Midwife 111

Karanes 117

Dåfjord 123

Down from the Mountains 129

Bjørnskar 135

Einar and Bernhard 143

Løvli 149

A Narrow Escape 159

Alone in the Mountains 163

Storm in Lyngsdalen Valley 167

Loving Hands 173

In the Hanloft 181

Busy Days on Grønvoll Farm 187

A Tender Farewell 193

Hotel Savoy 201

Happenings in Lofoten Islands 211

Gearing up for Revdal 213

On the other Side of the Fjord 219

Pushed to the Brink 225

The Manndalen Men 245

Grave Concerns for Jan 251

Peder and Nigo Find the Snow Cave 263

Jan's Solitude 269

Rescued from the Snow Cave 271

Beneath the Sky in Avzevaggi 277

The Spirit of the Sami 281

At Cross Purposes 287

Concealed in a Cave in Skaidijonni 301

The Sheriff's Assistants 311

Do Not Ask Me This 317

The Germans in Pursuit 321

En Route to Freedom 325

Epilogue 335

Maps 340

Sources 361

About the Authors 366