I just came across one of the best web sites about the Norwegian Resistance movement in World War II. The site Norway: War Resistance Peace is maintained by an Englishman named Geoff Ward, who is married to a Norwegian woman. It is a collection of the personal stories of those who lived through the period. Several of my grandfather's cousins in the Gudbrandsdal fought with the Resistance and one was killed. One of the largest battles fought in the first days of the invasion occurred by our family farm (Klevstaberget) in Kvam. There a small group of British soldiers held the invading German Army at a standstill at a narrow section of the Gudbrandsdal river valley. The British soldiers had clogged the narrow road with destroyed German tanks. The Germans couldn't move forward on the road, so they sent a unit up the steep hillside to try to flank the British. They used the fields and paths of Klevstaberget farm, which was on the hill overlooking the British. From there they overtook the brave and outnumbered British soldiers. There is a fine monument to those British soldiers who died in the Kvam church cemetery.
The most famous story of the resistance is the destruction of the German heavy water plant by Knut Haukelid and friends, photo above. His book Skis Against the Atom is a classic.
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