Our friend in the north

The last surviving leader of Norway’s anti-Nazi resistance

Oslo

Even in the glare of a crisp spring day the execution ground at Akershus Fortress is a chilling place. Snow still fringes the old gun battery and the Oslofjord clinks with ice. Sitting above this small patch of ground, in Norway’s Resistance Museum, I’m reminded of the risks taken by the man sitting next to me. Seventy years ago, Gunnar Sønsteby, the most decorated man in the country and the last remaining leader of the resistance movement, spent five years fighting the Nazi occupation. Avoiding the firing squad in that courtyard was his highest priority.

Sønsteby is a fine reed of a man; thin, poised and dignified, like a Nordic Giacometti. His long face led to him being nicknamed ‘Kjakan’ (‘The Chin’). At 93 he retains a keen intellect, and a charismatic and considered delivery. As we settle into the library, he gives the plate of digestives on the table a withering look and produces a box of pastries he and his elegant wife, Anne-Karin, have brought for the occasion.