Jewish Children's Home in Oslo significant person Nic Waal
Origin
With the rise of the Nazi party, Nansenhjelpen, the Nansen Aid, was established in 1936 to help get vulnerable groups out of Central Europe and into Norway. Originally the group was stationed in Austria, but after Austria's annexation with Germany (the Anschluss), the group moved to Czechoslovakia.
Through the work of recently arrived psychiatrist Leo Eitinger and Nora Lustig (who was later detained, deported, and immediately murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp) from Brno, Nansenhjelpen applied on humanitarian grounds to admit 100 Czech Jewish children who otherwise faced a grim future under the Nazi regime. The ministry of justice only reluctantly approved the application for a 22 children, on the grounds that it would be "difficult to get rid of them."The Nansen Aid brought 21 Jewish child refugees, aged 7–9 years old, from Vienna (known as Wienerbarna, "the Vienna children"), to Norway in June 1938 on the pretext of a 3-month summer vacation with the Norwegian Jewish community at the Jewish community's cabin at Skui in Bærum. After the summer, with the political situation in Austria not improving, a new plan was needed. 6 parents decided to bring their children back to Vienna, all of whom were killed. The remaining children were linked to local Jewish families as "foster children," (allowing them to stay in Norway) and moved into rented facilities in Industrigaten and finally into an apartment the Jewish community had acquired at Holbergsgate 21 in Oslo.The first director of the orphanage, Nina Hasvoll (née Hackel), was recruited by Norwegian psychiatrist Nic Waal after they had become acquainted in Berlin while attending the Kinderseminar (Seminar on Children) run by Wilhelm Reich. Hasvoll lived with the children in the apartment. Nansen Aid board member Sigrid Helliesen Lund was also active in establishing the home.Caroline (Nic) Waal, who orchestrated the escape, relying on her personal network of friends and family.
Nina Hasvoll, the director of the orphanage.
Gerda Tanberg, who hid the children in her second floor apartment in Ullern.
Martin Solvang, a taxi driver who was very active in the underground railroad to Sweden, and drove the children to Elverum.
Ola Rauken, a border guide, who took the children into his farm and walked them 17 kilometers toward the border.
Ola Breisjøberget, who took them across the border.
Sigrid Helliesen Lund, a member of Sivorg who dedicated herself from the outset to saving the children's lives, planning the escape and arranging for provisions.See Norwegian Righteous Among the Nations for a complete list of Norwegians recognized.
In 2015, a movie was created depicting Hasvoll's role in World War II called Ninas barn.