Our Escape From Nazi-Occupied Norway: Norwegian Resistance to Nazism
As a boy at the age of four, Leif Terdal with his family escaped Nazi-occupied Norway in a wooden fishing boat. The fishing boat, Siglaos, was attacked by a German airplane on its way to the Shetland Islands. The second phase of his familys escape was on a Norwegian freighter that left London in early January 1942 in a convoy of 40 ships on its way to cross the Atlantic for Canada. That convoy was met by a fierce U-boat attack. Leif and his two brothers have maintained a life-long interest in trying to understand WW II, the successes and failures of resistance movements, and the history of anti-Semitism. Leif and his wife have visited Dachau, resistance museums in Denmark and Norway. Leif has interviewed resistance fighters who survived the war, a German who survived the bombing of Dresden, a Jewish man who survived Auschwitz and now writes and lectures on the subject, Englishmen who survived the bombing of London, and many of his Norwegian relatives about their experiences during the occupation. Dr. Terdal was a clinical psychologist at Oregon Health Science University before retiring in 1994. He has published on Behavioral Assessment of Childhood Disorders, including ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder). In retirement he enjoys cruising and has authored books on Small Boat Cruising to Alaska and on Northwest Sea Disasters: Beyond Acceptable Risk (a Trafford Publication).