Trandumskogen War Memorial
During our June 2024 trip, my wife and I visited the Trandumskogen War Memorial, a site recommended by our Norwegian Airbnb host. Knowing that I’m a history teacher and storyteller, our host thought I would appreciate the location, which had once been used by the Germans for tank training. This was one of the many history lessons we learned about the Nazi German occupation of Norway from 1940 to 1945.
17 mass graves of 173 Norwegians, 6 British, and 15 Soviet citizens
What we weren’t prepared for, however, were the memorials honoring the 17 mass graves of 173 Norwegians, 6 British, and 15 Soviet citizens who were executed at the site.
Many of these individuals were sentenced to death by the German occupation forces, while others fell victim to arbitrary executions. Most were resistance fighters, but the Soviet victims were prisoners of war who had attempted to escape German prison camps. Five of the British men had been arrested for plotting to destroy the heavy water plant at Vemork, while the sixth had participated in a sabotage attempt on the battleship Tirpitz.
These men had no idea where they were headed
According to the memorial marker on “Death Road” many of these men had no idea where they were headed before being taken into the forest and executed.
Why was a tanking firing range chosen? Because they could cover up the noise of the firing squads killing these victims of war before dumping them in mass graves.
The text on the memorial reads:
IN THE COMBAT FOR FREEDOM
DURING THE 1940-1945 WAR
173 NORWEGIANS 15 SOVJET-
SUBJECTS AND 6 BRITONS WERE
HERE IN THE WOODS OF TRAN-
DUM EXECUTED BY THE ENEMY
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