Gulbrand Oscar Johan Lunde | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lundec. 1940 | |
| Minister of Culture and Public Information(The National Government) | |
| In office 1 February 1942 – 25 October 1942 | |
| Minister of Culture and Public Information(Reichskommissariat Norwegen) | |
| In office 25 September 1941 – 1 February 1942 | |
| ProvisionalNasjonal Samling Councilor of State for Culture and Public Information(Reichskommissariat Norwegen) | |
| In office 25 September 1940 – 25 September 1941 | |
| Minister of Social Affairs(Quisling's First Cabinet)(did not take office) | |
| In office 9 April 1940 – 15 April 1940 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1901-09-14)14 September 1901 Bergen,Sweden-Norway |
| Died | 25 October 1942(1942-10-25) (aged 41) Rauma Municipality,German-occupied Norway |
| Cause of death | Drowning |
| Political party | Nasjonal Samling |
| Profession | Chemist |
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Gulbrand Oscar Johan Lunde (14 September 1901 – 25 October 1942) was aNorwegianchemist and politician of theNasjonal Samling party who became a minister in thecollaborationistgovernment ofVidkun Quisling duringWorld War II.[1][2] His 1942 death was deemed accidental, although a 2012 biography of Lunde concluded that he was assassinated because his cultural views clashed with those of the government ofNazi Germany.[3]
Lunde was born inBergen in what was thenSweden-Norway, the son ofarchitectSigurd Lunde (1874–1936) and Inga Grue (1870–1948). He was raised in Bergen. On 6 March 1929, he married Marie Honoria Halling Wulfsberg (26 August 1907–25 October 1942).[4]
Lunde studied at theETH Zurich (German:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich; English:Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) inZürich,Switzerland, and at theUniversity of Freiburg inFreiburg im Breisgau,Germany. In 1925 he received adoctorate inchemistry in Germany. In 1927 he was employed at the chemistry department at theUniversity of Oslo inOslo, Norway. In 1929 he turned down two offers ofprofessorships to become the director of theHermetikkindustriens Laboratorium (English:Canning Industry Laboratory) inStavanger, Norway. He was central to the development of the Norwegiancanning industry and wrote a number of scientific treatises onbiochemistry and onvitamins.[5]
Lunde quickly distinguished himself as a keen supporter ofVidkun Quisling and was one of the first members of Quisling′s political party,Nasjonal Samling (English:National Gathering). He participated in the establishment ofNasjonal Samling in Stavanger in 1933 and was active in the election campaign the same autumn. He was one ofNasjonal Samling′s foremost speakers and was an efficient administrator. In 1934, he was elected as a municipal council representative in Stavanger when the party received 12 percent of the vote.[5] In 1935 he becameNasjonal Samling′s head ofpropaganda and authored a number of writings and publications.Nasjonal Samling performed poorly in elections in 1936 and Lunde then spent more time on work and family.
DuringWorld War II,Nazi Germany invadedNorway on 8 April 1940, beginning theNorwegian campaign, in which British, French, and Norwegian forces opposed the invasion. On 9 April 1940, Quisling attempted acoup against Norway'sNygaardsvold government[6][7] and appointed Lunde minister of social affairs in what is referred to as Quisling′s First Cabinet, but Lunde declined the position. The coup failed after six days,[6] and on 15 April 1940 theSupreme Court of Norway replaced Quisling′s First Cabinet with a seven-memberAdministrative Council (Norwegian:Administrasjonsrådet) to govern Norway.[6][8][9] On 24 April 1940Josef Terboven became the GermanReichskommissar of Norway,[10] and the Norwegian campaign ended on 10 June 1940 in the German conquest of Norway, with the Nygaardsvold government becoming Norway'sgovernment-in-exile. Meanwhile, Terboven exercised nearly dictatorial power in Norway, which remained underGerman occupation for the rest of the war.
On 25 September 1940, Terboven proclaimed the deposition ofKingHaakon VII of Norway and the Nygaardsvold government-in-exile, banned all political parties in Norway other thanNasjonal Samling,[11] and replaced the Administrative Council by appointing a group of 11Nasjonal Samling members to help him govern Norway askommissariske statsråder (English:provisional councilors of state), with a goal of eventually establishing acollaborationist Norwegian government underNasjonal Samling.[8] Lunde was among the officials Terboven appointed that day, becoming acting minister of culture and public Information. A year later, on 25 September 1941, Terboven gave the 11 councilors the title of "minister."[12] On 1 February 1942, the collaborationistQuisling regime was established asDen nasjonale regjering (English:the National Government) of Norway, technically replacing direct German civil administration of the country, although in practice Terboven continued to govern Norway.[13] Lunde continued to serve as minister of culture and public information in the Quisling regime.
As minister of culture and public information, Lunde tried to gain control over intellectual life in Norway. Through speeches and lectures, he drew cultural historical lines from theViking Age up to his own time to substantiate his opinions about the development of the Norwegian nation. ProfessorGunnar Skirbekk cites German intelligence reports which indicate that the Nazi German government was skeptical of Lunde because he emphasized theNorse people, which meant a demarcation of Norway from the otherGermanic peoples.[14]
In September 1942, Lunde and Jim Johanessen, the leader of the music unit of theNasjonal Samling′s uniformed paramilitary organizationHirden, invited theJewishviolinistErnst Glaser to a meeting. They arranged transport toSweden for Glaser to avoid anything happening to him duringthe Holocaust in Norway.[15][16]
At 20:30 on 25 October 1942, Lunde, his wife Marie, and county manager for Bergen-Hordaland Christian Astrup departedÅlesund in a car driven byHirden member Rolf Brennford for a journey that required aferry passage on theRomsdalsfjord toEidsbygda and on toÅndalsnes. The car arrived at theferry terminal atVåge inVeøy Municipality inRomsdal at approximately 22:00. While Lunde and his wife slept in the back seat, Brennford got out of the car. The ferry, guarded by two Germanofficers, started its engine to move a little closer to thequay, but instead it moved away from shore, causing the car to roll forward and plunge into the5-metre (16.4 ft) deep water. Astrup escaped from the sinking car, but Lunde and his wife drowned.[17][18] The incident led to an order to install booms at ferry terminals to prevent similar accidents.[19]
A large memorial service was held in Oslo for Lunde and his wife on 1 November 1942. They werecremated, and theirurns later were placed atHopperstad Stave Church nearVikøyri inVik Municipality, Norway.
The deaths of Lunde and his wife were investigated as suspicious, but the investigation concluded that they were accidental. However, rumors circulated that they were murdered, and a 2012 biography of Lunde concludes that his death was anassassination staged by the Germans, who wanted to get rid of a troublesome minister whose focus on the more narrow "Norse" tradition did not fit in with the wider concept of "Germanic peoples" favored by theNazi Party.[14][17]
Rolf Jørgen Fuglesang succeeded Lunde as minister of culture and public information, also retaining his own portfolio as minister of party affairs.[20]
