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The Heroes of Telemark.
The Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II. Norwegian resistance fighters sabotage the Vemork Norsk Hydro plant in the town of Rjukan in the county of Telemark, Norway, which the Nazis used to produce heavy water to make a nuclear bomb. Besides this impressively filmed sequence, Operation Gunnerside, Operations Grouse and Freshman and the final attack are depicted in location filming, in which snowy Norwegian locations serve as a backdrop for the plot. Kirk Douglas plays the role of a Norwegian physics professor who, though originally content to wait out the war, is soon pulled into the struggle by local resistance leader Knut Straud (based on Knud Haukelid, portrayed by Richard Harris).
Ray Mears made a documentary titled The Real Heroes of Telemark. Despite mainly sticking to the factual evidence, some scenes like the film were partly dramatised, but focusing more on the survival skills involved in the operation.
The same story was also covered in the 1948 French-Norwegian film 'Kampen om Tungtvannet.' Quite faithful to the real events it even had many of the original Norwegian commandos starring as themselves.
The Real History: You may or may not remember the 1965 film"The Heroes of Telemark", but I certainly do. I saw it first as a child, and have seen it several times since. If you have not seen it, I recommend you do - this area will seem a whole lot more interesting as a result (although its beauty should be easily enough). I had lived so close to this area for over half a year, but had not realised it. So on one of my visits to Norway, I had to take the opportunity to look at it in person.
The film is based heavily on a true story, but with obvious inaccuracies that I will try to clear up. The first inaccuracy is that it stars annoying dimple-chin Kirk Douglas, who plays an American. Or at least, he is supposed to be Norwegian, but he is the least convincing Norwegian I have ever seen, and is clearly an American, complete with American character traits and accent. Well of course, they save everyone everywhere, right? Wrong. In reality, his character never existed. During the Second World War, the Germans had set up a heavy water refining plant in the hydroelectric power station at Vemork in Telemark. The heavy water was a byproduct of the fertiliser production, which took place using the electricity at the factory. The heavy water was to be used as part of the German atomic bomb production, which the Allied forces mistakenly feared would be ready very soon.
A small Norwegian advance force hid out in the surrounding mountains, waiting for the British teams to arrive. These were flown over, but crashed, and all survivors were captured and executed. The advance force survived on moss, lichen, and a single reindeer, for 4 months through the icy winter. Reinforcements later arrived in the form of several more Norwegians. They crossed the gorge near the factory, went inside, set explosives on the refinery and escaped without any shots being fired (although the film shows otherwise). Several of them then escaped to Sweden.Six months later, the factory was running again, so the Americans tried bombing it - badly. They did little damage to the plant itself, but succeeded in hitting the nearby Norwegian towns instead. The Germans decided to move production to Germany, and prepared to ship the refined water across the nearby lake, the only real way out of that part of Telemark. The British (or London, strictly speaking) gave the order to sink the ferry, even though it would be used by local Norwegians as well, many of whome would be known personally, even intimately by the resistance.
The ferry was sunk in deep freezing water in the lake, killing the 14 Norwegians who were on board, as well as the 4 German guards. Unlike the story portrayed by the film, the ferry itself was virtually unguarded while it was at the dock, and there was no possible attempt to help save anyone on board. The German atomic program was halted (although after the war, finds showed that they were never even close to completion). The Norwegian resistance involved in the factory sabotage, and sinking the ferry, are regarded as Norwegian heroes, even by the families of those they had been forced to kill.
There had been some speculation that the barrels were simply a decoy. Recent archaeological expeditions recovered some barrels from the floor of the lake, and confirmed that they had indeed contained heavy water.
Thanks to Wikipedia.
H.V. Anderz.
Zie ook: The True Hero of Telemark.
Zie ook: Operation Freshman Telemark.
Zie ook: Tocht naar Rjukan.
Zie ook: Knud Haukelid.
Last updated on 04 februari 2011.
Zie ook: Beeldverhaal Anderz, Boeken Anderz, Geschiedenis Anderz, Astronomie Anderz, Personen Anderz, Muziek Anderz en Sport Anderz, Voetbal Anderz.
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