Man who foiled Nazi nuclear plan dies aged 99

[webfact]

Man who foiled Nazi nuclear plan dies aged 99

 

FILE PHOTO: World War Two Norwegian resistance fighter Joachim Roenneberg holds up a Union flag, which had been lowered from above the House of Lords, after it was presented to him by the Clerk of the House of Lords in Westminster, London, April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File Photo

 

OSLO (Reuters) - The leader of a daring World War Two raid to thwart Nazi Germany's nuclear ambitions has died aged 99, Norwegian government officials said on Sunday.

 

Joachim Roenneberg, serving behind enemy lines in his native Norway during the German occupation, in 1943 blew up a plant producing heavy water, or D2O, a hydrogen-rich substance that was key to the later development of atomic bombs.

 

Picked by Britain's war-time Special Operations Executive to lead the raid when he was only 23 years old, Roenneberg was the youngest member of Operation Gunnerside, which penetrated and destroyed key parts of the heavily guarded Norsk Hydro plant.

 

The subject of books and documentaries as well as movies and a TV drama series, the attack took place without a single shot fired.

 

To Roenneberg's team, however, the stakes could not have been higher. An earlier raid failed to even reach the site, with dozens of attackers captured and killed, and Gunnerside members later described their own assault as a near-suicide mission.

 

Parachuting onto a snow-covered mountain plateau, the small group teamed up with a handful of other commando soldiers before skiing to their destination, penetrating the plant on foot and blowing up the heavy water production line.

 

Describing a pivotal moment, Roenneberg later said he made a last-minute decision to cut the length of his fuse from several minutes to seconds, ensuring the explosion would take place but making it more difficult to escape.

 

While a manhunt ensued, the group fled hundreds of kilometres across the mountains, with Roenneberg skiing to neighbouring Sweden, a neutral country in the war, two weeks later.

 

While historians doubt that Adolf Hitler's Germany would have been able to produce a nuclear weapon in time to stave off defeat, they also recognise that the risks were much harder to quantify in 1943.

 

For the Gunnerside crew, this hardly mattered at the time; only much later did they learn the true purpose of the attack they were asked to carry out.

 

Born in 1919 in the town of Aalesund, Roenneberg fled to Britain after the German invasion of Norway in 1940, receiving military training before returning home for several missions during the war.

 

After the 1945 liberation he became a radio reporter but rarely spoke of his wartime achievements. Later in life he gave speeches and lectures well into his nineties, warning against the destructive force of totalitarianism.

 

Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Sunday praised Roenneberg for his work both during and after the war.

 

"He is one of our great heroes," she told news agency NTB.

 

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by David Goodman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-22

[Samui Bodoh]

It is truly amazing to think of how much human history turns on the action(s) of a few, brave people. It is a reminder that all actions have consequences and that we all need to try to do the 'right thing' (whatever that may be); who can tell when one small action of ours will have great consequences?

 

Thank you for what you did. 

 

Rest In Peace.

 

 

[Esso49]

A very very brave man indeed who played his part in ridding Europe, and the world as a whole, of the German menace. The world would be a much different place without him and others like him.  RIP

[toofarnorth]

Can't be many WW2 heroes left , they did what they had to do and have now moved on. My ex father in law is still taking care of his self and we believe he is 99 , was a captain in the army WW2 , he like others never wanted to talk about the war as if it was of no importance .

Footballers and film stars are small stars but not heroes .

[Opl]

   

[Becker]

A true hero. Wish there were more of his kind in the world.

[Burma Bill]

RIP Norwegian man - a true "Hero of Telemark".

[Opl]

" Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: the truth behind the victory at Telemark "

Gubbins selected his Norwegian saboteurs from men who had fled to England following the Nazi invasion of their country. Their leader was a bold 23-year-old named Joachim Ronneberg.

“What I want you to do,” Fairbairn told the saboteurs, “is to get the dirtiest, bloodiest ideas in your head that you can think of for destroying a human being. Ronneberg was initially appalled, for he had been “a very quiet, innocent boy back in Norway”. Now, under Sykes and Fairbairn, he learned that “it was kill or be killed” Joachim Ronneberg and his men were quick to concede that their mission would not have succeeded without Colin Gubbins and his team. .

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/churchills-ministry-of-ungentlemanly-warfare-the-truth-behind-th/

[colinneil]

A true hero, pulled off a tremendous feat, then avoided capture.

Think about todays 23 year olds, they get upset if somebody says a naughty word to them.

R.I.P. sir.

[Sir Swagman]

The whole operation was a test of extreme endurance, even before the raid itself. An amazing story of truly amazing men. RIP.

[scubascuba3]

It's a shame how great they say a person was after their death. How about sometime before instead

[balo]

Yes he is a big hero for us Norwegians , it was something that all kids who grew up after the war had to remember and learn about at school . 

 

Together with another war hero , Gunnar Sønsteby who died a few years ago , they saved Norway and were influential players for the world peace. 

 

[balo]

For those who don't remember  , a Hollywood version was made in 1965 , with Kirk Douglas.  Maybe not 100% factual but it gives you something to think about.

 

Full movie : 

 

 

[balo]

This British documentary is very good .  

 

 

 

 

 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

A true hero, pulled off a tremendous feat, then avoided capture.

Think about todays 23 year olds, they get upset if somebody says a naughty word to them.

R.I.P. sir.

 

I think you'll find 23yo people who are just like that guy, and then 23yo people who conform to your description. Doubt it was much different even back then.

[Morch]

1 hour ago, balo said:

For those who don't remember  , a Hollywood version was made in 1965 , with Kirk Douglas.  Maybe not 100% factual but it gives you something to think about.

 

Full movie : 

 

 

 

Quote

The mission, organised by Churchill's covert Special Operations Executive (SOE), was one of the greatest coups of the war, and so daring it was later recreated by Hollywood in the 1965 film The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris. (Rønneberg, however, dismisses it as a "hopeless" portrayal. "They took a true story and spun their own idea around it. It should never have been allowed.")

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/7664351/A-new-mission-for-the-hero-of-Telemark.html

 

 

[55Jay]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a shame how great they say a person was after their death. How about sometime before instead

I get your meaning in the broad sense of how we, and the media, tend to recap when a well known figure dies - sometimes it is selective, even revisionist.    

 

But, in this case, other posts on here so far attest to the fact he was recognized and highly regarded for what he and others involved, achieved. 

 

Appears to be wearing his military decorations which are acknowledgement and testaments of their own, as well as being recognized by the UK in the OP photo, dtd 2013. 

[how241]

Amazing story.  I am just learning about this now. Thanks

[scubascuba3]

I get your meaning in the broad sense of how we, and the media, tend to recap when a well known figure dies - sometimes it is selective, even revisionist.    
 
But, in this case, other posts on here so far attest to the fact he was recognized and highly regarded for what he and others involved, achieved. 
 
Appears to be wearing his military decorations which are acknowledgement and testaments of their own, as well as being recognized by the UK in the OP photo, dtd 2013. 

Yes but the wider audience probably never heard of him until after his death which is a shame

[Mac98]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

I think you'll find 23yo people who are just like that guy, and then 23yo people who conform to your description. Doubt it was much different even back then.

The difference now is if the attackers spotted a defending guard smoking, then the attackers would have immediately taken off for Sweden. Wow, talk about a suicide mission!

[balo]

2 hours ago, how241 said:

Amazing story.  I am just learning about this now. Thanks

I think Ronneberg himself never wanted to talk about the war, until much later in life, when he was an old man . 

Remember this was a team effort, they all relied on each other, a very tight group of people working with the UK government and Churchill with the King of Norway in London, to stop the war .

 

You can mention 10 names and they were all heroes. But some stood out. 

[how241]

6 minutes ago, balo said:

I think Ronneberg himself never wanted to talk about the war, until much later in life, when he was an old man . 

Remember this was a team effort, they all relied on each other, a very tight group of people working with the UK government and Churchill with the King of Norway in London, to stop the war .

 

You can mention 10 names and they were all heroes. But some stood out. 

Interesting.  I have always been very  interested in history so when I have time later,  I will read-up  and watch some of the videos.  There are many unsung heroes from the wars. Many amazing small stories that most people don't know about, especially the newer generations, as they are only interested in what directly might affect them. 

[Damrongsak]

1 hour ago, how241 said:

... I have always been very  interested in history ...

At the beginning of World War II, actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers.  It wasn't used at the time but became very important some years later. We wouldn't have wi-fi, bluetooth and other wireless communications without it.

 

http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp

https://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/cscie129/nu_lectures/lecture7/hedy/lemarr.htm

 

[how241]

2 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

At the beginning of World War II, actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers.  It wasn't used at the time but became very important some years later. We wouldn't have wi-fi, bluetooth and other wireless communications without it.

 

http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp

https://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/cscie129/nu_lectures/lecture7/hedy/lemarr.htm

 

Thanks !!!    I will check those those links.

[Tug]

I’ve been aware of this hero and his team since childhood thankyou sir a fantastic achievement.pbs did a documentary on Headdy  Lamar she was way ahead of everyone else in many ways a very impressive human being 

[55Jay]

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

8 hours ago, 55Jay said:

I get your meaning in the broad sense of how we, and the media, tend to recap when a well known figure dies - sometimes it is selective, even revisionist.    
 
But, in this case, other posts on here so far attest to the fact he was recognized and highly regarded for what he and others involved, achieved. 
 
Appears to be wearing his military decorations which are acknowledgement and testaments of their own, as well as being recognized by the UK in the OP photo, dtd 2013. 

Yes but the wider audience probably never heard of him until after his death which is a shame

I had no idea the Nazis were even up to this. 

 

Perhaps, because of this man's action, is why that was never highlighted during my early education.  Or what the alternate endings could have been, had this man and his mates NOT done what they done. 

 

As another poster said earlier, it's mental candy to think about "what if" things didn't happen as we know them now.  Or if they happened but at a different time and possibly different context.

[Catoni]

On 10/21/2018 at 7:59 PM, Esso49 said:

A very very brave man indeed who played his part in ridding Europe, and the world as a whole, of the German menace. The world would be a much different place without him and others like him.  RIP

 

            Nothing wrong with Germans.    Something very, very wrong with Nazism, Fascism, Communism, Socialism, Religious Extremism, and other all other forms of Totalitarianism.  

[Catoni]

On 10/22/2018 at 1:35 PM, 55Jay said:

I had no idea the Nazis were even up to this. 

 

Perhaps, because of this man's action, is why that was never highlighted during my early education.  Or what the alternate endings could have been, had this man and his mates NOT done what they done. 

 

As another poster said earlier, it's mental candy to think about "what if" things didn't happen as we know them now.  Or if they happened but at a different time and possibly different context.

 >I had no idea the Nazis were even up to this.

 

     Oh yes.....they certainly were.   They had a whole Nuclear Weapons Program underway.... and lots of top scientists available.   They had the first rocket powered fighter aircraft in combat, (ME-163 Komet),  the first jet fighters in combat, (ME-262 Schwalbe)  the first drone missile, (V-1)  the first ballistic missile (V-2) ....the best submarines..the first modern Assault Rifle  (Stg 44 aka MP 43/44).  Pretty well all modern day assault rifles are descended from it.    Their scientists were the worlds best.  It was German scientists who contributed most to putting men on the moon. Father of the U.S. Saturn V Moon rocket was Werner von Braun... who also was the father of Nazi Germanys V-2 ballistic missile rocket.   

  I would only be surprised if they did NOT have a Nuclear Weapons Program. 

 

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nuclear_weapons_program

 

[Catoni]

On 10/22/2018 at 2:18 AM, colinneil said:

A true hero, pulled off a tremendous feat, then avoided capture.

Think about todays 23 year olds, they get upset if somebody says a naughty word to them.

R.I.P. sir.

  In universities and colleges these days, they need their safe spaces to go to if someone micro-aggressions them..   Where they can hug teddy bears and work on coloring books. 

    We have bred a generation of socialist wimps.  

[Chomper Higgot]

24 minutes ago, Catoni said:

  In universities and colleges these days, they need their safe spaces to go to if someone micro-aggressions them..   Where they can hug teddy bears and work on coloring books. 

    We have bred a generation of socialist wimps.  

I wasn’t alive at the time of WW2, I suspect neither were you, I am however certain even if alive at the time you did not play any part fighting the Nazis.

 

The bravery of those who did does not belong to you, it does not belong to me or to anyone who did not serve in that war.

 

Their bravery is not a stick for you to use to beat the young of today.

 

You, like everyone before WW2, have no idea what the young are capable of.

 

The only thing we can be sure of is in the event of a war it is our young who will fight it.

 

Only you can know for certain what part you yourself would play, but nothing helpful is my guess.