Helge Krog (9 February 1889 – 30 July 1962) was a Norwegian journalist, essayist, theatre and literary critic, translator and playwright.

Helge Krog
Helge Krog in 1919
Born(1889-02-09)9 February 1889
Kristiania, Norway
Died30 July 1962(1962-07-30) (aged 73)
NationalityNorwegian
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • essayist
  • theatre and literary critic
  • translator
  • playwright
Spouses
(m. 1912; div. 1947)
(m. 1949)
Parents
RelativesGina Krog (aunt)

Personal life

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Krog was born in Kristiania, the son of jurist Fredrik Arentz Krog and Ida Cecilie Thoresen.[1] His mother, a well-known feminist, was the first female student in Norway in 1882,[2] and his father's sister, Gina Krog, was a central figure in the Norwegian women's suffrage movement.[3] He was married to writer and publicist Eli Meyer from 1912 to 1947, and to actress Tordis Maurstad from 1949.[1]

Career

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Krog graduated as cand.oecon. in 1911. He worked for the newspaper Verdens Gang from 1912, and from 1914 as a theatre and literary critic. He later worked for the newspapers Tidens Tegn, Arbeiderbladet and Dagbladet.[1] He issued the article collection Meninger om bøker og forfattere in 1929 (lit. Opininons on books and writers), and a second collection, Meninger om mange ting in 1933.[4]

His first play was the press comedy Det store Vi from 1917,[1] which was staged at several Scandinavian theatres.[4] The play was a great success at Nationaltheatret with almost sixty performances, Gerda Ring playing the "shop girl" character, and August Oddvar the "young journalist".[5] The play På solsiden from 1927 was later basis for a film (in 1956).[4] Other plays were Konkylien from 1929, and Don Juan (together with Sigurd Hoel, from 1930).[1] The plays Underveis (1931) and Opbrudd (1936) treat women's role in society and were also of interest during the feminist movement of the 1970s.[1]

During the interwar period Krog became known as a member of the "radical triumvirate", along with Arnulf Øverland and Sigurd Hoel.[1]

World War II

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During the last part of World War II Krog lived in exile in Sweden, where he contributed to the magazine Håndslag.[6] He published, under pseudonym, the critical article "Nazi-Tysklands krigspotensial og den 6-te kolonne i Norge" in 1944,[7][8] an article which was subject to much debate, also after the war.[9] The pamphlet was reissued in an expanded version in 1946, questioning the contributions from the Norwegian large-scale industry to the warfare of Nazi Germany (Norwegian: 6. kolonne -? Om den norske storindustriens bidrag til Nazi-Tysklands krigføring).[1]

He died in Oslo.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rottem, Øystein. "Helge Krog". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  2. ^ "Cecilie Thoresen Krog". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  3. ^ Moksnes, Aslaug (29 September 2014), "Gina Krog", Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 24 July 2019
  4. ^ a b c "Helge Krog". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  5. ^ Rønneberg, Anton (1949). Nationaltheatret gjennom femti år (in Norwegian). Oslo: Gyldendal. p. 60.
  6. ^ Luihn, Hans (1960). De illegale avisene (in Norwegian). Oslo / Bergen: Universitetsforlaget. pp. 178–179.
  7. ^ Ringdal, Nils Johan (1995). "Krog, Helge". In Dahl; Hjeltnes; Nøkleby; Ringdal; Sørensen (eds.). Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 235. ISBN 82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  8. ^ Ringdal, Nils Johan (1995). "6-te kolonne". In Dahl; Hjeltnes; Nøkleby; Ringdal; Sørensen (eds.). Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Cappelen. p. 380. ISBN 82-02-14138-9. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  9. ^ Kraglund, Ivar; Moland, Arnfinn (1987). "Helge Krogs 6te kolonne: Norsk industri under krigen". In Skodvin, Magne (ed.). Norge i Krig. Hjemmefront (in Norwegian). Vol. 6. Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 224. ISBN 82-03-11421-0.