Edvard Welle-Strand (1 May 1884 ^[1] – 10 March 1965 ^[2]) was a Norwegian journalist and novelist.

Career

Edvard Welle-Strand was born in Vesterålen, Norway. ^[3] Welle-Strand wrote newspaper articles from his district in 1900, sending them to the newspaper Nidaros in Trondhjem. In 1905, he was hired by Nidaros. ^[4] He later studied journalism in Berlin. ^[3] In 1909 he published his first book Fra havskjær og fjellvidde, a collection of tales. ^{[5] [6]} He worked in Hvepsen, ^[7] and from 1910 to 1936, he worked as a subeditor in the newspaper Bergens Aftenblad. From time to time, he had assignments as a foreign correspondent; covering Petrograd in 1917 and Finland in 1918. He also contributed to Mikal Sylten's anti-Semitic magazine Nationalt Tidsskrift and to Sylten's likewise tinted Christmas magazine Nordisk Jul. Welle-Strand, who was a staunch anti-Semite and believed in Jewish financial domination conspiracies, was one of the most prolific non-pseudonymous contributors apart from Sylten himself, and had his most active period in Nationalt Tidsskrift in 1921. ^[3] He also continued to publish novels, especially during the 1910s and 1920s. ^{[5] [6]}

From 1937 to 1940 he edited and published the magazines Vi Reiser and Fiskermagasinet, and from 1940 to 1941 Bergens Illustrerte. ^[4] Also, his last known contribution to Nationalt Tidsskrift came in 1940, a short story. ^[3] In 1940 Norway was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, but the Nazi authorities arrested Welle-Strand on 14 January 1942 as a "hostage", and incarcerated him at Grini concentration camp from 16 January to 23 March. ^[1] Edvard's son Erling Welle-Strand, whom he had together with Elsa Kielland Lindhé (1888–1979), was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement; from 1944 in the Norwegian Independent Company 1. ^[8] Edvard's granddaughter Ragni (b. 1946) was married to famous writer Edvard Hoem from 1982 to 1995. ^[9] Another son Erik Welle-Strand was a resistance member too. ^[10]

Welle-Strand continued to publish books after the war, from the 1950s concentrating on non-fiction books about Knut Hamsun. His last recorded release came in 1964. ^{[5] [6]}

References