A secret life Spanish Special Agent and Volunteer Wilhelm Holst »- VG

Title: «A secret life. Spanish Special Agent and Volunteer Wilhelm Holst »

Author: Sigrun Slapgard

Genre: Documentary

Publisher: Samlaget

Price: 349, –

Pages: 368

Sigrun Slapgard has been nominated for a Brage Award for the documentary “A Secret Life.” And I can understand that very well. Because seldom has a substance found its author in a better way than in this book.

It begins when Slapgard receives an inquiry from Ole Christian Kleppe, who is interested in finding out more about a grandfather he has never met, but has heard a lot of interesting things about his growth. Kleppe has noticed that Slapgard mentions Wilhelm Holst in his book on Lise Lindbæk “The Pen of War” (2002), and he himself has some documents about his grandfather.

But he needs help moving his file search forward, and soon the two of them will embark on some classic detective work that will reveal a rather incredible story:

It is about the Spanish Civil War, clandestine work in occupied France, special missions, human trafficking, a love story and a family tragedy that would have devastated most people. All told with momentum and rhythm, placed in a fascinating picture of time.

Wilhelm Holst was a businessman in 1936 who, after many years in Paris, had actually gone bankrupt. In an attempt to start over, he sends his family, his wife Anna, and their three children home to Norway while he himself seeks happiness in London.

There, he soon engaged in transporting ambulances to Republican forces in Civil War Spain. And before you know it, Holst is a stretcher and eventually specializes in sanitation. His talent for organization makes him an important resource for the “red” forces, and what was to be a short stay in Spain did not end until 1939, when he had to flee to France.

In describing the Spanish Civil War, Slapgard uses all his literary knowledge and talent, which helps make the book more interesting. Along the way, she is also enticingly entwined with the highlights that she and Kleppe make as more and more layers are revealed in the Wilhelm Holst story.

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In Spain, Holst begins a relationship with British nurse Madge Addy, who joins him at his new base in Marseille and occasionally in Lisbon. He is tasked with organizing aid to the 500,000 Spanish refugees in France, including 85,000 unaccompanied children. But under the pseudonym Billett, he also becomes the leader of a French resistance group. The last effort after the war will bring you, among other things, the French war cross.

To make matters worse, Holst also operated as a British intelligence agent.

While all the drama takes place in Spain and France, he only occasionally maintains contact by letter and telegram with the family now in Ådalen.

It is clear that the marriage to Anna is in crisis, and then an unimaginable tragedy strikes the family: Wilhelm and Anna’s two sons, Einar at 16 and Per, who has not yet turned 15, are executed along with several others by German soldiers in April 1940. There is talk of arbitrary reprisals due to the resistance encountered by the occupation forces in the Hønefoss district.

It’s a heartbreaking story, and perhaps this loss helped explain with what contempt for death Wilhelm Holst became involved in resistance work in France.

But like so many others, Holst never received the recognition he deserved after the war.

An opportunist stamp hung by him, along with various health problems, was possibly a contributing factor in his death at just 54 years old.

But despite a short life: Wilhelm Holst’s story contains so much stunning drama, colorful characters, and engaging details that it rises above most contemporary Norwegian documentary literature.

Now I’m basically looking forward to the TV series.

Reviewed by: Sindre Hovdenakk