Joachim Rønneberg
The statue of the resistance fighter Joachim Rønneberg is to honour the hero and those he cooperated with during the liberation of Norway in WW II.
Joachim Rønneberg left Norway onboard MK ”Sigurd” on March 13th, 1941, to participate in the battle for freedom, to be based in Great Britain. Here he became second lieutenant in what is now known as Company Linge, formerly called Norwegian Independent Company No. 1.
With training in sabotage and explosives, he lead the group performing the operation ”Gunnerside”. A military sabotage operation with the goal of stopping the production and export of heavy water from the factory of Norsk Hydro at Vemork. On the night of February 27th, 1943, nine of the soldiers ventured over the ice covered river Måna, along the railway tracks, an area that was not mined.
While the coverage team stayed on guard, the explosives team forced their way into the heavy water factory, and set the explosives on the heavy water containers in the basement. The bomb went off and 900 kg of heavy water was destroyed. Not a single shot was fired during the entire operation, and the operation is considered by many to be the most important and most successful sabotage operation during the entire WW II.
12 months after ”Gunnerside”, in March 1944, Joachim Rønneberg, Birger Strømsheim and Olav Aarsæther is parachuted into Veltdalen. They spend the next year in the Tafjord Mountains, preparing the next attack, Operation Fieldfare. The purpose of the operation was to reconnoitre and prepare attacks on German supply lines at the Raumabanen. In January 1945, they blow up the Stuguflåtbrua and close down the German supply lines for three weeks.
Joachim has received numerous decorations throughout the years as a thank you for his military contribution, but Joachim himself does not want people to focus on him being a war hero. Peace and freedom is not a given, Joachim is supposed to have stated. It is therefore important to relate this story to future generations.
Audio guides available in:Norsk bokmål, English (British), 日本語, Nederlands, Deutsch , Français, 中文, Español, Italiano, Українськa, Arabic
