Oliver Møystad: Leader of the Security Police (1941-1943) and Leader of the Hird (1942-1944)

Background

He studied engineering at the University of Dresden in 1920 and went to the military school for a year. With his brother Diderich Møystad, who was a forester, he ran one of Trysil's and surrounding area's four large forestry companies, Diderich and Oliver Møystad. Oliver eventually took over his father Hans Møystad's (1861–1927) estate.

Møystad was with Nasjonal Samling (NS) from the start in 1933, part of the "Hedmarks guerrilla", which consisted of a large part of people from forestry. Møystad was NS county manager for Hedmark from 1936 to 1938, when he was succeeded by Ørnulf Lundesgaard. He was head of the court in Hedmark from the start in 1935. He was responsible editor of the NS organ Hedmark Fylkesavis until 1936, in collaboration with the journalist Odd Melsom. Møystad's editorial from 11 July 1935 states, among other things: "Nordmenn! Follow us in the fight and let us first discard the Marxist-liberal Jew nonsense about classes. There are only two classes in this country: Norwegians and Jews." In the 1936 parliamentary election, NS ran with Møystad in first place and Melsom in second place.

World War II

Møystad participated in the campaign in Norway in 1940 as captain and commander of the 3rd company in Østoppland infantry regiment no. 5 (Kp. 3/IR 5). During the skirmish at Midtskogen between Norwegian and German forces in 1940, Møystad was one of two troop commanders posted in the front line, who temporarily beat back the German troops. The following day, when the 3rd company was to mobilize with Møystad as commander, he was sent home to rest due to nervous shock. Other sources claim that in this context Møystad became known as a "national traitor". He was chief of the national guard in Norway from 1942 to 1944, and acting head of the State Police. According to Øystein Sørensen, Møystad became court chief on 1 October 1942 and head of Sipo from October 1941. Sørensen writes that Møystad was strongly nationalist-oriented and not a supporter of pan-Germanic ideas. Møystad pointed out to Quisling that the Hird should be a counterweight to the Germanic SS Norway. He had been a member of the Freemasons' lodge and his opponents attacked him by criticizing the Freemasons in NS ranks.

Later, he was an active NS bureaucrat and head of the State Police before being replaced by Karl Marthinsen. In July 1943, Møystad complained to Quisling about Marthinsen's way of working. Møystad was then deposed and replaced by Marthinsen. In July 1944, Marthinsen also became head of the Hird. Under Møystad, the order came from SIPO on 10 January 1942 that the Jews' identification cards should be stamped with J.

After the war

In the national fraud settlement, Møystad was sentenced to 10 years of forced labor and a fine of NOK 150,000. He was released in 1950.