Thorvald Thronsen: Chief of Staff in the Hird (1940-1944)

• Speech in Oslo, January 14, 1941: With our banners comes victory! 

Thorvald Thronsen was a member of the Nasjonal Samling from 1933, and before the outbreak of war was a lieutenant in the Army. During the German invasion in 1940, he suffered shell shock, which caused him severe psychological problems.

After the occupation was a fact, he renewed his membership in NS, and in November 1940 became chief of staff in the Rikshirden. As chief of staff, he was also responsible editor of the organisation's newspaper Hirdmannen, which published its first issue on 16 November.

Thronsen himself participated in the hird's violent behavior throughout the autumn of 1940. On 30 November, he led a group of 15 hirdsmen in a regular assault on students and teachers at the Oslo commercial high school. They wanted to set an example, after a shepherd boy at school had been in conflict with other students. During the attack, they forced their way into the school building and classrooms, and mistreated both the headmaster, teachers and pupils.

At the turn of the year, Thronsen enlisted as a front fighter, and was attached to the 5th SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" in January 1941. He was therefore out of Hirden's activities for almost the whole of 1941. He was not back in his position as commander of the hird staff.

As Hird leader, among other things, he initiated the establishment of the so-called Hirdvaktbataljonen, which was established in January 1942. The Hird members in this "guard battalion" were eventually to be sent to the Germans' so-called Serb camps, and take part in prisoner treatment that was obviously a war crime. In many cases, Shepherd's men went further in their mistreatment of Yugoslav prisoners of war than the Germans did. It went so far that even the head of the court Oliver Cappelen Møystad referred to this service as "rogue service" for the Germans.

After the war

In the national treason settlement after the war, Thronsen avoided a sentence, when he was declared periodically insane. He was required to stay in his home area. However, Tronsen ran away, probably to Brazil and Spain. From 16 November 1948 he was wanted by the Norwegian police. He returned to Norway in 1956. In 1964 it was decided to suspend the case against him. He died in 2003.