![]() ![]() "A welcome and much appreciated contribution to the growing library of World War II memoirs and eye-witness accounts. "My colleagues and I have read with great interest.we have been impressed with the way make this truly remarkable story come alive, focusing not only on Jan Baalsrud, but showing the quiet courage and determination of his many helpers."Jan Gerhard Lassen, Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs "This is a must-read book for anyone who enjoys reading true historical, well-researched stories of intrigue, suspense, and adventure." The Norwegian American They were the people in the country, fishermen and grandmothers who proved to be heroes themselves."-Director Harald Zwart It’s a great survival story it sheds light on all the people who helped Baalsrud. “This story is a natural treasure for Norway. He and his wife, Wenche, live in Jessheim, Norway, with their daughter, Carolin. Haug obtained his professional pilot’s license in the United States and Norway and flew as an executive pilot for five years. He has practiced medicine in Germany and Norway, and is fluent in German, Norwegian, and English. He studied and received his medical degree from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. Haug is an M.D., a specialized general practitioner with a private practice in Norway. Today, he is the person who knows the story better than anyone else in Norway. Haug wanted to accurately tell the entire story of Jan and his incredible escape from the Gestapo, and of the undaunted courage of his many benefactors. He found many people whose efforts on Jan’s behalf had not been acknowledged in previous accounts. In 1995, after much research, he traveled with his family to the Troms District in northern Norway to further investigate Jan’s story. He has been fascinated with Baalsrud's escape story since meeting Jan once as a boy in 1956. Tore Haug is a second cousin of Jan Baalsrud. They have three children and thirteen grandchildren.ĭr. ![]() She and her husband, Melvin McCabe Scott, Jr., live in Olympia, Washington. She is also president of Nordic Adventure, a company dedicated to the promotion of Norwegian culture. Her award-winning video, Christmas in Norway, has been shown on television in the United States and in Europe. Astrid, a native of Norway, is internationally known for her books on Norwegian culture. Haug also met and interviewed all the survivors who helped Jan or who were indirectly involved and had knowledge of his story. To gain a complete understanding of this magnificent drama, the coauthors explored the sites where the events took place, hiking up mountains and examining landmarks. Tore Haug in 1997 they decided to combine their work and made many joint and separate trips to the Troms District to research this book. Scott has returned to Norway eight times in a period of three years in her efforts to find the truth. In 1997, she began serious investigation of the details of the story. Karlsen Scott and Haug bring forth the truth behind this captivating, edge-of-your-seat, real-life survival story.Īstrid Karlsen Scott first became acquainted with Jan Baalsrud’s story in 1970. Meticulously researched for more than five years, Suffering from snow blindness and frostbite, more than sixty people of the Troms District risk their lives to help Baalsrud to freedom. ![]() The only survivor and wounded, Baalsrud begins a perilous journey to freedom, swimming icy fjords, climbing snow-covered peaks, enduring snowstorms, and getting caught in a monstrous avalanche. However, they were betrayed, and a German boat attacked the cutter, creating a battlefield and spiraling Jan Baalsrud into the adventure of his life. In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norwegian saboteurs arrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchor in Toftefjord to establish a base for their operations. The 12th Man is the true story of Jan Baalsrud, whose struggle to escape the Gestapo and survive in Nazi-occupied Norway has inspired the international film of the same name. I sincerely believe we did,” writes author Astrid Karlsen Scott. Since I was a Norwegian that was not good enough I had to find the truth. Then when we went to Norway to do a docudrama, people told us again and again that certain parts were pure fiction. "I remember reading We Die Alone in 1970 and I could never forget it. Intrigue, suspense, and adventure."- The Norwegian American The book that inspired the international film of the same name. A stunning story of heroism and survival during World War II. ![]()
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