Nordahl Grieg - Legacy

Legacy

After the end of World War II, Grieg became a hero in Norway because of his resistance to the Nazi Occupation, both during the invasion itself and in the continuation of the fight in the forces in exile in Britain. Grieg is still popular in Norway today, especially his anti-fascist poetry.

In 1945, a collection of Nordahl Grieg's war poems, Friheten ("Freedom") was published which remained a best selling Norwegian poetry collection. In 1957, a statue Nordahl Grieg by Roar Bjorg was unveiled at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. In 1990, the musical Nordahl Grieg i våre hjerter ("Nordahl Grieg in our hearts"), written by Erling Gjelsvik with music by Knut Skodvin debuted in Bergen. In November 2003, a memorial stone was unveiled at the site where Nordahl Grieg died near Berlin, Germany, when the Lancaster bomber in which he was flying hit the ground on 2 December 1943. In 2010, Nordahl Grieg High School (Nordahl Grieg videregående skole) in Rådal was opened in the Rådal neighborhood in Bergen.

Nordahl Grieg was a friend of English novelist Graham Greene who wrote about various aspects of Grieg's life and wartime career in his 1980 biographical work 'Ways Of Escape'. The two first met when Grieg turned up unannounced at Greene's cottage in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire in 1931.