Stutthof Diaries Collection
For Truth & Honor
by Tore Jørgensen

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In the early days of World War II, as Nazi Germany brutally invaded and occupied neighboring countries around Europe, hundreds of Norwegian police officers were commanded to carry out the orders of the Nazi occupiers of their homeland – Norway. They refused. Even under threat of death, they refused. Their refusal led to their imprisonment and their removal from Norway, ultimately to KZ-Stutthof in eastern Poland, where an elaborate network of concentration and death camps had been created mainly for Jews and Poles. Author Tore Jørgensen’s father was one of those police officers. This book is a recounting of these heroes’ experiences, both in trying to maintain national pride and order in Norway before their expulsion and in trying to stay alive and outlast mental and physical exhaustion while in detainment. Over the last 22 years, as a labor of love and duty to preserve, Jørgensen gathered a large number of diaries and memoirs in which the police, true to their training, recorded the details of their experiences. These articulate witness accounts have provided a record that is exceptional – a treasure trove of anecdotes describing how personal sacrifice can triumph over purposeless greed and violence. The story of these Norwegian police officers is a story that celebrates the redemptive force of conscious choice against evil, of how love and compassion can help people through some of the darkest periods of their lives. Through their stories, the Norwegian police officers, loyal to their country and each other while reaching out to aid their fellow sufferers at the same time that they struggled for their own survival, urge readers to not repeat the history and the myth of racial superiority that led to the rise of Nazism.

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"You have done a marvelous job in piecing together a glimpse into a sad and divisive time in the history of mankind…. a time brilliantly laid out and exposed through the eyes of some who suffered the consequences of the human heart at it’s unimaginable depth of depravity … yet sometimes softened by a fleeting moment of kindness …. maybe a bit of food …. a note of encouragement smuggled to the Jews from the nearby Norwegian encampment. Your Preamble aligns our hearts and minds in preparation for the Chapters that follow. This is your heart, the heart of your Father and those who remained alive long enough to personally tell you their story … the depth and height of their courage …. and their relentless and unwavering grip on God through it all." ~James H Barden and Emilija Barden "The author deserves great credit for carefully documenting a little-known, important chapter of World War II history. He was inspired by diaries kept by Norwegian police officers who were imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp Stutthof for their brave, conscientious refusal to comply with Nazi demands to collaborate. Tore Jorgensen supplemented his reading of the diaries with extensive research, enabling him to provide a very detailed account starting with the Nazi occupation of Norway, including the notorious Quisling (whose name has entered the English language as a synonym for a collaborator) as well as brave men of conscience like Gunnar Eilifsen who paid the ultimate price for refusing to collaborate with the brutal Nazi regime. Hundreds of other police officers also refused and were ultimately sent to Stutthof. Their numerous travails and continuing resistance, along with witnessing of various atrocities, are described in vivid detail. The clear, well-written text is complemented by some evocative drawings and also includes a glossary of terms likely unfamiliar to most readers. This book is highly recommended, both for its accurate, detailed history of events needing to be remembered and the inspiration it can provide." ~Dan Sonnenschein "Tore Jørgensen writes unflinchingly about the fate of the Norwegian police imprisoned by the Nazis in Stutthof Concentration Camp during World War II. Stutthof Diaries Collection: For Truth & Honor is thoroughly researched and includes the haunting first-person accounts from prisoners who covertly recorded their experiences in diaries written while at Stutthof. Jørgensen describes the grueling daily life of the prisoners, the cruelty of the guards, and the compassion of individuals. It is a detailed examination of life behind the Death Gate for the Norwegians who witnessed firsthand the atrocities at KZ-Stutthof. Ultimately it reminds us about the importance of determination, hope, camaraderie, and compassion in times of strife, and the “redemptive power of conscious choice against evil—a choice we may be forced to make one day.”" ~Liisa Kovala, author of Surviving Stutthof: My Father’s Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46, 2017)

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Tore Jørgensen’s father was one of the Norwegian police officers who were imprisoned at KZ-Stutthof in eastern Poland. For over two decades, Jørgensen collected and translated the available diaries and memoirs of many of the police officers who were taken captive by their Nazi occupiers, as well as the remembrances of other prisoners at Stutthof. In addition, Jørgensen also interviewed survivors of the Stutthof camp to help complete the story. Jørgensen lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia, with his wife. They have four children and ten grandchildren.

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Author

Tore Jørgensen

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