War Resistance Peace
Arild Walder
Arild and I are sitting beside a window of the house that he built overlooking the
Oslofjord in 1961. Until 3 years ago we would have seen and heard an almost
constant stream of planes landing and taking off at nearby Fornebu airport. The
airport has now been moved to Gardermoen leaving the air to seagulls to soar
and swoop silently over the glassy water.
As they did 70
years ago when Arild lived closer to Oslo’s city centre but still only a
fifteen minute walk to the fjord with its boyhood delights of swimming, fishing
and boating. Frogner was "a fantastic place to grow up in the
twenties" he remembers. In winter the ski trails in the wooded hills
around Oslo were as easy to get to as the fjord in summer.
The early years
at home were secure and comfortable. Father, a government official, played the
violin, mother accompanied on the piano. Sister Helen excelled at her piano
lessons - in fact Helen excelled at most things and Arild often felt a bit
intimidated when he didn’t reach her high standards.
Still he enjoyed
violin lessons until a disagreement with his teacher put an end to his
promising career. Perhaps this was the first indication that he preferred to
lead rather than follow. Relatives often joined the family for musical evenings
and friends were always welcome as were summer visits to their cabins in the
Oslofjord. The family idyll shattered when Arild's father died in 1936 and
shortly afterwards the family moved the few kilometres from Frogner to
Majorstuen; slightly further from the sea but nearer the ski-slopes.
At 15, Arild, now
“head of the family”, found to his own surprise that he was fairly practical
and adaptable. He
could cope with most things. He found school boring however, probably because
learning came easy, there didn't seem to be much competition at school and
because his sister, was always so much quicker and brighter than him. He claims
that these factors made him lazy; he once
borrowed a paper from Helen and submitted it as his own and received a lower
mark than his sister.
Looking back he
claims not to have had any special talents and only later realized that he had
a marvellous memory. He could read a book and then write out most of it from
memory afterwards. No wonder he was bored and no wonder in later life he could
lecture and lead meetings without notes.
In retrospect he
believes that he worried about family circumstances, about his mother and
sister, and that he had an inferiority complex. The first is understandable but
inferior is hardly the word we would use in light of his later development.
Maybe it was as an active boy scout that he lost this inferiority and
discovered his talent for leadership and organisation? Certainly he was greatly
influenced by the scoutmaster and as troop leader he became even more familiar
with and fond of challenges and the attractions of outdoor life.
Summer days were
mostly spent outdoors on the Oslofjord where kayak and sailboat became the main
activities. Winter outdoors, for people who grew up in the west side of Oslo,
invokes almost a ‘joint memory.’
In the days
before two-car families, almost everybody headed for the tram stop at
Majorstuen to join the queues that started early. Skis had to be fastened onto
the outside of the tram before one could squeeze into a packed compartment for
the trip to Frognerseteren, the gateway to Nordmarka. From Frogneseteren the
sky, or rather the distant horizon was the limit – 1600 square kilometres
crisscrossed with small paths for walking in summer and skiing in winter.
Nordmarka was a
playground for Arild and his friends. They never felt better than when on skis
– Arild was better than most – but all had the ambition to ski for Norway in a
few years. Not content with ‘simply’ skiing, however, these boys practised an
early form of ‘extreme’ sport– down ‘impossible’ slopes, ditto on one ski,
ditto again in the dark. Today they would have used ski-boards and practised
freestyle.
Life wasn’t only
sailing and skiing however and as the thirties drew to a close the dark clouds
gathering over central Europe began to cast shadows over Norway. At school
nothing had changed except that the prospect of university grew clearer and
career choices loomed.
Arild thought
about being an engineer, or a doctor perhaps? Sister Helen had studied in
Germany and was influenced by a pacifist teacher – Arild’s only pre-1940 memory
of contact with Norway’s future enemies.
In 1939 Arild had
begun studying economics at Oslo University. Today he doesn’t know why he
changed his mind about being an engineer or a doctor. Perhaps it was because
studying for both these disciplines meant leaving Oslo where his life revolved
around family, friends and sports activities – and, of course, the new, almost
sinister excitement surrounding the progress of the war.
The war grew in intensity
as the new decade dawned but Norway hoped to remain neutral. Everything seemed
normal as many Norwegians made their annual Easter trek to the mountains.
Arild’s group headed for Hemsedal for long days of cross-country skiing and the
more exciting ‘extreme’ challenges away from the well-marked trails. There, one
day was one more ‘impossible’ slope. Nobody noticed that the surface snow had
melted, making the run truly impossible. One of Arild’s skis smashed into a
rock and that was the end of his Easter break. A multiple fractured ankle
terminated his ski ambitions and has plagued him ever since. After several
operations at a hospital in Oslo he awoke one morning to the drone of aircraft
and the thunder of gunfire. It was April 9, 1940.
The attack came
as no surprise to a few and a big surprise to most. A daring initiative by the
commander of a fort in the Oslofjord sank the German cruiser ‘Blücher’ that carried elite troops whose
objective was to capture the King and members of the Government and Parliament.
Similar daring political initiative in Oslo organised the escape of all these
‘objectives’ – and they took the gold reserves of the country with them.
Thousands of Oslo inhabitants left their homes seeking safety in the
countryside, away from the expected bombings and battles. Sections of the
disorganised Norwegian military fought heroic battle in central and northern
Norway as they awaited assistance from the allies. On June 7th the Royal Family
and major government figures escaped by sea to England and after an abortive
allied landing at Narvik, the spent Norwegian troops were forced to surrender
on June 10th. The German invasion of Norway was over – but their fight for
control of the Norwegian people had just begun – and would never be accomplished.
In Norway there
had always been a hard core of pro-German sentiment and it was natural that a
certain percentage of the population should rally around Quisling’s flag of
‘national socialism’. It was equally natural that, given the independent
character of the average Norwegian, the majority would oppose the invaders and
their local collaborators. At first the signs of opposition were slight and
speculative; wearing a red bonnet, (red for Norway), a paper clip attached to a
lapel (we hold together) or a matchstick stuck in a buttonhole (we are ready to
strike). Initially the Germans tried the ‘silk glove’ approach but the mailed
fist soon appeared when the deep animosity of the men and women in the street,
and the growing effectiveness of the small, independent and diversified
resistance groups became apparent. These groups were spontaneous and
instinctive responses, first to the invasion, and second to the shock and
dismay experienced when the Royal Family, Government officials and military
commanders escaped to England. Loosely organised and initially with no central
organisation the groups showed their resistance through ‘normal’ democratic
channels – strikes, petitions and protests. Democracy however, wasn’t a strong
card in the Nazi deck and soon it became obvious that any kind of resistance
would have to be ‘illegal’ resistance.
On April 10th the
hospital had to be evacuated. Arild, with a full-length leg cast, joined his
mother and sister at the house of relatives in Slemdal on the outskirts of the
city. These relatives, with three children, had, in turn, fled to the safety of
the peaceful countryside north of Oslo. On their return two weeks later, Arild
remained with this family when his mother and sister returned to Majorstuen.
One of his two small cousins remembers this tall, handsome young man: “I was
six years old, I sat on his knees as he taught me to tell the time and I was
sure I was in love with him”.
Until July, when
the cast was finally removed, Arild had much time to think about the future.
What would happen, would it be school as usual, what about exams, would there
be ‘peace’ or would the allies try to reclaim Norway from the Germans.
Tverboven, the new German High Commissioner, though claiming that the Germans
would never have broken Norway’s neutrality had it not been for the threats
from England, warned that the future of Norway depended upon the attitude of
the population.
The attitude of
Arild and his friends was quite clear; they would never accept the German
occupation. Right from the start they felt that they must show their resistance
in one form or another. If only they knew how. The situation was frightening
but most of them felt no fear – only excitement. They were at that age where
anything was possible, they were invincible – and as the brutal nature of the
occupation became clear – full of hate; “We’ll show those devils”. Because of
his broken ankle, hospitalisation and convalescence, Arild was unable to join
‘the boys in the woods’ in the fighting that followed the landings on April 9.
This made him even more anxious to take part in some form of resistance. His
first thoughts, when his ankle began to heal, were to begin training for the
struggle that he knew must come. Friends who could trust one another formed a
network. Training, exercises and planning began – partly in Vestmarka but
mainly at Grimsøen, the summerhouse and scene of so many boyhood adventures.
But this was no
boyhood adventure. This was deadly serious and although none of the gang had
any military experience, they had a good idea of what had to be done. During
the autumn of ’41 and the winter and spring of ’42 they taught themselves
hand-to-hand fighting, weapon use (without any real weapons), and strategic
thinking. After a while they made contact with London and others in Milorg.
(Military Organization). Arild assumed a leading role, obtaining written
material and other necessities for their secret training.
This training was
as important to them as their studies, and their anti-German ambitions were fuelled
by what they could read in the national newspapers:
Dagbladet –
Thursday 26 September. 1940
“A turning point
in Norwegian history – Sensational speech by Reichskommisar Terboven. 13
Ministers constituted, all previous parties banned” and ”The Royal Family has
no political relevance and will not return to Norway”.
Dagbladet -
Friday 27 September 1940
”Quisling’s
speech – New Regime. Norwegians to be organized in voluntary associations”.
Tidens Tegn -
Wednesday 11 December 1940
”School
Inspectors fully support new regime.”
Nationen -
Tuesday 25 February 1941
”Ten Norwegians
sentenced to death by the German War Court in Bergen – for spying missions from
England.
Morgenposten - Monday 7 April
1941
”Demonstrations
on April 9th are forbidden.”
The entire
Norwegian press was controlled by the Germans and it was obvious to everyone in
the resistance movement that counter-information from the Allies was vitally
important. Illegal newspapers flourished and during the summer and autumn of
1941 Arild got the opportunity to participate. A friend of his sister was in
contact with ‘somebody’ in the ‘newspaper business’. He asked Arild if he would
be willing to distribute illegal newspapers. This was, of course, top secret,
and Arild never knew who the contact was. Arild himself should enlist three
other reliable friends and in this way the organization would be built up,
similar to what we today call a ‘pyramid’. This was perfect for Arild and he
said enthusiastically, “yes”. .
With Arild as
leader and his friends Claes Berg and Jens Grüner-Hegge as equal partners the
group built up a network that distributed a steadily increasing number of
illegal newspapers. Their success encouraged them to greater heights – why not
start their own news service? In the autumn of 1941 the Germans had confiscated
all radios but many ‘normal’ Norwegian families had illegal receivers hidden
away in lofts, cellars and outhouses. Getting news from London was
comparatively easy.
Their first
’newspaper’ was printed in a loft over the garage behind the house at Parkveien
51 where Grüner-Hegge lived. This was also the place where the link to Jens’
younger brother, Rolf Grüner-Hegge, led to the collapse of the group (more on
this later).
To begin with
they had only an old, well-used stencil machine that couldn’t handle more than
300 copies. Paper and ink were also difficult to come by. They managed to get
these supplied through the organization, but they had to resort to theft to
obtain better stencil machines.
The first was
stolen from the Ministry of Supply. Later a new, and much better machine,
was ’borrowed’
from an official office situated in Frydenlundsgate, Bislet. Arild says: ”I’ll
never forget that cycle trip through Oslo’s streets with a stolen stencil
machine balancing on the baggage-rack. We expected to be stopped at any
minute”.
The distribution
network grew steadily, reaching a peak in the spring of 1942 of several
thousand copies. In addition to two weekly newsletters the group printed a
fortnightly newspaper ‘Our Land Norway’, with a drawing of the Norwegian flag
dominating the front cover. The good connection with ‘the organization’
continued in the form of financial support as well as ink and paper. Arild’s
group was not alone: many similar illegal newspapers sought contact with London
and assistance from the growing ’organization’.
In early spring
1942, in utmost secrecy, a meeting was arranged in the Gressbanen home of the
owner of a printing works. The object of the meeting was to organize an overall
control of the illegal newspapers in order to avoid confusion and unnecessary
work. All the participants at the meeting wore hoods to protect their identity.
Secrecy and
discretion were imperative because the production and distribution of illegal
newspapers was an extremely hazardous undertaking. The Germans knew very well
that the information in the newspapers helped to uphold the moral and
resistance of the Norwegians. Anyone caught producing or distributing illegal
newspapers were imprisoned – or worse:
Nationen -
Thursday 10 August:
“Norwegian
citizen sentenced to death... the convicted man printed numerous copies of
anti-German propaganda and distributed them to a large number of people.”
In February ’42 the
group moved its activities from Parkveien 51 to a cellar under the church at
Ris. The priest was a brother of the printing works owner. The work never
ceased to be exciting – would they be able to hide their activities well
enough? Not content with the natural threats, copies of each newspaper were
sent to the National Police and other suitable opponents – just to irritate!
Another move,
this time from the church to Arild’s room at his apartment on the sixth floor
at Gardeveien 2C. This was not a good place and they soon got permission to use
a cellar under the entrance to the building.
Arild will never
forget certain exciting experiences: ”I was on the Holmenkollen tram with a suitcase
full of pamphlets on street fighting. German soldiers and Norwegian
sympathisers were all around me. I felt sure that the suitcase looked
suspicious and I expected that at any minute I would have to make a run for it.
But all went well...”
But not all went
well. Jens and his younger brother Rolf shared a room. It was almost impossible
to avoid Rolf finding out that big brother Jens was involved in some form of
illegal activity. Rolf himself had come in contact with a network of distributors.
He, and three other 16 year olds, thought it exciting to fool and challenge the
Germans and their Norwegian co-operators. The youngsters knew that they were
treading on dangerous ground but just didn’t realize all the implications of
their activities until one of them made a mistake – and then everything went
wrong.
Rolf Grüner-Hegge
was sleeping but awoke when the light in the room was switched on. His father’s
voice said: ” It’s the police, they want to speak to you son” ”Where did you
get the illegal newspapers” asked a strange man who bent over the bed. “I don’t
know anything about newspapers”, replied Rolf.
At first, Jens
thought that the police were after him and he could hardly believe his eyes
when he saw that his brother was their prey – a younger brother he didn’t see
again until after the war. In spite of his youth, Rolf was imprisoned and
brutally tortured by the Gestapo.
Rolf’s arrest
made Arild, Jens and Claes afraid for their own activities. They went into
hiding but continued their illegal work. Shortly afterwards, however, Claes and
Jens were arrested and Arild knew that it was only a question of time before he
would be next.
Claes and Jens
sat in their separate cells and felt certain that Arild had made his escape to
Sweden. But Arild hadn’t left. “No, I thought running was the easy way out,
there were many loose ends after our illegal activities – loose ends that
should be obliterated.” The first stop was at Claes’ home to get a radio, not
only to avoid it being discovered if the house was raided but because Arild
needed a radio. All the equipment in the crypt under Ris church was moved to
Arild’s home at Gardeveien 2c where his mother had lived alone since Arild had
gone underground.
Two new friends
had joined Arild after Rolf and Claes were arrested and the printing continued
in the cellar at Gardeveien 2c. The new group built up a larger and more
professional distribution network. ”Yes, it was challenging to take chances and
to fool the Gestapo and their Norwegian stooges, it was tonic both for the
spirit and body” said Arild, and adds: ”but I was careful – every time I had to
visit Gardeveien I telephoned first to hear if the coast was clear.”
The Gestapo,
however, couldn’t be fooled all the time. One day, just after Arild had spoken
to his mother, the telephone rang again and Mrs Walder heard “a hoarse voice”
ask to speak to Arild. She replied that he wasn’t there and she didn’t know
where he was. But the voice continued – ”you must put me in contact with him,
I’m one of his colleagues, this is a matter of life and death. Where can I meet
him? You must help me.”
Mrs Walder was
convinced. ”He’s coming here soon and I’ll tell him you called”.
Shortly afterwards, Arild
unsuspectingly put his cycle outside the entrance to Stairway C i Gardeveien 2
and took the lift up to the sixth floor. As
he opened the door of the lift a man jumped in front of him pointing a pistol.
The man told Arild that he was under arrest and ordered him to go quietly down
the steps with his hands up. The man spoke in broken Norwegian. On the fifth
floor Arild was told to stop and the man began to put handcuffs on him. Arild
protested saying that he would go quietly and would rather avoid all the
neighbours seeing him led away in handcuffs.
He tried to act
naive, as though he didn’t quite realize the seriousness of the situation, and
why he had been arrested. The man put the handcuffs away and they continued
down the stairs.
Arild figured that
the man, one of the low Gestapo thugs, was as scared as he was. He also thought
it probable that the pistol’s safety catch was on because the worst thing that
could happen was that the man had to return to his superior and report that
Arild had been killed.
If this happened,
there would be no further unravelling of the resistance network. “He has a partner” Arild thought. They often worked in pairs and probably
there was a car close by, parked so that it didn’t invite suspicion or warn the
prey. The man pushed Arild through the entrance to the building.
As they rounded
the corner, Arild noticed a group of people at the end of the block. “Here and
now” thought Arild who whipped around and swung his fist as hard as he could.
The man was
smaller than Arild so the punch caught him on the top of his head, knocking him
to the floor where he fell against a sharp corner. There was no sign of the gun
and Arild had no time to look for it. He ran towards the corner where he had
seen the people standing, thinking that the man wouldn’t shoot in that
direction. From here it was 15 meters to the next corner and Arild was running
for his life. Around the next corner Arild heard the first shot and a bullet
whistled by. Either the man he had knocked down, or his partner, was after him.
Whoever was chasing him had the choice of stopping to take careful aim or of
running and shooting wild. It seemed that he chose the second course. After
each shot Arild saw a spurt of cement dust on the entrance wall in front of him.
From here to the next entrance was 70 meters with no cover. ”If only I could
reach my cycle” thought Arild. He was probably running faster than he could
have cycled, but by now he was almost exhausted. Another pursuer appeared as
Arild ducked into the neighbouring stairway and ran up to the third floor. He
rang the bell on the nearest door.
A small, elderly
lady opened up but the sight of Arild scared her and she tried to close the
door again. He pushed by her, stormed through the apartment and out onto the
balcony. From here he strode over to the neighbouring balcony, and so on,
pushing aside plants and shades, till he came to an apartment in his own
Stairway C. He banged on the balcony door. Another startled lady let him in, he
raced to the window on the other side of the room, looked out and saw one of
his pursuers waiting below.
He spun around
and rushed back the way he had come; from balcony to balcony back to the lady
he had terrified in the first apartment, back through the apartment, out the
door and down the stairs. By the entrance stood one of his pursuers. Back up
the stairs again, rang both bells on the doors on the first floor. The one that
opened first was to the apartment at the end of the block. He threw himself
inside, went through the door to the balcony, swung himself over the railing
and dropped down the two meters onto the pavement. He sprinted along the path
that he had so unsuspectingly cycled along in what seemed like only an instant
ago.
From behind he
heard ”Stop thief, stop thief” – he was being chased again – but now on open
streets – down toward the tram sheds at Majorstuen. He slipped into an open
door at one end of the long building, sneaked between the silent trams, came
out of a door at the other end, and hopped over a low fence. He felt that his
heart would burst as he ran down Slemdalsveien. Luckily, outside a chemist
shop, he found an unlocked bicycle and in no time was peddling full pelt down
Kirkeveien.
”They’ll follow
me in a car” he thought as he thanked his lucky stars that he knew this
neighbourhood better than most. Munthesgate was a narrow street leading into
Kirkeveien just before the main entrance to the Vigeland Sculpture Park – a
street that he knew was closed to traffic by an old iron barrier. If he reached
this street they would not be able to follow him. He swung into Munthesgate,
speeded down the narrow street and at last felt he was almost out of danger.
He knew there was
a ‘safe house’ at the corner of Rådhusgaten and Øvre Slottsgate and fifteen
minutes later he burst into the office, collapsed on a chair and heaved with
exhaustion, unable to say a word for several minutes. A bullet had ripped open
one side of his jacket but he had not noticed it during the chase. He was
unharmed and he was safe. The date was June 19, 1942.
Experienced
friends and colleagues took care of him. First they dyed his hair blond. Then,
equipped with glasses and new clothes he was so changed that his own sister
didn’t recognize him in the street a few days later.
In another ’safe
house’, at a family in Nobelsgate, he lay low until identity papers and a
travel pass for the Elverum area were forged. One day in the beginning of July
1942, Kaare Steen, alias Arild Walder crossed the border into Sweden.*
At this time, the
local law enforcement officials in Sweden were more pro-German than
pro-Norwegian and they questioned all who crossed the border. They were most
interested in knowing the route taken by the ‘fugitives’ and who had helped
them. Naturally no Norwegian would answer such questions but not all were
imprisoned as Arild was when he got to Karlstad. It was 10 days before the
Norwegian Embassy got him out – after they had received a report from the
resistance movement in Norway. ”It was a happy day.” Arild.
Remembers.
* The section
from ‘In Hiding’ is taken from the book ‘Gestapo henter deg om natten’ by Rolf
Grüner-Hegge. The book is recommended for all who are especially interested in
the Nazi resistance by young people.
Ever since the
German invasion of Norway, a regular stream of Norwegians had been crossing the
border into neutral Sweden. Many of them were wanted by the Gestapo for
’illegal’ activities in Norway, others belonged to minority groups, afraid for
their lives under the German-controlled regime. Most of the young escapees were
anxious to continue their journeys to a place where they could fight against
the Germans. But first they had to spend some time in a transit camp. Arild
immediately tried to get over to England but to no avail. Finally he made his
way to a Norwegian enclave in Uppsala where he could, at least, continue his
studies in Social Economics that he had started in Oslo University the previous
autumn.
At that time his
studies, and those of his friends, were interrupted by the illegal resistance
work. Now his almost constant efforts to get out of Sweden didn’t allow much
time for studying either. None of his efforts was successful and almost in
desperation he even tried to get help from the Russian Embassy.
Autumn went by
and Arild saw the prospect of a frustrating Christmas in exile. His 21st
birthday was on December 29 and on that date a notice in ’Aftenposten’
proclaimed that Arild Walder had forfeited his Norwegian citizenship “because
of traitorous activities”. It is hardly necessary to ad that there was
absolutely no problem in reinstating his citizenship in 1945.
The loss of his
citizenship didn’t bother him but during the winter his health declined and
early the following year his doctor diagnosed pleurisy.
Arild didn’t take
this too seriously and after a short stay in hospital he insisted that he was
well enough to be discharged. Three weeks later he was back – and this time
there was no doubt about the seriousness of his illness.
After a while he
was transferred to a sanatorium at Örnsköldsvik, where he was compelled to do
no more than rest and relax. By now he was practically resigned to his fate
when an unexpected letter arrived from the Norwegian Embassy. His school
records and recommendations from the ‘organisation’ had finally brought
results: he had been chosen for ”transfer” – to Canada for pilot training. His
doctors were not sure that he was fit enough, he was still convalescing, and
had to take it easy. But Arild was adamant and on his own responsibility he
went to Stockholm to report for duty. “Unfortunately I didn’t pass the
physical. Finally realizing how ill I really had been made a deep impression on
me. Now, at best I was in convalescence.”
All hopes of
combat were dashed and Arild concentrated on local affairs. The war drew to a
close and finally it was over – what a fantastic experience! All that remained
now was to bring things back to normal. The Norwegian students in Sweden were
set to work and Arild became a guide for the many Norwegians who were anxious
to get home to Norway. He travelled with them, checked their papers and
assisted these involuntary expatriates – many of whom were disoriented and
confused. These trips kept Arild busy during May and June and then it was his
turn to return to friends and family in Norway.
Peace – and back to studying
In the autumn of
’45 he took the first section, Social Economy at the University of Oslo and
completed his studies in ’48 with a good laud in the final examination. A sojourn
in London at the London School of Economics could not hope to compensate for
his lack of participation in the final years of the war but the experience at
the LSA gave him valuable intellectual and academic insight.
Right after
graduation, Arild began to work at the Næringsøkonomisk Forskningsinstitutt
(Business Economics Research Institute). His main task was to analyse current
politics and to make suggestions for alternative solutions. The results of this
work were published in a series of pamphlets. It was an exciting and
interesting project. After 5 years at the NF he was engaged (head-hunted we
would call it today) as permanent secretary for Joakim Lemkuhl, and responsible
for reports on conditions in Norway. He was also engaged in tax questions especially
with reference to the process of changing company accounts in connection with
the reorganisation from private to publicly held companies.
When Managing
Director Kaare Petersen i Den Norske Bankforening (The Association of Norwegian
Banks) was looking for a secretary/advisor, the choice fell on Arild. His
activities here, lectures, analysis, statistics and research were right up his
street. Street that led to major changes in Arild’s future career.
One of the
research projects concerned the problems encountered by the banks when
considering long-term/fixed credit for their clients. The retail banks were
primarily concerned with and organised for short-term credit. Arild’s idea was
that the retail banks should co-operate and give guarantees that would replace
mortgage security in the obligation market. From this came the idea of
providing an instrument for handling these loans. The concept was presented to
the Treasury Department that approved the plan. At the same time they demanded
that the proposed company should also be responsible for the long-term export
credit that competition in the capital goods market had made absolutely
necessary. The result was Forretningsbankenes Finansierings- og
Eksportkredittinstitutt, later shortened to Eksportfinans(Export Finance).
Arild remembers
those early days: ”We started with just me and a secretary. They were turbulent
times because not everyone agreed that a new financial institution was
necessary. Although the major Norwegian banks were the original backers, they
still needed to be convinced that Export Finance’s function and ambitions would
be supplements rather than competition to their own activities. I didn’t
imagine then that this new creation would be the dominating factor for the
remainder of my business life.”
Most Norwegian
banks became shareholders at the outset and it was the banks’ well-oiled organisation, their client relations,
knowledge of documentation and control that made it possible for Export Finance
to operate and maintain a sleek and effective organisation.
The rules and
conditions governing International Banking were not always the same from
country to country. Most governments subsidised capital goods manufacturers.
These subsidies were often financial loans and it was not always possible to
compare the various conditions. It was tempting for many countries to extend
the official support and thus give their own exporters a relative advantage.
The increasing chain reaction of unrestricted credit competition was of grave
concern. In 1978 these worries led the OECD to ’Consensus’ – an understanding
among members that official support to export credit should be restricted.
Export Finance
maintained excellent relations with the Government that, parallel with the
OECD’S guidelines, formalised their plans and decisions in Parliamentary
Agreement 108. This act was an important factor in Export Finance’s solid
foundation.
The
implementation of 108 signalled a new phase for Export Finance. The company had
already assisted the authorities in several important cases and now it was
given the task of administering the new subsidy system. One OECD publication
described Export Finance as a private company with an official character – an
extremely accurate observation. The 1978 agreement for Export Finance to
administer the official subsidy system was renewed in 1999.
It was obvious to
Arild that if Export Finance were to become a viable tool for Norwegian
exporters the company had to do more than provide suitable credit facilities.
Therefore, from an early stage, the company began accumulating market
information and developing contacts to stimulate business and to facilitate
agreements.
This new market
competence was especially valuable in the Eastern European countries, in Russia
and in China – states where the economy was centralized and dominated by
Governments. Export Finance’s agreements with these countries were foresighted
and became more and more important to Norwegian exporters as time went by.
Agreements were
also made with large importers in South America and with several African
countries. All these activities bolstered and finally established the company’s
image as an expert advisor to Norwegian exporters on all phases of trade. The
consequent growth increased the stature of the company abroad and strengthened
its position in the international loan market.
Export Finance
was also involved in the struggle to secure favourable financing in Norway for
Norwegian capital goods in competition with foreign suppliers. In cooperation
with Storebrand as guarantor, a relatively simple system was established to
automatically provide long-term financing at competitive rates. This was
especially important for industries such as Aluminium, Oil, Shipbuilding and
the new North Sea oil installations.
It is not
practical to go into details of all activities but the ones mentioned indicate
the wealth of ideas and the ability to recognise and adjust to the major
challenges facing the realisation of the company’s vision.
By the end of the
seventies, Export Finance had the financial strength, the commercial know-how
and the international prestige that was necessary to secure relatively
inexpensive loans from the capital market abroad.
Because of its size
and stability, the American market was second in importance after Europe. But
to obtain competitive conditions in America it was necessary to obtain a credit
rating from special rating institutions.
Two of these
institutions, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s,
gave Export Finance their ’Triple A’ rating in 1980. ’Triple A’ is the highest
credit rating that can be obtained in America and Export Finance was one of the
few financial institutions outside the USA to have earned this accolade. As if
to celebrate, Export Finance moved for the fifth
time. But now the building they moved into, close to the centre of Oslo, was
their own.
By the time
Export Finance celebrated its 25th anniversary it had become the largest
private financial business in Norway. The staff had grown to 100 men and women
– the same number employed today. A pleasant and interesting environment and a
highly qualified staff were the foundation for the recurrent good company
results.
And good results
were necessary because Export Finance’s special concept, in its endeavour to
obtain the highest possible credit rating, could not afford to accept business
losses. In this aim the company was successful thanks to decisions based on
solid theory and a painstaking accuracy in all phases of the business. Every
year, the company was able to report that no losses had been sustained on the
loan portfolio. This was one of the most important factors in maintaining the
company’s prestige in the international loan market.
Arild’s final
year as Managing Director illustrates this strength: from zero to 26 billion
kroner in as many years and not one single year without a profit. Small wonder
that Jan Einar Greve, Chairman of the Council of Representatives, wrote in the
Annual Report for 1988:
”Arild Walder has
led the development of the Company since 1962 when, as secretary for a Bank
Association working party he formulated the basic concept of Export Finance;
‘To utilise the long-term capital markets for the advantage of Norwegian
exporters of capital goods, services and ships’. … This has been Arild Walder’s
brainchild. He and his colleagues have demonstrated great skill in building up
Export Finance to be a key centre of competence linking the authorities and the
business community. … Special mention must be made of the system, which was
built up in 1977/78 in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance to allow
officially supported export credits for capital goods. ... Trust is a
prerequisite for cooperation of this kind, and Arild Walder has performed the
central role in establishing and nurturing this atmosphere of trust. …On behalf
of all those who have held office in Export Finance in the course of the last
26 years I would like to thank Arild Walder for his outstanding contribution,
and not least for the pleasure it has been working with him and getting to know
him as a person.”
The challenges of
Export Finance took most of Arild’s time – but not all. In the beginning he
maintained his academic connections and after a number of years censoring
examination results he was appointed professor at the University in Oslo. His
task was to lecture 4 hours weekly to law students.
“The lecture room
was always full so my lectures, given without the aid of notes, must have been
interesting” says Arild.
In 1970 he was
appointed Chairman for the National
Tourist Council, a group whose objective was to find a new approach and
business/political understanding of ’tourism’. One of the main findings of this
group was the concept of ’course and conference’ activity for hotels – a
concept that had major positive consequences for the hotel industry.
He was a member
of several official committees, a board member of the Norwegian Export Council
for six years and wrote numerous economic and mercantile articles and reports.
In 1984 Arild
Walder was appointed ”Knight (1st class) of the Royal Norwegian Order of St
Olav” for his long and important contribution to Norwegian commerce and for his
activities during the war.
”Firm
Foundations”
When Arild
reached retirement age in 1988 and vacated the top job in Export Finance, the
magazine ’Economic Revue’ wrote that Export Finance was a business with firm
foundations that got top marks in an international evaluation and that the only
way to maintain the company’s influence in the international capital market was
to continue with the system employed during the past 25 years. Fifteen years
later the financial results for 2003 confirmed this opinion; another year with
substantial profit and a large increase in working capital.
But wasn’t Export
Finance just another finance business, a kind of super bank established at the
right time and the right place, one might ask.
We let dr.philos, Arvid Flagestad, previously employed in Export Finance,
answer for us in a letter written to Aftenposten in 1991:
”...He (Arild
Walder) was the strategist and operative leader of a financial institution
which, in these critical days, is one of the largest and most prestigious of its
kind in Northern Europe. The growth of Export Finance was a result of close and
trustful cooperation between the authorities on one side and the owners on the
other. Export Finance established the basic framework that provided a fertile
environment for growth and strength. However, Export Finance’s success was by
no means a foregone conclusion. The basic conditions and the operating strategy
were both created with impressive originality and vision. These attributes made
Export Finance an institution that attracted international attention both for
its structural strength and for its pronounced service attitude towards
Norwegian exporters. The fact that Export Finance became a partner with
authorities in their foreign business policies was of special interest.
The man behind
the ideas and the force in their creation is Arild Walder… a leader whose
prestige was tops both before and after his retirement.”
There were many
other paeans to Arild upon his retirement – from the authorities, banks and
businesses. “I was obviously lucky”, says Arild, “when I think back over the
many interesting but turbulent years in Export Finance.
After a few years
as a special advisor to Export Finance, Arild went into full time retirement.
Challenges awaited at the house and garden by the fjord at Holtekilen. The
summer house at Lillesand and the cabin in the mountains at Høvringen gave
ample opportunities for fantasy, leisure and activities, so retirement was no
time for laziness
As a neighbour to
Fornebu, with the resultant noise problem, it was natural for Arild to become
engaged in the fight to get the airport moved. And when the ‘planes stopped
flying in and out of Fornebu the change around the Oslofjord was enormous.
From being almost
unlivable the area once again became interesting - practically a paradise.
Arild was elected to the local community board that worked to maintain
standards and improve conditions. As Chairman of the Holtekilen User and
Landowners Association he led the fight for beach-owners’ rights: not only
their land interests but for optimal maritime utilization.
Yes, Arild Walder
has every reason to rest on his laurels and enjoy the knowledge that his
efforts have been successful, for his business, for himself and for his family.
His wife of 50 years and two fine sons have been of invaluable support.
Until a few years
ago Arild continued his boyhood interests of sailing and slalom. One of his
sons lives next door while the other commutes between New Mexico and Northern
Norway. Both are ’entrepreneurs’ like their father and both share their
parents’ love of the open-air and their childhood home beside the now quiet and
peaceful Oslofjord.
Else and Geoff
Ward, Asker 2004/5
© Copyright Geoff
Ward - NorHouse 2006 - 2009. All rights reserved.