Asbjørn Sunde

Asbjørn Edvin Sunde (12 December 1909 – 23 April 1985) was a Norwegian politician for the Communist Party of Norway, communist partisan during the Spanish Civil War, saboteur against the Nazi occupation of Norway during the Second World War, and a convicted Soviet spy. During the Second World War, from 1941 to 1944, Sunde's group, the Osvald Group, carried out approximately 39 acts of sabotage and assassination against the German occupation forces and Norwegian collaborators. In 1954 he was convicted by Eidsivating Court of Appeal of treason and espionage in favour of the Soviet Union, and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released from prison in 1959 after serving two thirds of his sentence. He was expelled from the Communist Party of Norway in 1970.

Early life Sunde had served a 30-month stint in the Royal Norwegian Navy, rising to non-commissioned officer rank in 1930. He was trained as both a first mate, a navigator and a gunner. He was married, and the father of one son. For several years he sailed in the Norwegian merchant marine. In the years preceding the Second World War, Sunde joined the Communist Party of Norway, wrote for the communist daily Arbeideren and was involved with work to aid and support the labourers and unemployed in his home town Horten.

Spanish Civil War Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Sunde played a central role in the early efforts of the Communist Party of Norway in support of the Spanish Republic. In January 1937 Sunde led a group of four volunteers he had personally recruited from Oslo to the headquarters of the International Brigades in Albacete, Spain.

Wollweber League From 1938 he was the leader of the Norwegian branch of Ernst Wollweber's secret sabotage organization, whose actions were directed against Fascist-controlled shipping. The Wollweber League had been established as an initiative of the Soviet NKVD. One of Sunde's cover names was Osvald, and his group became known as the Osvald Group (Osvald-gruppen). The group's main area of operations was Buskerud.

Post-war activities After the war Sunde wrote the book Menn i mørket (1947) (Men in the Darkness), describing his wartime activities. Sunde received an award (deltagermedaljen in bronze)—by certified mail—from the Norwegian government. 8 members—of the 17 who are still alive. Sunde and his organization received award and recognition the Soviet Union for their contributions during the war.

The more famous and acknowledged partisan Gunnar Sønsteby unsuccessfully spoke in favour of giving Sunde a war pension, which was given to both the merchant sailors and the military branch of the resistance.

Sunde played a central role in the internal conflicts of the Communist Party of Norway in the late 1940s. The struggle culminated with the expulsion of former chairman Peder Furubotn and a number of other so-called "Titoists" in 1949/1950.

Conviction for treason and espionage From 1949 the Norwegian Police Surveillance Agency began a surveillance operation against Sunde, leading to his arrest five years later on suspicion of espionage.

Film A film, Offer eller spion? ("victim or spy?") was scheduled to be shown on Thursday [19 February 2015] at Ringen Kino in Oslo, Norway.

Biographies Egil Ulateig: Raud krigar, raud spion, 1989. (Red Warrior, Red Spy; biography) Asbjørn Sunde: Menn i mørket, 1947. (Men in the Darkness; autobiography) . Reissued in 2009, with foreword by Lars Borgersrud