Gerda Grepp

Gerda Johanne Helland Grepp (26 May 1907 – 29 August 1940) was a Norwegian translator, journalist, and socialist. She was the daughter of former chairman of the Norwegian Labour Party Kyrre Grepp and journalist Rachel Grepp.

She was married to Italian-Swiss potter Mario Mascarin (1901–66). They had a son Olav Kyrre (Ping) Grepp and a daughter, Solveig Marie Alexandra "Sacha" Grepp. The daughter was named after family friend Alexandra Kollontai.

Spanish Civil War Grepp covered the Spanish Civil War as a reporter for the Labour Party newspaper Arbeiderbladet from 1936. She arrived in Barcelona in October 1936, as the first female reporter from Scandinavia. While in Spain, Grepp served as an interpreter for other Norwegians.

According to professor Rune Ottosen, Grepp and Birgit Nissen were marked with "sharp pens against the growing fascism".

In January and February 1937 she visited Málaga, together with Hungarian journalist and reporter for the British daily newspaper News Chronicle, Arthur Koestler. She and Koestler took shelter with the eccentric 72-year-old Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, who had stayed on in Málaga "to protect his house and servants" while his compatriots fled to Gibraltar. During the battle of Málaga she barely escaped the attacking Nationalist forces. Grepp left Málaga on 6 February, while Koestler was still in the city. On 7 February Italian troops occupied the city. Koestler was arrested, sentenced to death as a spy, and placed in a death cell in Sevilla. However, after considerable international pressure, he was released from custody. This episode is recorded in detail in Sir Peter's memoir, recently republished by The Clapton Press. Grepp frequently found herself in dangerous situations while in Spain. She was buried in Vestre gravlund in Oslo.