Niels Christian Ditleff

Niels Christian Ditleff (29 October 1881 – 18 June 1956) was a Norwegian diplomat, noted for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of captives of the Germans during World War 2. In spite of opposition from his own and allied governments, he initiated and organized the White Buses campaign to rescue Scandinavian prisoners in German concentration camps. He was also instrumental in evacuating foreign diplomats from Warsaw during the German invasion and to rescue Jews in coordination with Nansenhjelpen.

Biography Ditleff was born to a maritime family in the port city of Larvik. His father, a sea captain, died when Niels was only three years old. Niels mustered as a sailor during his youth and was admitted subsequently to the Norwegian Naval Academy. He graduated with a commission as a lieutenant but resigned his commission to pursue a career in diplomacy.

As German forces approached Warsaw during September 1939, the Polish government and general staff escaped the city; however, most of the foreign diplomatic corps and other foreign nationals remained. Ditleff, acting as the doyen of the corps, tried early to hail German military authorities with a handheld radio to arrange an orderly evacuation. German airplanes tracked the transmission and strafed the car, but he was eventually able to negotiate a 4-hour cease-fire to arrange the evacuation of 1,200 individuals. They left in a convoy consisting of two trucks and sedans. Ditleff himself drove one car for 48 hours until he fell asleep behind the wheel.

White Buses Ditleff had returned to Norway by the time Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Norway but was able to escape to Sweden, where he joined the Norwegian legation there.

Ditleff actively opposed the "stay put doctrine" of the Norwegian and Danish governments—the idea that it was safer to let Norwegian and Danish prisoners stay in German concentration camps until hostilities ended, or to evacuate them through dangerous areas —advocating instead trying to retrieve Norwegian and Danish citizens in German concentration camps. During November 1944, he proposed a plan to rescue these prisoners and finally prevailed in securing sponsorship for the White Buses operation that rescued tens of thousands of prisoners during the last months of the war. To negotiate the rescue with the German authorities, he enlisted Folke Bernadotte to act using the good offices of the International Red Cross. Bernadotte subsequently initiated contact with Heinrich Himmler to implement the plan, which ultimately resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of refugees.

Honours Ditleff received a large number of Norwegian and foreign orders and decorations, including: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway) (12 March 1946, for his work for Norwegian and Danish prisoners in Germany); Knight 1st Class (1927), Commander with Star (1939) Haakon VII's Freedom Cross (Norway) Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark) Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (Finland) Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland) Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (Sweden) King Christian X's Freedom Award. The Swedish Red Cross' Merit. Norwegian Red Cross badges of honor.