Jan baalsrud movie
How did jan baalsrud die...
Jan Bålsrud is the man that never gave up
Reality is sometimes even more dramatic than authors and film-makers can imagine.
Jan baalsrud children
The story of Jan Baalsrud’s escape through occupied Northern Norway in the spring of 1943 has something of the improbable about it. The new film about the drama, The 12th Man, is generating considerable interest in the story, so we sought out the locations where it all happened.
At the end of March 1943, Jan Baalsrud and 11 other intelligence officers from Kompani Linge and crew were sailing to Troms on the MS Bratholm to organise teams of saboteurs in occupied Norway.
The boat was discovered; three of them were shot and eight arrested and later executed in Tromsø. Only Jan Baalsrud, the 12th man, managed to get away, escaping across Nord-Troms from 30 March to 1 June. With the help of many locals, he managed to reach Sweden, but not entirely intact, as he was forced to amputate most of his toes because of frostbite he developed while in a snow cave.