The forgotten heroes of the ice

Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen's fight against the screw was also Norway's fight for independence. They were icons and became the main characters in the Norwegian original narrative. For decades, we have followed in their footsteps – and written books about it. Next week, for example, the magnificent work Norway in Antarctica will arrive at Schibsted. And it will be launched on board the "Fram", the ship that was used by the two big ones and the slightly smaller polar hero Otto Sverdrup.

First and foremost, however, the book harvest in the international polar year 2008 is characterized by the uniform hero story bursting like an ice floe in a storm. Four releases are about the brave men, who, because they became Nazis, were whalers or worked for foreign powers, are kept out of the history of the young nation who planted flags and found themselves in the snow.

Whaling and Nazism

Alf R. Jacobsen has written Svend Foyn. Catch pioneer and nation builder. The book describes how Foyn (1809-1894) invented the grenade harpoon and became crucial to Norway's first oil adventure. According to the preface, he laid the foundation for a global whaling industry. Foyn himself became one of the richest and most famous people of his time, and several generations have met him, fighting the walrus, in Nordahl Rolfsen's reading book. All this gave him "the same status in the people as the polar heroes".

But then he was forgotten. The author writes that his absence of reflection on the hard-hitting methods is thought-provoking, and calls it "a reminder of the discomfort in our prosperity". This also helped wipe him out of history.

The second of the book's rediscovered polar explorers is Adolf Hoel (1879-1964). According to the biography of Adolf Hoel. The forgotten polar pioneer, he created continuity in Svalbard research, established the Norwegian Polar Institute, and participated in the efforts to secure Norwegian dominion over Svalbard, Jan Mayen and Queen Maud's land.

In the 30s he worked politically to raise awareness of Norwegian interests in the polar regions. He embarked on more contentious projects, such as the Norwegian "occupation" of Greenland in 1931.

- Hoel was so well known and recognized as a polar geologist and research administrator that he was even caricatured in the newspapers, says author Frode Skarstein.

But in the post-war period, Hoel is almost absent in the stories of the Norwegian polar acts.

- What happened?

- Hoel joined the National Assembly (NS) in 1933. And when the war came, he was asked to be rector of the University of Oslo. This caused him a number of pangs of conscience, but he had the necessary competence and thought that it would be better if he took on the task than for a German or an NS man without a university affiliation to do so, says Skarstein.

However, this had consequences for Hoel when peace came. The polar scientist lost the professor title and all the vacancies. He then disappeared from the Norwegian polar story.

- I do not see that anyone has deliberately wiped him away, but after the national treason, his name has been omitted. You could no longer use him as a "peg" to hang events on. Therefore, polar history writing ended up mentioning his achievements, but not the man, says Skarstein.

- Still, there is still a bust of him at the Polar Institute?

- Yes, yes. They remember him. But one is not very interested in drawing him out. The department has been helpful in the work with the book, but now that its founder has received his first biography, it is strange that it is not mentioned on the website. They have chosen to walk quietly in the doors.

Under foreign flag

Carsten Borchgrevink (1864-1934) led the first winter expedition in Antarctica. According to David Vogt, who has written Our Forgotten Polar Hero. Carsten Borchgrevink and the Southern Cross expedition 1898-1900 can hardly be overstated.

- Borchgrevink was the guinea pig who did no other daring: to survive the harsh Antarctic winter. In this way he made possible the expeditions of Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) and Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922). By overwintering, one could make better use of the bright season, and the chances of reaching the South Pole increased, Vogt explains.

In Norway, however, Borchgrevink has ended up in a polar historical breach.

- He went into oblivion because he was Norwegian and sailed under Union Jack. Thus he fell between two chairs and became useless for nation-building purposes. In England he was disrespected because forces in the Royal Geographic Society wanted a pure British expedition. And in Norway they wanted the political symbolic value of a Nansen or an Amundsen until 1905, says Vogt.
Borchgrevink was not the only Norwegian polar explorer who failed his snowy fatherland. Geir Hasle has written Isen's men under a foreign flag. The book consists of stories about Polar sailors who went cold with nations other than Norway.

- Honor be Nansen and Amundsen, but Norwegian polar history includes so many more. And this has passed most people's houses, he says.

Many were trappers like Foyn, or sailors and machinists, and with the exception of Borchgrevink, they did not lead any expeditions. Most are unknown to anyone other than polar historians.

- And there is a reason for that, says Hasle, who believes the book he has written is about "the losers' campaign", about those who made wrong decisions or did not show the forces of nature enough respect.

- The polar expeditions were the lunar missions of the time. Then some had to make mistakes that others could take advantage of. You can say a lot about Nansen and Amundsen, but they won their battles, and they were Norwegian. That is why they stand out in the story, says the author.

Trygve Gran, the Norwegian who sailed for Scott, did not do so when the latter raced with Amundsen to be first on the South Pole. However, Hasle points to the Wilhelm Filchner expedition (1877-1957) led in the Weddel Sea from 1911 to 1912 as the one he most relies on that we have forgotten. Here, the usual personal contradictions that could arise in the narrow space aboard a frozen ship in the iceberg peaked. On board the converted sealer "Deutchland" were also the two Norwegian sailors Paul Bjørvig and Morten Olaisen. They witnessed the power struggle between the expedition leader and the boat captain. It contained intrigue, sabotage, mutiny, syphilis madness and suicide, as well as a violent squabble with the elements.

- That Hollywood has not opened its eyes to this epic drama is a mystery. It must simply be because the expedition was German and that the race between Amundsen and Scott, which took place the same year, has been perceived as more tantalizing, says Hasle.

Norwegian cosmology

Professor Nina Witoszek, who wrote the book Norwegian Natural Mythologies a few years ago, believes that the stories of Norwegians who conquered new land by the Poles have entered our collective memory.
According to the professor, who works at the Center for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo, this has deep roots. Ever since the Viking Age, the Norwegian experience has been characterized by finding oneself through excursions.

She points to a "frontier" mentality that has given the polar narrative fascination power. And in a peculiar way: The struggle with nature is also a struggle to overcome oneself.
Witoszek believes there is a clear Protestant trait about this tendency to understand the world as the arena for the individual's spiritual struggle.

- I think these three motifs are deep in Norwegian texts, in fairy tales and in anecdotes you hear in childhood. They appeal to boys, and some girls as well, and influence dreams and expectations. The elements have blended nicely together in Norwegian cosmology, she says.

Witoszek also sees a pragmatic element in Norwegian natural mythology. She believes it has been about entering into a partnership with nature.

- In the Norwegian polar adventure, you only win when you work with the forces of nature, says the professor.

This is visible in the contrast between the Norwegian successes and Scott's failure in the Antarctic.

- The British view of nature can be summed up in the expression «a room with a view». Scott simply lacked an adaptive code. The expedition encamped in places with views, which at the same time were very exposed to weather and wind, and they had problems eating their animals. This refers to interesting cultural differences in relation to nature, Witoszek explains.

- But what kind of significance does it have that there are now so many polar books that challenge the Norwegian story of the pioneer period and of Nansen's and Amundsen's place in it?

- It's interesting. I think it has to do with the fact that Norwegians today are exploring their identity and may want to define themselves in a more problematic way. I see a more consciously doubtful and self-reflexive approach to the question of what it means to be Norwegian. The hurray mythology is replaced by a critical examination of a self-image that presents Norwegians as masters of nature and the good Samaritans of the world.

This is something the authors behind this year's polar history slide agree with. According to Skarstein, it is obvious that a national motif was used when certain people were drawn up and polar history took a uniform form.

- I have wondered if Hoel would have become part of the Norwegian polar narrative if it had not been for the war. It could be that he had become too dry and dull anyway. But perhaps the book wave is connected with the fact that the nation-building motive has become less important today, says Skarstein.

- And what do you think are the reasons why so many unknown polar pioneers are being pulled out of oblivion right now, Vogt?

- That's a good question. An element of coincidence is enough. But I think one can say that the Norwegian polar history is still incomplete, and that we have now reached a point where it is possible to do something about it.

Berserk in the Northwest Passage

National sanctuaries are also humorous food. The gang behind Out in our garden a few years ago took hold of the polar problem. Børge Ousland was to be the first to go to the South Pole on foot, according to the sketch in which he selects expedition participants with their own expertise. Sverre Tyvold (Bård Tufte Johansen) is a drug addict and can cope with the severe cold, because every winter he stands 14-16 hours a day outside Oslo S wearing moccasins and jogging pants. Anita Velstrand eats almost nothing because she is anorexic. But, as Ousland says, "she drinks a lot of Tab X-tra, and it's a little bit bad". Autistic Rolf Yngve Sæter (Harald Eia) keeps a detailed overview of the supply situation. And according to Ousland, it is neither bad clothes nor bad equipment that break such expeditions, only bad mood. That is why Geir Olav Frikstad also participates. He has Down syndrome and is always gentle. The last polar farmer is the pipe-smoking three-year-old father Sigurd Jervold (Atle Antonsen). His task is to keep up the courage: "Now it is not long, you."

With his pirate voyages in the North Sea aboard the sailboat "Berserk", Jarle Andhøy also plays with Norwegian polar history on the TV screens. A few weeks ago, a new Berserk season began at NRK. This time, the tour goes north of Canada. Captain Andhøy has published a book on the expedition, Berserk through the Northwest Passage.

- Before, there were scooters made of wood and men made of steel. Now there are only plastic boats and wooden shells. We want to replace the security of the welfare society with the simple and natural Viking life. We want to seize the moment and live in harmony with the sea, he says to Ny Tid.

Andhøy says that the goal is to sail in the wake of the polar heroes. For the first time since Amundsen did it 101 years ago, he is piloting a Norwegian sailboat through the Northwest Passage.

- Amundsen was a punk in contrast to the tea-drinking English navy who had tried to find the shortcut to Asia for several centuries. He owed the creditors cash and ran away. And when he set sail, he had the whole Norwegian national feeling in his cargo, he says.

- You want to rebuild Norwegian Power, then?

- The Norwegian polar heroes won their greatness by simple means. Amundsen, a Mr. Nobody, put Norway on the world map in front of the noses of the great powers. We are thus sailing in Norwegian areas of interest, says Andhøy, before he emphasizes how important a clear separation between us and them is.

In the same spirit, "Berserk" has tried to recapture Norwegian land on the Sverdrup Islands. The captain looks on the Norwegian government's behavior in that case with disbelief. Otto Sverdrup wanted to annex an area that was about half the size of the Norwegian mainland. Due to a lack of follow-up, nothing ever came of it.

- Now is the time for the government to correct this historical injustice, or at least tell the Norwegian people why it is letting the chance go. Had we been a great power like Russia or the United States, the question would have been how many gunboats were sent, he says.

Andhøy also believes that the measure would give Norway a good negotiating card in the new race for resources in the northern areas.

- Sverdrup offered to become a spy for Canada because he was so cursed by the Norwegian authorities. Now the cards must be on the table, he exclaims.

- How did Canada react to their brave push?

- We were arrested and half the crew were deported. It was clear that the Canadian authorities were doing everything they could to stop us.

- And do you have more territorial claims?

- No, not at the moment. But anything can happen.

The roots of polar literature

In addition to viewing the polar narratives and their story of history in a humorous light, Berserk through the Northwest Passage is a polar travel book that reveals another trend in the coldest books of the year.
As Witoszek points out, the climate problem has given new importance to the polar regions.

- The North is in the process of regaining a mythological status, as a symbol of a mood of doom, Witoszek says

- You also want to contribute to climate research, skipper Andhøy?

- Clearly! The Otto Sverdrup Islands are really a place that should be impossible to reach by sailboat. Sverdrup was stopped by the ice and had to travel on with a dog team, while we could sail all the way. This is how we show the consequences of climate change, he says.

With fewer smile holes, Knut Espen Solberg's Melting Arctic and Jan Gunnar Winther's Climate Antarctic also do the same.

This spring, Jørgen Alnæs published the book In the fairy tale about Norwegian travelogues through history. Now he gives Ny Tid a sketch of the history of the polar travel books: After Amundsen's last expedition, it was completely dead. With one exception in the 1930s, nothing happened until 1962, when Bjørn Staib walked the same trail as Nansen across the Greenland ice sheet.

- From then on and for three decades, most of it was about traveling in their wake, Alnæs says.

It was Erling Kagge and Børge Ousland who broke with the footprint metaphors as they set out on stubborn expeditions without assistance. The two even put restrictions on the trips and made them sporting achievements.

- From 1990 onwards, this has been the trend. But the development did not make the polar explorer literature more interesting. The books from the 60s, 70s and 80s ended with a mixture of cultivating hundred-year-old heroes and their own achievements that are not so impressive. The new ones from the 90s and 00s depict long, lonely ski trips, but apart from sporting achievements, there is not really much to write home about.

Witoszek, in turn, calls the countless reprints of the expedition of the Arctic pioneers a ritual that will confirm the Norwegian identity.

- There is also a wilderness romance in these books. Yet there is often a national resonance here. A kind of "Yes, we can" in Norwegian, she says.

- Now even Se og hør has been to the North Pole, and a few years ago there was a book called Single mothers skiing across Greenland. Has there not been a fairly acute need for innovation in this genre, Alnæs?

- Yes, yes. It can tend towards the parody sometimes. Ousland has gone to the North Pole in the winter, with a headlamp, and then one probably approaches the caricature.
However, Alnæs wonders if Ousland may not have found the trace of something more than Nansen in his latest book. It does depict a repetition of the polar heroes' hardships together with Hjalmar Johansen (1867-1913) in 1895, but in interviews Ousland gave along the way, he focused a lot on the results of global warming. In Winther and Solberg's books this is even clearer. The latter was involved in a project called "In Roald Amundsen's footsteps – 100 years later" a few years ago, but documents in his latest book the Inuit experience of climate change. The book alternates between describing the journey and presenting the research results.

- Combining research and adventure is not entirely new. Monica Kristensen's Towards 90 Degrees South from 1987 does something of the same. That said, this is a good book, and an exception in the period it was created in, says Alnæs.

The fact that several are now following can give a long-awaited injection of vitamin into the genre, says the travel literature historian.

He also says that they are more similar to some of the first polar explorers, such as Nansen's Skiing over Greenland, than Kagge and Ousland's books do.

- But it remains to be seen what place climate research will get – whether it is spices or whether it will be a bearing on history, he concludes.
While this year's Polar Cinemas has highlighted the unknown heroes, these authors have thus sped up the roots of polar literature. When winter sports take up the TV schedule for between five and seven hours every Saturday and Sunday, it may be worth a break from the nationally-built biathlon broadcasts.