Einar Hærland

Who was Einar Hærland?

Einar Hærland was a Norwegian military officer who was executed during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany.

He was born in Solum as the son of Ole Hærland and his wife Marie, née Knudsen. Einar Hærland married and had two children, and the family settled in Oslo.

Hærland had embarked on a military career, and was promoted to Captain following the battles in Northern Norway during the Norwegian Campaign. When the fighting subsided, and Germany occupied Norway, he was hired in the police, while at the same time conducting illegal resistance work. When the Nazi police leader Gunnar Lindvig was assassinated by the Norwegian resistance in May 1944, Hærland was executed by Sicherheitspolizei officer Ernst Weiner as a reprisal. His execution marked the start of a broader retaliation operation called Operation Blumenpflücken. Hærland was buried at Vestre gravlund.