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elfbiter ([personal profile] elfbiter) wrote2019-08-18 09:16 pm

Skis against the atom

Knut Haukelid – Skis against the atom

There has been number of documentaries about how Norwegian resistance members trained in Britain were parachuted to destroy Norwegian heavy water plants. One of these men was Knut Haukelid, who later wrote the basis of this book.

In hindsight this might have been for nothing since Nazi Germany was not able to create a nuclear weapon for various reasons, some of which are still disputed. One certainly was the fact that number of German and non-German scientists were not cooperative or outright claimed that nuclear weapon was impractical. Fortunately there was not any suitable to V-2 rockets.

Destroying the heavy water factory and the shipment is actually just part of the book. Haukelid also describes the dangers of Norwegian resistance members living under Nazi occupation, including trying to live off the land in the Norwegian mountains and avoiding patrols. And people that might recognize them.