Johan Bernhard Hjort

Johan Bernhard Hjort was born in Oslo, Norway, on February 25, 1895. He was the son of a marine biologist and a Prussian noblewoman. He studied law and graduated in 1919. He worked as a lawyer in Oslo and became a partner in Harald Nørregaard's law firm in 1932. He was also involved in politics and co-founded the Nasjonal Samling party with Vidkun Quisling in 1933. He served as the deputy leader of the party and the leader of its paramilitary wing, Hirden. However, he broke with the party in 1937 and became a critic of Nazism. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1941 and sent to Germany, where he was interned at the Gross Kreutz estate with other prominent Norwegians. He engaged in resistance work and helped many Scandinavian prisoners by collecting and sending their names to the Swedish Red Cross. He was part of the rescue operation with the white buses in 1945. After the war, he resumed his law practice and became one of the country's leading defense attorneys. He defended controversial cases such as the Mykle case and the Red Ruby case, and advocated for homosexual rights and freedom of expression. He was also the chairman of the Riksmålsforbundet, a language association that promoted the use of Riksmål, a conservative form of Norwegian. He died of a heart attack in Oslo on February 24, 1969, one day before his 74th birthday. He was buried at Ullern kirkegård. He left behind his wife, Anna Cathrine Holst, and six children, who became prominent in various fields such as law, medicine, engineering, music, and psychology. He was also the grandfather of publisher Anders Heger and judge Kim Heger.