When Rolf Olaf Haavik arrived at Grini, he was quickly placed in the camp’s youth unit, the so-called Jugendabteilung. This was a separate section for the youngest male prisoners. They spent their days learning the German language, history and Nazi ideology, as well as playing sports and undergoing German military drills. The objective was to change the youngsters’ views about Nazism and enlist them in the German war machine.

After a while, Rolf was removed from the youth unit and transferred to another barracks in the camp. There he had the opportunity to work in the camp’s ceramics workshop. The prisoners made crockery for use in the camp. In exchange for a couple of potatoes or a cigarette, they also made illegal gifts that other prisoners wanted to give to those waiting at home. For Rolf, this was like winning the lottery jackpot.

“I was given an interesting place to work and a completely new occupation, and I even got to make nice things.”

Rolf Olaf Haavik