Claus Urbye Helberg (1919 - 2003)

Born 31 Jan 1919 in Rjukan, Telemark, Norway

Ancestors

Died 6 Mar 2003 at age 84 in Tinn, Telemark, Norway

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Biography

Claus Urbye Helberg was born in Norway

Claus Urbye Helberg is Notable.

Claus Urbye Helberg has Norwegian ancestors

Claus Helberg was a Norwegian resistance fighter and mountain guide. He became famous as a member of Company Linge, the resistance commando unit that carried out Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II. After the war, Claus worked for the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association. During his retirement, he helped guide several members of the Scandinavian royalty. According to The New York Times,^[1] "[he was] the favorite mountain guide of Scandinavian royalty..." These clients included Queen Sonja and Margrethe II of Denmark.^[2]

When Claus Urbye Helberg was born on 31 January 1919, in Rjukan, Tinn, Telemark, Norway, his father, Harald Martinius Helberg, was 31 and his mother, Aslaug Urbye, was 29. He was baptized 28 February 1919 at Tinn, Telemark, Norway.^[3] Claus was a descendant of Peder Krog (1654-1731), a Danish clergyman who was bishop in the Nidaros diocese from 1689 until his death.

At the time of the 1920 Norway Census, Claus and his parents and siblings were living at 16 Villaveien at Rjukan IV in Tinn, Telemark. Listed in the household were Harald Martinius Helberg, born 14 July 1887 at Drøbak and working as a Ingeniør; Aslaug Helberg, born Urbye, born 11 February 1889 in Kristiania; Kåre Urbye Helberg, born 14 June 1913 in Rjukan; Einar Urbye Helberg, born 10 July 1914 at Rjukan and Claus, born 31 January 1919 at Rjukan. There was also a servant in the household, Helene Johannesen, born 27 September 1896 at Skeberg.^[4]

Claus served in the Norwegian Army during World War II.^[5] For more information on his military exploits, please read the Wikipedia article about him, referenced above.^[6]

He died on 6 March 2003, in Tinn, Telemark, Norway, at the age of 84,^[7] and was buried in Tinn, Telemark, Norway.^[8] He was survived by his wife of 53 years, Ragnhild.^[9]

Obituary:^[10]

Claus Helberg, 84, a Norwegian resistance fighter and member of a commando team that destroyed Germany's atomic weapons program in a daring World War II raid, died of a heart attack March 6 in Oslo.

The 1943 raid, known as Operation Gunnerside, destroyed the Nazi's heavy water plant near Rjukan, 90 miles east of the capital, Oslo. Germany occupied Norway from 1940 to 1945.

The plant could have provided Nazi scientists with the chemical reaction necessary to build an atomic bomb.

After the raid, the nine commandos fled to Sweden and Britain.

The raid was depicted in a 1965 movie, The Heroes of Telemark.

Sources

1. ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (2003-03-13). "Claus Helberg, 84, War Hero In the Norwegian Resistance". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
2. ↑ Claus Urbyel Biography on Wikipedia.
3. ↑ Baptism: "Norway, Church Records, 1812-1938"
   The National Archives of Norway-Arkivverket; Norway; Church Books 1815-1960; Reference Number: SAKO/A-294/G/Ga/L0002
   Ancestry uk Record 60606 #8500633 (accessed 17 September 2023)
   Claus Urbye baptism on 28 Feb 1919, son of Harald Holberg & Aslaug Urbge, in Tinn, Telemark, Norge (Norway).
4. ↑ Kildeinformasjon: Folketelling 1920 for 0826 Tinn herred.
5. ↑ Military: "Web: UK, Recommendations for Honours and Awards Index, 1935-1990"
   Original data: Recommendations for military honours and awards 1935-1990. The National Archives of the {UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Series WO 373.
   Ancestry uk Record 5845 #17881 (accessed 17 September 2023)
   Name: Claus Urbye Helberg; Publication Date: 26 Apr 1943; Rank: Serjeant; Regiment or Unit: Special Operations Executive; Theatre of Combat or Operation: British to Foreign: Norway; Award: Military Medal; Date of Action or Award: 1940-1955.
6. ↑ Claus Urbyel Biography on Wikipedia.
7. ↑ Record of the Death of Claus Urbye Helberg. Kildeinformasjon: Døde 1951 - 2014. Fylke:Hele Norge.
8. ↑ Burial: "Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current"
   Original data: Find a Grave. Find a Grave®. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi; URL: Find A Grave: Memorial #7470887
   Ancestry uk Record 60541 #108033 (accessed 17 September 2023)
   Claus Helberg burial (died on 6 Mar 2003).
9. ↑ Claus Helberg Norwegian wartime hero of daring Telemark raid Dan van der Vat Wed 19 Mar 2003 09.49 EST.
10. ↑ Sun, The () , obit for Claus Helberg, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/0FD2DA4642778A7C : accessed 1 October 2023).

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