We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
“A book that I absolutely could not put down . . . and one that I will never forget.” —Stephen E. Ambrose. “One of the great escape stories of our time.” —Chicago
Sun-Times. “We Die Alone is a spine chiller. It may well become a legend.” —Boston Post.
Here is one of the most exciting escape narratives to emerge from the challenges and miseries of World War II. In March 1943, a team of expatriate Norwegian commandos sailed from northern England
for Nazi-occupied arctic Norway to organize and supply the Norwegian resistance. But they were betrayed, and the Nazis ambushed them. Only one man survived—Jan Baalsrud. This is the incredible
and gripping story of his escape.
Frostbitten, blinded by the snow, and pursued by the Nazis, Jan dragged himself forward until he reached a small arctic village. He was near death, delirious, and a virtual cripple. But the
villagers, at mortal risk to themselves, were determined to save him, and—through impossible feats—they did.
We Die Alone is an astonishing true story of heroism and resilience. Like Slavomir Rawicz’s classic The Long Walk, and the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance, it is also
an unforgettable portrait of the determination of the human spirit.
ISBN-13 : 9781599210636
Publisher : Lyons Press, The
Publication date : 01/06/2007
Author : David Howarth, Stephen E. Ambrose (Introduction)
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
"Jan Baalstrud encountered some of the most harrowing adventures yet recorded about the survivors of the Second World War . . . A mere outline of Jan's adventures cannot possibly suggest the
emotional impact that Mr. Howarth creates by his sharp selection of revealing details and his terse skill in telling a plain, unvarnished tale. We Die Alone fills one with humber admiration for
the stubborn courage of a man who refused to die under circumstances that would have killed ninety-nine men out of a hundred and with almost equal admiration for the many men and women who never
hesitated to help him as best they could, knowing full well that death was the mildest punishment they could expect for their heroic 'crime.'" —The New York Times
"One of the great escape stories of our time." —Chicago Sun-Times
"Almost unbelievable. We Die Alone is a spine chiller. It may well become a legend." —Boston Post
March 2, 2010 - Op-Ed Columnist - By David Brooks
The United States, a nation of 300 million, won nine gold medals this year in the Winter Olympics. Norway, a nation of 4.7 million, also won nine. This was no anomaly. Over the years, Norwegians
have won more gold medals in Winter Games, and more Winter Olympics medals over all, than people from any other nation.
There must be many reasons for Norway’s excellence, but some of them are probably embedded in the story of Jan Baalsrud.
In 1943, Baalsrud was a young instrument maker who was asked to sneak back into Norway to help the anti-Nazi resistance.
His mission, described in the book “We Die Alone” by David Howarth, was betrayed. His boat was shelled by German troops. Baalsrud dove into the ice-covered waters and swam, with bullets flying
around him, toward an island off the Norwegian coast. The rest of his party was killed on the spot, or captured and eventually executed, but Baalsrud made it to the beach and started climbing an
icy mountain. He was chased by Nazis, and he killed one officer.
He was hunted by about 50 Germans and left a trail in the deep snow. He’d lost one boot and sock, and he was bleeding from where his big toe had been shot off. He scrambled across the island and
swam successively across the icy sound to two other islands. On the second, he lay dying of cold and exhaustion on the beach.
Two girls found and led him to their home. And this is the core of the story. During the next months, dozens of Norwegians helped Baalsrud get across to Sweden. Flouting any sense of rational
cost-benefit analysis, families and whole villages risked their lives to help one gravely ill man, who happened to drop into their midst.
Baalsrud was clothed and fed and rowed to another island. He showed up at other houses and was taken in. He began walking across the mountain ranges on that island in the general direction of the
mainland, hikes of 24, 13 and 28 hours without break.
A 72-year-old man rowed him the final 10 miles to the mainland, past German positions, and gave him skis. Up in the mountains, he skied through severe winter storms. One night, he started an
avalanche. He fell at least 300 feet, smashed his skis and suffered a severe concussion. His body was buried in snow, but his head was sticking out. He lost sense of time and self-possession. He
was blind, the snow having scorched the retinas of his eyes.
He wandered aimlessly for four days, plagued by hallucinations. At one point he thought he had found a trail, but he was only following his own footsteps in a small circle.
Finally, he stumbled upon a cottage. A man named Marius Gronvold took him in. He treated Baalsrud’s frostbite and hid him in a remote shed across a lake to recover.
He was alone for a week (a storm made it impossible for anyone to reach him). Gangrene invaded his legs. He stabbed them to drain the pus and blood. His eyesight recovered, but the pain was
excruciating and he was starving.
Baalsrud could no longer walk, so Gronvold and friends built a sled. They carried the sled and him up a 3,000-foot mountain in the middle of a winter storm and across a frozen plateau to where
another party was supposed to meet them. The other men weren’t there, and Gronvold was compelled to leave Baalsrud in a hole in the ice under a boulder.
The other party missed the rendezvous because of a blizzard, and by the time they got there, days later, the tracks were covered and they could find no sign of him. A week later, Gronvold went up
to retrieve Baalsrud’s body and was astonished to find him barely alive. Baalsrud spent the next 20 days in a sleeping bag immobilized in the snow, sporadically supplied by Gronvold and
others.
Over the next weeks, groups of men tried to drag him to Sweden but were driven back, and they had to shelter him again in holes in the ice. Baalsrud cut off his remaining toes with a penknife to
save his feet. Tired of risking more Norwegian lives, he also attempted suicide.
Finally, he was awoken by the sound of snorting reindeer. A group of Laps had arrived, and under German fire, they dragged him to Sweden.
This astonishing story could only take place in a country where people are skilled on skis and in winter conditions. But there also is an interesting form of social capital on display. It’s a
mixture of softness and hardness. Baalsrud was kept alive thanks to a serial outpouring of love and nurturing. At the same time, he and his rescuers displayed an unbelievable level of hardheaded
toughness and resilience. That’s a cultural cocktail bound to produce achievement in many spheres.
Library Journal
This 1955 volume is one of the most remarkable survival stories ever written. Jan Baalsrud was the only survivor of a Norwegian commando team ambushed by the Nazis during World War II. Wounded
and with the Germans in pursuit, Baalsrud escaped and miraculously fought his way through the Norwegian tundra to a distant village, where he was saved by locals who helped spirit him to Sweden.
Baalsrud suffered frostbite and snowblindness, came through an avalanche, and lived to tell the tale. This edition has a new introduction by Citizen Soldiers' author Stephen Ambrose. Copyright
1999 Cahners Business Information.
Boston Post
Almost unbelievable. We Die Alone is a spine chiller. It may well become a legend.
Chicago Sun Times
One of the great escape stories of our time.
International Herald Tribune
You won't stop until you come to the end.
New York Times Book Review
We Die Alone fills one with humble admiration for the stubborn courage of a man who refused to die under circumstances that would have killed ninety-nine men out of a hundred and with almost
equal admiration for the men and women who never hesitated to help him.
Meet the Author
David Howarth ran a spy ring during World War II. He was also the author of two dozen major books of history.