The Cave in The
Nordsandfjord
The
cave in the Nordandfjord August 2002
Copyright © 2002, Anne Olsen-Ryum
When the eastern
parts of Finnmark were freed by Russian
troups, the evacuation and burning of
Finnmark started in the autumn of 1944. A
big plan for evacuation was executed,
followed by the scorched earth tactics.
First an attempt of voluntary evacuation
was made, but on October 28. 1944 came
the order about evacuation by force.
Disbelieved and terrified people in
thousands were transported southwards,
and many witnessed that their homes
burned down to the ground. On Sørøya
only one building avoided the ruin of the
flames - a church that just would'nt
catch fire.
Home for 133 people...
Copyright © 2002, Anne Olsen-Ryum
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From
London came the request to hide
in anticipation of the release of
rest of Finnmark - something
everybody believed would happen
within the next few weeks.
Because of the deep fjords, the
precipitous mountains and the
lots of caves, the possibilities
for hiding in Sørøya were
numerous.
People escaped to
turf- and boathuts, cottages and
caves bringing with them the most
necessaries of life. From their
hiding places they were watching
the cattle being slaughtered and
the houses burned without being
able to do anything about it. In
1944 there were about 1650 people
living on Sørøya, and 1100 of
them were evacuated by force
while about 500 went into hiding.
Little by little they were
accompanied by people from Sørøysund,
Hammerfest and the Alta fjord -
all in all about 1100 people were
hidden on the island in the
winter of 1944/45.
In the beginning
of November 133 people had found
shelter in a big cave in The
Nordsandfjord. The families had
divided the cave into territories
partitioned off by tarpaulins and
tent canvas. They had beds made
up on the floor. Right inside the
entrance of the cave they had a
pit privy (look at the picture
below), and in the vicinity was
the storage of food. The food was
prepared on a primus, and because
of this the air in the cave was
not too good.
The sanitary
conditions were primitive, but
fortunately they could fetch
freshwater in a river at the head
of the fjord. During the stay a
child was born, and a midwife
among the cave dwellers took care
of mother and child.
"The freedom"
wasn't to last for long - after
two weeks a grey ship sailed into
the fjord and headed right
towards the cave. There was no
doubt someone on board knew the
localities. The cave dwellers
were ordered out by 8-10 armed
German soldiers.
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If you want to visit the
cave, drive from Hasvik past Breivikbotn
to Sandvika where you'll find a sign with
informations and parking place. It's a
marked path over the mountain to the
Nordsandfjord. The walk across the
mountain takes about one hour, and the
cave is situated west of the fjord, about
1 km in rugged terrain from the beach
area at the head of the fjord. From the
sea up to the cave it's about 30 metres.
At high tide it's not possible to enter
the cave on foot, so don't forget to go
there on low water. The opening of the
cave can be hard to find for one who
doesn't know the locality. The main
entrance is 40 metres long, between 12
and 15 metres wide and 3 metres high.
Then the cave devides into a T-form. In
the one direction one can walk about 100
metres inwards, and in the other somewhat
longer. If you visit the cave in the
Nordsanfjord today, it's hard to imagine
how whole families managed to get there
in the late fall of 1944.
The pit privy
Copyright © 2002, Anne Olsen-Ryum
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View from the cave
Copyright © 2002, Anne Olsen-Ryum
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Remainders from times past...
Copyright © 2002, Anne Olsen-Ryum
Source: Gro Stangeland -
Det norske Øyriket
©Boksenteret A/S, 1998
Last modified by
Anne Olsen-Ryum
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