Anne Margrethe Strømsheim
| Anne Margrethe Strømsheim | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Anne Margrethe Bang |
| Nickname(s) | Lotten fra Hegra (English: The women's defence league volunteer from Hegra) |
| Born | 1914 Trondheim, Norway |
| Died | 6 October 2008 (aged 93–94) Bærum, Norway |
| Allegiance | Norway |
| Service/branch | Norwegian Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1945 |
| Unit | • Hegra Fortress • Norwegian resistance movement |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards |
 Norwegian War Medal Defence Medal 1940–1945 HM The King's Medal of Merit
|
| Other work | Social worker |
Anne Margrethe Strømsheim (née Bang) (1914 – 6 October 2008) was a Norwegian resistance member during the German occupation of Norway during World War II. She is best known for her participation in the defence of Hegra Fortress in 1940 and her post-World War II war information work.
Anne Margrethe Bang was born in Trondheim in 1914, the daughter of a medical doctor. Her father, a surgeon, served as an inspiration for her. He had taken part in World War I and the Balkan Wars as a medical volunteer and was convinced that sooner or later the Germans or Russians would attack Norway. From the age of 11 Anne Margrethe was taught by her father how to disinfect medical equipment and perform first aid. Although she wanted to become a professional nurse when World War II was over, she lacked money to fund any education.
During the Norwegian Campaign she took part in the Battle of Hegra Fortress as a nurse. The battle saw a small force of Norwegian volunteers holding back German forces for 25 days, with Hegra Fortress eventually capitulating on 5 May — after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms. The only woman at Hegra, Bang became known nationally as a resistance heroine and was given the nickname Lotten fra Hegra.
At the outbreak of the German invasion on 9 April 1940 she was at Kongsvoll mountain station recovering from bronchitis. As the news reached her she put on her skis and started off for Trondheim, catching a lift with a freight train to Oppdal. From Oppdal she took a taxicab to Trondheim, arriving late in the evening of 9 April. After evacuating her mother from Trondheim she returned to the city before moving on Lake Selbusjø where she encountered Norwegian Army Air Service pilots who had evacuated from Værnes. The pilots told her that fighting was expected in the area around Hegra and that the Norwegian forces there were lacking medical supplies. In response to these reports she gathered together medical supplies and went to Hegra. At Hegra, she met two childhood friends who had volunteered to fight the German invasion, both of whom were to die during the upcoming battle. Even before the fighting began she had to use her first aid skills when a civilian train was accidentally fired upon by the Norwegian soldiers blocking the Meråker Line rail line. After the incident, she tended a severely wounded Finnish woman until the woman could be operated on at a hospital in Selbu, singing a Finnish song to calm her down. On her way back to the fortress Bang had to pass through German road blocks and for the last bit wade through deep snow.
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