The evacuation of fourteen Jewish children from an Oslo orphanage in 1942 was executed by Nic Waal, who leveraged her status as a licensed doctor and her access to fuel rations to bypass Nazi checkpoints. Driving these children toward the Swedish border, she facilitated their escape to safety while thousands of others faced deportation to concentration camps.
Early Life and Education
Born Caroline Schweigaard Nicolaysen in 1905 in Christiania, she was the youngest of four children. During her childhood in the Homansbyen section of Oslo, she experienced recurring psychosomatic illnesses that once necessitated completing gymnasium studies at home. She entered the University of Oslo Faculty of Medicine in 1921, eventually becoming a politically active member of the socialist Mot Dag movement before qualifying as a physician in 1930.
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Waal pursued rigorous psychoanalytic training during the 1930s, studying under Salomea Kempner in Berlin and later with Wilhelm Reich, whom she accompanied to Norway to escape Nazi persecution. She joined the staff at Gaustad psychiatric hospital in 1939, remaining there until 1947. Her credentials included certifications as a psychiatrist in 1951 and as a specialist in pediatric and adolescent psychiatry in 1953.
Wartime Resistance
In November 1942, Waal orchestrated the rescue of fourteen children from a Jewish orphanage targeted for arrest by occupation forces. Using her medical credentials to obtain driving permits, she transported the children to a safe house in Ullern before Resistance members guided them across the border to Sweden. For these actions, she was named Righteous Among the Nations in 2006.
Establishment of the Institute
Following a failed bid for a department chair at Rikshospitalet, Waal founded the Nic Waals Institutt in 1951. Initially operated from her own basement in Husebygrenda, the facility eventually relocated to a dedicated space in Munkedamsveien. She served as director of the institute, focusing on pediatric and adolescent mental health and the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, until her death in Oslo in 1960.
Fast facts
- Born: 1905, Christiania
- Died: 1960, Oslo
- Education: University of Oslo Faculty of Medicine
- Fields: Psychiatry, Pediatrics
- Recognition: Righteous Among the Nations (2006)
- Resting place: Ullern cemetery
Questions readers ask
What was Nic Waal's contribution to the Norwegian Resistance?
She organized the rescue of fourteen Jewish children in 1942, transporting them past Nazi checkpoints to ensure their escape to Sweden.
What medical institution did she found?
She founded the Nic Waals Institutt in 1951 to advance pediatric and adolescent psychiatry.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 2006
- Worked as psychiatrist, writer and pediatrician
- Educated at University of Oslo Faculty of Medicine
