WW2 Graffiti: Be True to H7

In Uranienborgveien, there is a rare piece of graffiti dating back to World War II. During the occupation, a daring resistance fighter took some paint and wrote "Vær tro mot H7" ("Be true to H7") on the rock on the west side—right outside the premises where the Hirden (the Nazi paramilitary organisation) was based.

H7 refers, of course, to Haakon VII, King of Norway from 1905 to 1957. Anyone who has seen the film The King’s Choice will know the immense challenge Haakon VII faced when the Germans invaded Norway on April 9, 1940. This anonymous man gave his full support to the king and risked his life to show it—right there on the rock.

The rock cutting has been left open and protected, not only because of the graffiti but also because it displays the type of bedrock typical of Oslo: shale with limestone nodules—whatever that might be.

The graffiti is now preserved behind a piece of plexiglass. None other than resistance hero Gunnar “Kjakan” Sønsteby was present to cut the ribbon when the protective display was unveiled.