This Three episodes mini series, Report from "No.24", is a documentary about the life and work of a special young student during the second world war. Gunnar "Kjakan" Sønsteby was only in his early twenties when we made it to be the most important Norwegian war hero of them all. therefore he is also the most widely decorated man in Norwegian history.
Gunnar Sønsteby was a small and tender youngster growing up in the small town of Rjukan, 180 kilometers west of Oslo, the same Place where a lot of his fellow students also engaged in anti Nazi work, and a bunch of them also where behind the world famous sabotage action again the heavy water (deuterium) production which Hitler needed to produce the world's first Atomic bomb. Of course, the four heavy water sabotage actions prevented this from happening, but the successful of the four was the two last ones, which used local saboteurs.
Gunnar Sønsteby wasn't one of these 12 saboteurs behind the Heavy water sabotage, but he came from the same small town With a population of less than 10.000, and went to Scholl With them. When Norway was occupied by the Nazi's, they all decided that this was something they wouldn't accept. When Gunnar went to Oslo University to study he became a spider in the resistance web. He was known as the man with the bike, but managed to stay completely anonymous to the Germans due to him changing names and identities all the time. From this his nickname "Kjakan" also came from one of them, when he called himself "Kjakabråten" and got forged papers With the same.
He became a central for communications in the resistance, not able to do his ordinary studies as more than a cover up for the operations. You can see some of his actions in several films, most obviously in "Max Manus" (2008). The same People which was behind this film, has been working on a film about Kjakan as well. This will be a very interesting film.
This TV-series tells his story. With interviews and dramatizations of what took Place, we both get a strong impression of what drove the tender youngster to do this Dangerous work, and we get told the history like it happened. Becoming the German war forces biggest Challenges during the war, to Kjakan himself sitting in the king's car when returning to a freed Norway after the war, we get to see the fascinating man he was.
The Germans knew he was a student, but saw upon him as a terrorist. However Close they got, they never found his Identity. this series shows Archive films, dramatizations as well as the story telling by the man himself is a way that keeps you fascinated.
The series is well narrated, and has been shown on a lot of TV channels around the world, also in the Discovery channel system. The founder of the Norwegian Home Front Defence museum has written the manuscript and is co-producing this.
Gunnar "Kjakan" Sønsteby passed away 94 years old in may 2012, after a life long fight in the name of peace. He held thousands of speeches to Norwegian youngsters about what happened, and why you never should take Peace for granted. Many saw his as relentless and unforgiving, but then he experienced a lot from the German war machine which is impossible to support.
A remarkable insight to the war years seen from an ordinary Young man becoming a war hero due to him not wanting to accept losing his and his nations freedom, is well worth a watch.
