Sonderabteilung Lola
Sonderabteilung Lola (Norwegian: Underavdeling Lola; also known as Rinnanbanden ["Rinnan gang"]) was an independent group under the German Sicherheitsdienst (SD) in Trondheim, KDS Drontheim Referat IV.
History
After the Operation Weserübung, the Special Branch “Lola” (Sonderabteilung „Lola“) was founded. It consisted of around 50–60 Norwegians who infiltrated and fought the terrorist groups of the Norwegian “resistance” and their handlers from the British Special Operations Executive for Henry Rinnan on behalf of the German security police (Sicherheitsdienst).
Forty-one members were convicted and sentenced. Rinnan, Bjarne Jenshus, Aksel Mære, Harry Rønning, Harry Hofstad, Olaus Hamrun, Per Bergeen, Kristian Randal, Harald Grøtte and Hans Egeberg were executed after the war, but many of the members were hunted down and murdered. The women of “Lola” received long prison sentences, mostly life imprisonment, but were later pardoned.
