Polizeihäftlingslager (Police Prisoner Camp) Grini 1941-1945 and the Prisoner Mail by Erik Lørdahl. 6 ¾ by 9 ½ inches, soft covers, perfect bound, 48 pages, in English, War and Philabooks Ltd., Tårnåsen, Norway 2004. ISBN 82-995588-7-5, $16 plus $10 shipping to USA from the publisher, Gydas v. 52, 1413 Tårnåsen, Norway.

Norwegian resistance fighters, saboteurs, and other political prisoners who worked on resistance or civil disturbances were imprisoned by the Germans in several camps in Norway. The largest was Grini near Oslo. Women and young boys were segregated in their own departments.

The author describes briefly the German camp organization and the prisoners’ internal organization at Grini. Some of the other camps around Norway are mentioned. Immediately after the war, Grini became Ilebu Prison and housed traitors and those that had cooperated with the Germans.

Lørdahl then discusses the handling of mail and parcels at Grini and presents an extensive table that categorizes various forms and stationery used in the camp with details of dimensions, paper color, period of use, and a rarity scale. Examples of each form are shown.

Administrative cachets, censor markings and other special labels and cachets are also listed. A few literature sources are given but many of the examples mentioned are from private collections. Text and illustrations are clear and nicely laid out.

Alan Warren