Erling Espeland
Erling Espeland was a journalist and member of XU, a clandestine intelligence organization in Norway opposing the German occupation during World War II. While XU was initially organized by individuals with a military background, the organization relied heavily on recruiting students from the University of Oslo. Over time, XU grew to 1500 agents from all professions and all walks of life. In XU-agenter, author Edda Espeland, Erling’s daughter, writes that her father also became a member of Nasjonal Samling, the far-right political party and only legal party at that time, so that he could gather even more information of value to XU. Espeland’s position enabled him to transcribe Norwegian radio broadcasts from London, document strife within the far-right party, and report on planned arrests by the Gestapo. Espeland would also contribute to the publishing of underground bulletins and newspapers, including Folkeviljen and London 1.20.