Norwegian resistance member during World War II, survivor from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and known for her writings and organizing work after the war.
During World War II, Børsum was active in warning and helping Jews that risked deportation to German camps, and came to be member of a network which helped people escape to Sweden. She was arrested in April of 1943, and incarcerated at the Grini detention camp for two months. In June of 1943 she was sent to Germany, with MS Monte Rosa from Oslo to Århus, and further with railway transport to Hamburg. After a short stay at the Hütten Gefängnis in Hamburg she ended up as Nacht und Nebel prisoner at the Ravensbrück concentration camp, a camp specifically for women. She was held at Ravensbrück until April of 1945, when the surviving Scandinavian prisoners were transported home with the White Buses organized by the Swedish Red Cross.
After World War II Børsum wrote books about her experiences as a prisoner and the concentration camps. Her “Fange i Ravensbrück” (‘Prisoner in Ravensbrück’) was published in 1946, and “Speilbilder” (‘Mirror images’) in 1947.
Børsum was the daughter of pianist and composer Eyvind Alnæs (29 April 1872 – 24 December 1932) and his wife Emilie Thorne. In 1930 she married doctor Ragnar Børsum (11 August 1895 – 28 Novermber 1992). They divorced in 1949.
Lise was the mother of actress Bente Børsum. After the war Lise was unable to adapt to her former ‘normal’ life and abandoned her family and daughter to spend her time helping people who struggled with the aftermath of the war. Bente later wrote a monologue based on her mother’s books, interviews, articles, and letters. This monologue, “Min forestilling om mor” (‘My play about mother’), first performed in 2006, garnered rave reviews and has been performed on most theatre stages in Norway.
Lise Børsum died on 29 August 1985 in Oslo, Norway. She was 77.
Link to Wikipedia biography