Falstadsenteret - museum and war memorial

The Falstadsenteret in Levanger is a museum, war memorial and national human rights centre for the education and documentation of the history of imprisonment during the Second World War, humanitarian international law, and human rights.

In addition to permanent and temproary exhibitions, there is a huge collection of photos from the from WW II and the initial period after the liberation.

The Falstad Centre is located in buildings that once formed the SS Strafgefangenenlager Falstad. Today, you can learn about and reflect upon the harrowing history contained within Falstad, as well as learn more about human rights. At any time, you can visit various exhibitions, the library, and the centre's museum shop which offers books and other items.

You will certainly not leave Falstad unaffected. This visit puts your own life and daily routine into perspective!

DIGITAL "GUIDED" TOUR

Not all the buildings from the historical prison camp still exist. Therefore, the Falstad Centre has created a digital reconstruction of the camp as it appeared in 1945. Using provided tablets, visitors can experience a unique perspective on history by wandering through the former camp landscape. The virtual tour features numerous eyewitness accounts and other historical materials from the war. This experience is available in Norwegian, English, Russian, and German.

EXHIBITIONS

"Face to face" ("Ansikt til ansikt")

The permanent exhibition "face to face" in the main builing deals with the history of Falstad prison camp (SS Strafgefangenenlager Falstad) during World War II. The story, the fate of the prisoners, and the genocide are conveyed through photographs, texts, interviews, historical artefacts and video clips. It also provides a comprehensive representation of the rise of Nazism, the Holocaust and the Nazi camp system. Furthermore, the exhibition also shows how World War II impacted later periods through the establishment of the UN and the emergence of modern human rights.



TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS

Several changing exhibitions are displayed annually on the ground floor – including borrowed and self-produced exhibitions, art exhibitions, and historical exhibitions, thematically linked to Falstad as a place and to the centre's field of expertise: the history of war prisoners, memory culture, and human rights.

Summer Exhibitions 2024 (22 June - 11 August)

"Løvnes Meets Hilt": This summer's art exhibition focuses on human dignity and solidarity, featuring portraits drawn by Odd Hilt during his captivity in 1941-42, combined with new works by the renowned artist Håvard Løvnes.

"The Birch Tree": For over 100 years, the birch tree stood in the courtyard of Falstad as a silent witness to changing times. In autumn 2023, this symbolic tree had to be felled. This exhibition presents historical sources showing the birch tree from the 1920s to the present day.

THE SCULPTURE RE-REMEMBERING

Re-Rembering by artist Tore Reisch is displayed In the courtyard. Through this wooden sculpture, Reisch raises questions about whether traumatic events and personal experiences from captivity and deprivation of freedom can be transmitted to new generations.

CARD INDEX

An open card index contains three thousand cards with the names of prisoners who were held here at some point. These are copies of the actual documents found here (the originals are preserved by the National Archives). Each card includes information such as name, reason for arrest, duration of captivity, and what happened to them after they were sent from here – if they made it out of here alive.

COMMANDANT'S RESIDENCE (KOMMANDANTBOLIGEN)

The commandant's residence was built by prisoners for the German camp leadership in 1943. Today, the building is used as exhibition space and classrooms for school groups.

Faces of Power (Maktens ansikter)

In the basement of the commandant's residence, you will find the permanent exhibition "Faces of Power," which stimulates reflection and conversation about power and the perpetrators of war.

Every summer, there is also an exhibition on the first floor of the commandant's residence. The exhibition and theme change from year to year.

THE FALSTAD FOREST - WAR MEMORIAL

2 minutes by car from Falstadsenteret you arrive at the Falstad Forest with the memorial "Arkbusering" by Odd Hilt. Odd Hilt himself was a prisoner at Falstad and managed to escape to Sweden. The monument shows 3 prisoners with distinct facial features and distinct individual way of behavious up against the anonymous, unassuming war machine hidden behind helmets and rifles.

Executions

It is believed that over 200 people were executed here in the forest, but there is an uncertainty related to the number and identity.

After the war, from the summer of 1945 to 1953, the Norwegian authorities have conducted several excavations here. They have given those who have been found a grave in ordinary cemeteries elsewhere in Norway or in honor cemeteries.