Falstad

Historie

Falstad concentration camp was situated in the village of Ekne in what was the municipality of Skogn (now in the municipality of Levanger) in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was used mostly for political prisoners from Nazi-occupied territories.Falstad boarding schoolThe boarding school for boys at Falstad was founded as part of the general movement in Europe generally and Norway in particular, to reform the penal system, especially for children. Prison director Anders Daae took the initiative in founding a private institution in Trøndelag, to be modeled after similar schools in Europe. He raised funds primarily through the Trondhjems Brændevinssamlag (Trondheim liquor cooperative) and Trondhjems Sparebank (Trondheim Savings Bank) and acquired the farm known as Nedre Falstad for in 1895, along with the farm buildings. It was explicitly originated to serve the needs of the "misguided" (vanartede) rather than criminal youth through education, labor, and a "Christian spirit."The main building burned down the same year the institution was established. New buildings were constructed, and in 1910, the Norwegian government took over the operations of the school. In 1921, there was another fire, and the new brick structures that followed were based on 19th century prison designs, with a courtyard in the middle of a rectangular building.