Pa makar nam život uzeli

The book "Even if they take our lives" by the famous Norwegian journalist and writer Per Hansson is a deeply moving chronicle of the indomitable human spirit and immense courage. The story centers on the fate of the Morset family — father Peder, mother Marit, and their seven sons — from a small farm in the Norwegian province of Selbu, who were among the first to oppose the Nazi occupation. Guided by unwavering moral principles, the family turned their home into a key station of the resistance movement, a shelter for illegal immigrants and couriers, and a crossroads of secret paths to freedom.

With masterful tension and journalistic precision, Hansson reconstructs the dramatic events that culminated in the winter of 1943, when the Nazi occupiers and local quislings launched a merciless hunt for the family. Avoiding pathos, the author exposes all the cruelty of the totalitarian system, but at the same time creates a moving monument to family solidarity, love for the homeland, and dignity that did not bow down even in the face of death. This powerful literary document inspires and reminds us of the price of freedom and of the individuals whose silent sacrifice survives wars.