Helge Krog

Krog was born in Kristiania, the son of jurist Fredrik Arentz Krog and Ida Cecilie Thoresen.[1] His mother, a well-known feminist, was the first female student in Norway in 1882,[2] and his father's sister, Gina Krog, was a central figure in the Norwegian women's suffrage movement.[3] He was married to writer and publicist Eli Meyer from 1912 to 1947, and to actress Tordis Maurstad from 1949.[1]

Krog graduated as cand.oecon. in 1911. He worked for the newspaper Verdens Gang from 1912, and from 1914 as a theatre and literary critic. He later worked for the newspapers Tidens Tegn, Arbeiderbladet and Dagbladet.[1] He issued the article collection Meninger om bøker og forfattere in 1929 (lit. Opininons on books and writers), and a second collection, Meninger om mange ting in 1933.[4]

His first play was the press comedy Det store Vi from 1917,[1] which was staged at several Scandinavian theatres.[4] The play was a great success at Nationaltheatret with almost sixty performances, Gerda Ring playing the "shop girl" character, and August Oddvar the "young journalist".[5] The play På solsiden from 1927 was later basis for a film (in 1956).[4] Other plays were Konkylien from 1929, and Don Juan (together with Sigurd Hoel, from 1930).[1] The plays Underveis (1931) and Opbrudd (1936) are treating the women's role in society, and were also of interest during the feminist movement of the 1970s.[1]

During the inter-war period Krog became known as a member of the "radical triumvirate", along with Arnulf Øverland and Sigurd Hoel.[1]

During the last part of World War II Krog lived in exile in Sweden, where he contributed to the magazine Håndslag.[6] He published, under pseudonym, the critical article "Nazi-Tysklands krigspotensial og den 6-te kolonne i Norge" in 1944,[7][8] an article which was subject to much debate, also after the war.[9] The pamphlet was reissued in an expanded version in 1946, questioning the contributions from the Norwegian large-scale industry to the warfare of Nazi Germany (Norwegian: 6. kolonne -? Om den norske storindustriens bidrag til Nazi-Tysklands krigføring).[1]

He died in Oslo.