Condoren paa Kvitanosi

The exhibition about the Kvitanosi crash

The exhibition opening in Voss culture house Sept 29 2013. Click picture to enlarge. Photo Kaare Trefall

Exhibition history:

29.09.13 Opening Voss Kulturhus. Exhibition to 31.10.13.
28.11.13 to 30.03.14 at Voss Folkemuseum.
23.04.14 Opening at Norvegian Aviation Museum in Bodoe. Exhibition to 30.09.14.
08.02.15 to 29.03.15 Nordsjoefartmuseet in Telavaag.
12.04.15 Opening Turbinen at Dale Exhibition to 15.06.15. (Another exhibition review.)

Introduction:

Poster from the exhibition in Voss culture house. Preparing the exhibition, photo: Gunnar Furre.

This story started about 22 PM in the evening at the 3d day of Christmas 1942 at the mountain Kvitanosi, Voss municipality, Hordaland County, Norway. Passing the mountain Kvitanosi on its way to Stavanger, the Condor flew 50 meters to low and crashed. 4 were killed, 2 survived.
Many a hiker have in the next 62 years had the wreck at Kvitanosi as an exciting place to visit. Then a new time-line started. A museum in Berlin throw their eyes on the wreck. They wanted it for restoration of a Condor. The only copy in the world!
The local people protested. They wanted to keep the wreck as a war memorial up in the mountains. Temporary there was a preservation. Then an agreement with the museum. After 67 years the plane flew again. This time with the help of an helicopter, first to Boemoen at Voss, than by truck to the Airbus site in Bremen, Germany. This is the main restoration site. Retired aeroplan builders are doing a good job.
Background stories collected by Kaare Trefall could be found at www.trefall.com/kvitanosi. See also Facebook.

The exhibition architect Geir Sebjoernsen and the graphical designer Kjersti Hjelmeland Brakstad.

The Opening:

About 80 people came to the exhibition opening. The Major of the municipality of Voss had a welcome introduction. The Deputy County Major Mona Hellesnes talked about the importance of this type of exhibitions. Kaare Trefall told some about his role as a history-teller in the project, and about the contatct with the children of the captain of the crashed aeroplane, Waldemar Hackel, and about the letter from one of the survivors, a letter which can be seen in the exhibition.
Heiko Triech from the Deutches Technikmuseum Berlin told about the museums restoration work using the parts from Kvitanosi, and that only Condor in the world can be see in Berlin in about 5 years.
The project manager Stein Ottosen from the Hordaland County told about the negotiations with the German museum about the wreck parts, and together with the culture representative from the municipality of Voss, Gunnar Bergo, about a dramatic expedition to Kvitanosi together with the German delegation in 2008.
Gunnar Furre from Museum Vest told about the production of the exhibition. Exhibition architect Geir Sebjoernsen told more about that later in the exhibition room.
More about the exhibition opening, see the Hordaland County page, English text here.

Mona Hellesnes

Kaare Trefall

The ambulatory exhibition:

The ambulatory exhibition. Photo Kaare Trefall

The exhibition will after one month in Voss culture house be moved to Voss Folkemusem, also at Voss, and stay there until Easter 2014. It will then be moved to Bodoe Luftfartsmusem in Bodoe, and stay there for the 3 summer months of 2014. Maybe the exhibition will be to seen in Berlin afterwords?

The exhibition is formed as an aeroplan-wing. Between the spants we can find information displays, parts from the plane, a model of the plane, and other objects.

In the exhibition we can find the letter from a survivor, second telegraphist Walter Schwarze, to the captains widow Ella Hackel. Gunnar Midttun has lent the exhibition a machine gun which the local Norwegian forces took from the wreck just after the crash. We can find the picture and the story of Nils Nesheim, the only person still living who participated in bring the dead bodies down from Kvitanosi. And more to find are interesting texts, films, and stories about the Kvitanosi crash, the plane type, the restoration, etc. You have to spend some time studying the screens and texts. The graphical design is very nice, with blue plexiglas lightened from behind.

Details from the exhibition. Click a picture to enlarge. Photo Kaare Trefall.

In one of the ends of the exhibition room is a projector-scree showing pictures from Kvitanosi and the crash site.

Animation:

Thomas Nordstroem has made an animation about the crash. Together with old documentary films this gives a good picture of what happend.
The animation-film could be seen both in the ambulantory exhibition and in the permanent exhibition.

Here you can see the trailer.

The permanent exhibition:

The permanent exhibition. Photo Kaare Trefall

In the lobby in the cellar at Voss culture house, just beside the cinema entrance, is a permanent exhibition part. This is also formed as a aeroplan-wing, but is placed standing on the wall. In addition to text and pictures, there is an original part from the plane showing factory number, and there is a screen showing the animation-film.