page_title: Blood Road
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Blood Road / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: A war memorial over the lost war prisoners who were used as slave labour to build the Blood road. Mostly Soviet and Yugoslaw prisoners. Located at the Arctic Circle where E6 is passing by. Text on the memorial: This road was built by Yugoslav prisoners of war during the Nazi-regime 42-45, many lost their lives in the process...
context_page_description: The Blood Road is a route northeast of Rognan in the municipality of Saltdal in Nordland county, Norway that was built by prisoners during the Second World War. The route was a new section of Norwegian National Road 50 between Rognan and Langset on the east side of Saltdal Fjord, where there was a ferry service before the war. The specific incident that gave the road its name was a cross of blood that was painted on a rock cutting in June 1943. The blood came from a prisoner that was shot along the route, and the cross was painted by his brother.
  The prisoners lived in a primitive camp in the village of Botn, just 2 kilometers outside Rognan. The prisoners of war had very small daily rations, long working hours, poor clothing for winter use, primitive barracks, and miserable sanitation, and they were treated cruelly. The Botn camp was first led by the SS, and under their direction mass executions were also carried out.
  When the Wehrmacht took over management of the Botn camp in October 1943, the conditions gradually improved. The conditions further improved when the Red Cross learned of the camps and several inspections were conducted.
context_section_description: After the war, there was little focus on the events during the construction of the Blood Road. In an interview in the newspaper Aftenposten on November 16, 2012, Christie said, "In the years following the war and occupation, it was painful and difficult to accept the fact that Norwegians could, and can, perform horrific acts like this."
  After the liberation, 356 bodies of Yugoslav prisoners from the Botn camp were found. A war cemetery was created for those in Botn with 1,657 dead, of which 1,027 are unknown prisoners of war. In September 1954, a memorial was unveiled; a delegation from Yugoslavia was present at the ceremony, including three former prisoners. Norwegian authorities were also present, including Major General Arne Dagfin Dahl. Close to the Yugoslav cemetery there is also a large cemetery for German soldiers.
  After the Second World War, some prisoners wrote books about their experiences at the Botn camp. In 1959, Ostoja Kovačević wrote En times frihet (One Hour of Freedom) with a foreword by Sigurd Evensmo. Later, in 1984, Cveja Jovanović wrote the book Bekstva u slobodu: iz nacističkih logora smrti u Norveškoj (Escape to Freedom: From Nazi Death Camps in Norway). In it he describes several camps in Norway during the Second World War, as well as escape attempts that were made.
  The film Blodveien is based on events from the Korgen camp, but its name is taken from the stretch of road at Rognan.
  Today there are several memorials in Saltdal connected with the Blood Road and other events during the Second World War. There is also a Blood Road Museum in Saltdal documenting the events.
caption: Monument to the prisoners of war that built the Blood Road close to today's European route E6.
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