Table of Contents
Title page
Copyright page
Preface
1: The Explosion
2: Bacardi Razz
Skaugum
The Consumer Zombie
‘I'm Going to Kill You!’
The Herostratic Tradition
The West End
3: A West End Family
‘The Fatherless Civilisation’
A Suspicious Smile
The Dark Sources
The Cats of Ayia Napa
4: Morning on Utøya
Utopia on the Tyrifjord
Utøya at Its Best
‘We Must Be Vigilant Now’
Stop Them with Spirit
5: Morg the Graffiti Bomber
King of the Number 32 Bus
A School with Class
The Bomber from Ris
Growing Pains in the Nineties
The Aesthetic of Destruction
The Tåsen Gang
The Tadpole Mafia
The End of Morg
6: The ‘Mother of the Nation’ Returns to Utøya
Wearing Bano Rashid's Wellies
11 September 2001
Ideas That Kill
Occidentalism, Norwegian Style
Mecca
7: Andrew Berwick and Avatar Syndrome
The Entrepreneur
Andersnordic, Conservatism and Conservative
Avatar Syndrome
The Counter-Jihadist Avatar
The Online Prophets of Doom
Critics of Islam and Their Norwegian Godfather
Home to Mother
‘It's Going to Be the Event of the Year’
8: The Safest Place in Norway
Shock
Planet Youngstorget
North Along the E18
The Information Meeting
Camping Life
Faces
9: The Book Launch
A Declaration of Independence
Conspiracy and Castration
The Suicide Note
Hatred of Women
10: Survivors
The Ferry Landing
Ida Spjelkavik
Arshad Mubarak Ali
Stine Renate Håheim
Anzor Djoukaev
11: Rescuers
Heroism on the Tyrifjord
Allan Søndergaard Jensen
Anne-Berit Stavenes
Erik Øvergaard
12: What Is Happening in Norway?
Shooting in Progress
Terror in Buskerud?
What the Camera Saw
When Fear Takes Over
The Captain and His Ship
13: Anders Behring Breivik's Seventy-Five Minutes on Utøya
The Killings at the Main Building, 17:17–17:22
The Killings in the Café Building and by the Love Path, 17:22–17:44
From the Schoolhouse to Stoltenberget, 17:44–18:10
From the Pump House to the Arrest, 18:10–18:34
The Perfect Executioner
Evening on Utøya
14: Hatred
The Utøya Generation
The Heart of Darkness
The Lost Child
Acknowledgements
Index
First published in Norwegian as En norsk tragedie © Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, 2012. Norwegian edition published by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, Oslo. Published by agreement with Hagen Agency, Oslo, and Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, Oslo.
This English edition © Polity Press, 2013
English Translation © 2013 Guy Puzey
The right of Guy Puzey to be identified as Translator of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This translation has been published with the financial support of NORLA.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7220-5
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Preface
A year ago today, on 24 August 2012, Anders Behring Breivik was found guilty of killing seventy-seven people, violating sections 147 and 148 of the Norwegian Penal Code, which cover acts of terrorism, and section 233, premeditated murder where particularly aggravating circumstances prevail. The prosecuting authority's plea that he be transferred to mental health care was not upheld. The court found Breivik criminally sane and sentenced him to preventive detention for twenty-one years.
Thus a chapter came to an end. The events of 22 July 2011 had not only been scrutinized in detail by possibly the most comprehensive court case in Norwegian history, but had also been thoroughly investigated by the 22 July Commission and almost endlessly discussed in the media. Nevertheless, there are still aspects of the case that have not been reported widely. The extent of the detailed discussion has perhaps also meant that the bigger picture has become fragmented. How can we understand 22 July 2011?
A single book cannot describe such a great tragedy, but a book can still go into further depth than an article or a television programme and attempt to create a narrative or analysis of the events. Ideally, then, a book may contribute to deeper understanding.
My work on this book took other routes than I had initially envisaged. I eventually encountered the dilemma of how much I should tell and where to draw the line. I made a different choice from most Norwegian journalists because I decided that some of the lesser-known elements shed light on the explosive hatred that had such deadly consequences. They have explanatory power.
This was not a simple assessment; rights came up against other rights. Those affected have the right to know as much as possible about the background to the catastrophe. Breivik and his family have the right to their privacy. With a case of such enormous dimensions, however, I concluded that openness weighs heavily as a consideration. This is why I chose to tell more about Breivik's background and family than was publicly known at the time, because the picture I would have painted otherwise would have been incomplete at best, if not false.
That decision left its mark on this book. I have written about the community that was attacked, AUF [the Workers' Youth League], and, in a broader sense, Norway. I have written about extremist reactions to the emerging new Europe, with a focus on Breivik's so-called manifesto. I have learnt a lot in the process. The events of 22 July showed that Norwegian society is strong, but also that some people are left out of it. The reasons for this are not always clear, including in this case.
The process of understanding what led to Breivik becoming such a radical outsider is important. Without knowledge of where the holes in the net of our society are to be found, it is difficult to mend them. On its publication in Norway in the autumn of 2012, this book caused a debate about writers' ethics and the roots of radicalization.Why do children from peaceful and prosperous societies end up as terrorists? While Breivik serves his possibly lifelong sentence, the discussion about the attacks on 22 July 2011 and the phenomenon of European terrorism continues. I believe that is a good thing, and this book is a contribution to that discussion.
Aage Borchgrevink
Oslo, 24 August 2013
The Tyrifjord and surrounding area, 22 July 2011
Redrawn from ‘Rapport fra 22. juli-kommisjonen’ [22 July Commission Report], Report for the Prime Minister, NOU 2012: 14, fig. 7.3, p. 118.