Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft named Ilen (also written Ihlen), on land bought from the Løvenskiold family by the Norwegian state.

[3] At first inmates were detained on the premises of the original prison, but in 1942 an extra barracks had to be built to enlarge capacity.

[8] Similarly, many teachers who took part in the civil disobedience of 1942 were held at Grini for one day before being taken to Kirkenes via Jørstadmoen.

[3] Among these were the survivors of Operation Checkmate, a 1943 British commando raid, including their leader, John Godwin, RN.

The total number killed at Grini is unknown, though the Gestapo and police often used the area for purposes of torture and at least eight people were executed there.

British airborne troops sent by glider to sabotage the Norsk Hydro heavy-water plant during Operation Freshman crashed in Norway due to foul weather.

The five uninjured survivors were taken prisoner and held at Grini concentration camp until 18 January 1943, when they were taken to nearby woods, blindfolded and shot in the back of the head by the Gestapo.

[3] Some detainees maintained their pre-war specialties, such as literary historian Francis Bull who secretly held several lectures, and managed to publish three books with material written during his three-year stay at Grini.

[1] On 7 May 1945 Harry Söderman, who was in charge of the education of the Norwegian police troops in Sweden, arrived in the camp and ordered commander Zeidler to arrange an assembly, first for the 5,000 male prisoners, and then for the 500 females.

During the razzia, prosecutor Lauritz Jenssen Dorenfeldt and the wife of camp commandant Helge Gleditsch were wrongly rounded up in the yard.

[25] The second volume covers the internal organisation, such as the labor, farm work, and healthcare regimes, in more detail, and also discusses cultural and religious life.

There are also chapters on the undercover resistance at Grini, such as the news service, espionage, and the secret finger-signing language which was developed.