Career
After being arrested and tortured by the Gestapo in 1942, he managed to escape from custody and fled into the Soviet Union. Here, he was accused of being a German spy, and convicted to 15 years forced labour. He was released in 1955, after pressure from the Norwegian Prime Minister during a visit in Moscow.
Paul Engstad wrote Harjo"s memoir book Moskva kjenner ingen tårer (English: Moscow knows no tears) in 1956.