I Discovered the Heroic Stories of My Birth Parents and Connected with 3 Siblings Thanks to MyHeritage

I was born in Stockholm in 1943 and adopted by a Swedish couple during World War II. My biological parents were Norwegian refugees — my mother from Troms County in the far north, my father from Halden in the south — who met in Stockholm in 1942. I grew up without siblings, and for most of my life, I believed I had no biological family to speak of. My adoptive father died the year I was born, and on my mother’s side, I only had 4 cousins in Värmland, most of whom are no longer living.

For decades, that was enough. But as the years passed, I began to wonder: who were my biological relatives? Could I possibly have living family somewhere out there?

Jan Rencke

A whole world uncovered in 8 months

That curiosity led me to MyHeritage. I took out a full subscription and, in just 8 months — working a couple of hours a day — I was able to build an enormous family tree. Every time I added a name, MyHeritage’s Smart Matches™ and Record Matches opened new doors, often allowing me to add entire generations with a single click.

What started as a modest project became an astonishing journey through time. I uncovered more than 3,050 direct ancestors — and an additional 3,400 married indirect relatives. Through my Swedish grandmother (who had married a Norwegian), I found a long line of clergy: over a dozen parish priests and two bishops.

And the surprises didn’t stop there. One particularly fascinating branch revealed a 16th-century ancestor, a vicar, whose brother married a noblewoman in the 1530s. She turned out to be a cousin of Gustav Vasa, the founder of modern Sweden. With her, an entire royal lineage entered my family tree, stretching back to the year 1050.

Among the most unexpected discoveries was Saint Birgitta, who appears in the tree twice through marriage. While we’re not related by blood, she still holds an honored place in the tapestry of my ancestry.

Finding my half-brothers

But nothing compared to what I discovered about my immediate biological family.

A few years ago, I searched for my biological father’s name, Bjarne Hagen, using a trial tool on MyHeritage. That led me to the names of twin half-brothers I had never known. I found their email addresses and reached out.

To my surprise and joy, they were delighted. They flew to Stockholm to meet me and brought with them photos and stories of my father. Their insights even helped me locate his personal refugee file in the Swedish National Archives — an emotional and informative moment, given how carefully Sweden monitored the 40,000+ Norwegian refugees who arrived during the war.

That file told an extraordinary story.

On March 8, 1941, Bjarne Hagen was seen tearing down posters from Nasjonal Samling, Quisling’s Norwegian Nazi party. The following day, men from the Hird — Quisling’s version of Hitler’s SA — came to arrest him. But Bjarne wasn’t home. He had already decided to flee. Taking a taxi from Halden to Liholt, he continued on foot across the border at Krokstrand, arriving in Sweden with just 10 Norwegian crowns in his pocket. He was first interviewed by Swedish police in Strömstad before being sent to the Norwegian refugee camp at Öreryd.

Later, in 1943, he joined the secret Norwegian army formed and trained in neutral Sweden. He ended up driving supply lorries from the Swedish port of Luleå through Finland into liberated parts of Norwegian Finnmark province. Since photos of him exist from the Norwegian port of Narvik on May 10, 1945, I believe he must have driven his lorry all the way there.

Then, recently, a new surprise: through MyHeritage and the help of a local researcher, I investigated whether my biological mother, Anny Marie Markussen, had any other children. And indeed she had. I discovered a third half-brother from Norway. He happened to be visiting Stockholm to attend an Elton John concert, and we took the opportunity to meet for dinner.

Jan and half-brother Steinar

Like my other half-brothers, he was warm, welcoming, and full of stories. He even brought photographs that gave me a glimpse into a side of my family I had never seen.

My mother Anny’s wartime story was no less courageous. She had expected to be forcibly drafted into the German labor service. Together with 15 other Norwegians from Lavangen, she escaped first by bicycle and then on skis across roadless terrain. They crossed the border near Koppås station on the Kiruna–Narvik railway. On June 7, 1942, they took the train to Kiruna, where Swedish police interviewed them. Anny had about 100 Norwegian crowns in her pocket. While the men were sent to Öreryd, Anny and the other women were sent to Stockholm.

In 1944, she underwent training as a “Lotta” — a female auxiliary — and served in the canteen of the Norwegian kitchen in Stockholm. It’s even possible she may have served the future Queen Sonja of Norway, who was also there at the time. To reunite with Bjarne in Narvik, she would likely have taken the train from Stockholm via Kiruna, probably already on May 8, VE Day.

Jan’s half-brother Steinar visits the grave of their mother Anny

New connections, new perspectives

Meeting my half-brothers has enriched it in ways I never expected. We stay in regular contact, and I’ve also connected with my two nieces on my father’s side, as well as their families.
Thanks to MyHeritage, I went from having no known biological relatives to building a family tree with thousands of names, many of them now real people in my life — with their own faces, stories, and memories.

This experience has been both deeply educational and genuinely enjoyable. While a full MyHeritage subscription is an investment, for me, it was worth every krona. With a bit of curiosity and a few hours each day, I unearthed a vast and vibrant history — one that connects me not only to kings and saints but, more importantly, to living, breathing family I never knew I had.

Many thanks to Jan for sharing his incredible story with us! If you’ve also made an amazing discovery with MyHeritage, we’d love to hear about it. Please send it to us via this form or email us at stories@myheritage.com.