Ludwig Hauser died last year at the age of 91 after living in southern Sweden since the end of the war. According to the paper Hauser lived quietly in the seclusion of his home in the woods.
His past as one of the troops responsible for the enormous destruction carried out in Finnmark in the winter of 1944 was never known until his will was read.
"In the will ten percent of his estate is to be given to the township of Kautokeino as compensation for the war damage that he took part in, through the burning of buildings in the winter of 1944," Kautokeino's mayor, Klemet Erland Hætta, told VG.
Hauser's will was written in 1982. Hætta said that opinions were divided in Kautokeino, but that the community would likely accept the 'damages' of between NOK 20,000-30,000 (USD 3,150-4,700).
