Early Life, Family and Training
Ole Høst enters the world on 23 April 1915 in Dragør, Denmark. He is born into a lineage of painters, the son of the artist Oluf Høst. This connection to the craft is immediate. By 1931, the focus shifts to Copenhagen, where Ole Høst begins receiving private painting lessons. The instruction is intensive, shaping his early technical development within the Danish capital.
The trajectory of his training takes a sharp turn in 1938. He leaves Denmark for Paris. In the studios of the French capital, the scope of his education expands significantly. He enters the tutelage of Fernand Léger, absorbing the methods and perspectives of the master in a city that remains the center of the modern art world.
Political Affiliations and Military Service
Ideology pulls him toward the Germanophile artists' association, Ringen. This affiliation marks a sharp departure from his artistic training. By 1941, the political landscape shifts his trajectory toward active combat. He joins the Frikorps Danmark, moving away from the studio and toward the front lines of the conflict.
The transition is physical and grueling. In 1941, he is working in a coal mine near Munich. This labor is a precursor to formal military service. Alongside Erik Johansen, he enters the ranks of the Waffen SS. The commitment is absolute. He serves as a private in Regiment Westland under the Panzerdivision Wiking on the Eastern Front. The war claims him in 1943 in Barvinkove, within the Kharkiv oblast of the Ukrainian SSR.
