John Christmas Møller

Guido Leo John Christmas Møller (April 3, 1894 - April 13, 1948) was a Danish politician representing the Conservative People's Party. After the German occupation of Denmark, he joined the coalition cabinet, but was forced to withdraw following German pressure in October 1940; the German authorities felt he was too negative toward them. Three months later, in 1941, he was forced to abandon his seat in parliament altogether for the same reason. He was then instrumental in founding the illegal newspaper "Frit Danmark". In 1942, he and his family fled to England, where he hoped to act as a representative of a Danish government in exile. However, his most important role turned out to be as an announcer for the BBC broadcasting to Denmark. He spoke out against the government's cooperative stance toward the Germans and urged sabotage and other resistance activities. He became enormously popular and almost certainly played a part in the collapse of the Danish government's "cooperation policy" in the summer of 1943. On October 2, 1943, Christmas Møller signed an article in "Frit Danmark" urging all Danes to aid their fellow Jewish citizens who had just gone into hiding from the Nazis' planned roundup.

After the war he became foreign minister in the post-war government. After the election of 1945 he became leader of the Conservative Party. He lost the election in 1947 and then resigned as leader, partly because of the Southern Schleswig issue. He died the following year, a week after he relinquished his membership of the Conservative Party. His son was killed in action in April 1945, fighting for the Grenadier Guards. His grandniece, Pia Christmas-Møller, has been a member of parliament since 1987.

References

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* Harold Flender, Rescue in Denmark, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1963

Further reading

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