Holger Danske (resistance group)

Holger Danske was a Danish resistance group during World War II. It was created by veteran volunteers from the Winter War who had fought on the Finnish side against the Soviet Union. It was among the largest resistance groups and consisted of around 350 volunteers towards the end of the war. The group carried out about 100 sabotage operations and was responsible for around 200 executions of informers who had revealed the identity and/or the whereabouts of members of the resistance. The group was named after the legendary Danish hero Holger Danske.

History

The group was formed in Copenhagen in 1942 by five men who had all fought on the Finnish side during the Winter War. By this time of the occupation resistance work carried a great deal of risk because the general public was still largely opposed to sabotage and the government was following its "co-operation" policy with the Nazis to avoid as much German intervention in Danish affairs as possible. Holger Danske, as well as the rest of the Danish resistance, was very opposed to this collaboration and continued to believe that the Danish should have resisted the invasion much more fiercely. Gunnar Dyrberg recalls in his book how he had seen Danes engage in friendly conversation with the Germans immediately after the invasion and cites this as one of the reasons he later decided to enter Holger Danske.

The group was infiltrated by the Gestapo twice but because of its loose structure (unlike BOPA the organization was very loose) they were unable to identify all the members. A total of 64 members were executed by the Gestapo during the occupation.

Among their largest sabotage actions were the blowing up of the Forum Arena in 1943 and the attack on Burmeister & Wain in 1944.

Two of the members of Holger Danske were Jørgen Haagen Schmidt and Bent Fauerschou-Hviid who became famous under their aliases, Citronen and Flammen. Both led numerous sabotage operations in 1943 and 1944. They were portayed in the 2008 movie "Flame & Citron" by Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen.

References

* [http://www.oresundstid.dk/dansk/engelsk/oresundstid/1940-45/side05-tekst.htm Resistance and Terror in Denmark]
* [http://www.besaettelse-befrielse.dk/leksikon_h.html#Holger_Danske Danmark under besættelsen og befrielsen] da icon
* De illegale: To Holger Danske sabotører fortæller, Bob Herman, 1985
* En dreng alt vel fra Dannebrogsgade 60 til Nobel’s Explosive no. 808 - fra en Holger Danske sabotørs dagbog, Gunnar Dyrberg, 2006
* "Gemüse fortæller. Erindringer fortalt af Gemüse i mindet om Flammen og Citronen", Sofie-Amalie Høgsbro Østergaard, ISBN 87-85211-58-3