The Bombing of the Shellhus on March 21, 1945

[ivanotter]

oops, sorry - regiment Denmark in SS-Panzer grenadier Division Nordland.

 

[cherry blossom]

I decided to clutter the thread with a few more family memories. My relative Fl. Lt. S. J. (Jim) Rattray flew one of the Mustangs. I remember two extra details.

Firstly, he said that the Mustang pilots were offered a free choice of flying above or below the roof line. He was thankful that he had decided to fly along the streets because another pilot (a friend or perhaps his wingman - I have forgotten and Jim died in 1989) who flew higher was hit by FLAK and killed.

Secondly, he mentioned that after flying over or near the Shellhus, he had flown over Copenhagen harbour. He had the impression that this contained a fair fraction of the remaining German surface fleet. Naturally, these showed their appreciation of the RAF's display of low level flying by firing a salute with all available guns.

I have been trying over the last few days to find which ships were present without success. In May, the cruisers Prinz Eugen and Nürnberg surrendered at Copenhagen but Prinz Eugen only arrived on 20th April. However, Nürnberg seems to have arrived on 27th January. On 13th January, Nürnberg and the minelayer Linz were escorted by the destroyers Riedel and Ihn and torpedo boats T19 and T20 in laying the "Titus" minefield in the Skaggerak when they were attacked by a radar equipped RAF Halifax. Some others of this force may have remained near Copenhagen but the destroyers remained active in convoying ships to and from Norway. Other destroyers active around that area and time include Beitzen and Galster. Of course, a convoy may have been in Copenhagen harbour that day but I have not found any information.

Jim had written a comment in his logbook for the mission "buckets of sweat" (I might be able to get that scanned as his son still has it).

 

[Glider]

You can only admire everyone involved. The resistance, the police who worked for the resistance, the skill of the pilots involved and most importantly the families of those children who were lost in the bombing that followed the accident.

Each and every one a credit to their country and words don't come close.

 

[ivanotter]

That, Glider, is a very very worthy thought.

It is doubtful if any other a/c but the Mosquito could have done it.

Standing at the actual buildig in the middle of Copenhagen and trying to imagine how it was done is mind-boggling.

Thundering in at that speed, trying to identify the right building (and believe me, the buildings are similar there), releasing and getting away is a fantatic effort.

The crash into the school was horrible, but if we try to leave that one out, the operation came off without a hitch. And that is close to a miracle.

Ivan

 

[Airframes]

Some great info there Ivan.
To try to answer some of the questions; the intelligence operation was indeed astounding, and Major Ole Lippmann himself went to great personal risk, especially leaving and returning to Denmark on more than one occassion. The level of involvement was quite complex, and even a couple of days before the raid, photographs of the target area were smuggled out of Denmark, and used in the briefing of the crews, and in particular, by Ted Sismore, the Lead Navigator (the most highly decorated Navigator in the RAF), enabling him to plan the final approach to the target.
On the VHS tape which Derek Carter sent me back in 1994, there were some 'stills', which were copies of some of the ground-level shots taken by Resistance members, at great risk, and Derek has some information regarding this side of the operation.
Ole Lippman did mention and confirm the overall Intelligence operation to me when I was in Copenhagen, but not in detail.
I think I have the information somewhere in my original notes regarding the German Naval units in the harbour, one of which I feel sure was a cruiser, and they certainly did open up with everything they had, but after the first wave had passed.
I had originally intended to include the tracer trails in my picture, streaming up and across towards the Mustangs, just visible in the right background, until I checked the info to find there was no flak on the initial passes of the attacking aircraft.
I hope this helps a little, and thank you for the compliments, and for confirming that the previous PDF was not too intrusive. I should have some more photographs, and I think the map showing the approach track of the first wave, which I'll post when I locate them - little blighters are hiding somewhere, instead of being in the correct file!

 

[BikerBabe]

Thank you BikerBabe; what fantastic information. I am actually quite suprised and relieved at the death toll from Buchenwald. In this book that my family had, each of the officers was pictured, with their name, and some other info including when and where they died. So many in the book had died at Buchenwald. It seemed like many more than the statistics show. Of course, I did not count them.

Some time ago I heard about the Danish Police Museum. When I get to Denmark, I plan to visit.

My grandfather's full name was Theodor Marinus Nielsen, born March 23, 1919 in Thestrup. I believe he joined the police force in 1943, though it could have been a bit earlier. He was in the army in 1939, and was a Royal Guard before becoming a police officer.

As for 'Ras', I found that his proper name is 'J. P. Løkkegaard'. I am not sure yet what the J.P. stands for. His daughter's married name is Rasmussen, which is why the confusion. Everyone just called him 'Ras'. I recall my grandpa talking abot how very skinny he was on returning from Buchenwald, like a skeleton with skin. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I guess he was very sickly thin.

As for the pictures, I found many of them. But I am still unable to locate a number that I recall quite vividly. For instance, Ras with his police dog. His dog had been credited with saving a number of people in its career. Also, I have not yet found the pictures of the men in civilian clothes and weapons, who my grandfather mentioned were resistance fighters.

Here are some scans I made tonight, of just a few of them:

I am not sure if this first batch were ever published any place. They were mostly taken after the Germans had left Denmark, and the police were at work rounding up collaborators. I know they also had to disarm some Germans who had not left. They had collected a small mountain of German weapons, helmets, uniforms and other stuff they had confiscated. He kept a few things, but lamented that he had not kept more of it. I believe my grandpa said that one of the buildings in the background was a police building. My grandpa appears in all of the photos.

Group Picture of Danish Police
Posing with dark colored police car My grampa is standing at back, far left.
Loaded into light colored car My grampa is in the front passenger, with gun over windshield.
White car #2
White car #3
Posing in regular police uniforms
Hats off group shot My grandpa is back, far left.



This next batch I believe may have been published elsewhere. My grandfather knew the photographer and got a bunch of pictures from him. Many show Danish police working with German troops, I'm guessing between 1943-44 (total guess)? One or two I believe are fairly well known images. For instance, the danish police and german officer questioning a woman because she is wearing a hat that demonstrates support for the allies.

Warning... the some of the following pictures show some injured people and may be disturbing to some.

Picture #1 - Crowds of people
Picture #2 - Police and Germans, crowd control?
Picture #3 - Police and Germans, crowd control?
Picture #4 - Public disturbance?
Picture #5 - More of the same...
Picture #6 - Danish police german officer stop woman wearing objectionable hat
Picture #7 - German, Roughing someone up?
Picture #8 - Carrying injured man
Picture #9 - Man bleeding from the head
Picture #10 - Danish police with injured man

My mom found a few pictures that I haven't seen before, of people hanging out in shacks, in the woods. She seems to think they were taken of my grandfather and others who were in hiding in 1944-45. My grandfather never mentioned them to me, so I have no idea. I might scan these ones later.

I recall another story you may be familiar with. My grandfather mentioned one man who worked as a gunsmith, and he was also working against the Germans. He said that many Germans came to Denmark on leave, or to rest recover. They often used the services of the gunsmith to have weapons personalized for themselves or as gifts. Apparently a customized luger was a popular gift for German officers. This man would modify the guns to reduce their effectiveness, fail sooner, or even reduce the muzzle size to cause them to blow up in their faces when fired. Again, I have no idea how accurate the story is. It would seem to me that he couldn't do it too often if he didn't want to be caught.

Leif

Hello again Leif.

About the first batch of photos:
We can't locate the buildings right away, but Frank Bøgh - our photo expert - got me the data on J. P. Løkkegaard:

The initials "J.P." stands for Jørgen Peter; I've got the rest of his data, but of course I've forgotten the note on my desk at the museum. I'll get it tomorrow when I meet in, but I do remember that J. P. Løkkegaard was active - at least for a time - in what was called "Nordre Birk", which is an area/precinct north of Copenhagen, covering Gladsaxe and Lyngby.

The visor cap that Løkkegaard is wearing wasn't used until late '50's - early '60's; it's not a pre-WW2 or wartime period visor cap, as you can see from your own grandfather's cap.

My colleague Finn with whom I'm sharing an office, knew Løkkegaard when he was active in the danish police, but he couldn't tell much about him - I'll see if I can get more out of him about Løkkegaard.

Likewise I asked Frank about the second batch of images, and he told me that all of the images are photos made from a film shot during the war years, it's supposedly pretty famous because it shows a famous incident. I don't know which, but I'll see if I can find out more. So the photos should be widely available and accessible here in Denmark at least, and most likely also on the internet.

About the story of the gunsmith:
I don't know how accurate it is, but I do know that it was common practise in the factories in the occupied areas where prisoners were used as slave labour, that people in some degree sabotaged whatever they were making, by working slowly, filling bombs and grenades with sand so that they wouldn't explode on impact, or removing vital parts, so that the bomb damage would be very limited, or have no effect whatsoever - at the risk of their own lives, of course.

Personally, I tend to think that it might be a tad too risky to sabotage personal firearms as a gunsmith, since the effects of the gunsmith's work would fall back on the gunsmith himself on second or third "unfortunate" incident with malfunctioning weapons, and thus landing him in a very...unfortunate...position with the germans in question.
But hey - people have been known to take greater risks during WW2, than that.

 

[BikerBabe]

An addition to my previous post:
The photo series are from July 6th, 1943, and they show a skirmish between the crowd, danish eastern front volunteers on leave (light uniforms) and Schalburg-men (dark uniforms), while the police is trying to restore order.
The photographer's name is Vagn Hansen.

The photo with the police officer talking with the young girl with the RAF-coloured cap/hat is from the same date, showing a surreal situation:
The SS-soldier to the left couldn't just do what he pleased, he had to get the assistance of a danish police officer to fine the girl for wearing the hat.

Source: Freedom Museum photo collection.

 

[Zeke_Freak]

Hello again Leif.

About the first batch of photos:
We can't locate the buildings right away, but Frank Bøgh - our photo expert - got me the data on J. P. Løkkegaard:

The initials "J.P." stands for Jørgen Peter; I've got the rest of his data, but of course I've forgotten the note on my desk at the museum. I'll get it tomorrow when I meet in, but I do remember that J. P. Løkkegaard was active - at least for a time - in what was called "Nordre Birk", which is an area/precinct north of Copenhagen, covering Gladsaxe and Lyngby.

The visor cap that Løkkegaard is wearing wasn't used until late '50's - early '60's; it's not a pre-WW2 or wartime period visor cap, as you can see from your own grandfather's cap.

Thank you! That makes sense. It also occurred to me that he was too old in appearance for the picture to be from the 1940's. Today I found another picture of J. P. Løkkegaard ('Ras'), and another dog, and he is shown quite bit younger, and they are more likely from the 1940's. He was close to my grandfather's age, and died just a few years ago, shortly before my grandfather. My grandfather and him kept in touch, and our families visited each other several times over the years. His daughter and my mother are still close, like cousins.

My colleague Finn with whom I'm sharing an office, knew Løkkegaard when he was active in the danish police, but he couldn't tell much about him - I'll see if I can get more out of him about Løkkegaard.

That would be great, thank you. I'll also send an email to his daughter to see what I can find out.

Likewise I asked Frank about the second batch of images, and he told me that all of the images are photos made from a film shot during the war years, it's supposedly pretty famous because it shows a famous incident. I don't know which, but I'll see if I can find out more. So the photos should be widely available and accessible here in Denmark at least, and most likely also on the internet.

That is what I thought. I also found some interesting pictures of a ship sinking. Not sure what to make of those. I vaguely recall asking about them in the past, and I think the ship was being scuttled, but not sure why.

Personally, I tend to think that it might be a tad too risky to sabotage personal firearms as a gunsmith, since the effects of the gunsmith's work would fall back on the gunsmith himself...

Yes, I agree with you. However I also recall him indicating that much of his sabotage was not to injure the shooter, but to reduce the effectiveness of the weapon. Also, he indicated that some weapons were being sent to officers serving on the front (lugers in particular), so it may be that he would escape detection because it would be some time before the luger was discharged, and when it was, it was no where near Denmark. He was also specific that this man owned a much frequented gun shop, so he wasn't a factory worker.

Thank you so much for doing this. I look forward to seeing what you can find, and curious if there is anything specific about my grandfather. For instance, I would love to know when he officially joined the police force; whether it was 1943, or earlier.

Leif

 

[BikerBabe]

Hi again.

I talked with Jørgen Aasberg today, and we found out that your grandfather started in the danish police at the then academy/school on March 15th, 1943.
He was working in Lyngby from Dec. 1st, 1945, and became part of the "Sorgenfri"-guard - the police guard at Sorgenfri Slot ("slot" = castle).
He must've finished his education as a police officer in 1945-46, because he was tenured (word?) as a police officer in 1946, and must've left Denmark shortly afterwards, because there's no records on him in the police officer register in 1947 or later.
Funnily enough there's no record of him leaving the police either, at least none that we could find right away.

So that's what we could find today, I hope it helps you.

Cheers,

Maria.

 

[Airframes]

Great work Maria !

 

[Zeke_Freak]

Hi again.

I talked with Jørgen Aasberg today, and we found out that your grandfather started in the danish police at the then academy/school on March 15th, 1943.
He was working in Lyngby from Dec. 1st, 1945, and became part of the "Sorgenfri"-guard - the police guard at Sorgenfri Slot ("slot" = castle).
He must've finished his education as a police officer in 1945-46, because he was tenured (word?) as a police officer in 1946, and must've left Denmark shortly afterwards, because there's no records on him in the police officer register in 1947 or later.
Funnily enough there's no record of him leaving the police either, at least none that we could find right away.

So that's what we could find today, I hope it helps you.

Cheers,

Maria.

Thank you Maria. That's fantastic. He applied and was granted a one year leave of absense in early 1949, and on March 11, 1949 his travelled with his family to Canada. In 1950 he had to decide if he would be returning or not. They decided to stay in Canada.

I had no idea he was a castle guard after training as a police officer. He served as a danish royal guard prior to becoming a police officer. So I guess that makes sense.

He told me once that immediately after the Germans left, the police force was not particularly picky about who they recruited, and that as a result they later had to stiffen their requirements, and 'comb' through the ranks to see who actually was properly qualified. He qualified, but ultimately wanted to leave Europe after the war, to take his family to a less volatile part of the world, Canada or Australia. I think quite a few people were thinking the same thing back then.

Thanks so much Maria.

Leif

 

[BikerBabe]

Thank you Maria. That's fantastic. He applied and was granted a one year leave of absense in early 1949, and on March 11, 1949 his travelled with his family to Canada. In 1950 he had to decide if he would be returning or not. They decided to stay in Canada.

I had no idea he was a castle guard after training as a police officer. He served as a danish royal guard prior to becoming a police officer. So I guess that makes sense.

He told me once that immediately after the Germans left, the police force was not particularly picky about who they recruited, and that as a result they later had to stiffen their requirements, and 'comb' through the ranks to see who actually was properly qualified. He qualified, but ultimately wanted to leave Europe after the war, to take his family to a less volatile part of the world, Canada or Australia. I think quite a few people were thinking the same thing back then.

Thanks so much Maria.

Leif

Hi again Leif - you're quite welcome, it's always fascinating to dig into the old records at the museum, because each record holds a life story.
Your grandfather must have left the police before '49, because we have no records on him from '46 and on, and we've got all of the personnel files from back then.

The castle guard duty mainly consists of the police looking after and securing the royal family, making sure that they're safe from unwanted intruders - a "prolonging" of his Royal Guard work, yes.

I can confirm what you've said about the danish police recruits after the war, and about the "combing" process.
And I sure a shell don't blame people for wanting to leave Europe back then!
I hope your grandfather had a good life together with his family.

Cheers,

Maria.

 

[Zeke_Freak]

Your grandfather must have left the police before '49, because we have no records on him from '46 and on, and we've got all of the personnel files from back then.

Since the record don't show him leaving at all, I suspect you may be missing a few records. I actually have a picture of him in uniform taken during that period. I was hoping it might give some more clues.

I notice in several places that some of his stuff mentions Norde Birk. I think that must have been part of his station? He mentioned it several times as well. He also has a booklet called 'Nordre Birks Garderforening, 19. nov 1941 - 19. nov 1991'.

I also have his police organizer from 1949 (pictured beside his police badge). So I have no doubt that his story about being in the police force until then is accurate.

I also found this booklet entitled 'Kampen Om Amalienborg' subtitle: 19. September 1944. It appears to have actually been printed in 1944 as well. It has pages of both text and pictures inside. I think he was worried he'd lose it, since he stamped his name address on it in a couple of places. He was quite protective of it. I know one of his close friends was shot in the fire fight, and 'Ras' and others were taken away. I think it was just a very traumatic experience for him that day. He felt very lucky to be one of the few to actually be there in the fire fight that got away.

I am curious though... how it portrays the event, being that the Germans were still there occupying Denmark when this was printed. I must translate it one day, using an online translation service.

Also found this newspaper clipping of our friend 'Ras' and his police dog 'Rex' that I mentioned earlier. I'm not sure what it says.

Now I better stop with the pictures. Thank you Maria.

And I sure a shell don't blame people for wanting to leave Europe back then!
I hope your grandfather had a good life together with his family.

He did Maria. He went on to be a foreman for a big lumber company in Canada. He was always very friendly and personable with people, but he could also be very stern and frank. I think it was his police work that brought out these qualities. He was both feared respected as a foreman.

Leif

 

[BikerBabe]

Since the record don't show him leaving at all, I suspect you may be missing a few records. I actually have a picture of him in uniform taken during that period. I was hoping it might give some more clues.

Hello again.

Yup, we've missed out on some records there alright, thanks for the information and the feedback.

The pink card of your grandfather's is a hunting permit, and the printed text translated into english goes like this:

"Police precinct 2
Litra A No. 59.

HUNTING PERMIT
for the financial year
April 1st, 1947 to March 31st, 1948.

This hunting permit gives permission to
hunt on the sea, fiords and bays, where the hunt is open,
and on one's own land plus
for members of the parish hunting
association to
participate 3 times in the
in the parish located
parish hunting association's
common hunts."

I notice in several places that some of his stuff mentions Norde Birk. I think that must have been part of his station? He mentioned it several times as well. He also has a booklet called 'Nordre Birks Garderforening, 19. nov 1941 - 19. nov 1991'.

I also have his police organizer from 1949 (pictured beside his police badge). So I have no doubt that his story about being in the police force until then is accurate.

"Nordre Birk" was the name for Police Precinct #2.
The badge is a jacket badge; the original police badge that any officer carried with him looked different.
The jacket badge was sewn onto the uniform jacket over the right breast pocket, as you can probably see on some of the photos you've got.

I'll ask Frank (- that I think I mentioned earlier in this thread) about which kind of badge were in use back then, as I can't quite remember when the danish police changed badges back then, from the old-style badge used in the 1940's, to the more modern "fiver" - named so, because it looked a lot like the danish 5 DKr coin. Both were big, round and silverish.

About the police organizer: I stand corrected. Thanks.

I also found this booklet entitled 'Kampen Om Amalienborg' subtitle: 19. September 1944. It appears to have actually been printed in 1944 as well. It has pages of both text and pictures inside. I think he was worried he'd lose it, since he stamped his name address on it in a couple of places. He was quite protective of it. I know one of his close friends was shot in the fire fight, and 'Ras' and others were taken away. I think it was just a very traumatic experience for him that day. He felt very lucky to be one of the few to actually be there in the fire fight that got away.

I am curious though... how it portrays the event, being that the Germans were still there occupying Denmark when this was printed. I must translate it one day, using an online translation service.

I've got that book as well, and if you've got the patience to use an online translation service, I can recommend the book.
Please fell free to ask if you run into words or sentences that the translation service won't deal with, I'll be happy to help as best as I can.

I agree with you that the book and the experience must have ment a lot to your grandfather. My guess is that it made a deep impression on those police officers that were involved - both for those that escaped, and for those who were captured.

Also found this newspaper clipping of our friend 'Ras' and his police dog 'Rex' that I mentioned earlier. I'm not sure what it says.

Now I better stop with the pictures. Thank you Maria.

The text underneath the photo says:
Police officer Børge Rasmussen with the police dog Rex,
who tracked down the sex offender.

-cut-
He did Maria. He went on to be a foreman for a big lumber company in Canada. He was always very friendly and personable with people, but he could also be very stern and frank. I think it was his police work that brought out these qualities. He was both feared respected as a foreman.
Leif

It's great to hear that he had a good life.
And judging from my colleagues - both active and retired - people have no doubt that one don't want to mess with those guys.
Once a police officer, always a police officer.

Maria.

 

[Zeke_Freak]

The pink card of your grandfather's is a hunting permit, and the printed text translated into english goes like this:

"Police precinct 2
Litra A No. 59.

HUNTING PERMIT
for the financial year
April 1st, 1947 to March 31st, 1948.

This hunting permit gives permission to
hunt on the sea, fiords and bays, where the hunt is open,
and on one's own land plus
for members of the parish hunting
association to
participate 3 times in the
in the parish located
parish hunting association's
common hunts."

"Nordre Birk" was the name for Police Precinct #2.

Ah! Wonderful. Thank you Maria. I tried an online translator service, but suprisingly few words were recognized. Much appreciated.

The badge is a jacket badge; the original police badge that any officer carried with him looked different.
The jacket badge was sewn onto the uniform jacket over the right breast pocket, as you can probably see on some of the photos you've got.

Yes, sorry, I should have specified jacket badge. I didn't realize they also had a different badge. So I guess it was like a modern police badge, that they carried loose or in a wallet? I wonder if they were generic, or if they also had a badge number like some modern police.

I've got that book as well, and if you've got the patience to use an online translation service, I can recommend the book.
Please fell free to ask if you run into words or sentences that the translation service won't deal with, I'll be happy to help as best as I can.

Thank you Maria. That is a kind offer. Based on my experience with the online translators so far, I think you may be hearing from me at some point.

(I think I must know more Dansk than the online translator service )

Leif

 

[ivanotter]

Leif,

Although a bit off on a tangent:

When Denmark got occupied 9 April, early morning, my mom still remembers seeing sme of the columns moving up through Jutland.

When soemof the German soldiers was to billeted at my grandfather's farm, he was just standing at the doorstep. The first one's wanting to gt past, he just hurled down the stairs. After some more of those things, he was threatened with a gun. Then he stopped. PS: My grandfather was a very very stubborn aggressive farmer in Jutland. Not the most easy people in this world.

If yuo look it up, the pamphlet OPROP that the German forces scattered in Copenhagen ws dropped by a collection of He-111 and Ju-52.

They did not take the Danish forces too serious, after all.

Maria can probably find more pics of the actual occupation.

Good luck,

Yours,

Ivan

 

[Crimea_River]

I have been trying over the last few days to find which ships were present without success. In May, the cruisers Prinz Eugen and Nürnberg surrendered at Copenhagen but Prinz Eugen only arrived on 20th April. However, Nürnberg seems to have arrived on 27th January. On 13th January, Nürnberg and the minelayer Linz were escorted by the destroyers Riedel and Ihn and torpedo boats T19 and T20 in laying the "Titus" minefield in the Skaggerak when they were attacked by a radar equipped RAF Halifax. Some others of this force may have remained near Copenhagen but the destroyers remained active in convoying ships to and from Norway. Other destroyers active around that area and time include Beitzen and Galster. Of course, a convoy may have been in Copenhagen harbour that day but I have not found any information.

An Osprey book I have on the Mosquito devotes a chapter to this raid and states that Flak from Nurnburg hit several Mosquitos. In all, 4 Mossies were lost and 2 Mustang III's. No mention is made of German fighter action.

 

[Airframes]

That's correct Andy. I've re-checked my notes, and no Luftwaffe activity took place over or near the city. It was the cruiser 'Nurnberg', and other ships in the harbour, plus flak positions around the area, which put up a barrage after the first wave had passed.
Of the four Mosquitos lost, three were due to flak, the other being Kleboe's aircraft which hit the lighting tower in the marshalling yards. All crews were lost.
Of the two Mustangs, both from 64 Sqn., Drew's belly landed in the park, but he failed to escape and was killed. The second, also hit by flak, and flown by F/O R. Hamilton, took hits over the city and crash-landed near Tarm. Hamilton was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag Luft 1, Barth.
Three other Mosquitos also sustained damage over the target, but made it back to England, W/Cdr Denton belly landing his, and Bob Kirkpatrick, flying the second FPU aircraft, making an emergency landing at the first airfield he spotted, USAAF base Rackheath,Norfolk, landing without pneumatics, and hence no brakes!
Flt Lt Dempsey flew 400 miles (664km) on one engine to return safely in his 487 Sqn Mossie.

 

[Zeke_Freak]

I have a question, I was hoping Maria or someone else may be able to answer. I think it pertains to this thread, since the Shell building bombing was related directly to the resistance movement.

As I understand it, some Danes were very much against the occupation, and in favor of King Christian X, right from the beginning. Others were collaborating with the German occupiers. But the overall weight of the resistance against the Germans grew as time went on, and by 1943-44 the resistance was much stronger, in terms of the way the average Dane felt about the occupation. For instance, I have a broach of my grandmothers that was worn to show support for the King during the occupation.

I also just found a book. printed in Copenhagen in 1943, that seems to be making fun of Hitler. There are even cartoons outrightly making fun of Hitler, and threatening revolt. The book is called "Haandbog I Oversvømmelser" ("Handbook in Floods" I think), and the first heading says "Yearbook 1943" (in Danish) and the first chapter heading asks "How can we win peace?". The pages are poorly bound, and uneven. It has a heavy paper cover. I suspect it may have been printed in an inconspicuous way, just because the quality of the book is very low. Yet the author's name is listed clearly, 'Arne Sørensen'.

So my question is... were many books like this published in open even during the occupation? It would seem to me that people were becoming very bold to publish cartoons making fun of Hitler, while German troops still held the country.

I wonder if it would be offensive to scan and post some of the cartoons here? Personally, I think they are historically significant. But I wouldn't want to break any rules or offend anyone. Opinions?

Leif

 

[Crimea_River]

Taken in the context of history, I don't see how it would offend me, especially if it makes fun of Hitler.