User:LARS-OLE MORTENSEN

Lars-Ole Mortensen Contribution to article of the Danish British Buffs-DENMARK AND ITS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE BRITISH BUFFS REGIMENT By Lars-Ole Mortensen

Shortly after the invasion of Denmark and the ultimate occupation by the Germans in 1940, the Kingdom of Britain and the Kingdom of Denmark had close ties to one another, militarily. At this time there were many hundreds of Danes living in England, as well as other Danes in Denmark wanting to join forces with the British Regiment “The Buffs”. By a special order from the British Crown and cooperation with our Danish King, Britain created a special regiment “The Danish Buffs” who fought along side with and were loyal to the British Crown. Danes who lived in Denmark, hearing of the newly created Danish Regiment, left Denmark in the hundreds, arriving to  England to enlist. Danes thinking by doing so, would be able to take part in a more active role in the fight to rid our country of the  Germans. Many Danish soldiers in the Buffs became highly decorated for their service. Throughout the entire occupation years, our King Christian remained in his position as King of Denmark. A daily routine by our King Christian, riding through the streets of Copenhagen on his horse, which to the delight of Danes cheered for our King’s constant appearance, much to the annoyance of the occupiers. Two of my uncles and my great uncle as well as my father joined the resistance against the German occupiers of our country. They were all heavily involved in assisting the Jewish families escape deportation from Northern Europe. There were ordinary citizens throughout the country that offered refuge in churches of all faiths, country homes, attics and apartments. Medical staff even hid over 1,000 Danish Jews in Copenhagen hospitals. A raid was begun in the Autumn of 1943, but it was not a surprise. A German SS officer informed people that the Jews were to be rounded up and be deported within two days. The news spread throughout Copenhagen, especially to businessmen, tradesmen as well as ordinary citizens who wanted to help. On the night of the raid, the German soldiers found only 481 out of over 8,000 Danish Jews. One thing to remember is that Danes treated the Danish Jews as “our neighbors” and never considered them different. They were part of our population and were to be protected. Under the cover of darkness, from early sunset through the early hours of the morning, daring and secretive shuttling of the persecuted Jewish families were helped from their homes and taken to safety to isolated farming communities to the Northern part of Jutland. From these areas, they were transported to the Northern coast of Denmark, to fishing villages, where Danish fishermen took the fleeing Jewish families across the sound separating Denmark and Sweden. There were over 700 boat transports and nearly all of the Jewish population made it to safety. Some were captured. However, only 481 were taken to a camp in Czechoslovakia. Three weeks before the camp was liberated by the Russians, Americans and other allied forces on May 08, 1945, the exiles were returned back to Denmark under the supervision of the Danish Red Cross. This organization needs to be recognized as determined heroes. Returning Danish Jews found their homes and businesses mostly untouched and well cared for. My uncles were forced into exile to spend the rest of the occupation years in Sweden for fear of being arrested by the Germans because of their involvement with the resistance. My father, Arne joined the Danish Regiment, the “Danish Buffs” in 1945 one month before the end of the war. His regiment’s orders were to guard the thousands of Italian prisoners in Italy for a full year, until such time as to find out what to do with the prisoner situation. Then his assignment was changed to spend the rest of his tour in Asia to help pacify the situation there, all the time missing his home country of Denmark. By Lars-Ole Mortensen