Resistance Fighter

by Jorgen Kieler

Writing in lively tones with a wit that reveals his indomitable spirit, the author paints a vivid picture of the resistance movement in Denmark, with detailed descriptions of many of the Holger Danske group's daring sabotage operations.

370 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2007

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jørgen Kieler's memoir describes his experiences in the anti-Nazi resistance in his native Denmark, and as a prisoner of Nazi Germany in the concentration camps. This translation from the original Danish is a valuable contribution to the body of English-language works that draw on first-hand accounts of resistance to the Nazis, the Holocaust, Nazi slave-labor camps, and Denmark's wartime experience of Nazi occupation, among other themes. Kieler's work actually goes beyond straightforward memoir because in writing it he drew upon the memories of comrades in the resistance, of his family, on archival material, and the existing memoirs and histories on these topics. In many ways this book is a memorial to his resistance comrades who did not survive the war.

Kieler prefaces his story by tracing the developing international situation in Europe between the wars including his observations on the situation in Germany, France, England, and Denmark as a university student studying in these countries before returning home as war clouds were clearly gathering in 1938. The summer of 1939 found him driving one brother to Leipzig to begin university studies there and then to Paris to bring home a sister who was ending her studies. His comments on the commonalities as well as the national differences demonstrated within this European student world and the degree of international movement within Europe's university populations is particularly interesting and prompted me to want to read more about this experience from other sources.

In the succeeding chapters, Kieler describes the Nazi occupation of neutral Denmark and life there in the aftermath of that surprise. He also traces the personal journey that took him from medical student to underground journalist and finally to resistance fighter and saboteur, a transformation somewhat parallel though more rapid to the rather more laggard transition of Denmark's government as it moved from cooperation with Nazi occupiers to its protest resignation from power. By October of 1940, Denmark came to be governed by "a [Nazi] triumvirate consisting of a political administrator...., a head of the armed forces...., and....a chief of police..."

"Resistance Fighter" presents an interesting description of the relationship between the Danish Resistance and Britain's Special Operations Executive, or SOE, as it acted on Winston Churchill's instruction to "set Europe ablaze." This aspect of the world war was clearly fought with a cold-blooded calculation matched possibly by only the RAF Bomber Command offensive over Germany. Kieler's story of life as a concentration camp prisoner is also a reminder of this dark aspect of the war, as well as offering some new insights into the role of Sweden and Count Bernadotte in attempting to offer relief and possibly rescue to these captives.

This discussion of the development of the Danish resistance is a great addition to the English-language literature on the struggle against Nazi occupation across Europe. The author includes a short article on his sources and a several pages long bibliography, in addition to several pages of endnotes. The result is a book that should be of interest to both the general reader and the academic researcher.

[Trixi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read. Jorgen Kieler was a medical student during the German occupation of Denmark. Germany had invaded Denmark in 1940, but "allowed" the monarchy to continue to govern the country. Of course, things changed as Denmark attempted to make Germany happy by cooperating with all the things they wanted done. The Danes were becoming disillusioned with the politics of the situation and as the war slowly started to turn against Germany, many residents didn't want to be perceived by the Allies as being aligned with the Germans. In August 1943, when the Nazis finally wanted complete governmental control as well as wanting to remove the Jews, the monarchy stepped down. The resistance had already been involved in sabotage of factories and other things that were supplying the war efforts, but as soon as the Germans announced the fate of the Jews, the resistance fighters as well as many Danes stepped up to help the Jews. They raised money, sheltered the Jews and arranged for them to be sent by boats over to Sweden. Around 7000 were safely transported to Sweden. Jorgen was a resistance fighter whose group not only assisted in saving Jews, but also involved in both minor and major sabotage throughout Denmark. Eventually he and some others in his group were captured and sent first to prison and then finally to a concentration/work camp in Germany. The Danish/German relationship allowed the Danish prisoners in the various camps a bit of privilege because the Danish Red Cross was able to send the prisoners packages. While packages were often pillaged, the benefit of receiving even a little often meant the difference between life and death for the prisoners, and many Danish prisoners did survive the camps. This book details Jorgen's (and others) experiences as a fighter and as a prisoner. Included in the book are excerpts from letters and diaries of other fighters as well as from documentation kept by Danish police, the Germans and other documents gathered during the war tribunals. jorgen had documented things and given his documents to others after the war, and later came across his originals in a resistance museum in Copenhagen. These details greatly enhance the facts of the book.

[Amy Hagberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book while conducting research on a WWII book I am writing. The content was amazing, but I didn't care for the writing. The author led an amazing life and did some incredible things in Denmark during the Nazi occupation during the war.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resistance Fighter by Jorgen Kieler is an unique and extraordinary memoir about Mr. Kieler's life as a resistance fighter in Denmark and his life in the German concentration camp system during World War II.

The book looks and is organized almost like a college textbook, which is not a bad thing since for the most part, it does not read like one. The only time the book is a little dry is in the beginning when most of the background is being put forth. The book is well organized and extremely easy to read because of it's textbook-like style. The addition of photographs to the memoir was a pleasant surprise. They added to the memoir by bring the story more to life for the reader and they allowed the reader to put names with faces.

Kieler did not just rely on his memory while writing this book. he did some research for things he did not know or was not aware of at the time. He used primary sources from public and private archives. He also used various secondary sources as well. At the end, a short bibliography is included. These sources added to the crediablity of his story.

The memoir is not just about telling his experience. The author does argue a few things. He argues that the resistance in Denmark meant not only resisting Hitler and Nazism but also resisting "against the Danish policy of cooperation with the occupying forces." (p. 49).

This memoir is amazing from start to finish and not only tells of the author's experience but includes other players in the resistance and what their fate was. The most engrossing part of the book was his capitivity both in Denmark and later in Germany. The reader really gets a sense of the horrific conditions he and his fellow prisoners were forced to live in.

Overall this is both a moving and exciting story as it follows the author through his sabatoge days to being imprisoned in a concentration camp. The author does not overinflate his role in the resistance or in the concentration camp. This book is a worthwhile read because it adds a new dimension to the World War II historiography out there since there are not manyh books that focus on