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Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen

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Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen
Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen
Born
Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen

(1914-06-03)3 June 1914[1][2]
Died29 June 1944(1944-06-29) (aged 30)[2][3]
Cause of deathExecution by firing squad,[2] gunshot wounds to the chest
Other namesPeter Sørensen[2]
OccupationBrewery worker[3]
Known forExecuted as member of the Danish resistance movement[3]
SpouseKirstine Fiil (married 1939–1944)[4]
ChildrenGudrun
Parent(s)William Bergenhammer Sørensen and Anne Petrine Nielsine Agnes née Jensen
Website"Modstandsdatabasen" [Resistance Database]. Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen (in Danish). Copenhagen: Nationalmuseet. Retrieved 2014-11-20.

Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen (3 June 1914 – 29 June 1944) was a member of the Danish resistance executed by the German occupying power.

Biography

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While a brewery worker Sørensen became a member of the Hvidsten group.[5]

The group helped the British Special Operations Executive parachute weapons and supplies into Denmark for distribution to the resistance.

In March 1944 the Gestapo made an "incredible number of arrests" including in the region of Randers Sørensen, his wife, her 17-year-old sister Gerda, her brother Niels and their father the "nationally known folklore collector and keeper of Hvidsten Inn Marius Fiil".[5]

The following month De frie Danske reported that several arrestees from Hvidsten had been transferred from Randers to Vestre Fængsel.[6]

On 29 June 1944 Sørensen, his father in law, his brother in law and five other members of the Hvidsten group were executed in Ryvangen.[2]

After his death

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On 15 July 1944 De frie Danske reported on the execution of Sørensen, his father in law, his brother in law, the life sentence of his wife and the two-year sentence of his sister in law and lamented the profound loss of his mother in law.[7] Six months later the January 1945 issue of the resistance newspaper Frit Danmark (Free Denmark) reported that on 29 June the previous year Sørensen and seven other named members of the Hvidsten group had been executed.[3]

On 10 July he was together with the seven other executed group members cremated at Bispebjerg Cemetery.[citation needed]

In 1945 a memorial stone over the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group was raised near Hvidsten Inn.[2]

Memorial stone for the Hvidsten group in Hvidsten

Similarly a larger memorial stone for resistance members including the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group has been laid down in Ryvangen Memorial Park.[1]

Memorial stone in Ryvangen for resistance members including the Hvidsten group

Portrayal in the media

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  • In the 2012 Danish drama film Hvidsten Gruppen (This Life) Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen is portrayed by Jesper Riefensthal.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b PETER BERGENHAMMER (Inscribed Stone Monument) (in Danish). Ryvangen Memorial Park. * 3.6.1914 *
  2. ^ a b c d e f PETER SØRENSEN * 3. 6. 1914 (Inscribed Stone Monument) (in Danish). Hvidsten Inn. 1944 DEN 29. JUNI FALDT DE FOR DE TYSKE KUGLER DYREBART ER DERES MINDE FOR DANMARK REJST AARET 1945
  3. ^ a b c d "29. Juni - 8 Frihedskæmpere henrettet" [29 June - 8 freedom fighters executed]. Frit Danmark (in Danish). January 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ^ Warring, Anette (2003). "Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon - Kirstine Fiil" (in Danish). KVINFO. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Utrolig mange Arrestationer" [Incredibly many arrests]. De frie Danske (in Danish). 18 March 1944. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  6. ^ "ARRESTEREDE" [ARRESTED]. De frie Danske (in Danish). 23 April 1944. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014. Kroejer Marius Fiil med flere fra Hvidsten er blevet overført fra Randers til Vestre
  7. ^ "EN FOLKELIG SKIKKELSE, ET HISTORISK EKSEMPEL PAA JYLLANDS SEJGHED UNDER FREMMEDHEREDØMMET" [A POPULAR FIGURE, A HISTORICAL EXAMPLE OF JUTLAND'S TOUGHNESS UNDER FOREIGN RULE]. De frie Danske (in Danish). 15 July 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  8. ^ "This life / Hvidsten Gruppen - nogle må dø for at andre kan leve". dfi.dk. Retrieved 2016-12-04.