Niels Fiil (12 June 1920 – 29 June 1944) was a member of the Danish resistance executed by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupying power.

Biography

Fiil was born in Hvidsten on 12 June 1920 to house proprietor and bicycle dealer Marius Fiil and wife

Gudrun Fiil Gudrun Fiil (18 December 1890 – 19 May 1972) was inn keeper at Hvidsten Inn and member of the Danish resistance, whose husband, son and son-in-law were executed by the German occupying power. Biography Gudrun Fiil was born in Gødstrup præ ...

. In 1930 he lived in Hvidsten Inn with his 72-year-old grandfather as inn keeper, his parents and four sisters and a farm hand, a maid and a manager. He was confirmed in Spentrup church in 1934 on the first Sunday after Easter, while living in Hvidsten with his family. He received his confirmation with a waiver, since he had not yet turned 14. During the occupation the family and other locals formed a resistance group, the

Hvidsten group The Hvidsten Group (Danish: ''Hvidstengruppen'') was a Danish resistance group during World War II named after the Hvidsten Inn between Randers and Mariager in Jutland where it was formed. History The Hvidsten Group became connected to the res ...

. In addition to being a member of the Hvidsten group, Fiil was also a farmer while helping out at the inn. The group helped the British

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

parachute weapons and supplies into Denmark for distribution to the resistance. In March 1944 the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

made an "incredible number of arrests" including in the region of

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Kirstine Kirstine is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Kirstine Fiil (1918–1983), Danish resistance member * Kirstine Frederiksen (1845–1903), Danish pedagogue, writer and women's activist * Kirstine Meyer (1861–1941), Danish physi ...

and her husband brewery worker Peter Sørensen. The following month De frie Danske reported that several arrestees from Hvidsten had been transferred from Randers to

Vestre Fængsel Vestre Prison ( da, Vestre Fængsel) is the main jail of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Erected in 1895, it is Denmark's largest prison with a total capacity of 530 inmates. It primarily houses pretrial detainees, not convicted felons. History ...

. On 29 June 1944 Fiil, his father Marius, his brother in law and five other members of the

were executed in Ryvangen.

After his death

On 15 July 1944 De frie Danske reported on the execution of Fiil, his father and brother son in law, the life sentence of his older sister and the two-year sentence of his younger sister and lamented the profound loss of Fiil's mother. Six months later the January 1945 issue of the resistance newspaper ''Frit Danmark'' (Free Denmark) reported that on 29 June the previous year Fiil and seven other named members of the Hvidsten group had been executed. On 2 July 1945 the remains and Fiil and his father were found in Ryvangen and transferred to the Department of Forensic Medicine of the

university of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

. The remains of the six other executed members of the group were found in the same area three days later. The following day an

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

in the Department of

Forensic Medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...

of the

showed that Fiil was executed with gunshot wounds to the chest. On 10 July he was together with the seven other executed group members cremated at Bispebjerg Cemetery. In 1945 a memorial stone over the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group was raised near Hvidsten kro. 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 Ryvangen Memorial Park ( da, Mindelunden i Ryvangen) is a memorial park in Ryvangen officially inaugurated on 5 May 1950 to commemorate fallen members of the Danish resistance to the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. The locatio ...

Portrayal in the media

* In the 2012 Danish drama film ''Hvidsten Gruppen'' (

This Life This may refer to: * ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun Places * This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt * This, Ardennes, a commune in France People with the surname * Hervé This, French culinary chemist Arts, e ...

) Niels Fiil is portrayed by

Thomas Ernst Thomas Ernst (born 23 December 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Ernst was born in Wiesbaden, Hesse. He started playing professionally with Eintracht Frankfurt. At the Hessian club, he could o ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiil, Niels 1920 births 1944 deaths Danish people executed by Nazi Germany Danish people of World War II Danish resistance members Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany