Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen (3 June 1914 – 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

Sørensen was born in Maribo on 3 June 1914 as son of merchant William Bergenhammer Sørensen and wife Anne Petrine Nielsine Agnes née Jensen and baptized in

Maribo Cathedral Maribo Cathedral ( da, Maribo Domkirke) is a Gothic cathedral church in Maribo on the island of Lolland in the southeast of Denmark. It was originally part of Maribo Abbey which was founded in the early 15th century. The chancel, the oldest sect ...

on the 19th Sunday after

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. On 25 April 1939 in Gassum church he married the four years younger Kirstine Fiil as a brewery worker living in Gassum. In 1942 in Hvidsten his wife gave birth on her birthday to a girl, who on the 19th Sunday after Trinity was baptized Gudrun Fiil Sørensen Møller in Gassum church. While a brewery worker Sørensen became a member of 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 ...

. 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).Gerda, her brother

Niels Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nicolaos after Sai ...

and their father the "nationally known folklore collector and keeper of Hvidsten Inn Marius Fiil". 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 Sørensen, his father in law, his brother in law and five other members of the Hvidsten group were executed in Ryvangen.

After his death

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. 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. On 5 July 1945 Sørensen's remains and those of five others from the group 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 two remaining executed members of the group, Marius Fiil and his son had been found in the same area three days before. Alternatively, his remains were recovered on or before 3 July because on that 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 he 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 Inn. 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 ...

) Peder Bergenhammer Sørensen is portrayed by Jesper Riefensthal.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Peder Bergenhammer 1914 births 1944 deaths Danish people executed by Nazi Germany Danish people of World War II Danish resistance members Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany People from Lolland Municipality People from Lolland