The Peter group (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Petergruppen'') was a paramilitary group created in late 1943 during the

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

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. The group conducted counter-sabotage, also known as

Schalburgtage Schalburgtage was the popular name for the retaliation which Nazi Germany, Germans and their Denmark, Danish Collaborationism, collaborators carried out as revenge for resistance activity in the last part of the occupation of Denmark between 1944 ...

, in response to the

Danish resistance movement The Danish resistance movements ( da, Den danske modstandsbevægelse) were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation autho ...

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

actions. The group was named after its German instigator

Otto Schwerdt Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

aka Peter Schäfer. Later it also became known as the Brøndum gang in reference to one of its members,

Henning Brøndum Henning is a surname, also used as a given name, with origins in East Prussia (now part of Germany). Henning may also refer to: People with Henning as a surname * A. J. Henning (born 2002), American football player * Andrew Henning (1863� ...

, decisive role in numerous actions. It made a point of using captured or diverted resistance weapons in its operations: there are several documented cases where individuals were killed with the

Welrod The Welrod is a British bolt action, Magazine (firearms), magazine fed, suppressor, suppressed pistol devised during the Second World War by Major Hugh Reeves at the Inter-Services Research Bureau (later Station IX). Station IX, being based near ...

"silent pistol" - an SOE assassination weapon air dropped to the Resistance but recovered by the Gestapo and then supplied to the Peter Group. The Museum of the Danish Resistance has this to say of the Peter Group: "''In an effort to fight and suppress the resistance activity, SS Standartenfürer Otto Anton Rolf Skorzeny on behalf of

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

created a “Sonderkommando Dänemark” which icsole purpose was to kill famous or otherwise well-known or productive Danish citizen, and perform terror by blowing up amusement parks, cinemas, trains, trams and other public friendly places. It was also decided that for every German killed in Denmark, 5 Danish citizens were to be killed in retaliation.'' The group is infamous for the murder of

Kaj Munk Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk) (13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheranism, Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World ...

on January 4, 1944 and the destruction of the lookout tower

Odinstårnet Odinstårnet (''The Odin Tower'') was an observation tower located on Bolbro Bakke (''Bolbro Hill'') in Odense, Denmark. History The tower, 175 metres (581 ft) tall, was built in 1934-1935 using spare materials from the construction of ...

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

on December 14, 1944. Seven members, including

and

Kai Henning Bothildsen Nielsen Kai Henning Bothildsen Nielsen (4 December 1919 – 9 May 1947) was a Danish national socialist who became a member of the Peter group in Denmark during the Second World War. He participated in numerous operations to murder and bomb civilians an ...

, of the group were sentenced to death in April 1947 and executed in May 1947.

References

* *

External links

Webpage about the Peter group
(in Danish) Sabotage Danish collaborators with Nazi Germany {{Denmark-hist-stub Terrorism in Denmark

See also

References

External links