Povl Bang-Jensen (6 April 1909 – 25 November 1959) was a

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 ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who refused to hand over a list of eighty-one witnesses to the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

to his UN superiors. It is thought that he considered their identities sensitive information, and if they were turned over to the

UN Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat (french: link=no, Secrétariat des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the a ...

, they could be

leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usuall ...

ed to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, and reprisals could possibly be taken against their relatives in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. Investigators claim he was found dead of a gunshot wound with the gun in his hand and suicide note in his pocket in a park in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, on 26 November 1959 (

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

). Some analysts exclude suicide in spite of the results of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

report; for example, the fatal gunshot wound was located on his right temple, but Bang-Jensen was left-handed. Also, cited in

W. Cleon Skousen Willard Cleon Skousen (; January 20, 1913 – January 9, 2006) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative author with the John Birch Society and a faith-based conspiracy theorist. A notable anti-communist and suppor ...

's ''

The Naked Communist ''The Naked Communist'' is a 1958 anti-communist book by W. Cleon Skousen, a former FBI employee. The book has been reprinted several times and it has sold more than one million copies. Content ''The Naked Communist'' is a 1958 anti-communis ...

'', a letter to his wife prior to the incident included the statement, "Under no circumstances whatsoever would I ever commit suicide. This would be contrary to my whole nature and to my religious convictions. If any note was found to the opposite effect in my handwriting, it would be a fake." Also Bang-Jensen had left his home 72 hours earlier to catch a bus. The coroner found he had been dead only a few hours, which indicated possible abduction. His body was incinerated and buried in Denmark. A tombstone was placed in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in Plot #301 of the New Cemetery of

Rákoskeresztúr Rákoskeresztúr (german: Gerersdorf) is a former town in Hungary now part of District XVII of Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population w ...

, among those for whom he fought. His story is presented in a book by DeWitt Copp and Marshall Peck, ''Betrayal at the UN, the story of Povl Bang-Jensen'', and in a Hungarian documentary, ''The Bang-Jensen affair'' (''A Bang-Jensen ügy, 2008''), directed by András Surányi.

References

External links

* 1909 births 1959 deaths 20th-century Danish diplomats Danish anti-communists Deaths by firearm in Queens, New York {{Denmark-bio-stub