Varinka Corinna Wichfeld Muus (9 February 1922 – 18 December 2002) was a Danish

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

under the

German 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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Her mother was

Monica Wichfeld Monica Emily Wichfeld (''née'' Massy-Beresford; 12 July 1894 – 27 February 1945) was a leading member of the Danish resistance during the German occupation of Denmark in the Second World War. She was the first woman in Denmark to receive a capi ...

, an upper-class Ulsterwoman who was a leading member of the

Danish resistance 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 ...

during the

and was the first woman in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

to receive a capital sentence for resistance against the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. In 1943, Varinka became the secretary of her husband-to-be,

Flemming Muus Major Flemming Bruun Muus, DSO (born 21 November 1907, Copenhagen, Denmark – died 23 September 1982, Virum, Denmark) was a Danish writer and resistance fighter during the German occupation of Denmark in the Second World War. In 1942, he was recr ...

, who acted as chief agent in Denmark for 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 ...

(SOE). When Muus was forced to move to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, Wichfeld was charged with telegraphing messages to London as only she knew the secret codes. Together with Muus, she moved to London in 1944 where they remained until the end of the war.

Early life

Varinka Corinna Wichfeld was born on 9 February 1922 in the

Engestofte Engestofte is a Neoclassical manor house located 6 km (4 mi) east of Maribo, Lolland Municipality, on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark. History and architecture Early history The estate was first mentioned in the 13th ce ...

manor house near

Maribo Maribo is a town in Lolland Municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It was the municipal seat of the former Maribo Municipality, until 1 January 2007, and then it became the seat of the current Lolland Muni ...

on the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

; she was the second of the three children of the Danish aristocrat and diplomat Jørgen Adalbert Wichfeld (1885–1966) and his wife, Monica Emily Massy-Beresford (1894–1945), who had been raised in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in the north of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Also known as 'Inkie', as a small child Varinka was brought up in the manor house. Thanks to periods spent with her family in England, France, Austria and Ireland, she became fluent in several languages. From 1929 to 1941, she lived with her family in Italy, mainly in

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, located in the Liguria region of northern Italy. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and Chiavar ...

. Both she and her mother initially supported

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

as they had come into contact with

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

refugees but they soon turned against

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. In April 1940, on hearing of the German occupation of Denmark while in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Wichfeld suddenly developed feelings of Danish patriotism.

Second World War

On returning to Denmark in late 1941, they both joined the resistance movement. Wichfeld was involved in distributing illegal magazines, helping fugitives and hiding explosives on the estate, while after meeting Flemming Muus her mother planned resistance activities in the

Lolland-Falster Lolland-Falster is a common term for the two islands Lolland and Falster. The islands are only separated by the narrow strait '' Guldborgsund'', and as such have traditionally been grouped together. Both the Gedser-Rostock and Rødby-Puttgarden f ...

region. In July 1943, Wichfeld was sent to Copenhagen by her mother to inform Muus of developments. It was then that Muus decided she should become his future wife and engaged her as his secretary. Varinka-og-muus-crop

In January 1944, Wichfeld learnt that 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 ...

had arrested her family at the Engestofte manor house. Realizing that she was also in danger of being arrested, she informed Muus that she intended to leave for neutral Sweden but he refused, explaining that her services were vital. She dyed her hair, dressed differently, wore spectacles and acquired new identity cards. In May 1944, Wichfeld learnt that her mother had been sentenced to death by the Gestapo and that shortly afterwards she had been pardoned and sent to Germany. She married Muus in June but soon they were both in imminent danger of being arrested. Muus moved to Sweden but left his wife in Denmark to keep telegraphing messages to London as she knew all the secret codes. In December 1944, both Varinka and her husband were called to London, where they remained until the end of the war. Varinka Wichfeld Muss joined the

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) (FANY (PRVC)) is a British independent all-female registered charity formed in 1907 and active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars. Its members wear a mili ...

(SOE FANY) and became a lieutenant. Her FANY uniform is in the Museum of Resistance in Copenhagen.

Post war

After the war, they both returned to Denmark, where Muus was attached to the British Military Mission while his wife worked as his driver and secretary. They went through a rough period after Muus was sentenced to imprisonment for embezzlement in 1946 but was later pardoned. After spending some time in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, the couple returned to Denmark, where they both worked on a biography of Monica Wichfeld. Published by Arco in 1955, the English translation was titled ''Monica Wichfeld, a Very Gallant Woman. Varinka Wichfeld Muus died on 18 December 2002 in Copenhagen. She is buried in Søllerød Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wichfeld Muus, Varinka 1922 births 2002 deaths People from Lolland Municipality Danish resistance members Danish female resistance members Danish writers Danish women writers Varinka Danish expatriates in Italy