5. Kolonne () was an organization using violence and sabotage to oppose

the occupation ''The Occupation'' is a single-player adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019. The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over fou ...

of Denmark by German forces during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. The organization was formed and based in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwe ...

and with some 100 members it was one of the larger resistance groups in that area in the later years of the war. The group was created in response to the destruction of the resistance groups in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

by 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 orga ...

between late 1943 and the summer of 1944. The group functioned from June 1944 to the end of the occupation in May 1945.

Background

The Danish resistance was in the early years of the occupation dominated by communists, forced underground when the Danish government signed the

Communist Law The Communist Law or The Law on Prohibition Against Communist Associations and Communist Activities was an unconstitutional piece of Danish legislation passed under Nazi occupation on 22 August 1941 which banned the Communist Party of Denmark and o ...

on 22 August 1941. In Aarhus there were a number of such groups, focused on disrupting production, telecommunications and transport networks. Generally the resistance groups had become increasingly active over the years as their members grew in numbers, gained experience and developed networks. Supporting the sabotage groups were groups focused on receiving supplies through allied airdrops, so-called receiver-groups ( da, Modtagergruppe), a network which had also taken time to develop. By 1943 weapons and supplies were arriving with regularity and communications had been established with the central resistance command and contacts in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. On 13 December 1943 the British paratrooper Jakob Jensen was caught by the Gestapo in Aarhus. During interrogation he supplied information about the networks of receiver groups in

which resulted in many groups being destroyed, including 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 ...

whose members were arrested on March 11, 1944. These events effectively crippled the resistance movement throughout the peninsula as supplies dried up. In Aarhus the resistance groups faced another problem as

Grethe Bartram Maren Margrethe Thomsen, known as Maren Margrethe "Grethe" Bartram and "Thora" (23 February 1924 – January 2017), was a Danish woman who informed on at least 53 people from the Danish resistance movement during the Second World War, result ...

from the communist and resistance environment in Aarhus was hired as an informant by the Gestapo in March/April 1944. Bartram in total informed on some 50 resistance members leading to many groups in and around the city being dismantled by German authorities, including the

Samsing Group The Samsing Group (Danish language, Danish: Samsing-gruppen) was a Danish resistance movement, Danish resistance group in Aarhus, Denmark active from June 1943 until 6 June 1944. The group consisted of Willy Samsing, his three brothers and 10-12 o ...

in June 1944. The events in the 6 months from December 1943 to June 1944 had effectively wiped out the leadership of the resistance in Jutland and stopped resistance operations in Aarhus. The city was, however, an important seaport and rail hub for the German war effort with troops and supplies arriving frequently from Germany to be shipped out through the

Port of Aarhus The Port of Aarhus (Danish: Aarhus Havn) is a deep-sea port located in the city of Aarhus. It is the largest container port in Denmark, handling more than 50% of country's container traffic. The Port of Aarhus shipped roughly 8.4 million metric t ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

. German authorities had until the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

on June 6, 1944 also been concerned that an allied invasion might take place in Jutland and had extended the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

along its west coast while concentrating administrative institutions in the peninsula to prepare defenses. The German headquarters for Denmark was moved from Copenhagen to

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Langelandsgade Barracks prior to the war, came into contact with the resistance movement in Aarhus. He was encouraged by the commander of the resistance in Jutland to take command of any units in Aarhus, build up a new command structure and develop sabotage groups that could interfere with German operations, especially the railway.

Formation

The first groups in the new organization were formed over the early summer of 1944. Initially one group was to obtain supplies while two others were sabotage groups, primarily intended to target infrastructure; in particular the railway and port. The first shipment of weapons was collected in July and the first operation against the railway occurred later that month when the rail line to

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).Holger Danske Holger may refer to: People * Holger (given name), includes name origin, plus people with the name * Hilde Holger, stage name of dancer, choreographer and dance teacher Hilde Boman-Behram (née Hilde Sofer, 1905–2001) Fictional characters * H ...

resistance group sent a representative, Jens Lillelund, to help build up the new groups and the overall command structure. Through 1944 the organization was gradually expanded with groups specialized in attacks on production and repair facilities. In the fall of 1944 it was considered a possibility that fighting might reach Denmark and a new wing was established within 5 Kolonne, the Demolition Groups ( da, Nedrivningsgrupper). The intent of these groups was to destroy vital infrastructure in the event of an allied invasion so as to isolate and immobilize the German garrison in Aarhus. Contact was made with groups in other cities and towns throughout Jutland and demolition groups were set up under the central command of 5 Kolonne. ;Organization 5 Kolonne was organized around a system of small independent groups, composed of typically 3 members, that primarily interacted with a central commander but rarely with each other. The external demolition groups included groups in

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).Tilst Tilst is a suburban area of Aarhus, Denmark, situated some 10 km to the west of Aarhus. The Tilst area is marked by big city blocks and large traditional suburban areas. In the surrounding area are several superstores, which mainly serve the inn ...

, Viborg,

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Odder Odder is a town in Jutland, Denmark. The town is the seat of Odder municipality, and is the biggest town in the municipality. It is located 20 km south of Aarhus and 16 km south-east of Skanderborg. Odder is part of Business Region Aarhus, and ...

Grenå Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutlandic peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal seat, a ...

and

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's List of cities in Denmark by population, fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban population of 143,598 (1 July ...

. The sabotage groups were generally made up of people who worked in specific locations. One group was entirely made up of workers from the

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

, another of DSB personnel and another of workers from the electricity company.

Operations

1944

The group performed about 100 acts of sabotage between September 1944 and May 1945. The harbor groups sank or destroyed three ships and damaged or destroyed some 50 factories or businesses. 3 members of the group died during different operations and memorial stone has been erected in

Tranbjerg Tranbjerg J is a town in Aarhus in Denmark. "J" is for Jutland to distinguish this place from a similarly named place on Zealand, and is not used in daily parlance. History Tranbjerg was formerly a small rural village but is now a suburb of Aar ...

for two of them.

1945

References

;Publications * * {{Danish resistance movement Danish resistance groups Denmark in World War II History of Aarhus World War II resistance movements