Knud Børge Martinsen (30 November 1905 – 25 June 1949) 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 ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and the third commander of

Frikorps Danmark Free Corps Denmark ( da, Frikorps Danmark) was a unit of the Waffen-SS during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from Denmark. It was established following an initiative by the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNS ...

Biography

Knud Børge Martinsen was born in Sandved in 1905, son of tailor Hans Kristian Martinsen and wife Ottilia Marie Poulsen. He became a soldier in 1928. After only ten years of service he was an officer with a rank of

Captain Lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

. In 1940 he was attending the

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

course on

Frederiksberg Palace Frederiksberg Palace ( da, Frederiksberg Slot) is a Baroque residence, located in Frederiksberg, Denmark, adjacent to the Copenhagen Zoo. It commands an impressive view over Frederiksberg Gardens, originally designed as a palace garden in the B ...

and was looking forward to a promising career. 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 ...

on 9 April 1940 was a big shock to him, but on 26 April 1940 he joined the Danish

National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark The National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti; DNSAP) was the largest Nazi Party in Denmark before and during the Second World War. History The party was founded on 16 November 1930, after ...

(DNSAP) and took part of several demonstrations in his uniform which ended up in his military papers and prevented further career advances. Martinsen therefore resigned and joined the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

and commanded

's 2nd company under Christian Peder Kryssing and the 4th company under

Christian Frederik von Schalburg Christian Frederik von Schalburg (15 April 1906 – 2 June 1942) was a Danish army officer, the second commander of Free Corps Denmark and brother of Vera Schalburg. Biography Christian Frederik von Schalburg was born in Zmeinogorsk, Tomskaja Gub ...

. Actually Martinsen was temporarily commander of Frikorps Danmark between Kryssing's resignation and von Schalburg's appointment. Martinsen was again temporarily commander between von Schalburg's death and Hans Albert von Lettow-Vorbeck's appointment. When von Lettow-Vorbeck was killed only two days after his appointment, Martinsen took over as commander and remained as commander until the disbandment of Frikorps Danmark on 20 May 1943. Together with most of Frikorps Danmark he was transferred to SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 24 Danmark under 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. On 28 July 1943 Martinsen left his command and returned to Denmark to establish and command the

Schalburg Corps The Germanic SS () was the collective name given to paramilitary and political organisations established in parts of German-occupied Europe between 1939 and 1945 under the auspices of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The units were modeled on the ''Al ...

as a recruitment unit for the Waffen-SS. In October 1944 Martinsen was relieved from his position and then arrested and imprisoned in

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 ...

's prison in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Later he was transferred to the ''

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...

'' (SD) where he escaped and returned to Denmark. On 5 May 1945 Martinsen was arrested in his home for his involvement in the Schalburg Corps and for two murders. One of the murders was the shooting in March 1944 in the headquarters of the Schalburg Corps of a fellow member, Fritz Henning Tonnies von Eggers, who Martinsen believed had committed adultery with his wife. He was sentenced to death and on 25 June 1949 at 01:00 executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Dates of rank

Dates of ranks:

Biography

Dates of rank

Bibliography

References

Further reading