Knud Børge Martinsen (30 November 1905 – 25 June 1949) was a Danish

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.

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 Fin ...

. 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 rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

course on

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

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 countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

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 (; 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 the success of the Nazis in the German Reichstag ...

(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 (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

and commanded Frikorps Danmark's 2nd company under Christian Peder Kryssing and the 4th company under Christian Frederik von Schalburg. 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 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 (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

's prison in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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 Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

'' (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, whom 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 Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Dates of rank

Dates of ranks:

Biography

Dates of rank

Bibliography

References

Further reading