Johan Kjær Hansen (7 April 1907 – 29 June 1944) was a member of the
Danish resistance executed by the
German occupying power.
Biography
In addition to being a member of the
Hvidsten group[ Hansen was also a mechanic.][
The group helped the British Special Operations Executive parachute weapons and supplies into Denmark for distribution to the resistance.
In March 1944 the ]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 ...
made an "incredible number of arrests" including in the region of Randers where a number of members of the Hvidsten group were arrested.[
]
After his death
On 15 July 1944 De frie Danske reported on the execution of several members of the Hvidsten group. Six months later the January 1945 issue of the resistance newspaper ''Frit Danmark'' (Free Denmark) reported that on 29 June the previous year Hansen and seven other named members of the Hvidsten group had been executed.[
On 5 July 1945 Hansen's remains and those of five others from the group were found in Ryvangen and transferred to the Department of Forensic Medicine of the ]university of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
...
where an inquest the same day showed that he was executed with gunshot wounds to the chest.< The remains of the two remaining executed members of the group, Marius Fiil and his son Niels
Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nikolaos, after Saint ...
had been found in the same area three days before.
On 10 July he was together with the seven other executed group members cremated at Bispebjerg Cemetery.
In 1945 a memorial stone over the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group was raised near Hvidsten Inn.[
Similarly a larger memorial stone for resistance members including the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group has been laid down in Ryvangen Memorial Park.][
]
Portrayal in the media
* In the 2012 Danish drama film ''Hvidsten Gruppen'' ( This Life) Johan Kjær Hansen is portrayed by Henrik Vestergaard.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Johan Kjaer
1907 births
1944 deaths
Danish people executed by Nazi Germany
Danish resistance members
Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany
People from Hjørring