Jutta Regitze Pilegaard Graae (1906–1997) was a Danish bank employee who became a member of the

Danish resistance The Danish resistance movements () 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 authority allowed the democratic governm ...

during the

German occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from occupying the country soon after the outbreak of war; the occupation lasted until Germany's defeat. The ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After first working as a contact for the resistance worker

Ebbe Munck Ebbe Munck (14 January 1905 – 2 May 1974) was a resistance fighter during World War II (1939–1945). He operated out of Stockholm, Sweden, a neutral country, for the Danish resistance movement. Personal life and education Hans Ebbe Munck was ...

in Stockholm, she became so deeply involved in illegal activities that she had to move to Stockholm herself in September 1943. In 1944, she moved to London, where from January 1945 she joined the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

. After the war, she continued to work for Danish intelligence, becoming chief

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

for the

Danish Defence Intelligence Service The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS; , FE) is a Danish intelligence agency, responsible for Denmark's foreign intelligence, as well as being the Danish military intelligence service. DDIS is an agency under the Ministry of Defence and ...

in 1956 until her retirement in 1960. In 1947, Graae was made a member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) for her service in World War II.

Early life

Born on 28 April 1906 in

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)realskole'', she became an assistant at the Disablement Insurance Tribunal. She then spent a year in London before taking up employment at Copenhagen's

Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn () was a local savings bank in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its headquarters was from 1870 located at the corner of Niels Hemmingsens Gade (No. 24) and Løvstræde (No. 8). The building has later housed the Danish Hote ...

Resistance work

Under the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, as the sister-in-law of the journalist

who was involved in clandestine activities for British intelligence, Graae was able to collect information in her position at the savings bank. It was then forwarded by courier to Munck who was stationed in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. Graee's home on Rosenstandsvej in

Ordrup Ordrup is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located circa north of the city centre. History Ordrup was originally a small village which only consisted of eight farms and a forge. The area ...

was also used by resistance members to deposit items to be sent to Stockholm. It was here in May 1943 that a key meeting took place between

Mogens Fog Mogens Ludolf Fog (9 June 1904 – 16 July 1990) was a Danish physician, politician ( Danish Communist Party) and resistance fighter. In the 1930s, he headed the ''Socialistiske Læger'' (Socialist Physicians) who opposed Fascism. Biography ...

Erling Foss Erling Christian Foss (25 February 1897 – 15 June 1982) was a Danish civil engineer, famous for his contributions to the Danish resistance movement. As a result of contacts with Ebbe Munck and the Danish army's intelligence service, he beca ...

and

Frode Jakobsen Frode Jakobsen (21 December 1906 – 15 June 1997), was a Danish writer and politician who is remembered for his contribution to Danish resistance activities during the German occupation of Denmark in the Second World War. He established and ran ...

where they discussed how best to coordinate resistance work. When the Germans disbanded the Danish Army and Navy in August 1943, key members of the resistance had to go underground. As a result, together with Volmer Gyth and P.A. Mørch of the intelligence service, Graae moved to Stockholm where she acted as secretary and hostess. She became so knowledgeable of resistance activities that in October 1944 she was invited to London to advise Major-General R.H. Dewing who was planning operations in Denmark. The following January she was transferred to the Special Operations Executive which was responsible for coordinating illegal contacts with Denmark. Graae helped Danish resistance activist Edith Bonnesen escape to Sweden after Bonnesen escaped from the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen in August 1944. She published her

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

of her involvement in the Danish resistance in ''Værnepligt'' (1995).

Post-war activities

After the war, Graae moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where she worked at the Danish embassy under

Henrik Kauffmann Henrik Kauffmann (26 August 1888 – 5 June 1963) was the Danish ambassador to the United States during World War II, who signed over part of Greenland to the US. Career Kauffmann started his foreign career by serving as envoy in Rome, 1921� ...

. In 1947, she returned to Denmark to join the Defence Intelligence Service, where she became chief archivist in 1956 until her retirement in 1960. In December 1960, she married the estate owner Flemming Juncker (1904–2002) whom she had met while working in London. On 25 March 1997, Jutta Graae died in Havndal in the east of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

where she is buried in the local cemetery.

Awards and honours

In 1947, Graae was awarded the

. She was also honoured with King Christian X's medal for participation in World War II. In 1991, she received the Ebbe Munck prize.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graae, Jutta 1906 births 1997 deaths People from Hillerød Municipality Danish resistance members Danish female resistance members Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Danish writers Danish women writers Danish archivists Special Operations Executive personnel