Carl Aage Hilbert (27 March 1899 – 17 October 1953), born in Copenhagen to Doretha Marie (née Barnucka) and Emil Christopher Hilbert, was the Danish Prefect of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

from 1936 until 1945. During this period, the Faroe Islands had the status of an

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

(county) of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

. Following the German

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 Decemb ...

on 9 April 1940, Hilbert was effectively isolated from the political authorities in

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 ...

. He played a crucial role in the civil administration of the islands during the British occupation during World War II, with which he co-operated. During his tenure, the

Flag of the Faroe Islands The flag of the Faroe Islands (in faroese: ''Merkið'') is an offset cross, representing Christianity. It is similar in design to other Nordic flags – a tradition set by the '' Dannebrog'' of Denmark, of which the Faroe Islands are an auto ...

(Merkið), rather than the

Flag of Denmark The national flag of Denmark ( da, Dannebrog, ) is red with a white Nordic cross, which means that the cross extends to the edges of the flag and the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. A banner with a white-on-red cross i ...

(Dannebrog), was flown from Faroese vessels for Allied identification purposes because of the German occupation of Denmark. He was succeeded by

Cai A. Vagn-Hansen Cai or CAI may refer to: Places * Cai (state), a state in ancient China * Caí River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Cái River, Vietnam * Cairo International Airport (IATA airport code) * Caithness, a historic county in Scotland (Chapman code) Org ...

Personal life

Hilbert was married at the Frederiksberg Church on 12 November 1921 to Gudrun Marie Kristine Nielsen, with whom he had two children: Niels-Ole, born 18 May 1932 and Birgit (18 May 1927 - 1 December 1999).

References

History of the Faroe Islands Danish people of World War II 1899 births 1953 deaths {{Denmark-bio-stub

Personal life

See also

References