Ellen christensen med nightingalemedalje

Ellen Marie Christensen (1913–1998) was a Danish nurse who became a

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

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 ...

. In 1953, she was awarded the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

for her contribution to saving Jews, resistance workers and allied pilots.

Biography

Born on 30 March 1913 in the parish of Frejlev to the south west of

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

, Ellen Marie Christensen was the daughter of the farmer Peter Marinus Christensen (born 1885) and Christiane Hansen (born 1884). Brought up in a well-to-do family, after completing her school education, she trained to become a nurse. Under the German occupation, she was employed at

Bispebjerg Hospital Bispebjerg Hospital is one of the hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Along with a number of other hospitals and the University of Copenhagen (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Bispebjerg Hospital forms part of the Copenhagen University Hos ...

. She soon became a member of the resistance group Frit Danmark (Free Denmark) where she helped to produce and distribute illegal publications. Her commitment to the cause increased when the Germans began to arrest the Danish Jews in October 1943. Bispebjerg Hospital was used to house Jewish refugees until they could be transported to Sweden. Thanks to her active participation in this work, Christensen developed numerous connections with the resistance movement. Not only did she treat wounded refugees, but contributed to transporting weapons and explosives and to obtaining fake identity cards and other items to facilitate resistance work. She became the partner of the key resistance coordinator

Jørgen Haagen Schmith Jørgen Haagen Schmith, also spelled Jørgen Haagen Schmidt (18 December 1910 – 15 October 1944), known during the war by the codename , was a renowned fighter in the Danish resistance movement during the German Occupation of Denmark (1940– ...

, better known as Citronen (the Lemon). When he was seriously wounded by the Germans in September 1944, she cared for him every day. When 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 ...

discovered their hiding place in October, Schmith was killed but Christensen managed to escape, although her identity card had been found. As a result, she had to work underground for the rest of the war. After the war, she worked on several assignments abroad for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, first in Greece and later in Israel during the

Six Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June 1967. Military hostilities broke ...

in 1967.

Honours and awards

For her contribution to saving Jews, resistance workers and allied pilots during the German occupation, Ellen Christensen was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Ellen 1913 births 1998 deaths People from Aalborg Danish resistance members Danish female resistance members Danish nurses Florence Nightingale Medal recipients 20th-century Danish women Danish women nurses