Gudrun Fiil (18 December 1890 – 19 May 1972) was inn keeper at Hvidsten Inn and member of the Danish resistance, whose husband, son and son-in-law were executed by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
occupying power.
Biography
During the occupation Fill and her family became the center of a resistance group, the Hvidsten group. With the group she helped the British
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. ...
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
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Peter Sørensen.
The following month
De frie Danske
De frie Danske () was a Danish resistance newspaper published in Copenhagen about monthly from December 1941 to 24 May 1945. It was the first Danish non-Communism, communist resistance newspaper and the first to bring photographs. It was also one ...
reported on her husband again, that he along with other arrestees from Hvidsten had been transferred from Randers to
Vestre Fængsel
Vestre Prison (, Western Prison) is the main jail of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Erected in 1895, it is Denmark's largest prison with a total capacity of 530 inmates. It primarily houses pretrial detainees, not convicted felons.
History
Ve ...
.
On 29 June 1944, her husband, their son Niels, their son-in-law and five other members of the Hvidsten group were executed in Ryvangen.
On 15 July 1944,
De frie Danske
De frie Danske () was a Danish resistance newspaper published in Copenhagen about monthly from December 1941 to 24 May 1945. It was the first Danish non-Communism, communist resistance newspaper and the first to bring photographs. It was also one ...
reported on the executions, the life sentence of her older daughter and the two-year sentence of her younger daughter and compared her husband to
Svend Gønge
Svend Poulsen ( – ), also referred to as Svend Poulsen Gønge () was a Danish military commander in the 17th century, serving in the armies of Christian IV, Frederick III, and Christian V. He fought in the Torstenson War, Second Northern W ...
and
Niels Ebbesen
Niels Ebbesen (1308 – 21 November 1340) was a Denmark, Danish squire and folk hero, national hero, known for assassinating Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg in 1340. From 1332 to 1340, Count Gerhard was the lord of both Jutland and Fune ...
while lamenting her profound loss:
In the January 1945 issue of the resistance newspaper ''Frit Danmark'' (Free Denmark) reported that on 29 June 1944 the executions of the Hvidsten group members had taken place.
On 10 July 1945, her executed family members and the five other executed group members were cremated at Bispebjerg Cemetery.
As a widow she continued as keeper of the Hvidsten Inn, until her death in 1972.
Portrayal in the media
In the 2012 Danish drama film ''Hvidsten Gruppen'' ( This Life), Gudrun Fiil is portrayed by
Bodil Jørgensen
Bodil Jørgensen, a Danish Film actress was born on 3 March 1961 in Vejle, Denmark. She is known for her roles in The Idiots (1998), Nothing's All Bad (2010) and Klinkevals (1999). Apart from multiple movies, she has also acted in numerous TV s ...