The Peter group (
Danish: ''Petergruppen'') was a paramilitary group created in late 1943 during the
occupation of Denmark
At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself Neutral countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...
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. The group conducted counter-sabotage, also known as
Schalburgtage, in response to the
Danish resistance movement
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 govern ...
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
actions. The group was named after its German instigator
Otto Schwerdt aka Peter Schäfer.
Later it also became known as the Brøndum gang in reference to one of its members,
Henning Brøndum, decisive role in numerous actions.
It made a point of using captured or diverted resistance weapons in its operations: there are several documented cases where individuals were killed with the
Welrod "silent pistol" - an
SOE assassination weapon air dropped to the Resistance but recovered by the Gestapo and then supplied to the Peter Group. The Museum of the Danish Resistance has this to say of the Peter Group:
"In an effort to fight and suppress the resistance activity, SS Standartenfürer
Otto Anton Rolf Skorzeny on behalf of
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
created a "''Sonderkommando Dänemark''" which
icsole purpose was to kill famous or otherwise well-known or productive Danish citizens, and perform terror by blowing up amusement parks, cinemas, trains, trams and other public friendly places. It was also decided that for every German killed in Denmark, 5 Danish citizens were to be killed in retaliation."
The group is infamous for the murder of
Kaj Munk
Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk; 13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World War II. He i ...
on January 4, 1944 and the destruction of the lookout tower
Odinstårnet
Odinstårnet (''The Odin Tower'') was an observation tower located on Bolbro Bakke (''Bolbro Hill'') in Odense, Denmark.
History
The tower, 175 metres (581 ft) tall, was built in 1934-1935 using spare materials from the construction of ...
in
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...
on December 14, 1944.
Seven members, including
Henning Brøndum and
Kai Henning Bothildsen Nielsen, of the group were sentenced to death in April 1947 and executed in May 1947.
See also
*
Lorenzen Group
The Lorenzen group ( Danish: ''Lorenzengruppen'') was an armed paramilitary group of Danish collaborators, subordinate to the HIPO Corps, which was active during the period December 1944 – May 1945.
The group is named after its founder Jørge ...
References
*
*
External links
Webpage about the Peter group(in Danish)
Sabotage
Danish collaborators with Nazi Germany
{{Denmark-hist-stub
Terrorism in Denmark