Refugee camp in Denmark 1944–1949

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German refugees in Denmark. Refugees from the eastern German regions are cared for on February 12, 1945 at a temporary collection point in Appenrade / Denmark. In a few hours these women and children will be brought to prepared private quarters in North Schleswig.

Refugee camps in Denmark 1944–1949 were established after the country was liberated from German occupation. The first refugees from Germany arrived in Denmark at the end of 1944 , but the vast majority at the beginning of 1945. Under pressure from the Soviet army , Germany initiated an evacuation operation , partly aimed at bringing German soldiers and civilians to safety and partly in Nazi concentration camps Empty Poland before the Allies arrived.

German refugees in established refugee camps

The German refugees made approx. 5% of the population in Denmark. The evacuation mainly included women, the elderly and children. Initially, the refugees were housed in schools and public buildings. On February 15, 1949, the last German refugees returned to Germany. In 1950 the refugee administration issued a statement. This report stated that the direct cost of receiving German refugees in Denmark was DKK 428 million .

After the offensive of the Soviet Army in January 1945, over two million soldiers and refugees from the German port cities were brought to safety across the Baltic Sea, many of whom ended up in Denmark. All ship types were used, e.g. B. warships, troop transports, freighters, fishing boats, tugs and tankers. The journey across the sea was not without danger. A Soviet submarine sank, among other things, the large passenger ship Wilhelm Gustloff , which was full of refugees. Nobody knows exactly how many refugees the ship carried, but it is known that approximately 1,200 were rescued. The Wilhelm Gustloff sank in less than 50 minutes.

Until the liberation, the German security forces were responsible for the German refugees, who were distributed to German military facilities, hotels, schools, dormitories and wherever there was space. A large part was also housed privately. The Reichswehr was responsible for care and medical care . The Danish Medical Association refused to help treat the German refugees. This was also the attitude of the resistance movement. The reason was, among other things, that the Danish medical aid for the German refugees would relieve German doctors in the armed forces and thus support the German warfare.

The actual refugee camps were set up by the Danish authorities after the liberation. The largest camps were the refugee camp in Oksbøl (opened in February 1945) and the refugee camp in Kløvermarken (opened in November 1945). Some of the largest Danish refugee camps were so large that they had more inhabitants than many of the Danish cities. Some had 20,000 to 30,000 residents.

Skallerup, a refugee camp in Denmark, from south to north. The year is circa 1946. The early stage of the Skallerup Holiday Center is in the foreground

Some of the camps were:

The camps were surrounded by barbed wire and the Danes were strictly forbidden from associating with the refugees who had been informed in advance that they would not be allowed permanent residence in Denmark.

Between February 11 and May 5, 1945, around 238,000 Germans, mainly from East Prussia, Pomerania and the Baltic countries, were evacuated across the Baltic Sea into occupied Denmark . In addition there were 23,000 so-called Allied refugees, distributed in around 30 countries are considered "ex-enemy nationals", i. H. Allied refugees, although several had fought on the German side during the war. Your registration, accommodation, meals etc. were carried out by the Danish Red Cross .

The internment of the German refugees after the liberation

After the liberation of Denmark on May 5, 1945, the Allied High Command announced that the 238,000 German refugees would initially stay in Denmark due to the chaos in Germany.

The conditions for the German refugees were poor after the liberation, and the Danish authorities did not have an overview of the number of refugees, the number of overnight stays or the health of the refugees until mid-May. The German refugees were spread over a large number of locations. Little by little the Danish authorities gathered the German refugees in barracks camps, some in new camps and some in military barracks, air force bases, etc., in which German soldiers had previously been housed. All of this work was overseen by the refugee administration, which performed day-to-day administration, logistics, etc. through the state civil aviation administration. The practical work was carried out by eight engineering teams from the employment office of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which was set up in autumn 1945, in cooperation with the state civil aviation administration, in order to regulate the situation of the German refugees.

On the basis of Act No. 21 of February 4, 1871, Section 7, contact and association with the interned German refugees was prohibited under criminal responsibility. In addition, based on Section 14 of the Immigration Act, the refugees were “denied permanent residence in Denmark”. On July 24, 1945, around 10,000 Danes guarded the camps.

In October 1945 the refugees were gathered at 465 locations, which in 1946 were approx. 100 facilities declined. On August 15, 1946, the number of German refugees was 196,518. After their repatriation, the need for many camps decreased and on October 15, 1947 only 10 camps remained in Denmark.

Oksbøl refugee camp

There was a Danish warehouse manager in all of the warehouses. The internal "management" of the camp was largely taken over by the Germans themselves. A German "mayor" was elected in the camps and a barrack chairman in all the barracks. This was done in order to get the Germans used to a democratic way of thinking. All camps also had a camp office that supported the entire administration around the camps, including the large tracing service, where the refugees had the opportunity to look for relatives at home and abroad. The camps were small communities with kindergartens, schools, churches, workshops, old people's homes, old people's homes and - by nature - huge logistics for care, medical care (German doctors and nurses) etc. The activities in the camps were also expanded. The Danish authorities were fully aware that idling is bad. Therefore they promoted activities in the camps. All camps had their own German "camp police" and their own court that dealt with minor misconduct.

Danish control posts were set up and warehouse inspections carried out in a relatively short period of time. the medical conditions, the health situation, the care situation, etc. There is no doubt that these inspections have helped to improve the conditions for the refugees. At first the food wasn't the best (but better than in Germany) but this relationship gradually improved. There were special rations for small children, the sick, the hard-working, etc.

The stay in the camps was involuntary, however, as the refugees could only return to Germany after the Allies had given their consent. Many (probably almost all) had lost loved ones during the war or did not know their fate. They had left their homes and the escape itself had been chaotic as well. Above all, the uncertainty as to when they could return to Germany - and where in Germany.

Diseases and deaths

Initially, the refugees received no help from Danish doctors or access to Danish hospitals. As already mentioned, the Danish Medical Association refused to help itself during the occupation, of course also under the influence of the general attitude towards the Germans. However, this was later moderated considerably and the refugees could also be treated in Danish hospitals if the German institutions did not do this themselves. Due to the lack of medical assistance, there was initially a high mortality rate among refugees, mainly women, children and the elderly. About 7,000 children died. In total, more than 13,000 refugees died as a result of a lack of basic medical care, poor food and miserable living conditions. The vast majority before and shortly after the liberation. The refugees were under Danish medical supervision and later in the course had access to hospital stays in the Danish hospitals.

Perished refugees in Denmark 1945–1949

From 1945 to 1949, 17,209 German refugees died in the Danish refugee camps. They were originally distributed to 475 cemeteries. According to the German-Danish war graves agreement of October 3, 1962, the dead were brought to 34 graves by the Volksbund der Deutschen Kriegsgräberfürsorge. The graves are looked after by the Volksbund in cooperation with the respective state institutions.

For example, 5,444 refugees are buried in the Vestre cemetery in Copenhagen, in Aalborg: 1,096 refugees, in Aarhus: 586 refugees, in Esbjerg: 1,154 refugees, in Frederikshavn: 1,224 refugees and in Gedhus: 1,185 refugees.

repatriation

Most of the German refugee camps in Denmark were closed in 1947 and the last refugees left Denmark on February 15, 1949. The German refugees could not return to Germany until Denmark received permission from the occupying powers in Germany. Germany was a big mess after the war, many went hungry and the big cities were bombed after the war. As a result, the occupiers believed that Denmark could take good care of the refugees until conditions in Germany improved. Only about 15% returned to their homes - many had fled the Soviet army and did not want to return to areas under Russian and communist influence. Most had to settle in the rest of Germany. The return journey took place with the Danish railway and Danish guard. The first refugees were sent home on November 1st from a transit camp in Kolding, which had a rail connection to Kolding Sydbaner . In 1946, regular trains then ran around a thousand refugees south. Each platoon had a crew of eight civil defense conscripts (CB) on duty in addition to the DSB crew.

The Danish treatment of refugees

In assessing the Danish treatment of German refugees, there have been two very different views since doctor Kirsten Lylloff claimed in 1999 that the Danish doctors and the Danish population treated the refugees very badly. The extremely high child mortality rate in 1945, according to Kirsten Lylloff, resulted from the attitude of the Danes and the Danish authorities towards the Germans. There is no doubt that child mortality would be lower if Danish warehouses and hospitals had helped earlier than they did. She was later criticized for the one-sided and adverse treatment of the entire matter. Among other things, her statement was contradicted by Svend Bach in the book About the German Refugees in Denmark 1945-1949 .

The second position is based on the white paper of the refugee administration and the dissertation of Henrik Havrehed from 1987. This position attempts to look at the topic in the light of contemporary attitudes towards Germany and the Germans. It has been criticized for "romanticizing" the refugees' conditions, turning a blind eye to the hard facts and making the Danes better than they really were.

However, both attitudes agree that the treatment of refugees improved once the authorities took control of the situation and the war was further away. However, they are relatively sharp and incompatible. The discussion flares up from time to time - either party can provide statements and figures to support their own claim.

literature

Web links and sources

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tie / fju: Oksbøl / Varde: memory of German refugees | shz.de. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  2. ^ German refugees in Denmark. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Our escape. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Joachim Krüger: German Refugees in Denmark: When “welcome culture” was a foreign word | shz.de. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  5. ↑ DENMARK: Mute stone tablets - DER SPIEGEL 19/2005. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Volker Heesch: 1945 to 1947: Shielded in a courtyard: How did the refugee children live in Hoyer? | shz.de. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .