The Nazi's Called Me Traitor

Shortly after eight in the morning on March 8, 1941, I was arrested and taken to German Navy Headquarters, the former Grand Hotel overlooking the Esbjerg harbor.

I remember everything as if it happened yesterday. I was coming off my night shift at the small Esbjerg airfield, where I worked as a radar operator, when I was picked up and taken to see Captain Kraus. I was asked to sit down in front of his desk. A heavy silence filled the room while he studied some papers in front of him and I became more and more apprehensive as I wondered what he wanted of me. I felt a growing sickness in the pit of my stomach.

The sun streamed through the half-closed blinds of the window, creating a striped pattern on the floor as well as on the Captain’s back. He was a short, pudgy man between forty- five and fifty. The tightly drawn skin of his bald head was covered with brown blotches. He wore a well-tailored uniform that strained to hold in his pear shape. As I studied him, he slowly closed the folder and looked up at me. He offered me a cigarette from an engraved leather box. I shook my head and thanked him. He remarked with a short grunt, “How unusual. It’s hard to find someone that doesn’t smoke these days.”

He leaned back heavily in the plush leather chair as he lit his cigarette. There was a rather awkward pause before he raised his eyebrows.

“Now, then, young lady, there are several things that have been brought to my attention. I am right in assuming that you are a German citizen?”

I nodded assent.

“And you have remained in a foreign country of your own free will since the outbreak of the war? Not only have you not made the slightest attempt to return home like any good citizen would do, but you have also neglected to renew your passport and have remained in this country illegally. There is no possible excuse for this. Except . . .“ he added softly, “perhaps you have something to hide?”

I was caught by surprise and tried to explain to him my reasons for remaining in Denmark. “Germany has occupied Den mark since last April. I didn’t think it was necessary to make a passport renewal. Besides, I have worked under German super vision for eleven months and have never been questioned or told about any of this. It is beyond my understanding that I should have to return to Germany when I have made Denmark my real home. I have a good job as a radar operator and a future here. I am sorry to have caused this concern and I shall take care of my passbook right away. But I certainly have nothing to hide.”

The Captain leaned forward and smiled. He reeked of cheap cologne. “I’m afraid,” he said, “that is for me to decide. One does not change one’s country like changing clothes. You don’t seem to understand the seriousness and complications war brings with it.” He paused, as if to give me ample time to weigh the meaning of his words. “Germany has many enemies. Yes, even some of her own people turn traitor. And that, young lady, brings us to you.”

“But this is incredible,” I retorted...”that you think a girl of seventeen could have an interest in your war. I don’t care what you do.”

In a friendlier voice he went on. “Suppose I personally believe you? I set things straight so that you can stay here and there would be no more questions about your loyalty?” Gazing at me from the corner of his eye, he grinned broadly and took a fresh cigarette from his case. He must have noticed my confusion, for he got up, walked about the room and finally stopped behind me. His uniform showed creases across his belly no matter how straight he tried to stand. “I can do this, you know,” he said. “Would you be grateful for such an opportunity?”

I felt him walk toward the window as I sat stiffly in my chair. “A young, pretty girl like you,” he continued, “with the right clothes, the right company, could go a long way. I could give you all of this and much more. You could live in luxury, nothing to worry about, completely at ease,” he droned on.

It took a moment for his words to register. But as he rattled on, his proposition became quite clear. There was no misunderstanding what he wanted of me. It was like coming out of a coma. I felt insulted, dirty, my thoughts a confused angry mass.

“On the other hand, it would be a shame to waste such a young life. Wouldn’t it?” He said this like a man knowing what he wanted and what he could take, without consideration for anything but his own whims.

In this short second I felt as if I were being sucked into a whirlpool. I wasn’t conscious of how long I sat in this dazed condition, but my silence must have meant acceptance to him, for I felt to my utter dismay his hands slide over my shoulder. In the same instant I was standing facing him. I slapped his face with all the strength my anger gave me.

By the time I regained control over myself, he had called the clerk. Standing near the door, his eyes blazing, he yelled at me in a voice choked with rage, “Call a German officer a fat pig, a crippled-minded beast, will you? I will teach you how to talk to your superior.” The small office filled with other people as he told an N.C.O. to put me under arrest. He slammed the door behind him, and I was quickly led upstairs to a single room on the second floor. When the door closed behind me, I stood in a trance, unable to comprehend what had actually happened in the last few hours.

In a state of exhaustion I fell asleep on the small bed in the room. I was awakened by a loud knocking on the door. It was pitch-dark, and for a panic-filled moment I forgot where I was. Then I remembered. The same N.C.O. who had brought me here earlier opened the door and handed me a tray of food.

I must have slept a long time, for my stomach was telling me how hungry I was. The N.C.O. informed me sharply that there were certain rules I had to follow.

Within an hour my suitcase was brought to me. It was obvious that it had been searched. I hadn’t the slightest idea whether my friends had been told of my arrest. But knowing Axel and Ilona, I realized that they would find out the truth through their own channels of information. Axel was part of a group of