His name was Bent Faurschou Hviid. Famous as the Danish resistance fighter with red hair he was also known as “Flammen”, meaning the Flame. Flame was part of a Danish resistance group during WWII called Holger Danske. He is credited by some with 22 assassinations, and the Holger Danske with over 400 kills. These included high ranking Nazis and collaborators.
With his partner Jørgen Haagen Schmith, known as “Citronnen”, Flame and Citron were a duo that German Nazis stationed in Denmark and the Danish Socialist Party feared the most across Denmark.
The Danish resistance took part in publishing anti-Nazi flyers and pamphlets, spying, and even sabotage. By the time the Flame was twenty years old the Holger Danske had graduated to assassinations. The Germans actually allowed the Danish government to continue its operation up until August of 1943. It was at this point that the resistance was so disruptive that the Nazis took full control in order to combat it.
Jørgen Haagen Schmith, “Citronnen” the Lemon. Partnered with the Flame to carry out attacks against the Nazis.
The Nazis feared the Flame so much that when they found his dead body they cheered in celebration. They also dragged his corpse from the upstairs of the house feet first down the stairs.
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Nazi Occupation of Denmark
The fjords in Norway were an excellent location for launching German submarines therefore the invasion of Norway was a necessity. As part of that invasion the Germans decided to take Denmark as well. Denmark is a small country. In fact it is nearly sixteen times smaller than Texas, however it did have a standing army. Ordered by their government to not deploy, the Danish army had little affect on the invasion that came next. On April 9, 1940 the Germans began their assault. In less than six hours Denmark was captured by the Third Reich.
Collaborators Beware of the Flame
Flame was tasked with carrying out executions against high ranking Nazi officials and Danish Nazi collaborators. Collaborators such as Kaj Henning Bothildsen Nielsen. Kaj was a member of of the National Socialist Worker’s Party of Denmark, Denmark’s Nazi Party modeled after the German Nazi Party.
He became interested in joining the Nazis and even went to a training university for the SS in Germany. He also had a passion for carrying out the Nazi’s retaliation for attacks the Danish resistance was responsible for during WWII.
Kaj was a perfect candidate for Flame’s favorite hobby, killing Nazis, however he never had the chance to take him out. Kaj attempted to escape punishment at the end of the war once the Nazis were defeated but was captured. He was executed in 1947 for crimes against the Danish people, including nearly 60 murders against men, women, and children.
Kaj Henning Bothildsen Nielsen. Danish socialist party member and WWII Nazi collaborator.
Another target was Frits Clausen, another Danish socialist. In fact he was their leader. He was credited with the attempts to get major political roles in the Danish government for the Nazi Party. He was unsuccessful. A former soldier in the German army during World War One, Frits was sympathetic to the Nazi Party.
Frits was a doctor by trade and acted as medic on the German Eastern Front. In returning to Denmark in 1945 after the Nazi occupation ended, he was captured and sent to a prison camp. Before he could be executed Frits died in a Copenhagen prison of a heart attack.
Frits Clausen. Danish socialist and Nazi collaborator.
Danish Nazi collaborators weren’t just men however with women like Grethe Bartram informing on members of the Danish resistance. Her informing has been credited with having a devastating effect against the Danish communist resistance groups. After the occupation ended Grethe was given a death sentence, but it was commuted to life in prison. Many of those whom she informed on were tortured, killed, or sent away to Nazi concentration camps.
Grethe Bartram. Danish Nazi collaborator. Informed on her brother and several others of her family.
The Flame’s Death
On October 18, 1944 Flame was enjoying dinner when a German officer knocked on the door. Flame soon came to realize that he was surrounded, the house was covered in German soldiers positioned outside. With no weapons to make a final stand with the Flame took his own life by eating a cyanide pill. His legacy as the most feared Nazi assassin of Denmark was honored years later. He and his partner Citron received the U.S. Medal of Freedom from President Harry Truman for their contributions against the Nazis.
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