Gestapo Informer Behind 60% of Arrests in Denmark: Ib Birkedal Hansen
Popular
•
12m
On 9 April 1940, Nazi Germany launched Operation Weserübung and invaded Denmark. While the country initially experienced a relatively cooperative occupation, growing resistance and sabotage by 1943 pushed the Gestapo to rely increasingly on Danish collaborators to hunt down opponents of the regime.
One of the most feared was Ib Birkedal Hansen, a Danish Gestapo informer who led a powerful network of collaborators in Copenhagen known as the Birkedal Group. Through torture, intimidation, and a wide network of informers, Hansen and his men were responsible for an estimated 60 percent of arrests in occupied Denmark.
After the liberation in May 1945, Hansen went into hiding but was eventually captured and brought back to Copenhagen to face justice. Convicted of numerous crimes committed during the occupation, he ultimately paid for his actions.
Up Next in Popular
-
Swedish Superstar of Nazi Film: "The ...
Zarah Leander, Sweden’s greatest film star, rose to fame in Hitler’s Germany as the face of UFA’s propaganda cinema. Dubbed the “Diva of the Third Reich,” she earned a fortune and lived in luxury while Europe burned. With her deep voice, striking presence, and iconic roles, she embodied the glamo...
-
The Scandal That Shook the British Th...
In September 1940, as bombs fell over London, whispers in Berlin told a different story — one of romance, scandal, and potential betrayal.
Behind the royal titles and elegant portraits stood Wallis Simpson, the American woman for whom King Edward VIII gave up the British throne.
To the Nazis, she... -
Nazi Spy Who Betrayed America: Herber...
11 December 1941. Nazi Germany declares war on the United States, expanding the conflict into a global war. Behind this move, German intelligence prepares a secret sabotage campaign on American soil.
At the centre is Herbert Hans Haupt—a German-born, Chicago-raised American citizen who turns aga...