Hitler's Royal Nemesis - The King on the Horse
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- čas přidán 23. 05. 2024
- In 1940, Denmark was invaded by Germany. Unlike most European monarchs, the Danish king decided to stay in Copenhagen. Through a strange daily ritual, he became a focal point of Danish resistance to German rule.
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Credits: The National Archives; Library of Congress
My Grandfather was the assistant of a danish general during WW2.
The king normally prepared his own horse & saddle for the daily ride in copenhagen.
A day when the general & the king had a meeting, my grandfather was then tasked with preparing the horse by the general.
When the king entered the royal stables and noticed the horse had been prepared, he walked directly up to the horse to check on the reins & saddle.
The king questioned who had prepared the horse, my grandfather admitted it was his "work".
For the rest of the war, my grandfather prepared the horse every day.
Thank you for telling this story Mark.
That's highly exaggerated. Perhaps your heroic father forgot to mention the fact that his daily horse duties ended as early as 0ct 1942, after King Christian fell off his horse, to sit in a wheelchair ever after?
Whatever floats your nationalistic boat, our riding King had nothing but a symbolic influence, just like much else the majority of Danes did those days!
@@lisette2060 that's very harsh. Didn't you catch the account of the Danes successfully smuggling so many jews across to Sweden? and who are you to gainsay the first-hand account of a Grandson/Grandad conversation? You didn't even bother to read the post correctly.
Thank you for sharing this history! Quite an impressive role he played! 🇩🇰❤️🦢
My mother’s Danish-I grew up with her stories of the war.
@@lisette2060 Hardly symbolic and meaningless, angry girl.
My uncle, as a teen, smuggled his countrymen to safety, was captured, and spent 20 months in a concentration camp. He saved lives and barely survived himself. My grandmother joined the resistance and maintained an arms depot in her basement, supporting an effective sabotage campaign by the resistance. Danes blew up the tracks on D-Day, stalling the arrival of backup troops from Norway-a contribution that helped the Allies win that decisive battle.
Whose life have you saved lately?
Hell, yes! That king was a bad ass. Imagine him riding his horse alone in a downpour, in full dress uniform, exchanging salutes with his countrymen, the rain dripping from the brim of his hat. The people who were alive then and witnessed that had to be so proud of such a remarkable display of defiance, dedication, fortitude and hope. Thanks Dr. Felton. What a wonderful story.
Still a waste of taxes and resources during wartime with immense wealth but in the end he did capitulate and hand even more power to the parliament after the war with open elections.
@@serronserron1320 Christian X never opposed open elections! He deposed a democratically elected government in 1920 - and that was the last time the royal power interfered in politics in Denmark.
Denmark's constitution dates from 1849, when Frederik VII signed Denmark's first constitution on 5 June. The Constitution replaced the King's Act of 1665 and marked the transition from autocracy to constitutional monarchy and a more democratic form of government. With women's suffrage from 1915, the country was on a full democratic course.
It's not a "remarkable display of defiance" if the occupying force allows it lol
"Look how defiantely he's riding his horse while not a single Wehrmacht soldier is stopping him from doing just that"
@@thatcher17 Go home and read your History - or listen to Mark Felton. It's clear you don't know a damn thing about Danish history!
@@JunkerOnDrums Are we watching a different video? Please point me out to the part where it's mentioned that the king was arrested for defiantely riding his horse in the streets lol
You should take lessons in danish history from me pal, you obviously need them
Being danish i can only appreciate this video.
Here is a little anecdote well known in Denmark: During one of the kings daily rides alone through Copenhagen a German officer in the crowd shouted out "Why the hell is the king riding alone, who on earth is protecting him!?" a little boy also standing in the crowd answered back "We all are".
The story is very unlikely to be true, but it tells very well how Danes felt, and still fell, about ChristianX.
Peter, den historie er bare pragtfuld. Min far, født i 1922, fortalte mig den, da jeg var en lille pige. Han smilede, mens han fortalte mig den :-)
"There's such divinity doth hedge a king." From Hamlet, Shakespeare's Danish tragedy.
Makes you proud to be danish.
I believe it was the series The World At War that also mentioned that same story.
I’ve heard that story.
It could well be true. I’ve been researching first-hand accounts for a project. Danes were fairly bold - as much as possible. A confirmed story had a German leader ask a Danish member of parliament why they were so hostile (Germans had honestly expected a warmer welcome), and the Dane replied “Because you’re Here.”
One thing Danes did - when walking past the armed German guards on the sidewalks in Copenhagen, people would murmur insults at them. They were on orders not to shoot, and had to just endure a steady flow of insults all day. 😅 psychological warfare.
I’m a Dane and am currently serving in the danish homeguard which was created in 1949 as a result of the nazi occupation of Denmark. It was primarily resistance volunteers that formed the homeguard. The homeguard has around 10 thousand serving people and 30 thousand in reserve. I am proud and honored to represent and protect my country.
Thank you so much for this great video ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you from your American "cousin"! 🇩🇰
What did the Vampires in Europe do during WWII⁉️
resistance movements are against the rules of warfare. if civilians die because "heroes" do not like to wear uniforms the invading force is not to blame. Americans ended up killing more civilians than resistance fighters in iraq/afghanistan
A salute from Northern California!
I love the fact that you are a Dane and have a LEGO pfp!
The next door dad in my small southern town was a retired USAF Colonel who piloted a downed B-25. He was taken prisoner by the Germans but managed to escape into Denmark. He was picked up by the Underground and was back in England in six months. He was a cool guy and the Danish Resistance were incredibly brave men and women.
That’s incredible, he was so lucky that he got out alive. Because even though Danes were willing to do nearly whatever it took to save allied soldiers, getting the soldiers from Denmark to Sweden was almost a village to village Underground Railroad operation. And often very dangerous, especially towards the last few years of the war. As the Germans regime reintroduced the outlawed death penalty. In an attempt to stop the protests and underground activities.
In one of the operations my great grandfather was involved in an aircraft had crashed near his home, those twelve soldiers who were on all survived with minor injuries, and were transported from my great grandparent’s farm to several houses leading to Copenhagen. One of the families the soldiers stayed with were caught only a few months afterward and sentenced to death. The whole lot of them, if I recall correctly, farther, mother and daughter were killed.
The soldiers made it to Sweden in one piece, and got back to Britain and from there they got back to America and Canada.
As for my relatives, they were bullied for being German friendly. Because when the Nazis went from door to door looking for Allied soldiers, my grandparents had acted like they loved and supported the Nazis occupation, in order to throw off any suspicion.
As you can expect that was completely unacceptable, suddenly a trip to the local market involved getting pushed off a bike and beaten on the side of the road. My grandmother’s school years were awful because of that lie that the family had to accept . If they ever said anything to contradict it they might be having to flee their home again to avoid the consequences: And that would be the lucky scenario, because the other possibility would involve me not being born.
This was something they had to deal with until Denmark was freed by the allied forces.
But years after the war several of the soldiers my grandfather saved made the long trip back to Denmark in order to track down and meet the people who saved them.
I’ve spent many hours trying to find what happened to the soldiers and if they had good lives after.
Your story really scratches my itch of wanting to do more research into those who were involved in my grandparent’s lives. I’m very glad to hear about a story of similar experiences, from the perspective of the person making it to the point where life can get a bit more normal again. It sounds funny, but your story of your neighbor and his experiences makes the things that happened seem more real and less like they happened in a void not connected to the same world we live in today.
So thank you a ton, man. I hope your neighbor is still alive and doing well, and if not I hope that he had a great life.
Because of its location many allied planes went down in Denmark after being damaged over Germany.
Some crew members were caught. Some escaped. But many died.
Often Danes would do their best to protect the dead bodies and give them a proper burial.
The Germans wanted them buried in unmarked mass graves.
Sometimes hundreds of Danes would show up for a burial. To show whos side they were on and defy the occupation.
Some family members came to Denmark to visit the graves and thank the local population after the war.
B-25s in the ETO? Perhaps you're thinking of the B-24 or B-26?
My grandfather was in the Danish Resistance in Copenhagen, he helped Jewish people into neutral Sweden by fishing boats in Helsingør (a Danish coastal town very only a short sail trip away from the Swedish coast). He told my grandmother, that he worked at a printing press at night. My grandmother later told me, that she pretended to believe him to spare my grandfather the discomfort of making her scared.
Aside from that, he aided in hiding people such as your neighbor or spies. There were other things he never much cared to talk about, but we all could read between the lines. He had taken lives, and he had lost close friends.
In today's time, we would have realized that he, to some extent, suffered from PTSD, despite him living a full and happy life with his wife till their late 80's. He was a through-and-through outstanding human being, and he was a big admirer of the United States.
It's fun to think that my grandfather and your old neighbor may have crossed paths in such terrible times.
We must not let this bond between the US and Europeans go to waste in these dire times.
I love this video, my Grandmother grew up as a little girl in Copenhagen during the Second World War. She told us many stories about the German occupation, and she had one story about King Christian. She told us that during one of his rides, she was standing on the street holding some flowers she was prepared to give him. Upon seeing her, he scooped her up and took her with him on apart of his ride. I always loved that story, I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but I’d like to think it is. Thank you for this video, my Grandmother passed away in 2021 and this reminds me of her.
I know what you mean. My grandma and Grandpa also told me stories of this. Grandpa was incarcerated for part of the war and grandma would bring him sausages and other food in prison.
One gran uncle was part of the resistance in the last part of the war. He was at some of the executions of the people who worked with the nazis. He was never himself after that.
" I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but I’d like to think it is" Im guessing it is true. As my name here says, I am from Sydslesvig and remember the story of the 1920 Genforening. As king Christian crossed the border, he saw a young girl, picked her up and let her ride with him. This picture became the symbol of Southern Jutland coming home to Denmark. So....this is something he had done before. In other words - he could very well have done it again...
Google: Pigen på kongens hvide hest endte sine dage i Aarhus.
One of our best Kings, he truly loved his people 😁
I think there is a photo of that somewhere, or maybe it is just because I remember the story from when I was a little girl and my aunt from Copenhagen would tell it.
There definately was a situation like that! It’s so cool it was your grandmother!
My name is Christian Petersen. My father, tho born in Oakland CA. spent the war years in Danmark. He had dual citizenship. He met King Christian on one of his rides. He was one of the boys on bikes you spoke of. He was much impressed by the king thus my first name. I have a small collar badge , in pewter and red glass enamel. It shows the crown above rectangular Danebrog style badge in the center of witch is a capital C surrounding a roman numeral ten , or X. In the lower corners it says 1870 - 1940. I was told this symbol was used by the resistance although I can't imagine any resistance fighter in his right mind actually carrying one. It is beautiful though and since King Christian is my namesake I had it tattooed on the inside of my left forearm, a full 5 inches tall. Anyway thank you for the video. All these Tales have just been in my mind as they were told to me by my father when he was alive. It's good to get the facts. I've been to Denmark twice in my youth. It is a Charming country. The Danes are incredibly intelligent people but always smiling. I think the true Danes kind of look down on everyone else, like they are from the Middle Kingdom and we are down here on Earth. Anyway I ramble on thank you for the video
Nice story…thanks☺️
The badges were not used by the resistance, obviously, but by "Danish-minded" citizens - a generic token of patriotism. Also, I believe they're silver, not pewter - I have three myself.
It wasn't mentioned here but he was also helpful towards Roma that were running from other parts of Europe. My fiance's family was welcomed in Denmark and later joined the military after the war.
That's a wonderful story, Christian, thank you for sharing, wear your name and tattoo in good health. In addition to Erik Bramsen's comment about the badges, I can tell you that it was also popular to wear a knitted hat in the Royal Airforce symbol pattern. Apart from the actual armed resistance, there were many such acts of passive resistance - or psychological warfare it you will. Our "visitors" never really knew how to handle it, I guess their sense of humor didn't match ours...
@@Memovox
Another act of passive resistance was "communal singing", where people would gather in public to sing old protest songs from 1864, when South Jutland was annexed by Prussia.
Here's one of the more popular - I'm afraid I couldn't find one subtitled in English.
czcams.com/video/WMdLO5Fsnnk/video.html
I am Norwegian. The Danes did what they could to resist Nazi Germany. They helped the Danish Jews. Among other things. It was not easy for a country of 3.5 million people to resist an invasion from an aggressive neighbouring country of 60 million fanatic nazies. The Danish sailors made a great war effort to help the allied nations. Also Danish Anders Lassen was one of the most decorated war heros of Ww2. Ever. I respect Denmark. Today Denmark set an example to help Ukraine in her war effort against Ukraines fascist neighbour Ruzzia.long live Denmark! Love from Norway.
I read that in occupied Copenhagen a bookshop owner put two portraits in his shop window, one of Adolf and one of Benito. In-between the two portraits was a copy of Victor Hugo's novel, Les Misérables.
People understood the joke and the secret message... otherwise probably a brick out of nowhere would invite itself into said shop window.
True story. Apart from the actual armed resistance, there were many such acts of passive resistance, or psychological warfare, and it drove the invaders borderline insane.
The highlight of Danish resistance...
@@Tancred73 You have some reading to do.
@@Memovox "And it drove the invaders borderline insane" Had a good laugh at that, the lenghts people will go to delude themselves. Amazing
My grandfather was part of Danish resistance, a group leader of the so-called Smallegade Gruppe in Holger Danske. He operated first out of Frederiksberg, his hometown Copenhagen suburb. Later he helped evacuate Jews from Gilleleje on Zealand’s northern coast to neutral Sweden.
I love it when people have connections to their past. I know nothing of my fathers side of the family, My mothers family seemed to miss both WW1 and WW2 being either to young or to old to go to war. Now it was only I who served in the USCG, and two of my sons being in the Air Force, I think we are the only ones who ever severed our country, the rest grew up to be a bunch of liberals... sorry this got kinda long. You Grandfather was a hero.
You can be proud of your grandfather.
your grossvater gewast ein gut mann
It was my father who was as well with Holger Danske (in Gentofte, fairly close to Fredericksberg), he never spoke openly about it however what we know for certain came through our neighbors connected with other Holger Danske participants. Probably the most important single action was the bombing of the Globus Factory which happened on D-Day 1944. The Globus operation included cooperation with BOPA the other active Danish resistance group. The main activity for Holger Danske was smuggling Jews to Sweden which was largely successful.
Kong Christian X was as beloved as he was heroic. He rode through our neighborhood in the fashion shown and would on occasion stop and speak with people along the way.
Field Marshall Montgomery was actually not in involved in any liberation activity of Denmark. His presence was as the representative of British military efforts involving intelligence, materials, and tactical planning. Of course Montgomery was directly involved in the more strategic activities of France and Holland which led to the downfall of Wehrmacht.
Bless your Grandfather
As a boy in the 1960s in New York, my mother would tell me stories of King Christian X as her father was Danish and we had family in Copenhagen. The king remains a legend.
As one of Dr Felton’s past videos illustrated, Denmark nearly paid a heavy price for being collaborative with the Nazis by being invaded by the Soviets in April May 45. Only the Canadian troops under British control stopped this from happening.
I'm putting the blame for Dutch and Danish military failures in #WW2 on their #Helmets
Nah - first England/USA and Russia had already agreed on the borders - secondly German troops would have surrendered to the danish freedom fighters/army in a heartbeat if needed. And the plan to move danish troops from Sweden were a real thing. The German troops in Bornholm were really upset to surrender to Russians - no way that would happen in danish mainland.
Soviet’s dream was Atlantic shore. Puppet Communist Government France and Benelux. International movement hidden Rus Mir agenda. DDR
@@71kimg England, huh? Don't you mean Great Britain?
The canadians moved into soviet territory, so you cannot definitively say that the soviets would not stop at the agreed upon demarkation line.
Also what’s often forgotten is that not only were Christian X of Denmark and Haakon VII of Norway both figureheads of national resistance to Hitler and the Nazis (albeit in different ways) as regards their respective countries; but they were also brothers (both were sons of King Frederik VIII of Denmark)-Haakon VII was of course born Prince Carl of Denmark, and had been elected to the throne of Norway when that country terminated its union with Sweden in 1905.
Haakon VII ran from his nation alongside the government, while the Communists were the only ones mounting severe resistance against the N@zis, including the activation of the Northern brigades of Tromsø and Alta battalions that fought the N@zis till the end of the war with the help of Swedish and Soviet military aid and training, the Communists were also vital in sabotaging the heavy water, not the heavy water plant but rather, the shipment of several thousands of tons of heavy water was blown up when loaded onto a ferry which subsequently sank.
The King and the government after the war persecuted everyone of these resistance fighters as war criminals and Communist s**humans.
Norway simply replaced one N@zi government, with its own which went on to commit various crimes against humanity, including the extermination of Sami people through forced displacement and forced integration but also murder in various institutions, homeless war orphans were institutionalised and tortured, sexually violated and often killed in the thousands.
They then went on to deny over 30 000 soldiers who had fought in WW2 their pay, many thousands starved to death after the war because the Norwegian dictatorship also refused to rebuild the North which had been burned to the ground by the N@zis, citing the North as lawless wasteland inhabited by beings lower than humans.
Even to this day you can be punished by up to 15 years of jail if you speak out against these crimes, but as victims die of old age, the truth is ever harder to uncover and books written are regularly destroyed silently behind the scenes.
@@SMGJohn not…really sure what relevance that has to the simple genealogical fact that Christian X and Haakon VII were brothers, but alright (shrugs).
@@jonathanwebster7091 He is also sorely wrong but chooses to raise the flag of communism for some reason.
@@SMGJohn I am a Second generation Norwegian American and have visited Norway and have heard none of this from my family or at the Norwegian Resistance Museum. Can you please list your sources so I can research? Thank you.
“The King and the government”.
Well apart from the King of Norway is a constitutional monarch, just like the British one, the King wasn’t doing any ‘persecuting’. His role, like his British counterpart and cousin, is to rubber stamp legislation, nothing more.
And bearing in mind Haakon VII also agreed to appoint a social democratic government with the remark “Jeg er også kommunistenes konge” (“I am also the King of the Communists”), you may forgive me if I’m slightly sceptical.
As Danish citizens we are proud of our old King and still salute him for his courageous resistansens. Thank you for a very nice and objective view on Danish resistansen during WW2.
So the Dan's fought so hard to remove Germans but open allow the middle east and Africa to take over 😂 I hope you guys love Shia law
What resistance?
@swunt10 Hmmm king riding on horse, king providing resources so that people could get the jews out of there. Basically people did what they could do to show displeasure in being taken over by the Germans.
No unlike some of the occupied country's who for example forgot to put gun powder in some shells, forgot to put ball bearings in machinery. That kind of thing.
@@swunt10The one that took place. Today it is called guerilla warfare.
Yup. He regained his credit by this act. However before in invation, he was universally disliked due to what he did to the gouverment when in room with prime ministre Zahle on March the 29'th 1920.
I do not know if Christian X was in residence at the royal palace on the day the Germans occupied the country. I recall reading that the Danish Royal Guard, in their dress uniforms, opened fire on the leading German troops and inflicted casualties. While massively outnumbered, the Danish Royal Guard defended their posts.
Saw them, in their uni's, when visited 🇸🇪, 🇩🇰 and 🇳🇴 on a school cruise back in 1970.
Still have my mermaids on their stones, soldats exactly as pictured in B&W back then.
Til olive Gardens was were we kinder from 🇬🇧 were taken one night.
Such clean countries.....
Both the King and the Crown Prince and their families were in residence that day, thats why the Royal Guards were fighting in their dress uniforms, until the government gave the order to surrender.
My grandfather were 1 of those guards in 46-47. He was incredibly proud to have served both Christian and Frederik, who he had great personal admiration for as a man of the ppl.
@dfuher968 thank you for that information! And thank you for sharing that tidbit about your grandpa in royal service!
I actually believe the king himself told the commander of the guard to not fight on in order to prevent casualties on his behalf
@@srenkoch6127Yes that is correct. But the Guard commander did NOT tell the soldiers for a while! In a Danish TV interview I hear him, the Guards Commander, say that' the thought the the Guardsman ( 'Garden', as they are called) should be allowed to fight a little longer for their King and Country' - to preserve their honor as Guardsmen.
I seem to recall that the official German losses were between 20-40 'Feldgrau'. So, no parade for the Germans, either.
One of the Danish Jewish refugees the Danish Lutheran Christians shepherded to Sweden was the comic pianist virtuoso Victor Borge. Later, he came to the United States, became a naturalized US citizen, and had a six-decade career entertaining audiences all over the world with his mix of comedy and music. He never forgot the heroism his fellow Danes showed in getting him away from the Nazis. When he turned 70, Borge returned to Denmark and gave a serious concert to thank the Danes for their heroism. For another 20 years, he resumed his career of comic music until his death in 2000.
I loved him. What an entertainer, what a spirit!
My Danish father would always laugh when Victor Borge was mentioned. It tickled him that Borge referred to himself as "The Great Dane". Dad probably knew of Borge before the war, his family was living in Aarhus. Coming to Canada, then America, on a lark he was sort of trapped here when Denmark was invaded. Many of his family and friends were in the resistance.
Victor Borge was more or less the father of stand up comedy. And he did it SO amazing.
Why,? Its lying BS. Your own PM Rasmussen officially apologized for Danish collaboration over ten years ago and yet you pretend it never happened. Its disgraceful.
Denmark has the morality of Legoland with the addition of being governed by a disneyfied government that has opened your puppet state up to a new occupation from the US.
Shameless and without courage ...treacherous.
Sorry - but you are wrong. Borge - who was married to an American woman - escaped Denmark shortly after the occupation and, in the summer of 1940, went to the US of A on the ship "American Legion", which had been sent by Roosevelt to evacuate people from the war zone. On the ship was a mother with her three kids - the reason why the ship was sent in the first place. I dont remember what name they travelled under, but she was Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, her daughters and her youngest son, called Harald. (The nazis wanted to capture him and install him as a child king on the throne in occupied Norway). Anyway, Borge arrived in the US dead broke - while Mätha, a good friend of the US president, checked in to 1600 pennsylvania avenue in Washington. Harald did become king. He is the king of Norway today.
The US pilot in Copenhagen was Major McFarlane flying a P-51 Mustang. His plane was hit over Swinefurt, Germany on march 12. 1945. He bailed out of his plane over Lolland, an Island South of Seeland. 19 days later he was on a boat to Sweden. A couple from the resistance group on the Island escorted him to Copenhagen and they took him on a sightseeing tour around the city. The German officer apologized for being in the way when the Photo was taken. McFarlane was one off around 100 allied airmen that was sendt to Sweden by the resistancemovment i Denmark. This story is from a book by Per Eilstrup and Lars Lindeberg: De så det ske under besættelsen published i 1969 and I don’t think an english version is available.
Would that have been in the infamous, bungled American run on the ball-bearing factory at Schweinfurt?
Hi Ulrik. McFarlane did not say anything about the target in Swinefurt, but the raid you think about took place on oktober 14. 1943. Also called Black thursday due to the +200 plane lost or damaged.
Great video. The horse looked every bit as proud as the king himself.
Finally, one of my long time requested episodes, my grandmother and her sister greeted the king every morning on their way to school during the war - they told me this story when i was a kid.
As a Dane, thank you so much for this video Dr. Felton. We may not be many, but we are a proud people. I have a portrait of King Christian X on the wall next to my door, so i can salute it whenever i come into my room haha. He was an absolute badass for staying where he was the entire time. Again, thank you for this video, it's really great to see people talking about my country on a more international level. Thank you so much!
What nonsense.. No one threatened our monarch those days!
He didn't risk anything worth mentioning.
@@lisette2060 Except he did though?
My dad who was only 17 years old at the time joined the Danish resistance movement after my grandfather who was a policeman was taken by the Germans and sent to the Buchenwalde and Neuengamme camps in Germany along with the rest of the Danish police.
I hope he got home well on the White Busses?
@@ulrikschackmeyer848He did but was seriously malnourished and spent a long time at a Danish hospital until he was able to eat normal, nutrious food again.
A bit late in the war then . Some joined in earlier years through groups such as KOPA .
A very nice video again. Right after the war here in Western Europe, my mother went in Juni 1945 with trucks from the Red Cross to Denmark, all the way from Haarlem, Netherlands. There she came in a family to strengthen from our Hungerwinter. The family man was a Colonel-luitenant and he was a friend of the Danish king. My mother sang a song for the king on the Danish radio. I have a picture from these high officers including my mothers foster father, together with the king. My mother is still alive and she can talk Danish very well because of her stay there several times.
What a nice memory! I (as a Dane) always feel at home when I´ve visited Netherlands. We are very much alike.
@@sebastianwurtz5294 indeed. We went to Denmark several times to visit Danish writing friends from my mother. We had all (still hanging there) all the Royal Porcelan little plates from Denmark hanging. And several other Danish items. She also took some items to her retirement home where she lives now. She went to Denmark in 1945 with the Redde Barnet organistaion. This month i also found these newspapers about this organisation in the items she did not take. They are from September, Oktober and November 1945. And some Danish children books from 1939, 1950 and so. My mother is 86 now. Wersko, spiese. Mange tak. Ost.
@@gerhard6105 Sounds like she had a good time there, mate. Keeping in touch with history and memories is pretty important. God bless your mom, mate.🙏
@@sebastianwurtz5294 i have her on the phone now. She says'. " Thats nice", about your comment. Her foster mother was a singer: sigrid ......? Married with Hans Elmer, Oberst Loitnant. My mother could sing on the Danish radio because of her foster mother, in Dutch. She was not adopted.
@@gerhard6105 Thank you, my friend.🥲
Thank you for sharing this. I am Jewish and of Danish descent. My father was young at the time this happened and I first heard of the legend of King Christian from him. This is so important at this time of increased anti-semitism to remember there are many good people out there and nations which have been supportive of us. This especially was a ray of light at our darkest time and 80 years on we still remember. I hope to visit Denmark.
You shall be so very welcome the hear of 'The Øresund Miracle' as our local Jews call it. 95% made it to Sweden. More than 99% survived the war. Not bad for a miracle made by a whole nations people 'that just wanted to help their fellow Danish citizens'.
Anti-semitism is a spook!
And even during the current war, our Danish government of a much younger generation openly continues to support Israel, prosecute Hamas proponents, and provide security for the Jewish institutions (Synagogue, school, retirement home etc. ) .
@@johndododoe1411 Thank you much appreciation from Israel
@@MrPicklededestay strong against Islamic terror and Leftist ignorance 💪🇩🇰🤝🇮🇱
My Dad told me that back when was touring Denmark in the mid 1960's, he'd climbed a turnstile with his hiking group, somewhere in the country, and stopped on the road to talk with an elderly farmer.
As they were talking, a car load of German tourists pulled up and recognizing the farmer as the local, proceeded to ask him for directions. The farmer said to them: "Ha! You didn't ask for directions back in 1940..."
The Germans took the hint and drove off.
The Dutch used to rib the Germans, 'can I have my Dad's bike back?'
Dang! Nowadays things are more calm when it comes to that history. People have seemed to separate the Nazis from those Germans who killed friends and relatives during the war years.
And Even Tho we might tease a German friend about it, I haven’t heard much discrimination against Germans based on that history. That said it could be going on without my knowledge quite easily.
😅
Some things that should be mentioned:
The absolute monarchy was introduced in Denmark in 1660, after Frederik III had successfully defended Copenhagen against the Swedes for two years in what can only be called a war of extermination and survival. The King had become immensely popular by staying in Copenhagen, very famously assuring his subjects that "I will die in my nest". This quote, and Frederik III's stand against the Swedes during the 1658-1660 siege, is and was a huge part of the Danish historical consciousness. It was a major blow to morale when Copenhagen was faced with a British siege in 1807, and the mentally unstable Christian VII left with Crown Prince Regent Frederik for Rendsburg despite initial acclamations by the Crown Prince Regent that they too would die in their nest. Christian X was an officer through-and-through, he was very patriotic, very dutiful and he held a great interest in history. To him it was his historical and dynastic duty to stay in Copenhagen no matter what. On the 9th of April the Chief of Army, Gen. Prior, actually recommended that the King should evacuate to the barracks at Høvelte in Northern Zealand in order to put up a last stand there. Yet the King refused, as he did not believe he could leave Copenhagen. In Denmark the King stays in Copenhagen no matter what. I do not think that Christian X would have ever left Denmark, even if an exile government had been set up in London
Secondly, it should be mentioned that Denmark actually could have put up a fight against the German invasion. The Danish Army would've counted 94,000 men if fully mobilised. Its gear was fairly modern, and the soldiers were well-trained. The government simply refused to mobilise, as they expected to receive an ultimatum prior to any German invasion, which would allow them to surrender without a fight. Foreign Minister P. Munch had been Minister of Defence during World War I, and back then, in 1917, he had been complicit in a plot together with then-Foreign Minister Erik Scavenius to work out an acceptable German ultimatum that would allow the Germans control of Jutland and Samsø. P. Munch expected the Germans to approach him to work out an ultimatum in 1940, just as Ambassador Brockdorff-Rantzau had done in 1917. It is doubtful that this plan would have succeeded in 1917, though. The anti-German and hot-headed Christian X would likely just have dismissed them, and probably given them a huge berating as well, since he had great difficulty controlling his temper when faced with politicians from the pacifist Radikale Venstre party - politicians such as P. Munch and Erik Scavenius.
In 1940 the government simply never had any intention of putting up a fight, and the King couldn't force through a mobilisation - the Easter Crisis had calmed him down a bit. The 14,500 men in uniform on the 9th of April were only a skeleton cadre of recruits undergoing their national service, as well as professional officers and NCOs of the line. Yet the Germans were actually rather impressed by the Danish resistance that they faced in the morning hours on the 9th.
A lot of weird things happened (or did not happen) in Denmark on the 8th - 9th april 1940. It is kind of a conspiracy theory. Rumour states that the occupation was agreed upon with Germany (never proven), the military was not mobilized even though the attack was probably well known to be imminent. The soldiers fielded were issued little ammunition (so it is said). Probably someone decided that a symbolic resistence was all that was possible anyway. The weirdest incident was that a gun on a harbour fortress could not be fired. The crew had been replaced with new recruits and twist or something like that was found stuffed in the mechanism.
This is a very true account of the castration of the total number of well trained defence force members being de-mobbed by the majority of danish politicians before the german invasion. So please read it.
Denmark had no chance of defeating a German invasion, but a timely mobilisation most likely would be a big enough obstruction to have the German invasion of Norway fail. Perhaps just the demolition/defence of the airbase at Aalborg would have been enough. If the Germans had failed in Norway Hitler's prestige and German selfconfidence would have dropped termendously. That again would very likely have meant a German failure vs France in 1940 - and world history would have been very different.
thank you for this Gustav ,it is little known here in the US
@@steffenb.jrgensen2014 The German invasion of Norway was at risk of failing in April 1940 as the British were starting to prevail. Hitler's attack on France and the Low Countries the next month meant that British forces had to be pulled out of Norway. I will comment about this more in a separate comment.
King Christian X was never a folksy (or in Danish, “folkelig”) person, but he did earn his nation’s love and admiration for his defiant attitude to the Germans.
What defiant attitude? He gave the Germans whatever they wanted including banning certain political parties and allowing the recruiting of Danes for the SS and Wehrmacht in violation of the Danish constitution.
@@martinputt6421 The King was mainly a titular monarch by that time, so there wasn’t really all that much he could do in political matters. But he was still a symbol of national unity to the Danes.
@@martinputt6421 The King had no say in any of that!! He tried ONCE actively to interfere in politics. In 1920, when he tried to get rid of the Government / Prime Minister (Zahle), that was approved by the majority of the Parliament. On paper, according to the Constitution, he had the "right" to do so, but in real life Danish politics it would have ended his time as a King, if he had insisted on doing that. And Denmark would have been a Republic today! Good thing is, that he came to his senses, so we are still a Constitutional Monarchy. Where the Monarch is our Head of State, without any political power. I prefer that to a "Presidential "system, where that role would likely be politicized more.
@@martinputt6421what are you rambling about? Our Monarch had very little influence on actual policy making.
Of course our Monarch were distant to ordinary people. Class differences were way more present those days and according to those days standards for European Royals he was pretty grounded.
Mark you even mention the easter crisis in 1920. Mister Felton I am impressed . We were allowed here to mainstaim our own goverment untill 1943 . When the german demands were to much to handle and the goverment resigned . The danish and army was disolved in 1943 and the police in attumn 1944 . After that the germans took direct control of Denmark. The danish resistence started gain support and a wave of sabotage swept over Denmark .
The Museum of Danish Resistance in Copenhagen is a small, but superb museum, and is well worth a visit if anyone is ever in Copenhagen, as is the Shellhaus. This was bombed by RAF Mosquitoes in 'Operation Carthage.'
There's a recent movie danish made about the shell house bombing called bombardment
Unfortunately one of the lead planes hid the pylons of the overhead power lines for the train yard and crashed in the 'French school' and subsequent bomber wings mistook the school for the real target causing lots of civilian casualties (as the planes only had 1-2 seconds to identify the target as they was flying at roof-top height in order to avoid detection by German radar).
That all said and done they refused a lot of people who have been telling them that they had ties to the war. Been known to put one or a few guys on the list of some big underground missions that they didn’t take part in. And it also got burned down a few years ago.
Otherwise it’s a great museum, and they have a ton of interesting artifacts that is being preserved and shown off to the public, artifacts that would otherwise have gone missing.
I just so happen to be reading the book Number the Stars with my children. The Danish king and his daily rides were a story told as a feature of national dignity for thee backdrop of the protagonists' efforts to save their Jewish friends.
A German soldier asks a Dane where the King's bodyguard was and was told, "All of Denmark" was the King's bodyguard.
Wonderful video. I can't wait to show it my children so they can see the man o his horse that inspired his people! Thank you Dr. Felton!
My dad's uncle Anders was a part of "Hvidstengruppen", the most famous resistance group in Denmark. He was incarcerated in the concentration camp Neuengamme, Germany. The Hvidsten Group are considered national heroes. Two movies were made about them, and my family was even invited to the premiere. Yet, my grand uncle was shunned by his family, but my dad loved him dearly. We donated a lot of his war memorabilia to a local museum after my dad's mom died.
Any Nazis among your family? There were quite a few sympathiser those days, some actively causing troubles for other Danes as your heroic ancestor.
Bovrup Kartoteket has some 25000 registered but apparently there were twice as many. The tiny village near Randers where I grew up had two members of the Nazi Party.
@@lisette2060 No, not that I know of. But my grand uncle was certainly not seen as a hero among his family.
Thank you for telling this remarkable story - as a Dane I'm still proud of our rescue of the jewish danes
As well you should be 😍❗️
More than 99 % survived the war, actually. In Norway it was 5%.Poland and the Netherlands 20%.
Passive restiance using the king as symbol was wearing a small broche with his monogram on their clothing known as "Konge mærke" - Kingsmark. Also a really good modern danish movie regarding the attack is "9 April" - regarding Frikorps Danmark/nordland - I would recommend the Danish books "Under hagekors og Dannebrog" - "Kryssing" - "Schalburg" - "NSU, Beredt for Danmark"
"Under hagekors og Dannebrog" is a real good book that brings to light those who volenteered for service in the Free Corps Denmark in SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Wiking".
I dont think there is a english version of that book for Mark and other english researchers to read tho.
A German soldier asked a Dane "how dare the king ride without protection", the Dane replied "The people stand guard around him". One of the reasons for the soft approach to the Danes was that they could procure huge quantities of food for the German soldiers. The Danes also got to build their part of the Atlantic wall, food and the construction was financed by getting the money from the national bank to pay farmers and workers with, They have not been paid back yet!👍👍👍Well done Mark
That debt may have been cancelled along with other war reparations to avoid repeating the Versailles mistake .
Story is that the question and answer was to the King himself .
Many years ago, in the early 2000s, I dated a Danish woman with whom I had the privilege of spending quite a bit of time in her beautiful country. Half a century after the end of WW2, her family still talked fondly of this horse riding monarch. Respect to him and his people.
as a Dane, I approve of this video and appreciate all the small and big details. I have rarely seen a video so truthfully and respectfully told about our 5 dark years.
A very succinct yet sharp and decisive message to his people. "I'm here. Stay strong." Witty.
love that someone finally is making something about christian X during the occupation
Yeah right, living in safety and hailing his people on a daily horse ride? Are you aware how rest of Europe suffered those days? Some people, like the Dutch, were actively starved to death...
Jews and other minorities unmentioned 😢
@@lisette2060vary much, but you must understand the situation in full to see why he was seen as a Picture of resistence in denmark we were both fighting true horror of the nazis
I probably got too into this video of a true hero. When you said the king was injured from falling from his horse, I actually said, "Oh no!" out loud. I've had the privilege of working with some Danish researchers who came to the US for a meeting with our unit. I'll just say that the Danes are no strangers to beer!
Special Brew especially, until it was got at by UK govt.
And the King actually fell off his horse in order not to harm a German soldier that stepped out in front of the horse without looking where he was going.
FYI the reason we can have so decent beer today is that Carlsberg invented the method that ensure good yest essential for consistently good results. Before that it was touch and go whether a batch went bad or not and had to be tossed. The brewer then realesed the method to the public domain for all to use for free.
Yes we probably brew the best beer in the world.
Skål!
@@CarlAlex2Also, for decades before the war, the Carlsberg logo was the Swastika, which has always made me wonder which brand the Thule Society drank in 1922 Munich when they appointed Hitler as their savior and founded a new political party with a deceptive name .
Can’t say the king looked like the most confident rider I have ever seen but to have ridden any horse through city streets without an escort was very brave. His mount was obviously not a plug horse but was a beautiful warm blood.
Especially when those streets were occupied by enemy soldiers.
He also fell from his horse on another national occasion 22 years earlier but apparently liked horses a lot. The then Crown Prince hated horses and opted for a career in the navy.
Well, see how anybody looks on a horse at the age of nearly 70.
He actually fell because some idiot German soldier stepped out in front him and he didn't want to run down the German. So, he fell off the horse avoiding to hit the German.
@@ulrikschackmeyer848 That sounds interesting. Would you like to provide a source?
Dad was born in Denmark 1919 and helped to smuggle his fellow Danish citizens to Sweden. He was part of the resistance too. He hated the Nazis and became an American Citizen after the war. A great man and father he had many Jewish friends and believed anti semitizem was barbaric and wrong. He passed in1985.🌈🕊💛
I had heard that Christian X partly decided to stay because of his wife, who was German. She detested Hitler as a peasant, and refused to leave her house. It is true that Danes held Christian in high esteem. My grandfather kept a picture of him on his wall until he died. I have it in my house in New Jersey still today.
Most Danes also hold the current Monarch in high esteem
and she has done f*ck all for the Country.
Their standards in that regard are very, very low.
@@HauntedXXXPancake Dude, just say you are ignorant.
@@HauntedXXXPancakewell our queen don't have much to say she only rules Denmark and has the final say but it's only our politicians that do dog water
@@BeastTheNinja???
She has 0 say in what goes on lmao. If she tried to do anything political she'd have to abdicate immediately
King Christian, we salute you.
MA LÁTNÁ SZEGÉNY KIRÁLY MI VAN EUROPÁBAN????
His Grand daughter is a strong woman 💪
Be loved by the danish people.
Thank you Mark Felton for this brilliant, empathic video. I am from Denmark, and my father served as a soldier in Frikorps Danmark on the eastern front 1941-1944. He survived by miracle the battle of Narva, was taken POW, and finally released from captivity by the effort of the Dutch Queen in 1950. He was only 17 when enruling, and thought he was to fight international communism. He payed deerly with his youth for this mistake (having signed a contract unbreakable). Though he was in reality one of few. Nazism luckily never grew in any number in Denmark. By saving the Danish jews - Denmark saved it`s honour and reputation. A reputation which was not bettered by the cowardness of the Danish government in the beginning of the occupation.
Overlevede din far fem år i russisk Gulag??
Hvordan blev han modtaget og set på efterfølgende? Nogle blev udstødt for livstid mens andre fandt sig til rette..
This story still gets told in Denmark to this day.....
@MarkFelton - As a boy, I remember my grandparents recalling episodes from the war, and one of them was about King Christian X...
The Germans had demanded that the swastika be flown from the flagpole at the royal palace, and each day one of the soldiers was ordered to take it down. This went on for a oeriod of time to the dissatisfaction of the Germans. Finally they had had enough, and issued an order that the next soldier to take down the swastika would be summarily executed. The following morning King Christian X - in full military uniform - went out personally and took down the swastika.... The Germans never tried raising their flag again for the duration of the war.
That sounds like a myth (like the one claiming that the wore the star of David), although he once ordered the removal of the swastika flag from Amalienborg
Another lame myth..! The Nazis never interfered with Danish authorities on that level. Especially not the Royal Institution. - They didn't have to, while failing cooperation wasn't any serious issue!
Only after 1943 when it became obvious which way the tide turned, did resistance become an honest issue!
From the headline, I feared the type of romantic nationalist story that we sometimes see in Danish popular films and TV shows and that I to some extent grew up with. But esp. your opening speak, adding a wider perspective and acknowledging e.g. the fact that Denmark was treated much more lenient than most other occupied countries and that yes, we had some 6000 Waffen-SS volunteers (who were even shipped off with a public parade in Copenhagen) greatly impressed me. Mentioning the so-called 'Easter Crisis' in 1920 also really helps to understand the king as a less romantic character: he was not a jovial, democratic monarch. He was a very 19th century conservative, elitist figure, who believed government should rule the lower classes with an iron fist. By 1940, though, the king seemed to accept his limited role as figurehead. Your facts check out and are put in proper context. Thank you for nuanced and precise contribution, much appreciated.
Dr. Felton, this is one of your most uplifting videos; again a WWII footnote that most people wouldn't know, but should know. A very inspiring story!
My grandfather once told me a story when he grew up during the occupation of denmark. One time he was late for school so he was running. He tript and fell on the pavement hurting his knee.
While he was sitting and growling, a tall man on horse back approached him. He talked to him, asked if he was okay and needed help. My grandfather replied that he was okay but was late for school. The man smiled and told him to have a nice day.
Later that day he realized that it was the king he had just met.
I miss my grandfather. I have so many questions but now he is gone.
My grand mother often told the story, of when during the occupation, a German soldier in a bar, asked why no one was protecting the king, on his lonely horse rides through the streets. A dane who overheard the question answered, "We all are". Pardon me if this story has already been posted. Also I have no idea if this is a true story, but it's a rather good one.
It actually is true, and even today with queen Margarete II. Did you know she only have 2 official bodyguards ? and 1 is a female ?
It's about time someone discusses Denmark's WWII response on YT - speaking for myself as an American, with no ties to Scandinavia whatsoever. From the Danish resistance to the King's behavior, it was exemplary. Thanks for posting this.
Another great history lesson taught by Dr. Mark Felton! many thanks good sir
8:34 “Having carnal relationships with oneself.” I’ll have to remember that one. Or maybe the king’s response was the equivalent to the southern USA expression “Bless your heart.”
I laughed when I heard that.
It is lovely to see this video of my homeland - although I left 45 years ago I am still proud to be Danish. I remember very well the stories told to me by my father of King Christian X riding the streets of Copenhagen but I have never seen any footage. Many years ago my father gave me a book called Bright Candles: A Novel of the Danish Resistance by Nathaniel Benchley. It is well worth reading and gives a sense of how ordinary Danes fought back against Nazi rule the best they could. 🇩🇰
One interesting note is that the King would salute his Danish subjects but pointedly ignore the presence of any German soldiers.
That was quite unheard of. Regardless of nationality, when a junior soldier salutes a superior on the streets, the salute will often be returned. But the King didn't even acknowledge the German soldiers standing at attention and saluting him. Every single day while riding. The German soldiers were under orders to behave and thus respect the rank and authority of the King. But they never received one single salute in return.
That was a big part of his passive resistance and popularity. Never even acknowledging the Germans. And the citizens saw that and took it to heart.
The amount of romantic nonsense in this thread are plain disturbing!
The majority of Danes cooperated more or less friendly with the occupation forces.
There was a widespread economic crisis those days and lots of work and money could be made for the Nazis, which happened without much trouble!
@@lisette2060 Of the four grandparents I had during the war, one was in the resistance and another worked for a big scale farmer supplying the Germans. There is nothing romantic about it. Life goes on and you take what work there is. But that doesn't mean you don't like them. None of my grandparents liked the situation. One was sent in POW camp for being in the army. Another was arrested for wearing red, white and blue colours.
Saying a mood of resistance is romantic nonsense is nonsense. Many worked directly or indirectly for the Germans. Because they had no choice. That doesn't mean they liked it. Most didn't. But life had to go on so they said nothing.
But seeing your monarch make such small gestures of defiance went a long way for many to put a smile on faces in a time there was little to smile about.
I wouldn't use the word "friendly" for the cooperation. "Willingly" might be better. Very few people liked working with/for the Germans. And those were often the big land/company owners, who made huge profits. For the average person it was a way to survive.
Christian X on his horse was one of those things my mom talked about remembering from the war. Even though she and my dad were only little kids and lived in the countryside at the time, so they didn't have much direct interaction with the Germans, the king on his horse made enough of an impression on them that we had a photo of him on the wall well into the 80s when we moved house
Thank you for sharing this. Sadly, our young generation have largely forgotten this (Im 50), but many of us still remember and are so proud. My grandfather served in the Royal Lifeguards right after the war, and he was extremely proud until the end of his life, that he got to serve King Christian and Crown Prince Frederik (later King Frederik IX), who he came to admire very much from his daily interactions.
My grandfather got a knighthood for his resistance work
As did mine.
Danish veteran here. Thank you so much for this video. Dack in the day when I was a conscript inn the army a story about Chr.X circulated. The Danish flag, Dannebrog, flew from the Kings residence, Amalienborg, during the occupation of Denmark. The occupiers wanted the Swastika flag above instead and tried to change that, ordering him to order his Royal guard to raise the Swastika flag. The next day Dannebrog was stil flying from Amalienborg and warned the King if a soldier from his guard tries to raise the Danish flag then that soldier will be shot. His defiant reply was: Then I hope the one doing the shooting is prepared to shoot a King, because that soldier will be myself! And he raised the flag himself every day before his horse ride every day. Don't know if the story is an urban legend or not, but it certainly was in tune with his defiant nature! ❤
where have you heard about it?/ hvor har du hørt den historie?
The amount of respect they had for their Monarch was incredible. Every man had the subconscious of taking their hat off when the King is near. Not from propaganda, not from brainwashing, but sheer respect for a good King.
There is a story of a German soldier seeing the King on his horse and asking a nearby Dane: "Where is the King's bodyguard?" and the Dane answers: "We all are his bodyguards!" I don't know if the story is true, but it is good anyway and would quite well express the sentiments then.
Yes I have heard that one as well, and I do think it would have required quite a brave soldier to try to oppose the kings ride...
(of cause a squad of soldiers with a armoured car or similar would have sufficed).
@@steffenb.jrgensen2014 This. The Germans knew that IF they hurt the King, they would have a violent uprising on their hands that would have made the Warsaw-uprising look like a schoolyard argument. It wasn't worth it.
@@steffenb.jrgensen2014 I heard the story was, that the Nazis who were guarding Amalienborg, were not happy with that the King rode out onto the streets without an escort, and that he would say: "The Danes will protect me". I think he was very correct in that statement and it's possible that your version is true as well.
@@Mark-xh8mdThat's what makes King Christian's accident in 1942 even more significant. He fell off his horse, not the Nazis who caused it mind you, and was hurt badly. The Danes around him, were the ones who helped him back to the palace. His son, the Crown Prince, had to become his Regent for a while after that and it was during his Regency the terms of the occupation changed. The Crown Prince took part in the sinking of the Danish fleet on August 29th 1943 and the collaboration between Denmark and Germany exploded after that. The King fortunately survived to see the end of the war. And the armband the Danish Resistance members wore when the liberation came, was laid on his casket when he died.
That horse had to have a strong back to carry both a King and two giant brass balls.
‘Respect’ comes to mind… very moving.
One of the best attributes of your videos is the kindness with which you treat your subjects, it’s truly delightful and makes digesting all these stories a real pleasure!
I don't know if it's true but I heard a story that at one time when the king was out on one of his daily rides a German soldier who was on duty asked him who protected him when he was out riding the king just looked on the soldier and said the Danish people will protect me, I don't know if it's a real story but it's a good one
Correct. Or at least my father who was a Copenhagen child during the war told me that story too, so I have no reason to doubt it.
Truly a Great Dane! He and his countrymen deserve great respect. Imagine the surprise of the Nazis to find the Jews had successfully escaped.
to have been a fly on the wall... }=]
An elegant, pointed and witty display of resistance, on horseback.
As a Danish citizen and ex queen's guard this storry always makes me immensely proud to be Danish. Danmark længe leve
Denmark, isn't the Denmark I grow up in the 60ties and 70ties. Totally changed and no more a homogenous population. Where it seems like everyone knew and cared for each other with a much stronger and healthier community. Today just a VASAL nation of USA and insignificant country in the EU.
Hurra hurra hurra 🇩🇰
Det hedder Den Kongelige Livgarde, medmindre du tænker på Dronningens Livregiment, der jo blev nedlagt for mange år siden, eller rettere sammenlagt med Prinsens Livregiment.
Thank you Mark once again another surprising and well documented piece of history 👏. What a king 💙
One has to admire the quiet courage of an elderly man who could be an assassination target riding a horse daily alone. It probably inspired many Danes that all was not lost and their king was willing to risk his life to encourage them.
He was and he did. He is still talked about with respect, though no longer live, even to this day.
I am very proud of my grandfather. He wasn't directly in the resistance but he helped them if they were in danger. He worked at a landfill a little bit outside Copenhagen and on that landfill, he and his co-workers had built a hideout for the resistancemembers if they needed a place to hide from the germans or Danish collaborators. I also know he and his friends helped store some of the resistance's weapons in a private villa.
At the end of the conversation, given the microscopic view we are blessed with what passes for "knowledge", to judge what happened before we were born, I feel that the courage and defiance given by the King of Denmark, and by his subjects, should be revered and cherished.
No , I'm not Danish. Not an apologist, but a great believer in the power that can be found in all of our hearts.
Thank you, Dr.Felton.
As always, factual, insightful, and inspirational.
I am from the north of Denmark. The Danish police in the major cities was arrested on the19 September 1944 and deported to Germany. They were warned so only about 20% was captured. My mother had an uncle among them who was in Neuengamme and later in Buchenwald. He did come home. For many years, after the war, they would test the sirens every Wednesday at noon and every time, my grandmother would sit frozen in her rocking chair until the alarm was over. Christian 10 died in 1947, his son Frederik 9 would also ride around, unescorted, in Copenhagen, on a bicycle.
Very good video as always, Mark.
I’m a Dane. You’re right about the colloberation politics of the Danish government from 1940-43. The Germans wanted to spare their efforts keeping Denmark occupied (-and furthermore get access to the Danish agricultural resources without too much fuss) and the government wanted to spare the Danish people. This agreement lasted until 1943, when Hitler demanded that captured members of the Danish resistance movement was to be judged under German laws (-execution/conzecration camps). The result was that the Danish government retired.
After that the situation in Denmark was pretty much the same as in any other European country under German occupation - growing resistance against the Nazi rules. But all in all it is true that there was pretty much as many volunteers fighting for Germany at the Eastern front as in the Danish resistance movement...
A king is a man on horseback who is not afraid.
Mark, just wanted to say your channel is an inspiration to those interested in history. Please do keep it up, and don't be afraid to take breaks if and when you might need them.
My wifes paternal grandfather had been a fisherman in north of copenhagen during the war. He lived a quiet life, albeit a bit mischievous regarding the sneaking of a schnaps or two at the occational dinner we visited when his wife wouldn't see. It wasn't until at his funeral that it was told he had been active in smuggling Danish Jews to Sweden. He never told a soul about it. Neither wives nor children. He was a quite man with a relaxed smile and stayed silent of the matter until the day he died.
Many Danish helpers did this to 'help their fellow Danish citizens' as their duty. Not as something to brag about. Those that had something to brag about, the active saboteurs, were usually so nerve-ridden (today: PTSD) after the war that they preferred not to talk about the nightmares etc. at all.
So as usual, only bragging from those that joined up the last days of the war and didn't really do anything other than round up Germans and collaborators and guard them.
WW2 is a endless story. Thanks Dr Felton for keeping history alive. I learn a lot from your channel. Keep up the good work.
For danmark og kongeriget.
The conquest of Denmark took only 6 hours, but the headache the Danes caused the Germans was to last for 5 years.
Great Man and great story! HE LED HIS PEOPLE THROUGH CRISES. Thank you Dr. Mark---your productions--always excellent!
Our king wouldn't budge. He stayed, lead us, kept us together and saved our democratic spirit. Such leaders still exist. ' Ja, President, tut'
While stationed with the US Army in France between '62 and '64 the '63 NATO exercise were upset. As a part of the exercises German troops were to take up positions in Denmark. The Danish Border Guard would not let them across the border. Once was enough. It was settled amicably and the German NATO troops stayed in Schleswig-Holstein. It was quite a flap at the time.
An absolute badass, this man needs a day of recognition
Wow, what a class act. I'm glad he lived long enough to see his country liberated. As always, well done Dr. Felton - thank you.
Another very lovely one, Mark. Thank you so much. How you dig out these unique events around WW2 and Nazi Germany is truly brilliance in research work. For a long time now, your CZcams posts have rekindled my interest in the personalities that ruled Nazi Germany under Hitler, and all the other bits and pieces of detailed information you make available. Thank you so much for this tremendous pool of knowledge and history you are providing to the public, as far away as Nigeria, my country of residence. You are sincerely appreciated sir.
The King's brief reply to Hitler lives on today when one responds with 'K' to a long, perhaps unwelcome, text message.
Another excellent piece! I knew a bit about this, but you filled in a lot of blanks. Denmark is a wonderful country, and the people are friendly. A bit pricy, but many things are free to visit - and there is a LOT of history there. Denmark was once a military powerhouse, but many don't know about it these days. My family history spans the borders between Denmark and Germany - as do many in that region.
Maybe you could make a video about how Niels Bohr was smuggled out of Denmark in a Mosquito, preventing the Germans from capturing him.
Dane here 🇩🇰
In my town of Nakskov, we have a statue of the king and his horse, that recently got a restoration.
The statue means alot to me and my fellow Danes in our town.
🇩🇰❤️
I'd love to hear you talk about the German occupation of Norway. Regardless, this was a highly fascinating and educational video. Keep up the good work Dr. Felton!
I can warmly recommend Drachinifel two videos: Three battles of Narvik, On Norsecious matters. Thought mainly naval in the fighting itself, they are excellent.
The Norwegians really put up a fight against the invading Germans.
One interesting tale was an incident in which the Germans told the King that they would hang a Nazi Swastika flag over the Royal Palace. The King told them that if they did so that he would order a Danish soldier to remove the flag. At which point a German officer told the King that soldier would be shot. In response the King defiantly said in that case the soldier will be me! The Nazi flag was never flown.
My grandpa told me stories of how he would often follow behind King Christian with his friends as he trotted about the streets on his horse. He said the King was always please to see them.
Gotta recommend the Danish film April 9th if anybody want to see an extremely well done take of the 1940 invasion
I saw the battle scene at the beginning - very good.
The stories of how Christian X & his brother, Haakon VII of Norway, each resisted the Nazis are truly inspirational. Here in the US, we have our heads up our behinds so much of the time, we are often unaware of anyone else's challenges & struggles. Unless, of course, we have "interests" tied up there.
I never knew of this story. What a remarkable man the King was. Riding defiantly in the face of tyranny as a symbol of danish resistance on behalf of the people he served and helping fund thousands to escape to Sweden at high personal risk is truly a man who loved his country and all his people. I salute him back in honour. I wish we had leaders of that quality today. Greetings to our Danish cousins from the England.
Well, you had Churchill. He wasn't a bad one in a tight spot either. And they still appear when needed - 'I, the president, is here!'
Great video, here a little extra information about his family, like father like son.
The son of King Christian X. prince Frederik, later King Frederik the 9th, had his first daughter (today Queen Margrethe the 2) on 16 April 1940 just 7 days after the German occupation. In the same style as his father, Prince Frederik was often seen in Copenhagen walking together with his wife Princess Ingrid and Magrethe in a pram, or he cycled around the city.
After King Christian the 10th's fall from his horse, Prince Frederik takes over his father's obligations as king in the period 1942-43. It was therefore also Prince Frederik's task to ask the Danish parliament to form a government around Scavenius, who had been suggested by Werner Best to Hitler to act as prime minister and foreign minister in Denmark.
My grandmother, who was Scavenius' cousin, told me that he was well aware that both the king and the prince didn't like him, but they did their job and he had to do his, and he was impressed by their actions and ability to gather the Danish people for whom he envied them.
To my knowledge, Prince Frederik was, as much as possible, also involved in the resistance in the Danish navy against the Germans.
I have never had it 100% confirmed, but at King Christian the 10th's funeral, an armband from the resistance movement should have been placed on his coffin, in recognition of the resistance he made during the occupation.
Love these quirky off the beaten track WW2 stories from Mark Felton.
This was a very interesting piece of history that I really wasn’t aware of. I knew that the Nazis treated Denmark differently, but I didn’t really understand why and I certainly didn’t understand the Kings Row. Witness that was very interesting and informative. Thank you so very much.
Nice little video, thanks.
All of Denmark was not liberated by the British in may 1945. Bornholm was taken by the Russians, after they for some reason bombed the civilian population, that they where supposed to liberate from the Germans.
Russian Mir as we know it...
It took a year longer, before Bornholm was free again.
The Russians took over the occupation, harassed the civilians and got drunk and raped and stole bikes.
The memorial for the Russian soldiers on the island is actually for soldiers that died from drinking and got excecuted for raping, not from any actual fighting.
Ever since, the regards for the Russians have been quite freezing cold on Bornholm.
As a weird effect of the Russian occupation, Bornholm was up until the end of the Soviet Union and WAPA, not really regarded as a full part of NATO, as the rest of Denmark (but it actually was) by Russia and trops and personel from other NATO countries was not seen on the island.
A number of MIG's defected to the island. One actually trying to land on the not yet finish new airport, because the pilots maps showed it as finished (thanks to a local spy).
MIG-15's that got examined in great detail.
Bornholm has a history of allways returning itself back to Denmark.
Interesting point that you have made. As a sidenote, if Western Europeans were wary of Russia, so were East Asians wary of Japan.
That was why neo-con attempts to form some sort of US-Japan-Korea-Taiwan-Philippines alliance made no sense.
Imagine the US wanted Western Europeans and Russia to be part of a US-led alliance for the 21st century. 🙄🙄
During WW2, it was Germany and Japan that pushed the Big 4 Allies together. That reminded us of the true nature of the Axis.
I love this channel and it's stories like this that really make it worth your while. I never knew of this story at all and it's pretty awesome that Danish king riding that horse every day by himself. No security detail. No nothing just his sword. That was it! Pretty awesome! Really awesome. Incredible human being more people need to take note of what he's done and use that as a guide
7:30 The tipping of the hat and the curtsy brought a chuckle to suppress the nearly-a-tear in my eye.
2:16 Yes The King was very beloved in Denmark for not running away but stand his Royal ground 👍🏼
Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰