Board 1 – The Arrest of Aage Ingemann Christensen from Aabybro
Deceived by a German Soldier
On December 13, 1944, 30-year-old laborer Aage Ingemann Christensen was arrested by the German Feldgendarmerie at his residence south of Aabybro. Aage had recently bought a pistol for 100 kr. from a soldier stationed at the nearby German outpost at Engelandshus, south of Aabybro. The soldier later probably reported Aage for theft. The soldier got his pistol back and kept the 100 kr.!
Transferred to the Gestapo
Aage Ingemann Christensen was transferred to the German security police, the Gestapo, in Aalborg, where he was suspected not only of buying the pistol but also of being a resistance fighter and involved in weapon drops.
Gestapo’s Notorious Headquarters
Gestapo’s headquarters was centrally located in Aalborg, at Boulevarden 27, and was undoubtedly the place that North Jutlanders dreaded most, as it was not a place for ordinary and calm interrogations. The interrogations were often accompanied by torture.
During the approximately 20 months Gestapo operated in Aalborg, nearly 1,100 individuals were interrogated, and many did not survive the encounter.
Photo 1.1:
Aage Ingemann Christensen as a young man. Photo: Kurt Ingemann Kristensen
Photo 1.2 (Map):
Aage Ingemann Christensen’s residence at Aabybro Sdr. Kjær.
Photo 1.3:
The cottage at Engelandshusvej 36, Aaby Sdr. Kjær, where Aage was arrested – as it appeared in 1946. Photo: The Royal Library.
Photo 1.4:
The Folk High School Hotel, Boulevarden 27, Aalborg, which served as Gestapo’s headquarters from September 1943 to the liberation in May 1945. Photo: Aalborg City Archives.
Board 2 – Interrogation by Gestapo
Aage Goes Through Interrogation with Gestapo
In addition to buying the pistol, Aage was also accused of being a member of a resistance group. He was handed over to the Gestapo in Aalborg, where, under brutal torture, they tried to force a confession from him. Aage had absolutely no connection to the resistance movement, so he denied everything—except the pistol purchase. This only made the Gestapo agents more vicious, as they mistakenly believed they had caught an important resistance member.
“During this interrogation, the informant was tortured in a very brutal manner, being beaten with a ‘bullwhip’ from the shoulders to the knees.” Quote from: Police report, July 9, 1945.
Five Months of Captivity
After three violent interrogations, Aage was so battered that he could neither sit nor lie down. Infections set into the open wounds left by the torture, but he couldn’t receive medical help. Instead, the Danish interpreter Gunnar Jensen was sent to the prison with some ointment to treat the wounds. Due to the severe mistreatment and his declining health, Aage remained in Aalborg prison until May 5, 1945, while almost all other prisoners were transferred to Frøslev Camp.
Photo 2.1:
Aage Ingemann Christensen, born March 1, 1914. The photo likely comes from his identification card from the occupation period. Photo: Kurt Ingemann Kristensen
Photo 2.2:
Torture tools used by Gestapo in Aalborg. Photo: National Archives
Photo 2.3:
Aage was tortured with a “bullwhip.” It is a whip about 1 meter long made from the genital part of an ox. Photo: Nordjyske Museums
Photo 2.4:
The four Gestapo officers who participated in the torture and interrogation of Aage. Arthur Katzemich, Karl Wentzlau, Walther Thiele, and the interpreter Gunnar Jensen. Photo: National Archives
Board 3 – Gestapo’s Escape to Vendsyssel
Aage Ingemann Christensen as a Hostage
Early in the morning on May 5, 1945, while the citizens of Aalborg were still sleeping off the celebration of the happy liberation news, three prisoners—Aage Ingemann Christensen, Nikolaj Frandsen, and Niels Eigenbroth—were taken from prison by Gestapo and led out to a waiting vehicle. They were no longer prisoners but now hostages who were meant to ensure the safe passage of the approximately 30 Gestapo agents out of Aalborg. A machine-gun shooter lay on top of the bus to ensure free passage out of the city. The convoy consisted of both Danes and Germans from Gestapo, who had just evacuated their northern Jutland headquarters in the center of Aalborg.
Towards Brønderslev
The car convoy drove through Aalborg, crossed the Limfjord Bridge, and continued north. The destination was Brønderslev, about 30 km north of Aalborg. As the convoy was halfway and nearing the town of Sulsted, a low-flying plane flew closely over the vehicles. From the machine-gunner on the roof came the cry: “Los, los! Engländer, Engländer!” which prompted the driver of the vehicle, Emanuel Jensen, to floor the accelerator while trying to keep an eye on the plane. However, this caused him to lose control of the vehicle, which crashed into some fir trees, unable to continue. The hostages and Gestapo agents were moved to the remaining vehicles, while some had to wait for cars to arrive from Brønderslev to pick them up.
From Gestapo to Wehrmacht Soldiers
The escape convoy continued to Brønderslev, where just before 8 o’clock they entered the courtyard of Hotel Phønix, where the highest-ranking officer of the German Wehrmacht in North Jutland, Heinrich von Behr, had his headquarters. The Gestapo agents all went inside, where they were fed, given new, fake soldier papers, and dressed in Wehrmacht uniforms, so they appeared as ordinary German soldiers and not war-criminal Gestapo agents.
Photo 3.1:
Journalist Niels August Eigenbroth and merchant Nikolaj Frandsen, who were both imprisoned in the jail in Kong Hans Gade with Aage. Photo: Aalborg City Archives and National Archives
Photo 3.2:
Kong Hans Gade Jail, 1921. A large portion of Gestapo’s prisoners were held here. Photo: Tønnies, Aalborg City Archives
Photo 3.3:
The bus used by Gestapo during their escape from Aalborg, photographed after it crashed between fir trees near Sulsted. Photo: Freedom Museum’s Photo Archive
Photo 3.4:
Aalborg Amtstidende, May 5, 1945
Board 4 – The Hostages Were to Be “Laid Down”
Order to Execute!
As midday approached, Gestapo Chief Fritz Bolle and Deputy Johann Zehetmayer came out into the courtyard of Hotel Phønix in Brønderslev, where the hostages were being guarded. Here, they discussed what to do with the three hostages. They no longer needed them—the escape had been successful, they concluded.
Bolle cynically ordered that they should be driven out of the city and “laid down,” meaning executed. This was overheard by the southern Jutland Gestapo man, Christian Jessen Mikkelsen, who took on the execution task and selected a driver, after which they drove off with the hostages.
At the Last Moment
However, Jessen Mikkelsen saw an opportunity to avoid the expected and imminent reckoning if he helped the hostages. Instead of executing them, he chose to drop them off at a shop north of the town of Tylstrup, where Eigenbroth could call for help for Frandsen and Aage, who were both in very poor condition. At the last moment, Aage and the two others avoided death, and their liberation finally arrived.
Photo 4.1:
Gestapo Chief Fritz Bolle and his deputy Johann Zehetmayer. Fritz Bolle was described by the public prosecutor in the fall of 1946 as “probably the worst sadist who has been in this country,” which reflects Bolle’s brutal conduct in North Jutland. Johann Zehetmayer committed suicide in Løkken on May 6, 1945. Photo: National Archives and Bundesarchiv
Photo 4.2:
Gestapo man Christian Jessen Mikkelsen with the cover name Reinert appeared on one hand as a ruthless Gestapo executioner, and on the other hand, he came across as a sympathetic person who spared the lives of the hostages. Photo: National Archives
Photo 4.3:
Hotel Phønix in Brønderslev, where the German commander of the Wehrmacht in North Jutland had his headquarters. Photo: Nordjyske Museums
Photo 4.4:
Heinrich von Behr, the highest-ranking officer of the German Wehrmacht in North Jutland. Photo: Bundesarchiv
Photo 4.5:
Nordjyllands Socialdemokrat, May 6, 1945
Board 5 – Who Was Aage Ingemann Christensen?
Born in Sdr. Kær South of Aabybro
Aage was born on March 1, 1914, in the family home at Aabybro Sdr. Kjær. In his youth, he worked as a farm laborer and was then employed at several places in and around Aalborg. However, he was soon to be involved in an eventful life, where his patriotism was tested when Germany invaded Denmark in 1940.
Resistance Fighter?
Aage’s activities have long been shrouded in mystery, and very few details are known about them. He was, however, connected to the resistance movement. Aage Ingemann Christensen was accused of purchasing a pistol from a German soldier, a connection that might have led the Gestapo to believe that he was part of a larger resistance group. The German soldier had in fact been reporting Aage and others to the Gestapo. However, after Aage’s brutal treatment, he was released when the war ended and returned to the village where he grew up.
Photo 5.1:
Aage Ingemann Christensen’s home in Aabybro. The residence had a central role in his activities, although much about his resistance work remains unclear. Photo: Kurt Ingemann Kristensen.
Photo 5.2:
Aage Ingemann Christensen, the last photo of Aage taken at a memorial ceremony after his death. Photo: Kurt Ingemann Kristensen.
Photo 5.3
The picture shows Aage’s severe scars, photographed almost three years after the torture took place, in the fall of 1947. Photo: Nordjyske Museer
Photo 5.4
Letter in which Aage is awarded compensation of 1,050 DKK for his suffering during the occupation. Photo: Kurt Ingemann Kristensen
Board 6 – The Resistance Movement in Saltum
An Unequal Fight
When Gestapo left Brønderslev, the flight continued to other parts of Vendsyssel. They faced resistance groups several times, who aimed to stop them. One of the places where Gestapo encountered the resistance was at Østrup Bakke, south of Saltum, in the afternoon of May 5th. Here, the village leader in Saltum, K.G. Wanting, had organized a roadblock after being informed that the fleeing Gestapo men were on their way.
Wanting arrived at Østrup Bakke first, almost at the same time as the Gestapo convoy appeared at the top of the hill. A resistance fighter had placed a large log in the middle of the road. Soon, the Gestapo men realized that they were in danger. They got out of their cars and moved forward with military precision, heavily armed with submachine guns and hand grenades, towards the untrained resistance fighters.
Survival
The resistance fighters saw that they were at a disadvantage, so they decided to remove the log from the road as a signal to the Gestapo that they would let them pass. The Gestapo proceeded slowly and safely through the blockade.
Wanting later explained in his report that they did not open fire on the Gestapo because they were wearing Wehrmacht uniforms, and the resistance did not know they were Gestapo. Additionally, they realized they were outmatched and that the Gestapo would quickly overpower them in this unequal fight. The resistance fighters survived, and Gestapo continued their flight.
Photo 6.1
Karl Georg Wanting (1907-1995), the village leader in Saltum, led the situation against Gestapo at Østrup Bakke.
Photo: Egnssamlingen i Saltum
Photo 6.2
A sketch of the resistance fighters’ positions at Østrup Bakke, drawn by Karl Georg Wanting.
Photo: Egnssamlingen i Saltum
Photo 6.3
The bus used by Gestapo in connection with their flight from Aalborg, photographed at the police station in Aalborg.
Photo: Aalborg Stadsarkiv
Photo 6.4
Resistance group guards the Aggersund Bridge to ensure Gestapo cannot escape that way.
Photo: Børge Møller
Board 7 – Gestapo’s Dramatic Visit to Aabybro
The Flight Continues
Late in the day on May 5, 1945, Gestapo approached Aabybro. On their way into the town, a machine gunner fired wildly at the top of the bus, which made the resistance fighters, who were stationed in the area, pull back from the confrontation.
Shortly before, Gestapo had shot and wounded a German sentry at Ryå, presumably because he had attempted to stop them. They drove to the German command center at Aabybro Folk High School, where they took shelter.
“You will be shot at 03:00”
The wounded sentry was brought to the high school, and the blame for the injured soldier was placed on the local resistance group. The resistance fighters were quickly captured and interned by the Germans. The message to the resistance was that if they did not identify who had shot the German sentry by 03:00 on May 6, 1945, they would all be shot.
After dramatic negotiations, it was successfully arranged at the last moment for the resistance fighters to be released, even with something that resembled an apology – the Germans had to get used to the fact that they were no longer the occupying power.
Photo 7.1
Aabybro Folk High School, where the German command center was located in Aabybro, 1950.
Photo: Historisk Arkiv Hjørring
Photo 7.2
A roadblock at Aabybro dairy, where the fleeing Gestapo men passed through.
Photo: Lokalhistorisk Forening for Aaby Sogn
Photo 7.3
The Germans leave the country, photographed in Thisted.
Photo: Frihedsmuseets Fotoarkiv
Board 8 – The Fates of the Gestapo Men
Flight in All Directions
The Gestapo men were assigned to different Wehrmacht companies, with whom they would travel back to Germany. This happened, among other places, in Aabybro, Løkken, Fjerritslev, and Børglum Kloster. Some Gestapo men abandoned the idea and tried to flee on their own.
In the following days, months, and years, more and more Gestapo men were caught by the authorities, and each individual was carefully investigated to see if they could be prosecuted for war crimes.
The Executioners and the Reckoning
After the liberation, Aage Ingemann Christensen gave his statement to the Danish police and testified several times in subsequent trials. The interpreter, Gunnar Jensen, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the district court, though his sentence was reduced to 20 years in the appellate court.
Gestapo man Walther Thiel was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the district court, which was reduced to seven years in the appellate court. Gestapo man Karl Wentzlau was never convicted for the crimes he committed against Aage. He was instead extradited for prosecution in France, as his criminal record there was more extensive.
Fritz Bolle, who was responsible for both Aage’s torture and the execution orders, escaped from Denmark and hid in Karlsruhe until his death in 1973, and therefore was never held accountable for his extensive crimes in Northern Jutland.
Photo 8.1
Børglum Kloster, photographed in 1955. Here, the fleeing Gestapo men tried to join the local Wehrmacht division.
Photo: Det Kongelige Bibliotek
Photo 8.2
Gestapo chief Fritz Bolle managed to flee to Germany and lived under a false name until his death in 1973. Here, Bolle is seen speaking at a funeral in Frederikshavn for two Gestapo men who were killed during a raid.
Photo: Frihedsmuseets Fotoarkiv
Photo 8.3
Aalborg Amtstidende, February 21, 1946
Photo 8.4
German troops march out of the country in May 1945. Perhaps some Gestapo men were among them.
Photo: Frihedsmuseets Fotoarkiv