Danish Nazi membership archives available online for the first time

Stephen Gadd

Up until now, it’s been next to impossible to establish who was a member of DNSAP, the Danish Nazi Party, during World War II. Reliable membership lists had long gone out of print, so unless you happened to hit the jackpot in a second-hand bookshop, the chances were virtually nil.

That is now set to change. The association of Danish genealogical researchers, Danske Slægtsforskere, has published part of the so-called Bovrup Archive, a list of the majority of the members of the DNSAP, reports Kristeligt Dagblad.

The archive was started by party leader Frits Clausen, a native of Bovrup, and in 1945 it was copied and published in book form by members of the Danish Resistance who were angry that a lot of ex-Nazis seemed to have escaped punishment.

READ ALSO: Danish camp guard avoids war crime charges

The original archive contained around 50,000 names, but for some reason the published version only had room for 28,000.

However, since the initial publication the book has been subject to a court injunction and not been publicly available. Historians and other interested parties have had to resort to scouring second-hand bookshops for copies.

Important source material
The head librarian of the genealogical association, Per Andersen, told Kristeligt Dagblad that “over the years, we’ve had a lot of queries from people researching their family trees who wanted to know whether their older relatives were party members. We also feel this is important source material for historians.”

One of the reasons the archive is only being made public now is that Danish data protection laws state that a person should have been dead for at least 10 years before information about them can be revealed. For the same reason, only 5,265 names from the archive will be made public at this time.

Ethical considerations
However, others are concerned there might be ethical problems associated with the publication.

“It’s fine if you want to use the archive for family research, but there is no guarantee the lists won’t be used to publicly pillory people,” said Peter Birkelund, the senior researcher and archivist at the Rigsarkivet national archive.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s most notorious snitch dead at 92

“When things are published anything can happen. We’ve previously seen examples where people have had to explain themselves because of their family’s connection with the Nazi Party.”

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs