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Niels Fiil

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Niels Fiil
Born(1920-06-12)12 June 1920[1]
Hvidsten
Died29 June 1944(1944-06-29) (aged 24)[1][2][3]
Cause of deathExecution by firing squad,[2]
Occupation(s)Farmer,[citation needed] Inn assistant[3]
Known forExecuted as member of the Danish resistance movement[2]
Parent(s)Marius and Gudrun Fiil
Relatives
Website"Modstandsdatabasen" [Resistance Database]. Niels Fiil (in Danish). Copenhagen: Nationalmuseet. Retrieved 2014-11-20.

Niels Fiil (12 June 1920 – 29 June 1944) was a member of the Danish resistance executed by the German occupying power.

Biography

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In addition to being a member of the Hvidsten group, Fiil was also a farmer while helping out at the inn.[3]

The group helped the British Special Operations Executive parachute weapons and supplies into Denmark for distribution to the resistance.

In March 1944 the Gestapo made an "incredible number of arrests" including in the region of Randers Fiil, his father the "nationally known folklore collector and keeper of Hvidsten inn Marius Fiil", his 17-year-old sister Gerda, his sister Kirstine and her husband brewery worker Peter Sørensen.[4]

The following month De frie Danske reported that several arrestees from Hvidsten had been transferred from Randers to Vestre Fængsel.[5]

On 29 June 1944 Fiil, his father Marius, his brother in law and five other members of the Hvidsten group were executed in Ryvangen.[1][2]

After his death

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On 15 July 1944 De frie Danske reported on the execution of Fiil, his father and brother son in law, the life sentence of his older sister and the two-year sentence of his younger sister and lamented the profound loss of Fiil's mother.[6] Six months later the January 1945 issue of the resistance newspaper Frit Danmark (Free Denmark) reported that on 29 June the previous year Fiil and seven other named members of the Hvidsten group had been executed.[3]

On 10 July he was together with the seven other executed group members cremated at Bispebjerg Cemetery.[citation needed]

In 1945 a memorial stone over the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group was raised near Hvidsten kro.[2]

Memorial stone for the Hvidsten group in Hvidsten

Similarly a larger memorial stone for resistance members including the eight executed members of the Hvidsten group has been laid down in Ryvangen Memorial Park.[1]

Memorial stone in Ryvangen for resistance members including the Hvidsten group

Portrayal in the media

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d NIELS FIIL (Inscribed Stone Monument) (in Danish). Ryvangen Memorial Park. * 12.6.1920 * 29.6.1944
  2. ^ a b c d e NIELS FIIL (Inscribed Stone Monument) (in Danish). Hvidsten Kro. 1944 DEN 29. JUNI
    FALDT DE FOR DE TYSKE KUGLER
    DYREBART ER DERES MINDE FOR DANMARK
    REJST AARET 1945
  3. ^ a b c d "29. Juni - 8 Frihedskæmpere henrettet" [29 June - 8 freedom fighters executed]. Frit Danmark (in Danish). January 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Utrolig mange Arrestationer" [Incredibly many arrests]. De frie Danske (in Danish). 18 March 1944. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  5. ^ "ARRESTEREDE" [ARRESTED]. De frie Danske (in Danish). 23 April 1944. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2014. Kroejer Marius Fiil med flere fra Hvidsten er blevet overført fra Randers til Vestre
  6. ^ "EN FOLKELIG SKIKKELSE, ET HISTORISK EKSEMPEL PAA JYLLANDS SEJGHED UNDER FREMMEDHEREDØMMET" [A POPULAR FIGURE, A HISTORICAL EXAMPLE OF JUTLAND'S TOUGHNESS UNDER FOREIGN RULE]. De frie Danske (in Danish). 15 July 1944. p. 7. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  7. ^ "This life / Hvidsten Gruppen - nogle må dø for at andre kan leve". dfi.dk. Retrieved 2016-12-04.