Danish war sailors

Contact person: Sven Arvid Birkeland

When Denmark was occupied by the Germans in 1945, two-thirds of the Danish merchant navy was sailing outside Denmark. More than 240 ships and approx. 6,000 Danish sailors sailed for the Allies. It is estimated that each allied soldier in battle initially needed an average of seven tons of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, fuel, food, etc. - and subsequently another 1 ton per month. England needed more than 1 million tons supplies a week, and in addition came the large supplies to the Soviet Union, a route across the North Atlantic. Thus, in a sense, World War II became a "Transport War".

The warfare together with covering the needs of the British population demanded huge convoys from the East Coast of the United States to the East Coast of England. Germany tried to prevent this transport by leading the unrestricted Submarine War. Danish sailors participated in these voyages and approx. 3,000 of them lost their lives. Out of the 800 ships, 30 of them were Danish with 800 Danish sailors on board. 20 of those died. Fishermen and Danish sailors who sailed in German controlled waters lost between 1,000 and 1,250 men. Approx. 6,300 Danish sailors sailed for the allies, and 15% were killed.

Those sailors, who are today called the "War Sailors", were forgotten for many years after the war. Not until 1983-85, the Freedom Fund carried out a systematic search where they found 674 war sailors, +70, still alive. 578 were interviewed, and 101, casually selected, were examined thoroughly, medically and psychologically. The examination was never published, however, is part of my book.

The book describes the background of the necessity of "the battle of the Atlantic" and the navigation in the Mediterranean Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, since the War Sailors sailed the Seven Seas. Narratives from all these war fronts are included in the book.

The book is based on interviews with War Sailors and their widows and children together with narratives written by now deceased War Sailors, handed to me by the bereaved. Many Danish sailors sailed within the "blockage", i.e. the sea controlled by the Germans, and the book includes interviews with many of these men as well.

Publisher: Gyldendal, Autumn 2011.