wwII Archives - Hej Sønderborg

The area around Esbjerg has been an important fishing and shipping region for a long time. Therefore, it is only apt to visit a fishing and shipping museum showing all this history when you are in the area.

The museum is divided into a number of indoor and outdoor areas. A good place to start is possibly the shipping area indoors. The displays do a very good job of showing how the shipping industry, particularly in the area, changed over time. The fishing area of the museum also does something similar, showing how the fishing industry changed and grew with different industrial and technological advances.

If you have kids with you (or consider yourself a big kid like we do!) you might be more excited about the other areas where there is less to read and understand and more to experience. I loved the open air displays which depict different aspects of life on the coast, from a harbour and a fish drying rack, to a German bunker from WWII. On the day we visited there was also a ropemaker working in one of the buildings who was more than happy to chat to us. Apparently you can ask him to make items for you (from nets to hammocks, at a price).

The highlight of the museum is probably the saltwater aquarium and the sealarium. In the aquarium you can see a variety of species that live in the sea around Denmark. There is also a shallow petting pool where it is actually permitted to touch the animals (with care, of course!). I thought the aquarium compared well in quality with other top aquaria/oceanaria I have visited (though, of course, not in size).

In the sealarium there are 5 seals; 4 spotted seals and one grey seal – in an open-air pool. It would be good to schedule your visit to the seals with the daily feedings (that happen at 11:00 & 14:30). During feeding you really get to see them move and get a commentary from the feeder about the different seals and what they are doing.

A very interesting place with something for all the family. It is not the largest of museums, which makes it manageable and not overwhelming as you can easily move between sections. You can easily spend 2 hrs in the museum, especially if you take your time to soak it all in. And once you’re done, don’t forget to stop by the Men at Sea statues opposite!

At the start of WWII Denmark more or less stood back and let Nazi-Germany occupy the country. Denmark adopted a policy of collaboration with the oppressors in order to spare the country and people from actions of war. This lasted until August 1943, when the underground resistance movement had started their activities and the Danish government could no longer collaborate with the Nazis.

As a result of the government ending the collaboration most Danish police officers and border patrolmen were arrested and jailed. Simultaneously, the Nazis started to apprehend people from the resistance, communists and others and deporting them to concentration camps. Although people in Denmark did not know of the atrocities in the concentration camps in Germany they were horrified by the deportations of these political prisoners. To prevent this the Danish authorities offered to build Frøslev Prison Camp close to the German border where the Nazis could detain Danish prisoners.

The camp was put into use on August 13 1944 and in the nine months it was in operation under the Nazis 12,000 prisoners were held there. Against the agreement 1,600 of the prisoners were deported to concentration camps in Germany, where about 220 perished.

The museum is, like the Resistance Museum in Copenhagen, run by the National Museum and is free to visit. Unlike several museums in this region almost all displays are in English. The artifacts and the stories of the items and buildings are very well presented and make it an interesting visit. The museum about the camp is in the guard tower and one of the barracks.

Unlike the concentration camps, living conditions in Frøslev were bearable and there was sufficient food. The museum is less stark and gruesome than the other camps in Europe where the sheer scale of torture and atrocities can leave you numb.

Apart from the museum telling the story of the prison camp there is also museums from the Home Guard, UN and Amnesty, each of which had a barrack that we quickly covered.

If you are a history buff expect to spend 2 hours in the museums here. For more information check the website.

Hej Sønderborg

Culture, food, events and life on Als, Denmark

Tag Archives: wwII

Fishing and Shipping Museum – Esbjerg

Froslev Prison Camp #17/99