And here is the rest of the story, as translated by my Danish friend, of the American fliers who crashed on Bornholm. Hasle village and the hills on the western Bornholm, sunday 28. may 1944. Ernst Petersen decided to keep low profile. Since the summer of 1943, he had transported six underground people to Sweden in his fishing-vessel "Svanen" (the swan), but because of the latest events he believed it was too risky. One thing was the Germans intensive hunt for refugees and the Danes who helped them. This meant that the Germans now searched all vessels before they sailed. Besides people had warned him that the Germans were now carefully keeping an eye on him. But then the first of the Allied planes made a forced landing in beginning of April 1944 and ,after an urge request from his closest co-conspirators, policeman Ebbe Hasselholt Jørgensen and hotel owner Ole Bidstrup of Hasle, he agreed to help again. At that time they found two airmen by whistling english tunes, while they walked around in Vang, where the two airmen had been seen. To whistle was a well known way to get in contact with airmen, who were in hiding, Especially with the melody "It´s a Long Way to Tipperary" and at Vang the Danes suddenly heard somebody whistling back from a scrub on the beach. A few days later the Svanen sailed the two airmen to Sweden. And now - four days after the latest landing at Sose, Ernst heard that airmen had been seen in the hills near Helligpeder and Teglkaas, and he went "for a walk" on the narrow, steep tracks with Ole. They saw a tree rocking in an odd way and discovered an American airman, who was scratching his back against the tree. After several days in the woods he had an inflammation from wood? (in danish skovflaater). Beside him was his companion. Ernst and Ole found a better place to hide the airmen and told them to stay there until they were sent for. Shortly after Ernst and Ole met two boys, who told they just had seen the last two airmen and they were quickly found. It was Whiteman and Nelson, and they also got the message to wait. There is some confusion about details of the next events, especially if the airmen were hiding in the woods, or if they, for a short time, lodged with a fisherman in Teglkaas. However - according to Ebbe Hasselholt as well as Ernst Petersen´s written reports many years later - nobody in the district dared to sail and nobody dared to give shelter to them, until a way to Sweden was found. People had become too nervous about the Germans, who now patrolled in the area with dogs. In other words, it was only a matter of time before the airmen were caught and Ernst saw no other way than: "we must take them home in my loft" he said to Ebbe. .Now the question was, how they should get the airmen to the house of Ernst in the middle of Hasle village. They decided to use bikes. So early in the morning of 29. May Ernst and Ebbe picked up the two first Americans, still dressed in full uniform, and drove each with an airman sitting on the cross-bar through Hasle village and delivered them to Ernst’s home and Ernst´s wife, Helga. They then drove back to fetch the last two, Whiteman and Nelson. The Americans reeked so much of pigs, that Helga ordered them to take a bath, as soon as they reached the house, and they had therefore only a pair of pants on, when they again met their two companions in the loftroom. This sight amused them, now the situation was a little brighter, they had a bed to sleep in and clean clothes. A doctor came and checked themout and thenHelga made food for them. But at the same time the net was tightening for Ernst Petersen and Ebbe Hasselholt. It was a widespread opinion among the population that some Germans must have known what was going on. Not the leaders, but common German soldiers and sailors, who was patrolling in the harbors and along the coast. They closed their eyes and did not say anything, because they were happy be on Bornholm and avoid the Eastern Front. They were only interested in having a good relationship with the local people. When Sund, a disreputable member of the German Danish Help Police Hipo (German Hilfspolizei) suddently came to the island, the resistance movement reacted at once. In beginning of 1945 Sund came to Rønne and took lodging in Dams Hotel under a new, false identity. His purpose was to uncover the Bornholmian routes, but Sund, who formerly had been a policeman in Svaneke, was quickly recognized, and there was no other way than to overpower him in a empty path and kidnap him to Sweden on "Ramona". Here he was restrained until the war was over and afterwards he was convicted for his informer activities. Besides the normal flight-routes there was another strange person, skipper H.P. Bendtsen, who with his fishing-vessel "Villig" from Nexø, broke the custom. Bendtsen, who was sailing both from Bornholm and across Øresund, enjoyed playing a trick on the Germans, and as one of the most shameless, most unostentatious and sly persons he often courted disaster. For instance, he used to play drunk when he visited the Germans in the harbor in order to get permission to sail, at the same time as the refugees were hiding in the hold. "Just go on board and check the vessel. There is a flock of refugees on their way to the vessel" he would say to the Germans, after which he drank some snaps with them. And one day, when the Germans followed him to the vessel, and there were a lot of people on the quay, he continued the bluff. He gesticulated and snuffled: "What! Are you all going to Sweden ? Then hurry up". According to the German,s the skipper was both crazy and drunk, and they just shook their head and said "besoffen" to each other and turned without checking the vessel, which hid a group of Dutchmen. While it nevertheless went well for Bendtsen, it was because of a special paper he always kept in his hip pocket. At Moen, before the war, a German airplane fell down in the sea near Bentsen´s sailboat and he saved a German airman, after which he received a silverplate with an inscription: "Thank you for your brave seaman-achievement, Hermann Göring". Together with a letter of thanks from Hitler’s right handman it was that paper with Görings signature, which saved him when the Germans got suspicious and arrested him. Ernst Petersens house, Hasle, morning thursday 1. june 1944, eight days after the forced landing. The doll´s pram had to stay home and it was strange, Birthe thought. For she often took the doll´s pram with her when her father and mother went for a walk with her big brother and little sister, but today, when they should go to Teglkaas in order to visit a fisherman, it had to stay home. Birthe was the daughter of Helga and Ernst Petersen and curious, as children six years old can be. A few days earlier she was told not to go upstairs because there were some electricians working there.. She waited for the right moment when her mother was not looking. Then she sneaked upstairs and tried to open the door. It was locked. Birthe looked into the keyhole and could see two men lying on the bed and one, looking out from behind the curtain. Suddenly an eye showed up in the keyhole and she rushed down to mammy and told her that the electricians were not working at all. Helga sent Birthe up to her grandmother and grandfather, so the event should be forgotten. In Teglkaas Birthe wondered again for her mother said they should stay until the late evening and her father would pick them up. Strange, it was easier just to walk home while it was daylight. Mother gave Birthe a pill before she went to sleep. After Birthe swallowed her pill, Ernst Petersen and Ebbe Hasselholt made the last preparations for the flight in the night. It was a plan which had spread. At first it was the plan only to sail the four American airmen to Sweden, but in the previous days people had requested them to disappear as soon as possible, because the German were keeping an eye on them and there was rumors of house-searching, and therefore Ernst and Ebbe decided to escape together with the Americans in the night. The plan also included Ernst’s boat crew. All told it involved 14 people. The plan was: In the evening Ernst and his crew would sail from Hasle together with other vessels into Teglkaas harbour, which wase reception place. Ebbe would help the airmen and he provided danish police-uniforms, four nightsticks and four bicycles, so they could came from Hasle to Teglkaas and at the same time Ernst´s family would sneak to Teglkaas in the shelter of the darkness. All should happen shortly before midnight because there was a "hole" in the German patrolling. At the very latest Ernst should sail by midnight, no matter who was late. It almost happened according to the plan. "Svanen" reached Teglkaas, Helga got her children onboard, and three airmen were there - but not Ebbe and Whiteman, because on the outskirts of Hasle Whiteman’s trouser leg got caught in the cycle chain and the time went on while Ebbe worked on the cycle. When he finally succeeded, Whiteman stood up and vomited, which caused a further delay. When they reached Teglkaas Ebbe could see that "Svanen" was leaving the quay. In his eye they only could do one thing: run on the pier and jump onboard. Ernst thought that all were onboard. So when he suddently heard footsteps from the pier he thought that it was German guards and prepared his sporting gun, when he heard a well known voice: "Hey - hey! Wait a little while, we are going too!" said Ebbe. A few seconds later Ebbe and Whiteman jumped on board, and in the early morning after a stormy night on the sea, "Svanen" reached Simrishamn. Birthe stood on the deck and suddenly recognized four men, coming up on the quay: the four electricians, she was confused. Many years later she was told that the men were the last four airmen from Sose - and all ten Americans reached their homes in good condition.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 00:44:19 +0000
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