As 1945 progressed, it became clear to the German people that the war was going to be lost. The citizens faced an uncertain future of occupation run by those which their country had sought to control and suppress a short time before. As US forces pushed from the west and Soviet forces pushed from the east, Germans fled, attempting to survive and avoid what horrors awaited those who stayed. In the four month period in early 1945, 250,000 Germans fled to Denmark hoping that the nation would shelter them. Instead they found that they were placed into refugee camps, the largest of which held 37,000 people. Most of those were women, the elderly and children below the age of 15.
Nutrition and caloric intake were exceptionally poor and at least 13,000 died in 1945, more than half of them children. There was a pervasive hatred of the Germans who had previously controlled so much. In March of 1945, the Danish Association of Doctors decided that refugees would not receive any medical care. The Red Cross came to the same conclusion. The result was the death of 80% of the small children who fled to Denmark.
This episode reflects the treatment the German people received from most of the occupation forces. This particular dark chapter is not well known. But a stark reminder can be found in Copenhagen's largest cemetery, Vestre Kirkegaard, where hundreds are buried. Many with a simple inscription on the stone: "Kottmann Child" - unknown refugee child, with a date of death.
-Professor Walter
Read more about this episode in history and the man who has worked to bring it to light here and here.
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