Fröslev

Denmark was attacked at the same time as Norway on April 9, 1940, but unlike Norway, Denmark surrendered without a fight. Denmark had been promised to keep its political independence in domestic policy matters, including decisions about Jews living in Denmark. Still, of Denmark’s approximately 5,000 Jews, about 500 were surrendered to the germans. Of these, about 50 died. The number of concentration camps was also low compared to other occupied states, but as the military setbacks in 1944 increased, Danes also risked being deported to camps in Germany. To avoid this, the Danish authorities recommended that a camp be set up in Denmark to imprison Danes. Danish authorities had hopes that Danish citizens would thus have a greater chance of survival than deported to concentration camps in Germany. The Germans agreed on this and in Fröslev, right next to the border with Germany, a Polizeigefangenenenlager was set up in August 1944. Until the capitulation of Germany in May, 1945, about 12,000 people were imprisoned. These were either suspected of association with the Danish resistance movement or simply anti-German. Of these, about 1,600 were deported to camps in Germany, of which more than 200 died. The conditions in Fröslev were acceptable in comparison to other camps.