My uncle Hans was married to my aunt Esther and was one of the Danes who volunteered for Frikorps Danmark.
Hans Jørgensen, known among his comrades as “Bondehans,” wrote his memoirs in exercise books by hand while he was in prison after the war. His account is in many ways similar to those of other Frikorps members, but differs particularly in its description of his childhood and youth, and of what happened after 5 May 1945.
Hans became a member of DNSAP at an early stage. The photograph on the right is from his party membership booklet in 1937.
After his imprisonment, “Bonde Hans” succeeded, through hard work, in building a stable home and financial situation. He was respected in his local area, even though his past was known. It is striking that most Frikorps members seem to have fared better than average after the war. Perhaps the explanation is that having survived the Eastern Front, everything else seemed easier. In his spare time, Hans was a strong chess player. A series of accidents and deaths in his immediate family affected him throughout his life, and he eventually died after a short period of dementia.
Hans was wounded on the Eastern Front. A bullet through the head disfigured the area around his eyes. I remember it looking somewhat disturbing. The picture on the left was likely taken after he returned home and was transferred to the Schalburgkorpset.
I have carefully transcribed these pages so that even the spelling mistakes made by Hans remain unchanged on this website.
/ Erik Petersen
