Deserters executed in occupied Denmark

  • In the last months of the war (from March '45) my father-in-law (nine years old at that time) and his brother at 5-6 different occasions witnessed the execution by hanging of what probably was Wehrmacht deserters (at least, that was his strong impression) in the village of Hannebjerg, 14 kilometers east of city of Randers in occupied Denmark. As I am preparing his eyewitness story into an article, I would be most grateful for any assistance in information on these 2-3 questions:

    1) Which Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe unit could have been deployed in Hannebjerg/Floes during the last months of 1945? This could give a strong hint of which unit the men that were hanged, could have been from. (I deliberately write "men" and not "Germans", as quite a number of the occupation force in Denmark came from other countries such as Hungary.) I have found information on this website on the units in the closest nearest town of Randers, but not on the far smaller village of Hannebjerg.

    2) Where would it be possible to find documentation on the execution of deserters of the Wehrmacht in Denmark - both regarding a total number and a list of invividual including the names, rank and nationality of the specific cases?

    Some additional information: The German military unit deployed in Hannebjerg, siezed the local village school, Hannebjerg Skole, as their base in March 1945. According to my father-in-law, the unit had both vehicles and horses, indicating that this was a Wehrmacht unit. Many of them came on recreational leave from the Eastern front, he said.He also noted that the men who were hanged did not wear their military uniforms - probably as they were being considered "not worthy of wearing these" - but civilians clothes.

    Best regards and most grateful for tips for further research,

    Stefan Katic Lindevangen 93DK-2830 Virum Dänemark