Knud Lynge, Lars Lynge’s father, was arrested at his workplace at the Royal Danish Nautical Charts Archive on November 14, 1944. On this day, the Gestapo stormed the building to look for an escaped person which is when they found a gun in Knud Lynge’s bag. During the war he taught resistance fighters to shoot which is why he occasionally had a gun on him. Carrying a weapon was strictly forbidden so he was taken to the Vestre prison and interrogated before being transported to Neuengamme on December 15, 1944. His son Lars told us how he learned about his father’s story and about their lives following his father’s imprisonment.
How did you learn about your father’s story?
I am the son of Knud Harald Lynge who was a prisoner in Neuengamme concentration camp from December 16, 1944 to April 16, 1945 with the prisoner number D 67972. My father told me and my two sisters about his time in Neuengamme when we were 7 years old. My father needed to tell us children about his imprisonment.
What influence does your family history have on the person you are today?
We were allowed to see the scrapbook my father had made after the war. On Sundays, when we children had to make beds, he told us how he had to make his bed in Neuengamme for it to be approved. I remember that we were not allowed to throw away any food after dinner because my father had starved in Neuengamme and didn’t want food to be wasted. I witnessed my father’s anger and hatred towards older Germans and when we were on holidays in Europe, it was my mother who spoke to Germans as my mother spoke German better. I have often accompanied my father to commemorative ceremonies in Copenhagen. When I was young, I was very mindful of treating food with respect as my father did. I understand my father’s attitude towards Germans and find it difficult to understand what he had been through in Neuengamme. My father was fortunate not to have suffered any physical or psychological illness after his imprisonment. Unfortunately, I have noticed that my siblings don’t have much interest in discussing our father’s time in Neuengamme with me.
After my father’s death, I initially found it difficult to visit the Freedom Museum and Mindelunden, as they reminded me of my father’s time in the concentration camp.
What elements of your family history and values will you pass on to the next generation(s)?
I would like to tell them about what my father told me and what I have read in books. My daughter is very interested in knowing about her grandfather’s experiences and I want her children to learn about it when they are old enough in order to understand the stories about World War II.
How did you come to be involved in the Danish Amicale KZ Neuengamme? What does your involvement mean to you?
I became a member of the Danish Amicale in September 2002 after my father’s death, when the association was going on a pilgrimage and my mother wanted to join the trip. However, she needed assistance as she had difficulties walking, so I went with my mother. Participating in these trips has meant a lot to me since then. During the trips, I have met former prisoners and widows of prisoners from Neuengamme who have shared their stories, and it has been important for me to gain valuable insight into the subject from those who have experienced captivity. Seeing the comradery among former prisoners has also meant a great deal to me.
About Knud Lynge
written by Lars Lynge
My father, Knud Lynge, was arrested November 14, 1944 at his work The Royal Chart Archive Esplanaden 19, Copenhagen K. During the war, my father taught other resistance fighters how to shoot pistols and brought his pistol with him occasionally. At the workplace, it was forbidden to bring weapons and illegal papers into the house. On November 14 the Gestapo searched for a person who had escaped into the building where my father worked and when the Gestapo was in the building they investigated whether the staff had anything suspicious in drawers and bags.
My father had a gun in his bag and he discovered too late that the Gestapo was investigating everyone in the building so he could not carry his bag out of the building. My father was in Vestre prison and was interrogated by the Gestapo, at one of the interrogatories he gave the name of a resistance man as he knew that he was never at home. On December 14, 1944, my father was put on a transport together with other prisoners and came to Neuengamme on December 15, 1944.
After his stay in Neuengamme
After my father was brought home from Neuengamme by the White Buses, he came to Sweden and was recuperating on Visingsø, which is located near Lake Vättern. My father had contracted pleurisy and tuberculosis during his stay in Neuengamme and went to hospital in Denmark to recover. In Denmark, he was convalescing in Dronningmølle on Zealand. It took about one year before my father started working again.
My father had an anger and hatred towards Germans, especially those who were old enough to have voted in the 1933 Reichstag elections. He accepted the younger Germans. My father had a good life after the war, he was healthy and did not have bad nerves or was drinking too much, but his anger towards the Germans lasted his whole life.
My father joined the Danish Home Guard when it was established in 1949. My father and mother married in 1952 and had 3 children. When my parents bought a car in 1962, we started spending summer vacations in camping tents and have many times been on vacation in Europe and driven through Germany. My parents liked to travel and were curious to see what Europe was like after the war.
