Historical Collection from the Occupation

At the core of HSB is a large body of material from the resistance movement from all corners of occupied Denmark. At HSB you can find Kaj Munk’s poems published by the resistance movement, proclamations from the Danish Freedom Council, thousands of underground newspapers, accounts from resistance members, letters from concentration camp prisoners – and much more.

For many years, HSB has prioritised research into the history of the Occupation as well as the post-war legal purge, and the archive’s staff have published a wide range of books, articles, encyclopaedia entries, etc.

The collection was founded by Palle Schmidt, who was himself an active member of the resistance. As early as March 1943, Palle Schmidt secretly began collecting illegal newspapers because he wanted to ensure they would be preserved for posterity. He continued this collecting work after the war, when he became head of a teacher training college in Esbjerg, and gradually built up a large private collection.