Memorial stone at Skydestranden

The British rolled into the streets of Sønderborg on 8 May 1945 and they must have received a message from the Danes that some dead resistance fighters were missing, because the British put pressure on the German Lieutenant Pfestorf and got him to designate the military area by the beach in Sønderborg.

Between 11 and 14 May, coffins and the bodies of five men were found at Skydestranden, where four of them were given a beautiful ceremony and reburied on 16 May 1945 at Østre Kirkegård near Christianskirken.

The resistance fighters found at the shooting range are:

Anker Hansen, born on 16 May 1917 in Sønderborg.
Anker is employed as a sales assistant by his uncle, wholesaler Cornelius Hansen in Flensburg, but lives in Kruså and thus finds it easier to cross the border. Anker has several times succeeded in ‘organising’ German officers' pistols when they visit restaurants in Flensburg. Their luck ran out at the Strandhotel in Kollund on 10 February 1944, when Anker Hansen and his friend Karl Marius Laursen got into a firefight with the Gestapo. Anker is hit in the abdomen and chooses to take his own life with the last bullet.

Karl Marius Laursen, born on 16 September 1920 in Hadsten, North Jutland.
Karl became interested in Southern Jutland during a stay at Askov Folk High School in Vejen and was employed as a farm labourer on a farm near Bov. In Bov Terrænsportsforening he meets Anker Hansen. The two friends meet engineer and lieutenant J.M. Bøge at a major event in Tønder and are encouraged to establish a resistance group in Sønderborg. The group is behind several acts of sabotage, including the Otto Ehricht joinery and the action against the tailoring company ‘John’ in Jernbanegade, which will be the last. Karl stays at Strandhotellet in Kollund on 10 February 1944, together with Anker Hansen, despite warnings that they had been betrayed by another group member. The Gestapo shows up and a fierce, hour-long firefight ensues, where Karl eventually escapes into the basement of a neighbouring house, he is badly wounded and dies after another shootout.

Svend Aage Peder Hansen, born on 21 December 1920 in Haagerup on Funen.
Svend Aage is a trained journeyman carpenter and employed at Kamgarnspinderiet, in the resistance group in Sønderborg he goes by the alias ‘Snedkeren’ (the carpenter). During a sabotage attempt against German minesweepers in Sønderborg Harbour on 2 April 1945, the action went wrong and after a brief exchange of fire with the Germans, he died from a shot to the chest. Peter Theodor Madsen also dies during the same action.

Svend Holm was born on 9 April 1918 in Horsens and married Sophie Cathrine Iversen from Skelde on Broagerland.
Svend left the military as a sergeant and was then employed as a prison officer at Nyborg State Prison, where he was recruited to the Nyborg weapons reception group. Svend stores the group's weapons stockpile at home - walled up in the pantry. After his arrest on 14 March 1945, Svend was subjected to torture during interrogations and when he arrived at Frøslev camp, the man was deathly ill. When the camp doctors finally managed to get him transferred to the hospital in Sønderborg, it was too late - Svend died on 30 March a few hours after arriving. The funeral at the shooting range near Sønderborg is just as merciless, he is laid in the ground and the coffin is thrown on top.

Peter Theodor Madsen, born on 8 January 1922 in Hals Parish near Aalborg.
Peter spent a few years at sea and after a short time in the navy, he was employed as a reserve police officer in Haderslev. In September 1944, he and other young police officers go underground and form a resistance group responsible for some railway sabotage. Peter is wanted by the Gestapo after an action where the group's leader is arrested and he flees to Sønderborg, where he is accepted into their group. He has used the aliases ‘Tot’ and ‘Hans Matthiesen’. When, on Easter Sunday 1945, he participated in an operation with magnetic mines at Sønderborg Harbour, he was discovered and killed by the Germans. The sabotage attempt is described in more detail under: The memorial plaque at Alsik. Svend Aage Peder Hansen is also killed during the exchange of fire and both bodies are wrapped in tarpaulins and buried on the military firing range. Peter Theodor is reburied at Damager Cemetery in Haderslev and with great participation, Øsby Parish Danish Society unveils a very beautiful memorial stone on 26 October 1945.