Fled over the River Kongeå

Peter Jorgensen from Foldingbro tells about young men fleeing from the First World War. 

- My father's two-year older brother did three years service as a German soldier during the First World War. He told how during the war, he and a fellow soldier jumped from trench to trench, while the bullets richocheted around them.

 - For a long time my uncle and his fellow soldier were actually the only two from the division who were left. At some point,  my uncle jumped into a trench and shortly thereafter the fellow soldier landed next to him. "We scraped through one more time," said my uncle. The fellow soldier did not answer, he had been killed.

 - During a leave, my uncle escaped over the river Kongeå and thereby avoided any further military service.

Went through the river in the dark of night
- I had three uncles, and two were old enough to be called up as German soldiers during the First World War. They did not want to fight for the Germans and decided to flee across the river Kongeå.

- The escape took place west of Foldingbro at a property with woodland and steep slopes down to the river Kongeå. The people on the property had led many pro-Danish people over the Kongeå in the dark evening and night hours. They knew the gendarmes' duty roster, but they also knew who were the nicest gendarmes and the gendarmes who were easy to bribe.

 - When it was all clear, my mother's uncles had  go through a small wood and over to the slopes by the river. Here they were to slide down the slopes and into the river. Then they had to wade through the river and over the meadow on the other side.

- When they were safely over on the other side, they went up on a small hill, from where they signaled with a torch to their mother, who was home at the farm. She signalled back that it was all clear. The escape was successful.


Place:  River Kongeå west of Foldingbro
Source Peter Jørgensen, Foldingbro.
Photo: Lintrup Local historical Archive