Frits Clausen
Frits Clausen (b. 12 November 1893 in Aabenraa, German Empire; d. 5 December 1947 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was from 1933 to 1944 leader of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNSAP).
Life
Early life
He was born to a Danish-minded family in Aabenraa, and was called up for German military service during the First World War. He fell into Russian captivity in 1915. After the war Clausen was honored by Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark). In 1918 he traveled to Copenhagen to study medicine. In 1923-24 he graduated, after which he became a doctor in Aabenraa and Bov.
DNSAP
In the 1920s, Clausen was strongly national and a supporter of a Denmark to Eider river. Clausen at first became a member of the conservative party, but he eventually resigned from the party and in 1931 joined the DNSAP. From 1933 to 1944 he was party leader for DNSAP and from 1939 to 1945 a member of the Folketing for the party. His popularity in Sønderjylland was the basis for the allocation of three seats to DNSAP in the 1939 elections.
WWII
In April 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. On October 30, 1943, he temporarily resigned as leader of the party, which he handed over to his deputy Theophilus Larsen (1892-1952), and volunteered as a doctor in the Waffen-SS. Clausen returned to Denmark in the spring of 1944. That same year, a "three-man council" in DNSAP forced him to resign as chairman, and he was later expelled from the party.
Death
After Germany's occupation of Denmark ended in May 1945, Clausen was captured and sent to Frøslev Prison Camp. He was later given a formal trial, but he died of a heart attack in the Vestre Fængsel, a prison in Copenhagen, before it could be completed.
Gallery
- Frits Clausen as a prisoner of war in Russia (WWI).png
Frits Clausen as a prisoner of war in Russia (WWI)
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- Frits Clausen in 1940.png
Clausen in 1940
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Clausen in 1940
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Frits Clausen in 1942
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Frits Clausen in 1942
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Frits Clausen in May 1945. Frøslev Prison Camp