Editing Aarhus (section)

===Second World War===
[[File:7487068-70-r-siden-eksplosionen-p-aarhus-havn---1.jpg|thumb|Devastation in the wake of the [[1944 explosion in Aarhus|explosion on 4 July 1944]] in the harbour]]
On 9 April 1940, [[Nazi Germany]] invaded Denmark, occupying Aarhus the following day; the occupation lasted for five years. This was a destructive period with major disasters, loss of life and economic depression. The [[Port of Aarhus]] became a hub for supplies to the [[Baltics]] and [[Norway]], while the surrounding rail network supplied the [[Atlantic Wall]] in west Jutland and cargo headed for Germany. Combined, these factors resulted in a strong German presence, especially in 1944–45.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aarhuswiki.dk/wiki/Den_tyske_bes%C3%A6ttelse|title=Aarhus Besættelse|publisher=[[Vester Allé 12#Aarhus City Archives|Aarhus City Archives]]|access-date=8 April 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Danish resistance fighters injured during fighting with German troops in Aarhus, Bispetorv, 5 May, 1945.jpg|thumb|Resistance fighters on [[Bispetorv, Aarhus|Bispetorv]] fighting with German soldiers, 5 May 1945]]
Small [[Danish resistance movement|resistance groups]] first appeared in 1941–42 but the first to co-ordinate with the [[Danish Freedom Council|Freedom Council]] was the [[Samsing Group]], responsible for most operations from early 1943.{{sfn|Hansen|1946|p=13}}{{sfn|Alenius|2002|p=34}} The Samsing group, along with others in and around Aarhus, was dismantled in June 1944 when [[Grethe Bartram|Grethe "Thora" Bartram]] turned her family and acquaintances over to German authorities.{{sfn|Kristensen|2010|p=52}} In response, requests for assistance were sent to contacts in England and in October 1944 the [[Royal Air Force]] [[Aarhus Air Raid|bombed the Gestapo headquarters]] successfully destroying archives and obstructing the ongoing investigation.{{sfn|Zabecki|1999|pp=1350–1}}{{sfn|Trenear-Harvey|2009|p=2}}

In the summer of 1944 the Copenhagen-based resistance group [[Holger Danske (resistance group)|Holger Danske]] helped establish the [[5 Kolonne]] group and an [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] agent arrived from England to liaison with the [[L-groups]].{{sfn|Hauerbach|1945|p=8}} Subsequently, resistance operations escalated which was countered with [[Schalburgtage]] terror operations by the [[Peter group]].{{sfn|Hauerbach|1945|p=22}}{{sfn|Knudsen|2009|p=76}} The increasingly destructive occupation was compounded when an [[1944 explosion in Aarhus|ammunition barge exploded]] in July 1944, destroying much of the harbour area.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://stiften.dk/aarhus/70-aar-siden-eksplosionen-paa-aarhus-havn|title=70 aar siden eksplosionen|newspaper=[[Århus Stiftstidende]]|access-date=21 November 2014}}</ref> On 5 May 1945 German forces in Denmark surrendered but during the transitional period fighting broke out resulting in 22 dead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jyllands-posten.dk/aarhus/ECE4463374/blodbad-pa-bispetorvet/|title=Blodbad på Bispetorvet|date=10 April 1948 |publisher=[[Jyllandsposten]]|access-date=21 November 2014}}</ref> On 8 May the British [[1st The Royal Dragoons|Royal Dragoons]] entered the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.befrielsen1945.dk/erindringer/indsendte/205.html|title=The Royal Dragoons ankomst til Danmark|publisher=5. Maj-Komiteen|access-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415165405/http://www.befrielsen1945.dk/erindringer/indsendte/205.html|archive-date=15 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>