Kim Malthe-Bruun

Kim Malthe-Bruun (born Kim Friis-Hansen, 8 July 1923 – 6 April 1945) was a Canadian-born seaman and a member of the Danish resistance, who was executed by the Germans during their occupation of Denmark.

Biography He was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and baptized in St. George's church. At the age of nine, Kim, his six-year-old sister Ruth, and his mother moved back to Denmark where she was originally from. He grew up a farmhand, but by the time he was seventeen, he had become a merchant seaman. When Nazi Germany invaded Denmark, he joined the Danish resistance movement at the age of 21. He used his skills as a sailor to transport arms for the resistance.

On 19 December 1944, Kim was arrested by the Gestapo in an apartment on Classen Street with two friends. He was unarmed and carrying his own identification papers. He was sent to the Vestre Fængsel Prison soon after his arrest. The first cell he stayed in was Cell 252, in the German Section.

On 15 January 1945 he received royal permission to change his last name to his mother's maiden name, Malthe-Bruun. On 6 April 1945, Kim Malthe-Bruun was executed in Ryvangen. thumb

After the war, his mother published a book about him titled Heroic Heart: The Diary and Letters of Kim Malthe-Bruun. It contains his diary entries and many of his letters home to both her and his girlfriend Hanne.

A Danish documentary about Kim Malthe-Bruun was made in 2009.